Thickness Planer and Glul-up Panels

[jimwill48]

I did a 12"x24" glue-up panel the other night and rushed it. I jointed the edges but did not thickness plane (using BORG dim. 3/4"x 4" lumber) after putting in clamps noticed that 2 of the boards were appox 1/16" higher than the others. No problem says I, I'll just run them thru my Ryobi AP1300 planer (mistake) to flatten. When I did so the planer had a issue pulling the panel thru. I did get-r-done but it was a pain and I had snipe that I will need to sand out (ROS).

Has anyone else tried to use a planer to flatten out glue-up panels or was I having problems because of the size of the glue-up. I have planed 12" wide lumber (solid) before with this planer and had no problems with it pulling the boards thru and giving me a great finish.

 

[Ken Weaver]

Anytime I start getting snipe from my planer, that's the signal that it wants its rollers cleaned. No problem after that. Width shouldn't cause a problem with that machine.

 

[woodguy1975]

I always glue up before planing. It ensures your panels are flat. Taking light final passes are the key to me.

 

[jeff...]

I edge glue rough cut lumber, I have had little success edge glueing S4S lumber, even using a self centering doweling jig. I'll surface plan one face of rough cut till just clean. Rip into no more than 3" strips and square up both stip edges to that one face with my table saw. Edge glue (no dowels, just glue and a rubber mallet) and I don't consern myself much with cleaning up excess glue. Once dry, thickness plan both faces and cut to width on my TS. I've have very good results this way and get some good flat pannels.

Use 4/4 rough cut boards to get a 3/4 thick pannel, 5/4 to get a 4/4 pannel, etc... always add at least 6" to the length and an inch to the width, just incase there's any snipe or clamp marks on the pannel edges.

Kinda wondering how others make up their pannels, I think my way is the down and dirty way, but works never the less...

Speaking of snipe, anyone game for a little snipe hunting?

 

[DaveO]

You might try some paste wax on your planer bed. It helped my little 12½" Delta handle full width stock much better.
Dave

 

[DavidF]

Joint one edge, joint one face, thickness, then rip. Leave the thickness couple mm heavy to allow for planing. As Jeff says, leave the length long by couple inches same on the width. If you want to avoid bicuits etc for alignment drive a couple of brads into the edge to be jointed and snip the heads off leaving a 1mm or so proud. Glue and clamp the boards; the brads will keep everything aligned. Use the "book match" method to joint the edges to avoid the boards not sitting flat when clamped because that will mean planing on both side and that will result in a much thinner panel then you intended!!!!

 

[frigator]

You said the planer had a problem pulling the panel through, which could mean you tried to take too much off in one pass.

Or since you have uneven surfaces, its possible there wasnt enough contact between the infeed roller and the stock, only the high points get grabbed. The infeed roller is straight, so if half the panel protrudes above the other half, then only half the board gets grabbed by the roller. Also Lunch boxes usually dont have serated infeeds, so they dont grab as well.

Thats why many of the bigger planers have "segmented" infeed rollers to handle the different heights of rough lumber, and the infeed grabs it all, no matter if there is height difference.

Try a lighter cut next time and see how you do. When I used the lunch box, there was a little guage you bumped into as you feed the board, which showed how much you were gonna take off, if you hit the guage with the low board, then you could have tried to take off whatever that was, plus the 1/16 protusion. Usually about 1/16 is the most you can take off with a lunchbox planing fullwidth and thats with a strain.

 

[jeff...]

Use the "book match" method to joint the edges to avoid the boards not sitting flat when clamped because that will mean planing on both side and that will result in a much thinner panel then you intended!!!!

When I get a board like this, I'll glue it up anyways. If it's to wild to be manipulated into position with a rubber mallet, I'll use some lengths of wood and deep throat clamps to force it into alignment. Just remember to put some wax paper in between the two lengths of wood and the glue up panel else you'll regret it when it comes time to unclamp the panel. I think I can get by with using a few wild wood strips in my panel glue ups, because the glue ups are so thick to start with. If they were any thinner, I can see where using such strips would be a problem. As long as the edges are square the glue ups work fine.

If I had a jointer I would try your method, I've been wanting to get one, but think I'll hold off till after the move. It's just one more heavy thing to load and unload off the truck.


Thanks

 

[gator]

Besides waxing the bed, cleaning the rollers and lighter passes, many times I have found that poor feed is one of the first signs that the knives need sharpening.

George

 

[Matt]

I have the same planer (Ryobi AP1300) and recently made a cutting board out of some scraps. Being scraps, they were all wacky sizes. I just glued 'em up and worried about it later. Once dry, I ran the board through the planer taking light passes. First pass was too light and it wouldn't feed. After that, I cranked down another full turn and she fed fine. No snipe hunting either.