Replies

1. 
   jackplane | May 14, 2004 02:01pm | #1

   Sounds like a good idea, but(you knew that was coming), how much wood is a "bunch"?  Yes, the carbide will last longer if you're talking a thousand bd ft or more so you'll save thru less sharpening and down time, but either way, sharp is sharp and that's what counts.

   To get a truly good finish you'll need to handplane afterwards.

   
   

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   Edited 5/14/2004 7:22 am ET by JACKPLANE

1. 
   Fingrs | May 14, 2004 03:47pm | #2

   I guess what I'm really looking for is a magic bullet that will guarantee none of the boards exit the planer with tearout...I suspect you're right that all will require hand planing...or a bunch of passes through the drum sander.  Since everyone keeps telling me to grow up and learn to handplane flat surfaces I should just do the acceptance thing and listen.

   There's only about 150 bf. 

1. 
   jackplane | May 14, 2004 04:02pm | #3

   If you're worried about snipe, hold the boards up slightly as they exit the planer.

2. 
   GHR | May 14, 2004 04:18pm | #4

   Maybe you should purchase a finish planer for figured wood.

1. 
   Fingrs | May 14, 2004 07:42pm | #11

   Hi, George,

   Can you explain what you mean by a finish planer? 

1. 
   GHR | May 14, 2004 10:37pm | #17

   I have a new Dewalt 13" 2 speed planer. It is a toy, but it does a nice job on the figured wood I have. I can afford the time and cost of replacing the blades if I ONLY USE IT FOR cuts.

   I have my wood rough planed on something that will take off 1/4" cuts but chip most figured woods. Then I take like cuts on my new Dewalt. (I find it faster than my thickness sander.)

3. 
   Jamie_Buxton | May 14, 2004 05:22pm | #6

   Some times it helps to wet the surface of a curly board before you run it through a planer.   I just sponge the water on, then run the board in.   I don't really understand why this should help, but it really does.

1. 
   MBL | May 14, 2004 06:07pm | #8

   Dear friend,

   Would say that wetting is basically 'lubrication'.

   Like for shaving one's face, if no foam or soap, water is better than nothing.

   -mbl-

   Edited 5/15/2004 3:52 am ET by mbl

1. 
   Clay | May 16, 2004 07:44am | #23

   I also dampen my difficult boards before running them through the planer.  I believe that the lubrication does help but the water also seems to sofften the fibers and to swell the surface fibers so that they squeeze together tighter and the decrease in tear out is often quite dramatic.  Hand planing is no cure as these same boards are the most difficult to hand plane too.  The sponging system will have the same helpful effect for hand planing too.  Several of the old Badger Pond neanderthal board denizens tested it for me on curly and bird's eye maple.  They were very pleased with the results.

2. 
   CharlieP | May 14, 2004 06:39pm | #10

   I have a spray bottle to mist water on wood before planing, if I am getting chip-out.  I agree that it does work well - appears to soften the surface slightly.  I would be reluctant to "wet" the wood as suggested - I don't want that much water inside my planer. 

   A couple years ago someone suggested spraying fabric softener on the wood to minimize static electricity, which may cause the chips to not exit quickly and interfere with smooth planing.  I have tried that, it works, and doesn't seem to interfere with finishing.  I do worry about the fabric softener so most of the time just use water if anything.  ________________________Charlie Plesums  Austin, Texashttp://www.plesums.com/wood

2. 
   JohnWW | May 14, 2004 04:22pm | #5

   I'm not aware that carbide blades cause less tearout than steel blades, and the fact that carbide blades are often sharpened to a blunter angle may, in fact, cause more tearout.  

   An effective approach to setting up a jointer or planer for working with figured woods is to put a back bevel on steel blades.

   John W.  

   
   

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   Edited 5/14/2004 9:33 am ET by JohnW

3. 
   tsproul | May 14, 2004 06:00pm | #7

   IMO....best option is a helical cutterhead.

   You can get both helical and carbide from Byrd Tool - the Shelix journal head.

   If I had the $ I'd have it on my planer.....

   Tim
1. 
   Fingrs | May 14, 2004 08:05pm | #14

   Thanks, Tim.  I checked and the cost of a Shelix for my 15" Jet planer will be about $795.  (I paid $750 for the planer!). 

   Anybody out there have experience with this cutter head?  Who knows...I may win the lottery someday.

   Thanks to all for your suggestions.

1. 
   TomMGTC | May 15, 2004 03:59am | #18

   I have the shelix head on my jet planer and the results are remarkable. No tearout on figured cherry or maple and grain direction doesn't seem to matter eaithe. The difference in the noise level is incredible as well. Much quieter with the shelix. I am very happy with the investment.  Tom

   Douglasville, GA

2. 
   JMartinsky | May 15, 2004 05:15am | #19

   I installed a "Shelix" cutterhead in my PM jointer (6") a few months ago. Initially I was concerned, but it seems that i goofed up the bearings on my install. Once the bearings were figured out, it is a wonderful thing! For whatever reason, I end up working with a lot of Maple and Brazillian Cherry. Neither wood is all that forgiving to dull blades. the Shelix is a tremendous step up. If you spent the $800.00 on the new cutterhead, you have a bulletproof setup. Never....NEVER set knives again! Replace the inserts when needed and keep going! Much quieter and far more forgiving of figured woods.

   Good Luck!

   John

1. 
   Fingrs | May 15, 2004 06:33am | #20

   Thanks again for all the suggestions. Looks like the Shelix is definitely worth considering, since most of the work I do is with figured wood.

   Obviously, carbide blades are not the way to go, and I appreciate everyone's feedback on this. 

4. 
   HowardAcheson | May 14, 2004 06:32pm | #9

   Carbide in not usually recommended for jointer or planer blades. There are a couple of reasons for this. Carbide does not stand up well to "shock" type applications. It is very brittle and easily cracks and chips. Carbide can not be sharpened to the same degree of sharpness as HSS. Finally, carbine blades are very expensive.

   Not knowing how much a "bunch" is, I would recommend just getting you current blades sharpened and getting a second set to keep on hand.

   Some recommend getting the blades sharpened with a micro bevel to minimize chip out in figured wood. I've never tried it myself.

5. 
   Bengst | May 14, 2004 07:52pm | #12

   If you are working with a lot of figured woods on a regular basis, why not invest in a drum or wide belt sander? No worries about tearout at all. It's not worth risking tearout on expensive wood. Or you can pay a cabinet shop with a wide belt to surface it for you.

   Jeffrey

    

1. 
   Fingrs | May 14, 2004 07:59pm | #13

   Thanks, Jeffrey.  I do have a drum sander, and will probably wind up using it to take out any tearout I ultimately get. 

6. 
   fdampier5 | May 14, 2004 08:15pm | #15

   No on carbide!

     not for a planer blade!  yes on sharpening.! very carefully!  and I'd buy a spare set of blades and sharpen them as well.  about 75 bd.ft. through this I'd pull out the old blades and put in the new...

     Gee that sounds good doesn't it?

     Except I just ran about 400 bd.ft. of tigar maple theu my well dulled grizzley planer.. you bet I got some tearout as long as I had the speed up (20 fpm) and took as deep a cut as I could to get the boards ready, and remove most of the saw marks..

     The boards had been outside for over a year and were well and truly filled with grit and sand..  I knocked most of it off and went for it! (I dropped the board at an angle on the tailgate then pick it up and dropped it the other way) 

      It took about 6 passes (three on each side) to get it pretty close to finished and then I shifted into slow speed (16FPM)  and made a  pass to see if it would need much more to finish cleaning up.

     It cleaned up so nice I never did change the blades and guess what,  NO,  NO,  NO!!!!! tearout! 

7. 
   exhibitor | May 14, 2004 09:02pm | #16

   Howie and Frenchy are right.  No carbide for jointer or planers knives.  Too brittle. One exception though, carbide will hold up longer if you are edge joining alot of plexi or laminates etc.

8. 
   jimswoodworks | May 15, 2004 10:06pm | #21

   Back Beveling is the answer to your problem. I had a project for a customer recently that I made from quartersawn zebrawood, very hard & tears out like crazy. in response here to a question similiar to yours, I was informed how to back bevel my planer & jointer knives. It was almost unbelievable, NO tearout at all. It took some time to get my sharpener guy to get the angles right, but it was well worth it. The blades also stay sharp longer. I have one set of blades with this set-up & one sharpened as normal. If you are serious about this, check with tauntons' shop manager on the back issue that has the article covering this. Good luck...

1. 
   Fingrs | May 16, 2004 07:23am | #22

   I will definitely look into this.  Thank you!