Replies

1. 
   SgianDubh | Feb 27, 2004 09:56pm | #1

   1/2" MDF is just fine. Make it the width of the bed, nice and long, and fix a bearer on the bottom face perpendicular to the edges and towards the back to lock it in place. MDF is not the slippiest of materials, but you can slap a bit of varnish or shellac on both faces (for balance) to make it slicker. No need to get too prissy with how well you apply the varnish or shellac. If you're in a hurry to use it, just rub some candle wax on the upper surface on a regular basis instead of piddling about with varnish, etc.. Slainte.

   Website

1. 
   planejane | Feb 29, 2004 02:47am | #5

   Thank you for the helpful response.  What a great discovery the forum is!

2. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Feb 28, 2004 01:31am | #2

   You might find that the leading edge of your thin board gets chowdered up.  The board is so flexible that the planer knives can bend the cherry up into the knives.   You can hold the leading edge to your sled with a strip of double-sided tape.   Double-sided carpet tape works well.    There is one small downside: the board thickness at the tape will be thinner than the remainder of the board.   If that matters to you, make your cherry stock longer than you need, so you can discard the thinner part.

1. 
   SgianDubh | Feb 28, 2004 09:18am | #3

   That works too Jamie, but it requires a different false bed to the one I described which locks in place and won't pass right through the machine. The trick you outlined requires a plain flat board that will, i.e., no locking cross piece on the underside.

   I tend to avoid your method when I can because it takes more time, what with sticking and unsticking each piece of thin material that's to be thicknessed, especially if you're sneaking up on the final thickness in increments, but it certainly works. For me time has always been money, ha, ha..

   Planejane, I should have mentioned that the grain selection of thin pieces to be thicknessed is important. It's best to select grain that's as straight as possible to reduce the chance of the parts breaking up. Wavy grained stuff presents a lot of short grain to the cutters and it's quite possible for the pieces to shatter, so I always machine a few extra to allow for this contingency.

   Actually, going back to your original question, MDF is a better choice over solid wood for a false thicknessing bed. It's more stable and less likely to warp and it's of a consistent thickness-- usually. All the man made boards are better than hardwood for this job, and if you have a bit of melamine faced chipboard, ply or MDF kicking around, I'd use that in preference to plain old MDF. Slainte.Website

3. 
   beck4000 | Feb 28, 2004 06:21pm | #4

   I use melamine faced chipboard the correct size! they come in different sizes!attach a small piece under it and Plane away!

   If nothing sticks to Teflon,how does Teflon Stick to metal. Huh