I’ve been told that it is possible to reduce the chance of tearout by spraying the surface of a board with water before planing on a jointer or a thicknesser. This is a new idea for me and all my other contacts. And it was suggested that this technique has been referred to in Fine Woodworking, though my source couldn’t recall the instance and I’ve not been able to track it down.
May I ask if you, Gary, or any of the other recipients are familiar with the technique, and can identify the origin. I confess I have some misgivings about controlling the spray to achieve the effect required, and its effect on the machines.
Your observations would be welcome.
Thank you.
Replies
Hi Peter,
Well I use a version of this technique all the time. Never on my jointer though because it's too easy to control both my feed rate, slow, to my depth of cut, light. Some jointers will also let you feed the work in at an angle for a shearing cut. This will eliminate most tear-out issues on the jointer.
Planers however create some problems if you cannot control the feed rate which on most you can't. I don't spray water on but use a damp cloth instead. This carver's trick of softening the wood fibers before cutting them works fine if, again, you take a light pass with each cut. Take a damp cloth and wipe the boards down just before you send them through the planer.
In this way, I soften the fibers without putting too much water into my cast iron and steel machines. Good luck. Gary
Dear Gary
Many thanks for your advice. Wiping the board with a damp cloth looks a lot more controllable than a spray of water, and I would certainly prefer it. But I'm still worried about the effects of the water on the machinery, and I'm weighing up the options in my applications.Are there any other comments on the effects on the machinery? Regards
Peter
Don't worry. Dampening the wood will not affect your machinery. There's too much going on inside a planer like cutting and friction and the speed of the cutterhead to make a dampened surface any kind of rust risk.
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