Last fall I had some red oak cut into 4/4 boards. There’s just under 1000bf (very rough estimate).
My question is this: Should I take it to a mill to be planed all at once, or get a planer and do it myself as I need it? The wood will be stored stickered under a tarp behind my shed until I need it, then brought in to be acclimated. I’m thinking if I plane it all at once and it warps when I bring it in from the weather it’ll end up too thin to be very useful. For that reason I’m leaning towards planing it as I need it.
What do people who have faced this dilemma think? (Frenchy, where are you!!)
Sadly, I am currently unable to think of a witty/funny/intelligent signature. Check back later. –Matt
Replies
Plane it when u need it.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy
PlaneWood
Matt, i would advise you to get yourself a planer. not only is it a very handy tool to have, when your dealing with a lot wood it makes more economic sense to buy a planer and do it yourself. just as a rough guess, lets say it would take one man 10 hours to joint and plane your wood. around in my area, mills charge around 50 bucks an hour for this kind of service, so your looking at 500 bucks, plus the inconvenience of hauling that wood down to the mill to get it planed. then it would be just your luck that some of it would warp, or some of it would be too thick or thin for a project. if you get yourself a planer you can keep it rough until you need it, and mill it to the thickness that you need whenever you want. hope this helps
Thanks for your advice guys. I was leaning towards getting a planer, but wanted to see what other in similar situatiions have done.Never try to impress a woman because if you do you'll have to live up to that standard for the rest of your life. W. C. Fields
--Matt Mulka
Besides the point made about the problem of post-planing distortion, having your own planer gives you the freedom to use wood any thickness you want. Especially if you have a bandsaw to resaw it. With the bandsaw and planer combo at your disposal you'll be able to make plys for bent lamination curves, veneer, etc... I have a fairly low-regarded Foley Belsaw 12" planer that I got for next to nothing, it was worn out and had no motor. For about $350 I got a used 5hp 1 phase motor, new bushings, rollers, and bed lift sprockets and made a new idler shaft out of 3/4" drill rod.
It'll also mills moldings, which I've done once. Considering - a) $100 for the knife/counterweight set (my custom profile) vs $400 set-up for a sticker run; and b)the fact that the molding mfr. I talked to didn't really want any part of running beech, It did a great job on 350' of 4 1/2" baseboard.
If I was buying a planer I'd get the Jet 15" for about $1100. My buddy has one and it does a great job on Quarter Sawn White Oak. The locking-head DeWalt and Delta portables have gotten good marks here and elsewhere as well. The main difference being self-setting dispoable knives or conventional.
John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne
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