Planer/thicknesser for veneer?

[gasmansteve]

Hi folks
Any idea if planer/thicknessers are ok for forming veneers at all?. I`m interested in making some for segmented turnings. I did think of one of the purpose made drum sanders until I saw the price £500+, also found some plans for a diy one which seems interesting.I thought maybe cut down to 5mm on the band saw and then down to maybe 3mm on the planer or are they too fierce for that?.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Chems]

Not many Thicknessers will let the bed get that close to the cutter because of the kick back fingers. You can make a sub bed out of some MDF thou to cure that. I've read somewhere, probably on here of someone doing what your asking and they used double sided tape to stick the 5mm piece to a bit of mdf and passed it through to stop the thin bits just breaking up.

 

[BradNaylor]

I thought maybe cut down to 5mm on the band saw and then down to maybe 3mm on the planer or are they too fierce for that?.
Cheers
Steve

Once you get down that thin a thicknesser is just going to blow your veneer apart - particularly an open grained timber such as oak or ash. As you suggest - it is far too fierce.

It really needs to be done on a drum sander or wide belt sander. If you just need a few veneers doing why not find a local cabinetmakers or joiners shop who has one and ask them to run them through in exchange for some beer vouchers?

Cheers
Brad

 

[p111dom]

My thicknesser can go down to 2.5mm which I've done lots of times before. This was for laminating not veneering but I guess it depends on what kind of thing you're making. If it's veneering MDF then that should be fine. If its decorative detailed veneering then probably not.

 

[Ironballs]

I would say that most times it wouldn't work, I used one of the big pro machines at college to take a piece of cedar down to 5mm, a couple went through but with some snipe and then it found a change in grain direction on another and as Brad described so well, blew it apart.

I use a handplane to get thin pieces but obviously can't make a veneer that way

 

[OPJ]

You really are better off with a sanding machine for anything less than 6mm.... Where did you find the plans for a home-made one? I'm sure we'd all be interested to see it progress if you do decide to have a go! :wink:

I've tried to thickness 3mm thick stuff using a false bed on my thicknesser and it can easily rip it to pieces, even if you take care to arrange the grain and everything. :?

Bandsaw with a fine blade and careful feed-rate would be another option. I guess you are limited in width by the height capacities of your saw though... If you're only gonna glue one face down anyway, it doesn't need to be planed, does it? With something like a 6tpi (brand new, nice and sharp), you should be able to get a good enough finish straight off the saw.

 

[jasonB]

A good bandsaw and a thickness sander are probably teh best option. If its just small strips for going between segments then there are a few home brewed thisknessers on the net that can be made using a sanding drum in a drill press.

Jason

 

[gasmansteve]

Hi all
Thanks for the helpful replies, I thought maybe a planer/thicknesser was not quite the thing for thin stuff. I plan to make some segmented vases using compound staves which is simply sections of wood glue joined together on an angle with thin laminate in between (its not as complicated as I`m describing it :? ) so the finished surfaces need to be nice and smooth or it will show up when they are turned and sanded. I`ve made a few segmented bowls using flat rings so want to try something a bit more decorative. Looks like a drum sander is the thing.

Olly I quite fancy having a go at this http://www.rockslide.org/drum sander.html
The guy has really gone to town with the info in his plans.
Regards
Steve

 

[motownmartin]

Hi Steve

About a week ago I wanted to thickness some wood to a dimension of 3mm, I achieved it by planing one face then bandsawing a piece 7.5mm thick, thicknessed down to 6mm then using double sided tape, stuck 2 pieces back to back and finally thicknessed further down to 3mm, I was very happy with the results.

 

[gasmansteve]

Hi Martin
Thanks for that. Never used a thicknesser before so have no idea how `fierce` they can be. It would be a lot easier if one could be made to do thin veneer. A thickness/planer is a lot cheaper than a drum sander but still not sure if I could get the finish I want at the thickness I would need (maybe 2mm??). The more I look at that diy sander plan the more appealing it becomes :lol: This guy has made a version and done a video of it here -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLy8YnNomwk&feature=related

Steve

 

[JonnyD]

You can get constructional veneers in 1.5 , 2 and 3mm thickness which may be suitable for your project. You could just buy in what you need, it will probably be much easier than trying to make it.

Jon

 

[motownmartin]

I like that, I would imagine that it would have to be made with some precision to get an even finish.

 

[jasonB]

Just don't wear a baggy teen shirt like the guy that close to an ungarded drum and pullies and you may want a dust hood

Jason