Thicknessing small pieces of wood lets say 100mm square to 7mm thick. What is the best way to do this? We have a large spiral thicknesser/planer but at a guess it needs something 18 inches long to go through.
Thicknessing small pieces of wood
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sams93
Established Member
Thicknesser with small pieces becomes dangerous and likely will just shatter the pieces.
Do you have access to a drum sander? If you have a good bandsaw setup and it doesn't need to be perfectly 7mm but 7-7.5mm then I expect you might be able to use that with a blade appropriate for veneer cutting.
I don't have a drum sander but if I needed to do that I would get a batch ready and then take to a local workshop and offer some beer/tea money to send a load through.
Do you have access to a drum sander? If you have a good bandsaw setup and it doesn't need to be perfectly 7mm but 7-7.5mm then I expect you might be able to use that with a blade appropriate for veneer cutting.
I don't have a drum sander but if I needed to do that I would get a batch ready and then take to a local workshop and offer some beer/tea money to send a load through.
It depends on the distance between the rollers. My old Scheppach 260 will thickness a length of 100 mm safely. It should specify this on the spec sheet of the machine.
sams93
Established Member
I would be very concerned when we are getting to thicknesses of 7mm, the potential for flex in such thin stock when it is only held by one roller would make me very worried.
EDIT - Although mind you, with a spiral head probably my concerns are less justified as it would be a lot less violent than the straight cutter knives on my Kity 636.
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sneggysteve
Established Member
I have used double sided tape to hold the thin pieces to a length of mdf and passed it through taking small cuts
RobinBHM
Established Member
If they are over length, screw them to a larger board and push through.
generally you would push through a piece 100mm wide x 7mm and say 600mm long, then cut to length after.
most planer thicknessers would manage 7mm okay
double sided tape is an option, but you need to be careful removing as you might split it.
MARK.B.
Established Member
If not already cut to size then I would thickness first and then cut to suit your needs .
I agree with @sams93 about the suitability of using a thicknesser on such small pieces. A 100mm long piece would not go through my thicknesser, even if I put it on a sled, because there is not enough wood to adequately engage the infeed and outfeed rollers as it passes under the cutter block.
With a 7mm target thickness, I think a drum sander is ideal if you want to use machines. For small quantities, I would use a bench plane and have at it.
With a 7mm target thickness, I think a drum sander is ideal if you want to use machines. For small quantities, I would use a bench plane and have at it.
RobinBHM
Established Member
I used to have a Weinig 4 sided planer moulder, It would go down to about 6mm. Surprisingly it was possible to machine timber down to about 19mm x 6mm but it needed some feed wheels removing and chip breakers adjusting slightly.
Small sections are prone to bounce so generally the start and end of thin component would suffer chatter / snipe
Small sections are prone to bounce so generally the start and end of thin component would suffer chatter / snipe
Watch @Peter Sefton 's DVD's and you will see how he does it, basically a sled on which you attach the piece with double sided tape and it also allows you to thickness thinner.
I have thought about attaching to a larger piece, which may work well. However would double sided be strong enough? the stuff I have wouldn't be.
Hot melt glue would be strong enough, but the problem would be ungluing afterwards. I have thought of hot melt gluing them onto a piece of steel plate then it would be just a case of heating the steel up until the glue gave way. But that just sounds like a mad idea, would not want the steel to touch the spiral cutters.
Hot melt glue would be strong enough, but the problem would be ungluing afterwards. I have thought of hot melt gluing them onto a piece of steel plate then it would be just a case of heating the steel up until the glue gave way. But that just sounds like a mad idea, would not want the steel to touch the spiral cutters.
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
It can help to put a sheet of PTFE on the bed. The low friction reduces one of the causes of snagging etc.
Try 3M for the tape, I have used it on many routing jigs and the problem is not will it be strong enough but separating the parts afterwards.
do you have a youtube link ?
I would only worry when the stock is 3mm or less. As long as the two rollers have a grip when the wood enters the blades. Of course every machine is different. The Scheppach has rubber rollers which are smooth in use. It's a bit of a last resort - far better to machine a long 7 mm board and then cut it into 100 mm lengths.
If I had long lengths I wouldn't be asking how to do it.
it is well seasoned firewood that I am wanting to use, so its all 6 to 9 inches long. I was hoping to cut it close to 8mm thickness on the band saw then get a close as possible to 7mm thickness for an inlay thing I'm considering making. (
I have access to a cnc router. could that be any use in getting small pieces of wood down to a uniform thickness.
I’d make a hand plane thicknessing jig - lots of examples on YouTube. Good for kumiko pieces for example.
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
6 to 9" wouldn't be a prob on my machine but I'd saw to say 10 to 12mm if I hoped to plane to 7mm.
I think getting 7mm flat both sides, from sawn 8mm, would be impossible.
I'd have all the pieces squared off so I could feed them through tight up against each other, which helps prevent them getting kicked out of line.
Also concave side down for stability, if there is a concave side.
A few shallow cuts at first to build up a flat face.
If you have enough of a flat face you can feed it flat face down and keep turning with each pass, taking material alternately from one side and then the other.
I'd also use my PTFE bed, but candle wax on the steel bed would do nearly as well.
PS and use very sharp blades so the stuff gets cut rather than mashed!
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I have one, and it is really good for stuff up to about 30mm wide. Some of the stuuf I'm wanting to do will be 100 - 125 wide.
