Timber planing service around London

[b0z0r]

Bit of an odd question but I have a decent amount of 1-1.5m larch cladding offcuts from a recent garden room build. I want to put them to use and glue them up into solid panels but they have some 3-4mm grooves on the back which stops me alternating the grain to stop them bowing over time. Here is a cross section of the cladding profile:

I don't want to invest in a planer thicknesser as I won't get enough use out of it and I don't have the right dust extraction for it either. It would be great if I could drop my stuff off and then collect it once it has been planed down. Is there anywhere in the London area (preferably south of the river) that offers a planing service for timber that you bring them?

 

[sometimewoodworker]

While it is certainly possible to plane off the groves on the back it’s unlikely that you are going to like the result they will set the plane depth to around 8mm to be sure to clear off the groves, you are also going to have to rip off the tongue and groove as, if you plane down the back, the tongue and groove will not be centred.

To find anywhere that’s going to accept a job like that with a finished thickness as thin as you want is going to be a challenge, and that’s not including the reluctance to accept material that could have imbedded FOD that could damage the blades.

You may be sure that the material has never been in contact with the ground, I as a machine owner would not take the risk as the time and cost of changing blades and getting rid of nick’s in them is far more than any possible profit from the job.

But good luck, I could certainly be wrong.

you may have better luck with trying to find a wide belt sander.

FWIW the groves are designed to make bowing less problematic so I would try some panels with them.

 

[b0z0r]

Thanks for that - makes sense to me.

I should have added to the original post that I could easily rip the tongue and groove off if needed but I didn't consider the belt sander option.

What do you mean be imbedded FOD?

 

[RobinBHM]

Most joinery shops have a thicknesser which can easily machine off 3 or 4 mm - in one or 2 passes, depending on board width.

It may be possible to be done on a 4 sider, 4mm is enough for the feed wheels, but bear in mind, even set on zero the bottom head may skim a bit off.

You won't get anybody interested unless it's new and clean material.


Your best bet is to go and visit a small local joinery shop (a 2 or 3 man shop) go in with a sample piece and ask them, offer folding!

Don't bother phoning, they will say no!

 

[WellsWood]

Exactly where are you b0z0r? I'm in Welling (DA16) if that's close enough, and could do this for you if you really think it's worth it - there would have to be a reasonable charge obviously. Be aware there will be significant wastage to achieve flat and true boards - are you after just cleaning them up, or looking for a properly flat and true end result? Can you define "decent amount"? How wide are the boards now? No particular worry about embedded dirt and damage to planer blades as others have said, since I could rip off the edges and grooved backs on the bandsaw prior to cleaning up on the PT.

pm me for a phone number if you want to chat about it.

Mark

 

[Astrobits]

You could also try any local Men's Sheds. Some will have P/T's that you could use if you can wait until they open up again. My local Men's Shed has one but then I'm in Somerset and it is closed for the duration.
Nigel

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Thanks for that - makes sense to me.

I should have added to the original post that I could easily rip the tongue and groove off if needed but I didn't consider the belt sander option.

What do you mean be imbedded FOD?

FOD is foreign object debris, a common abbreviation used in airports

 

[b0z0r]

Exactly where are you b0z0r? I'm in Welling (DA16) if that's close enough, and could do this for you if you really think it's worth it - there would have to be a reasonable charge obviously. Be aware there will be significant wastage to achieve flat and true boards - are you after just cleaning them up, or looking for a properly flat and true end result? Can you define "decent amount"? How wide are the boards now? No particular worry about embedded dirt and damage to planer blades as others have said, since I could rip off the edges and grooved backs on the bandsaw prior to cleaning up on the PT.

pm me for a phone number if you want to chat about it.

Mark

The boards are 144mm wide and are completely clean - they've been sat in the corner of my living room. There are about 20 of them, all between 1.5 and 2 meters long. I didn't properly check them when I made the first post and thought they were shorter.

I'm in SW2 so that's not too far away. Cant seem to PM though, probably don't have a high enough post count. Maybe you could pm me instead?

 

[WellsWood]

The boards are 144mm wide and are completely clean - they've been sat in the corner of my living room. There are about 20 of them, all between 1.5 and 2 meters long. I didn't properly check them when I made the first post and thought they were shorter.

I'm in SW2 so that's not too far away. Cant seem to PM though, probably don't have a high enough post count. Maybe you could pm me instead?

Well that doesn't seem too much of a challenge. I pm'd you yesterday (thought I had sent this reply at the same time, but neglected to hit send), let me know if you got it ok.