'Thickness Planing' question.

[NLAlston]

Hello all,

After much deliberation ai finally decided on Ridgid's Thickness Planer. Sure, the lifetime warranty was a very appealing factor - but I honestly do believe that I got one heck of a machine, to boot. I haven't had the time to set it up, yet, but wanted to ask a question: I recently read, somewhere, that one couldn't take a totally undressed board and expect to get great results by just running it through the planer. It was stated that one side of the board had to be totally flat BEFORE running the opposite side through the planer. So, is this to suggest that I am going to have to wait until I can afford a jointer, before I can effectively use my planer? Please share your knowledge on this, with me. If that is indeed the case, then it may very well translate into my having to take the planer back. I am on a fixed income, and it could very well be a mighty long time until such time as I would be able to afford purchasing a jointer.

Advanced thanks.

~Blessings~

Nathan

[papadan]

Nathan, I don't have a jointer, but have had my TP1300 for several years. You can run the wood through and plane it flat. If the board is cupped really bad then rip it in half first. That way it will not be too thin when you get it flat. I always inspect my wood or order it from a reputable source so that I don't get any cupped or warped boards

[NLAlston]

Thanks Papadan,

That's a big relief. Now, it's off in search of a metal detecting wand (want to protect the blades as best I can :) ).

~Blessings~

Nathan

[BHD]

I agree with the just posted message, but if you have a wide board and on some planers the spring down pressure of the feed rollers will flatten the board and thus not flatten the board as desired (as it will bow back after the thickness planning),

but then to joint a 8" or 12" wide board is not a easy task either even when one has a jointer that is wide enough,

I have a old bellsaw planer and have ran a many of a cupped board through it, and if thick enough they have flattened out nicely,

a twisted piece of lumber is hard to salvage, as the twist will follow the bed of the planer and not remove much of it, and even with a jointer it is difficult if there much length to it, the best in my opinion on twisted is to use it up in short lengths,

[papadan]

Jointing edges is a very quick and easy job if you use a router with flush trim bit and a straight edge. I use the factory edge of a piece of 3/4" MDF for my straight edge

[dmclauchlan]

Everything I have read indicates that a planer will remove material from a board in a plane parallel to the face of the board that rides on the planer bed.

I other words if you plane a board that is not flat, the results will be a thinner board that is not flat.

I did see an article in one of the WW Mags where they used a planer sled built from MDF onto which the board was placed and all the voids between the board & sled were supported with shims & wedges. That way the sled rides flat on the planer bed and the surface is planed flat & parallel to the sled.

So while the ideal solution is a jointer, there are ways to get good results with just the planer.

Good luck and have fun ! :)