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Can I plane this?

2K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  SST 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Having recently gotten my first planer, and being cheap, as some of you may know, I'm not sure what, besides wood, I'd be able to plane without toasting my cutters.

Oh, I know I'm better off not running boards with nails in them through my planer, but what I'm getting at, specifically, is should I also avoid things like wood glues and fillers. I was thinking that it would be useful to be able to true up a surface after I've glued up some boards, or filled the imperfections, but then I got to wondering if I would be better off avoiding that practice. Also, while I'm at it, what about previously finished pieces. Can I use the planer to take the old finish off without prematurely dulling the blades? Thanks. -SST
 
#3 ·
I would not use my planer or jointer to try an remove hardened wood glue. Hardened wood glue will chip your knives if you try it. As for removing finishes it can be done but you are risking building a gummy residue on your blades. I have done it on occasion but I generally just get out my belt sander and use it to remove finishes. Sanding belts are much easier and cheaper to replace.
 
#4 ·
SST - I'm by no means an expert,,,, but I once used my new planer to remove the finish from several boards that I wanted to redo into shelving. Ruined my knives - did teach me how to change knives though.

Now I think I'd rather use a hand plane that can be resharpened a lot easier--less dust as well. Hand plane to remove the worst of it, then run it through your planer to even up if you need to. (In theory, the hand plane should do the trick without the need to run through the lunch box-- but I'm not good enough to hand plane flat yet.)
 
#5 ·
NEVER use your planer to remove finish, glue or any other kind of spooge. Your planer is a dimensioning tool and not a stripping machine. That said, I know a guy who won't hesitate to swap his blades to do just what you're asking about. Personally, I'm not that fond of changing the blades on my 15"er. Another friend of mine brought some old lumber over and half of it was coated in some sort of outdoor paint and I told him he was welcome to use the planer to clean his boards if he would have the blades sharpened the day after. Or he could wait for the blades to dull from normal use THEN I'd let him beat the paint off of them BEFORE he took the blades to be sharpened. His wood is still on my stack… waiting.

always,
J.C.
 
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