Woods for laminating

[silentneko]

I made a quick jig, It allows me to square up the guide quickly, and extends the table a bit which is nice. I'll have to set up my roller stands when I do longer boards. I was able to cut multiple strips from a 2x4 pine board about 1/8" thick with ease.

20171021_132617_resized , on Flickr

I gave them a quick sanding with 100 grit and an orbital sander, I think a belt sander would be better. I'm trying to laminate a few layers now in a gentle arch. One problem I encountered is with such thin pieces they want the twist away from the clamp pressure, so I'll have to block them better it get it all smooth,

[pee wee]

You'll get it, looking good so far. What size blade are you using?

BTW, belt sanders are notoriously difficult to handle well; you'd think they'd flatten surfaces, but without a lot of practice they tend to give things an undulating surface. A planer, even a hand planer, works better to knock down the high spots. There was an earlier post about sanding, but I believe that was for a stationary sander that you'd feed the strips through.

[Jaysen]

I wouldn't sand. Cut, size with planner, scuff with 60 by hand, glue. You'll never dimension well with any hand sander. I wouldn't try to dimension with a hand power plan without a guide.

A portable stationary planer is the right decision for this step. Remember that you want a 1/32 to 1/16 extra just to allow for final planing.

[fallguy1000]

Yup. I was referring to a drum sander.

[Jaysen]

Yup. I was referring to a drum sander.

I never managed to justify a drum when I owned a thickness planer. Other than easier service and a bit less dangerous, what is the biggest advantage to "the normal guy" for getting one?

[silentneko]

I was just playing around with the orbital, haven't even tried the belt sander yet. I have a portable power planer I can play with, but if the surface isn't true to start then it can give you a wavy finish.

I am happy to report that the down and dirty lamination I made turned out with minimal gaps once I blocked and clamped it better. It was a small piece because I actually snapped on of the boards when bending it. This was with a cheap pine 2x4, the cedar seems to have much better flexibility so I'll have to play with it. I think it will have plenty of strength for what I am intending.

[fallguy1000]

I like building glued up benches, so I can sand them to an even finish. The drum sander is 24" wide. A thickness planer that wide would be massive and use lots of power. Anytime I want something flat wider than 12"; I use the ds. If over the ds, I use a table and router jig. So, a cheap way to make the rerips flat would be to pass a router over them...have to hold them down somehow.

[silentneko]

I'll play with it a bit, I do have a router so maybe I'll try that if I can't get the results I really want.

[silentneko]

Oh and it links like a 1/4" blade, but it can hold up to a 3/8".

I think if I use the hand power planer first, then cut the strips I can get better results too. I should have bought one of these years ago.

[silentneko]

I made a small test piece, kind of a proof of concept for me. The strips aren't perfect, but that is ok. The tiny gaps will barely be noticeable once glassed and might add character. The final part will be at least twice as thick, even at this width I can tell it will be more then strong enough for a seat or stand.

20171023_184322_resized , on Flickr

I was getting a lot of blade walking, especially around knots, with some adjustments I was able to cut down on it. I think the blade I have is a 1/4" 6tpi. I'm going to order a 3/8" 10tpi to see if that helps.

20171024_083121_resized , on Flickr