Planning With A Router?

[kmmcrafts]

I don’t have much experience with routers and was wondering how one goes about smoothing boards with one. What type of attachments etc one needs to plane boards down. Also router recommendations. Only thing I have is a small Bosh palm router. Pretty sure this won’t work to do that?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[MTCowpoke22]

I have seen a video about doing just that. I think it was on youtube and made by the company selling the router bit. They had an entire homemade jig to mount the board into. With their special 4" router bit, you would move the router back and forth in it's cradle and plane the board from one end to the other. I'm sure the router they used was bigger than yours. The whole contraption was similar to some of the homemade CNC set ups  you see.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Kevin, as with any tool used to flatten a board requires reference point that are true an accurate. Tough to flatten a board through a planer because the board will follow the bend as it goes through. Same for a sander or a jointer. But once you get one side flat the rest is easy and any tool can be used. Here is a link that shows a router in use to do what you probably are thinking of. A larger router such as a 2-1/2hp router would be good for stability and use of larger bits. One with variable speed is good. Today most router or at least the better ones have  soft start features which I like alot. If doing this you need a sled. You need to secure the work piece. You need to remove small amounts. You need to be aware of the different grains and possible tearout. Your sled needs to be able to slide on accurate rail system. Having a workbench with a dog system built in is a real plus. 

Many people flatten boards with planing planes (larger than a hand plane) Whatever method sanding is still the number one thing that will make or break your efforts. Good luck. 

 

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/simple-router-planing-jig-48327/

[Brianr24]

Kevin you will probably spend just about as much on a good router and a large bit as you would on a planer.not quite.but close enough. But I’m not sure if a planer is going to work for you  on end grain. I never tried it with mine. As mentioned earlier a drum sander is ur best option for end grain boards. But a decent drum sander is going to be pricey. You can u-tube diy drum sanders. Not sure how well they work but it’s something that’s been on my list for that old table saw motor I got laying around for ten years. Some day maybe lol

[oldhudson]

1 hour ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Kevin, as with any tool used to flatten a board requires reference point that are true an accurate. Tough to flatten a board through a planer because the board will follow the bend as it goes through. Same for a sander or a jointer. But once you get one side flat the rest is easy and any tool can be used. Here is a link that shows a router in use to do what you probably are thinking of. A larger router such as a 2-1/2hp router would be good for stability and use of larger bits. One with variable speed is good. Today most router or at least the better ones have  soft start features which I like alot. If doing this you need a sled. You need to secure the work piece. You need to remove small amounts. You need to be aware of the different grains and possible tearout. Your sled needs to be able to slide on accurate rail system. Having a workbench with a dog system built in is a real plus. 

Many people flatten boards with planing planes (larger than a hand plane) Whatever method sanding is still the number one thing that will make or break your efforts. Good luck. 

 

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/simple-router-planing-jig-48327/

The video demonstrates using a router to plane stock not edge joint.

[oldhudson]

This video shows edge routing stock with a router table. I suppose if you have to purchase a router and router table it might be less expensive to purchase a new jointer?

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

22 minutes ago, oldhudson said:

The video demonstrates using a router to plane stock not edge joint.

Sorry did I miss something??  Kevin has been showing us cutting boards that i think he wants to do and was looking for methods to plane them smooth. Or at least that is what I think he was asking. If asking about edge joining no better tool than a jointer but it can be done on a tablesaw with a good quality blade and also a router table set up done 2 different ways. Sorry if I misunderstood. 

[crupiea]

Whatever you do dont do it in your dining room.  I thought it would be fun to play with mine in the dining room and I think i am still cleaning sawdust off of everythig a year later.

[OCtoolguy]

45 minutes ago, crupiea said:

Whatever you do dont do it in your dining room.  I thought it would be fun to play with mine in the dining room and I think i am still cleaning sawdust off of everythig a year later.

This visual brought back a memory of a project I did. We had a home with a brick hearth that was at floor level. It went from one wall to the other. The distance of about 15 feet. Anyway, I decided that I wanted to cut it down to the width of the actual fireplace plus a couple of inche on either side. So, I bought a masonry blade for my 7 1/4" saw and proceeded to cut across the bricks from front to back. A distance of about 20 inches. All went well until it was time for cleanup. I have never heard the end of it. I had brick dust throughout the entire house from top to bottom. Both stories. I forgot to "curtain" the area off. Ha! I never even thought about it. That's what inexperienced youth will get you. 

[Roberta Moreton]

Check this out. 

https://www.infinitytools.com/blog/2016/06/22/how-to-flatten-a-slab/

You will need a full size router.

 

Edited June 4, 2018 by Roberta Moreton

[oldhudson]

2 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Sorry did I miss something??  Kevin has been showing us cutting boards that i think he wants to do and was looking for methods to plane them smooth. Or at least that is what I think he was asking. If asking about edge joining no better tool than a jointer but it can be done on a tablesaw with a good quality blade and also a router table set up done 2 different ways. Sorry if I misunderstood. 

John is absolutely correct, I was thinking about Kevin's earlier thread. My bad. 

[kmmcrafts]

Thank you all for the replies.. I think I need to either save for or build a drum sander.. 

[SCROLLSAW703]

how big is your piece you're wanting to plane, Kevin? I bought a 10" drum sander from a local fella, & get the different grits on amazon perty cheap. Alot of times, it's easier for me to run the piece thru the drum sander than the planer. It takes a little more time, & but doesn't create the dust or the mess the planer does. And in the end, I've got a finish sanded piece to the thickness I want. 

A 10" sander don't sound like much, Kevin, but dependin' on how fast ya set it, & how much you're takin' off, it's a fair piece of lumber.

The sander I bought had hardly been used, & has the manual & tools to do everything are with it. 

[kmmcrafts]

My planer is 13" and I wish it was 15" at times.. a 10" sander with a open mouth would be more than plenty big as i could sand one side and flip around to hit the other side if I was sanding a 15" board.. then again.. nice to be able to just run something through one time too.. and possibly better results..

i plan to keep an eye out for a used one.. meanwhile I'll be using my autobody big block sander and doing them by hand.. which won't take too long really with rough grit paper to get close then switch to a less aggressive one before hitting it with a RO sander

[Woodmaster1]

Kevin the pictures of the router jig from infinity tools is what you need to build but smaller for cutting boards. You don't need that big of router bit but it would make the job go faster. 

Edited June 5, 2018 by Woodmaster1

[OCtoolguy]

15 hours ago, SCROLLSAW703 said:

how big is your piece you're wanting to plane, Kevin? I bought a 10" drum sander from a local fella, & get the different grits on amazon perty cheap. Alot of times, it's easier for me to run the piece thru the drum sander than the planer. It takes a little more time, & but doesn't create the dust or the mess the planer does. And in the end, I've got a finish sanded piece to the thickness I want. 

A 10" sander don't sound like much, Kevin, but dependin' on how fast ya set it, & how much you're takin' off, it's a fair piece of lumber.

The sander I bought had hardly been used, & has the manual & tools to do everything are with it. 

Brad, that sounds like a good size for my little shop. Can you maybe shoot a couple of pics and post them here? And also, what is the brand/model of it so I can start watching C/L for it? Thanks in advance.

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

9 hours ago, octoolguy said:

Brad, that sounds like a good size for my little shop. Can you maybe shoot a couple of pics and post them here? And also, what is the brand/model of it so I can start watching C/L for it? Thanks in advance.

 

I would not lock yourself into a strict 10" sander such as the Grizzly. If you go that small I would look at an open ended sander so you can sand 20". Called a 10/20 sander from Jet or Wen. The Jet gets my vote over any Wen tool. Just a thought. 

[SCROLLSAW703]

mine is a jet, & open ended.  to be honest, for no bigger than my shop is, it's the perfect size. I can run my feathers thru it, after they've been cut, with no breakage, & they are 3/32" thick.

I think the drum sander is like any other tool. Ya need to research it, read about the different sizes available, & what will work best for you. I settled on the one I did because of space limitations, & capabilities of the sander. They all have their own capabilities & what they'll handle. 

[hineps]

I have a Grizzly sander that I purchased several years ago. It is open ended and will accommodate up  to about an ~18" wide board. I've used it a lot on for scrolling and for my dulcimer  stock. I machine all of the thin wood I use. The drum sander is really useful for figured wood. I got it after exploding some cocobolo on the planer. 

Phil

Edited June 8, 2018 by hineps