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Thread: Best Way to Flatten Small Pieces of Wood?

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve H Graham View Post
    What's the best way to flatten small pieces of wood, like 6" square? I have something about that size and 3/8" thick. I fooled around with a smooth plane, but now the piece is ten thousandths thicker on one side!

    I don't know if it's a bright idea to run things this small over the jointer.
    Belt sander - you have to be careful of course, measure frequently and sneak up on the final dimension.

  2. #17
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    I have a Ridgid oscillating sander which is great for thicknessing small parts accurately, but the part can only be so wide. I made a vertical fence that clamps to the table, and you just bop it until you get the opening to the size you want.
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

    I was socially distant before it was cool.

    A little authority corrupts a lot.

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve H Graham View Post
    I have a Ridgid oscillating sander which is great for thicknessing small parts accurately, but the part can only be so wide. I made a vertical fence that clamps to the table, and you just bop it until you get the opening to the size you want.
    Sounds like the idea has potental....to chuck the work piece about 30'! The concept is pretty much similar to a drum sander, vertical fence acts like the table, but what holds the work piece to the fence? And how do you maintain a consistent feed rate? Bobbling in a sander van cause far more harm than good ime. I've seen the small parts drill press drum sander thicknessers they sell in luthier supplies for small shops, they seem to work, seems like you could easily end up with more than ".010 variation with such a set up.
    "A good miter set up is like yoga pants: it makes everyone's butts look good." Prashun Patel

  4. #19
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    Plane stop and a smoother

  5. #20
    Ignoring the safety, or lack thereof, of running the small piece over the jointer, if you are concerned about being a few thousandths out of parallel now, it's unlikely that the jointer will make it any better. Having an even thickness implies that both faces are parallel and to get that, you need to reference the face opposite the one you're working on. If you have a planer, Glenn's method is a good one. You could do a variation on it and make a sled of MDF with a low stop on it to keep the work from shifting and rails on either side of the work for the planer's rollers to grip. This would also make it easy to do a bunch of small pieces and get them to be the same thickness.

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Quinn View Post
    Sounds like the idea has potental....to chuck the work piece about 30'! The concept is pretty much similar to a drum sander, vertical fence acts like the table, but what holds the work piece to the fence? And how do you maintain a consistent feed rate? Bobbling in a sander van cause far more harm than good ime. I've seen the small parts drill press drum sander thicknessers they sell in luthier supplies for small shops, they seem to work, seems like you could easily end up with more than ".010 variation with such a set up.
    Unfortunately, I made the fence and started using it successfully before I realized it was impossible.

    It's really simple. I don't have the fence in front of me right now, but it's your basic fence. Two pieces of half-inch MDF at precise right angles to each other. You can clamp it at the ends. You just set it so it's at the right distance from the sanding surface, and you shove the wood through it slowly, against the rotation of the drum or belt.

    This thing rotates pretty slowly, so it's not like it will leap at you and rip your arm off.

    I don't really know how accurate it is, but as I recall, I was very satisfied with the results.
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

    I was socially distant before it was cool.

    A little authority corrupts a lot.

  7. #22
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    Jan 2008
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    Silicon Valley, CA
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    I would use a hand plane, mark the desired thickness around the edge, and then plane to the mark (set your plane for a fine cut and check your progress as you go).
    Or you can try various jigs for router or handplane (or sander(?!)) that provide mechanical control.

    Assuming your current work piece is irreplaceable, I'd recommend making some test pieces and testing any technique on that first.

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