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New planer in my shops future

2K views 22 replies 17 participants last post by  Bluenote38 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
About a year ago I was gifted a truckload of extremely hard maple that came off a gym floor about 30 years ago and it had been on that gym floor for 25 years. This wood is dense, heavy, and has many coats of shellac on it. I plan on using it on the ceiling of our new house. I've been through 3 sets of blades on my lunchbox Dewalt D733 and now the rollers are slipping. Seeing that I've only gone through 1/4th of the wood, I cannot justify throwing more money at a piece of equipment that was never up to the task of cleaning up wood this hard. Grizzly has a great deal now on a G0454Z and although they are out of stock, my machine should show up about a month from now. My table saws' Forrest WWII blade is in need of sharpening now too, so I'll have to fall back on a lessor quality blade or throw down for another $140.00+ blade while the other one get sharpened. Has anyone had a similar experience with any tips on working on wood like this?
 
#4 ·
I bought a fair amount of walnut T & G paneling last year, cheap and clear. As I use it, I start by shaving about 1/16" off the varnished side at the band saw, then to the DW735 (Byrd head). That's a good price on the Grizzly, but the finish on the maple will still be abusive, and if it were me i'd probably still resaw to get rid of the shellac before planning.
earl
 
#5 ·
The finish is hard on blades. But, it's not just the finish. it's the dirt and grime that is embedded in it. It is an abrasive and will grind the edge off of any blade, no matter how good your blade is. I'd put an old belt on the thickness sander and clean it off before I plane it.

Gym floor is usually #1 rock maple. It will move. Be sure to allow for it, like you would on a floor.

It will be worth it when it is complete. please post pic's
 
#6 ·
I don't know about the flooring you got that was 30 yrs old but most new flooring has aluminized finish on it. Fairly durable and I'd imagine hard on planers. I always buy a new, fairly inexpensive blade for my chop saw when I do a floor. By the end it's pretty dull.
 
#7 ·
I think I'd try an aggressive paint stripper as a possible solution. Shellac responds pretty well to a methylene chloride based stripper. Just put it on, be patient, and run a good sharp scraper down to remove almost all of it in one swipe. Should take up most of the imbedded grit also, since you should go down to bare wood. One quick run through your planer after drying with a light hit of the blades and it should be done.

(Hint - as a bonus, you might try taking what comes off and smearing it on the next board, the stripper is still there and will work, albeit slower, up to three-four times.)
I say this since I used to run a professional refinishing shop, and we stripped about everything you can imagine. Straight flat boards strip like a dream, and it is not as expensive as you might think.
I would think you are not using it all at once, so you only strip what you need for your current project. Outside…
 
#8 ·
+++ Craftsman on the Lake
The newer floor finishes have minerals such as aluminum to enhance its protection. How about using the underside? That side may not have received the same finishing products on its face as the top side. Especially since it was laid down so long ago. Maybe Leave the top "as is" and plane or sand the bottom, and that becomes your show face.
 
#10 ·
I like the idea of a walk behind sander. I'd go broke trying to strip all of it. I brought it back in a 24 foot rental box truck and had every layer lined up in the tongue and groove stacked eleven layers deep so you can imagine the amount of board feet I have to contend with. As to the age of the wood, I know that it was the mid eighties when the wood came off the floor and the building was 25 years old.
 
#11 ·
3 sets of blades for DW733 about $20 each set is $60. You processed 1/4 of the wood so you need to multiply it by 4 = $240.
The planer you are referring to is $2000. Easy math.
And please note that feeding finished wood into the Grizzly planer will wear it fast too and I am not sure that carbide inserts for it will cost you as little as $20.
 
#13 ·
Portable planer knives do tend to dull quickly. I upgraded a 735 with a helical cutterhead, and it handles all the white oak and maple I can throw at it. Carbide knives won't even blink planing finished hardwoods.
 
#14 ·
Carloz, The last two sets of blades were upgraded higher carbon steel that ran me $47.00 and after looking at the remainder of the stack that still needs to be processed, I doubt if I've done 1/6th of it. I talked with two cabinet makers that said the DW733 was never made to handle that much wood and that hard of wood. There is a reason wood workers call them "lunch box" planers.
 
#15 ·
I kept my Ridgid lunchbox planer for over 10 years and am willing to bet it saw as much or more lumber over that time period than what you are planning to mill. I use a lot of white oak, which is pretty hard also. I probably went through 5 sets of knives in that time period. As already mentioned, your problem is the flooring finish. You are going to want to cut this stuff off with some kind of carbide cutters. The carbide inserts on the G0454Z will probably have to be rotated the first time after the job is over but I would say it is still worth it. The idea of resawing that someone else mentioned has some merit but that is a lot of resawing if done by hand. The idea of flipping the boards over is pretty clever too if you can get away with it.
 
#16 ·
I just got a call from UPS shipping and they told me they had a planer to deliver. I'm thinking great, that's faster than they had said it would be here due to back orders. I just got the shipping email from Grizzly and it's for a W1754SW Shop Fox. WTF, I looked online and Grizzly doesn't even have them listed. I found info about it just doing a web search. Has this ever happened to anyone? It looks like the same machine, but it's not what I ordered.
 
#18 ·
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The new Shop Fox planer showed up instead of the Grizzly but hey, the deal did work out in my favor. The crate was free of any damage and with the help of some heavy lifting straps and my tractor, it was pretty easy to get it unbolted from the pallet and install the wheels. After taking several hours setting it up I went to plug it in and the cord was about 4 inches too short so I made up an extension cord that fit just fine on the current 20 amp receptacle, but then I found out that even though the specs say the machine draws 20 amps, the minimum circuit is 30 amps so now I'll be running another circuit just for the planer next weekend. I'll be posting a review after I've spent some time with it.
 

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#19 ·
Office equipment Gas Machine Electronic instrument Metal

The new Shop Fox planer showed up instead of the Grizzly but hey, the deal did work out in my favor. The crate was free of any damage and with the help of some heavy lifting straps and my tractor, it was pretty easy to get it unbolted from the pallet and install the wheels. After taking several hours setting it up I went to plug it in and the cord was about 4 inches too short so I made up an extension cord that fit just fine on the current 20 amp receptacle, but then I found out that even though the specs say the machine draws 20 amps, the minimum circuit is 30 amps so now I ll be running another circuit just for the planer next weekend. I ll be posting a review after I ve spent some time with it.

- Sawdustmaker
There may be another benefit. Grizzly is their lower priced brand because there is no dealer involved so you, in effect are the service person in case something breaks.
Shop Fox, on the other hand is their retail product. If something happens, they have a dealer network to do the work. You might want to check but just might have a better warranty with the Shop Fox planer than the Grizzly.
 

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