Hard Maple Defect?

Ahh i see. Thats good to know. I just recently changed the blades to the new side. Im taking very light cuts. I think my only option right now is to hit the entire top of the board with the ROS and see what happens. Thank you very much for pointing that out. Drum sander is on the wish list… checking craigslist every morning :).

-- Ben in Houston

I just had the same problem on a Jatoba table top and matching grain filler worked well for me.

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm

Thanks gfadvm. I will look into it. Off the top of your head is that stuff ok for cutting surfaces?

-- Ben in Houston

No… no grain filler… One other thing you can try, if you don’t mind planing more off, is get the board wet and then send it through the planer. That can help with the tear out. I’ve done that trick many times. It basically softens the surface fibers and thus reduces tear out…

-- Childress Woodworks

If you can’t take any more thickness off you can also mix some sawdust and wood glue into a paste and fill it in. I’ve done it before and it looks OK.

-- Perilous to all of us are the devices of an art deeper than we ourselves possess. --Gandalf the Grey http://davidwahl.org/category/woodworking/

Thanks for all of the advice. I really appreciate it. This site is awesome.

-- Ben in Houston

You could also try a router planing jig if you feel so inclined. I was getting some tearout on some of my maple and stopped putting it through the planer but hated having to do that much sanding. I don’t have the money for a drum sander so I built a simple router planing jig. Many people on here have used them with success. May be another option and usually no tearout.

-- Matt - http://breakingboardom.wordpress.com/

Sometimes running the stock through the planer at an angle and take very light cuts will help.

-- Website is finally up and running....www.woodandwrite.com

Also, when running through ar an angle lightly, wet the wood with paint thinner. It will soften the fibers making them easier to cut. It will then evaporate leaving no trace in the wood or on the planer.

Steve.

-- Steve in KY. 44 years so far with my lovely bride. Think I'll keep her.

That’s no defect. It’s just wood being wood to keep the riff raff who lack patience from daring to make stuff with it. :) A good sharp card scraper over the whole piece and that place in particular prior to sanding would probably do the trick.

-- "The way to make a small fortune in woodworking- start with a large one"

Who you callin riff-raff? ;-)

-- Website is finally up and running....www.woodandwrite.com