# Planing a 10-inch wide 10-foot long glue up of pieces of hard maple



## Sconce (Mar 19, 2017)

If I had a 3/4" x 10" x 10' board of hard maple that was put together by gluing up pieces of S4S hard maple, then could I use an electric planer such as the Bosch PL2632K Planer? The board would eventually be painted and used (with support) to lay reference books on.

The roughness or finish of the S4S pieces seemed sufficient, so I thought planing over the seams would be enough.

I do not own a planer of any sort, so I was considering going to a shop to have it done or else buying something like the Bosch. Of course, purchasing a 3/4" x 10" x 10' in S4S hard maple instead of edge gluing could work too.


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

If you just need to clean up the glue lines you can use a card scrapper. Wipe the glue lines when the glue is still wet and it will be easier to clean up after it dries.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Electric planers are made for removing material on stock that is narrower than the blade, like shaving a door edge (at least that's what I use one for). If you took the blades out and shaped the ends so the blade was a bit curved in at the ends you could probably do it but the board wouldn't be flat, you'd see the plane marks. If you have a lot to clean up use a belt sander followed by random orbit sander.


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## Sconce (Mar 19, 2017)

@dhazelton "Electric planers are made for removing material on stock that is narrower than the blade …" Perfect. I understand now.

I was considering gluing up pieces to get to my desired length (edge gluing or scarf joints, but I'm a complete novice) and then using a power planar. But now I see that if I did glue up, then ideally I'd need a planar with a blade wider than 10 inches. Probably overkill of a purchase for this one shelf. So having a shop do planing on a shop planer would seem smarter.

Alternatively, I could just spend more and purchase a larger board.

I'll have to think about to feel what's right.

Thank you for your feedback.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

People use electric planers just like hand planes, but I assume you need to tune and adjust it just like you would a hand plane.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

I agree with dhazelton. I found my handheld planer is only good for removing unnecessary material. It's definitely not a finishing tool by any means. I sort of look at it as a waste of money. The belt sander is a much wiser suggestion. At least you have more control over how the material is removed and it's far easier to control.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Just get a random oscillating sander and start with coarse paper. But it it's going to be painted anyway why not just use pine or even MDF? Painting maple seems like a real waste.


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## Sconce (Mar 19, 2017)

I like the idea of a belt or oscillating sander.

I wanted to use a hard wood in a blonde color to practice working with hard woods and in case I decide to remove the paint in time and so the shelf does not get dinged as easily. I'm not attracted to MDF.


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## LittleShaver (Sep 14, 2016)

If you think you might take the paint off later, consider a first coat of de-waxed shellac. It will liit any penetration by the paint and make removal easier later. Seal-Coat should do the trick.


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## Sconce (Mar 19, 2017)

@Dan Will there be any noticeable difference with a coat of paint over the shellac?


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