# Max board length to run through a benchtop planer?



## Tedison (Oct 2, 2015)

Wood planing question - when using a benchtop planer (mine happens to be a 13" General International model 30-005HC M1-but this is a general call for comments on benchtop planers), how long of a board do you find to be the limit? I have about 30-40 cherry boards that are 1 inch thick, 10-13 inches wide and about 8 foot long. They are about 40 years old and I am told they were air dried if that matters. I found with the first few I put through the planer, they were heavy and even with a support at either end, it was tough to keep them balanced so as not to incur snipe. Any suggestions? For my next build, most of the boards only need to be about 40 inches long, - would it make sense to cut them in half before planing? Any other thoughts on how to best stabilize the benchtop planer for a day or two of production planing?

Thanks in advance for any ideas on how to get these boards ready for my cabinet project (and others!)


----------



## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Always remember it's not against any laws to use an infeed support, and an outfeed support to help even the load. Most of the associated problems will be going into, or out of the machine. The excess weight of the stock presses upward on the blades/cutters and you get some awful snipe, make it too much of a dig, and it can throw the lighter machine around, at that point it's not just messing up stock or tools, it becomes a safety thing. Principal is the same for Jointers, as well as planers.

One of the reasons stationary tools are as heavy as they are, so they don't get their buttocks kicked by a heavy board. I didn't see it happen, but an old timer I know tells a story of a board as you described throwing his DeWally 735 across the shop. I have seen the planer, and I have no doubt what he says happened, did happen. As it was coming out, he lost his grip on the heavy board, and next he knew the board had knocked him onto the floor, and the planer was whipped by the weight of the board across the shop. Where it landed quite inelegantly into a cinder block wall

Some ideas shown here for roll your own. Or throw $$$$ at it, and get something pre-made. The key is to have same height going in, and coming out.



__ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/350928995939707922/

You said

"For my next build, most of the boards only need to be about 40 inches long, - would it make sense to cut them in half before planing?"

I would say most definitely before jointing, planing, sawing a board I will always use the chop saw to shorten it to an inch or so over final length, and same with width, then use the machines to pretty it down to final size.


----------



## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

i have a dewalt. The design of the planer holds the board very tight in it's travel. It does have flip down outfeed shelves on each side. When I pet an 8 ft board through, I am feeding it so it's not a problem, and I do the same thing on the other end. It's really not an issue. You've got a different planer that I've never used so maybe it would be different.
That being said, unless I'm making something like a bed, which would have long sections I often rough cut the wood to the size sections I'll need ahead of time. Just makes things easier.


----------



## dbeck (Jun 1, 2017)

You may want to add a couple inches for each end to cut off after planning to remove snipe. Rough cut to around 45Inches.


----------



## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

Yes, definitely rough size your lumber before milling. It makes it easier to handle and reduces waste. Regarding the question in the title, if the board fits in your shop you can run it through your planer. Use infeed and outfeed support. I build residential doors which are typically 80" tall and I run the stiles through my DeWalt 735 without a problem.

As for the board that supposedly threw the DeWalt 735 across the shop, knocked the guy to the floor and "landed quite inelegantly into a cinder block wall:" I call total BS. Sure, if you faced the planer against a block wall and tried to run a board through it, it would push back. But to suggest that "he lost his grip on the heavy board," and it threw the planer across the shop is ridiculous. Only a fool would believe a story like that.


----------



## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

This doesn't seem to have a problem with 2×12x not sure of the length


----------



## WoodenDreams (Aug 23, 2018)

I've planed 2"x8"x18' (yep 18 feet long) Red Wood with my Delta 12" planer and my Delta 13" planer about 8 months ago. I feed then in and I had a helper on the outfeed end. Helps to have the planer bolted down.


----------



## LittleShaver (Sep 14, 2016)

I have a 734 and routinely run 10-12' boards through it alone. I have two simple infeed and outfeed tables with very simple 2×4 bases with levelers on each leg and hollow core door tops to provide support. The tops are coated with leftover shellac and waxed with Johnsons paste wax. Big boards are a workout, but are manageable.


----------



## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

Don't plane your boards until you are ready to use them. Cut them to rough length for your project then plane them.


----------



## 4wood (Jul 12, 2018)

Watch AlaskaGuys video. Notice that his outfeed table is adjustable. In the video the far end is higher than the end at the planer which helps to prevent snipe. By moving the block support you can change the height depending on the length of the board you are planing. I use a setup similar to this on my drum sander. I have a table level with the sander conveyer belt about 2' long and then an adjustable incline like AlaskaGuys to help prevent snipe. Nothing fancy, but it works.


----------



## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

Slight up lift on board as it goes in and out.

That's an awful big task for a little planer like that.

I'm with Bondo ^ at this point I would not do anything more than skip plane them so you can see grain.


----------



## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

How are you jointing the reverence face? Have to agree with Bondo, you should not be milling it until it is at rough dimension, you can lose a lot of stock trying to straighten an 8' board when you just need a 24" piece of it flat and true


----------



## Bstrom (Aug 30, 2020)

Planing shorter boards yields more useable thickness, so the advice to rough cut the lengths for your project makes a lot of sense. Using in and out supports is what I do all the time.


----------



## theart (Nov 18, 2016)

> I found with the first few I put through the planer, they were heavy and even with a support at either end, it was tough to keep them balanced so as not to incur snipe. Any suggestions? For my next build, most of the boards only need to be about 40 inches long, - would it make sense to cut them in half before planing?


It would make sense if cutting the boards corrects the snipe problem, which it may or may not. If it doesn't, you'll just end up with more waste per board. There are three reasons why I might cut a board before planing. 1) It's more than half the length of my shop. 2) It's heavy, and I have to lug it back and forth between infeed and outfeed a bunch of times. 3) It's bowed. If a long, stiff board has even a little bit of bow in it the ends are going to get pressed down hard on the infeed or outfeed supports. This can create too much friction for a small planer to keep feeding against.


----------



## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

> If a long, stiff board has even a little bit of bow in it the ends are going to get pressed down hard on the infeed or outfeed supports. This can create too much friction for a small planer to keep feeding against.
> 
> - theart


Why would you ever run a bowed board through a planer? All you'll wind up with is a thinner bowed board. I'm not going to list every way you can get a flat face on one side of it, but one way or another you need to.


----------



## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

If those boards are old and air dried, I wouldn't be surprised if they are twisted, cupped, bowed, and anything else you can think of. I'd rough cut them to to length, leaving a bit on the ends for possible snipe. I'd also joint an edge and get close on width.

Smaller boards are easier to handle, less waste than trying to get a big board flat with a jointed, square edge. By cutting down the lumber you will also relieve any hidden internal stressed that might cause trouble if you work with whole boards and then cut things down to rough dimensions.


----------



## Tedison (Oct 2, 2015)

As to the question about making the reference side, my jointer is a 6 inch grizzly, I guess that makes an argument for cutting down the width - and then doing a glue up - an extra step but if it gets the job done that is ok.

The tips and tricks you are offering in this thread are very helpful!

The lumber currently looks like this:


























Here is a Fusion 360 design drawing of what I am building:







!

Out of curiosity, are those saw marks indicative of lumber cut 40 years ago as the seller claimed?


----------



## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

> As to the question about making the reference side, my jointer is a 6 inch grizzly, I guess that makes an argument for cutting down the width…
> 
> - Tedison


You can easily joint a board 10" wide on a 6" jointer. By removing the guard, you can plane a 6" face flat, then use a sled on the planer. The sled should be about 5 to 6 inches wide and the board's jointed face should rest on it. Once the surface is flattened, flip it over and plane off the lip.

Search around and you'll find more details on it. You can also build a rigid sled and use shims to allow you to flatten boards as wide as your planer. Tons of plans and videos for that as well.


----------



## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

^^^+1 on Rich

BUT…. it'll really make you want a bigger jointer…LOL


----------



## TechTeacher (Nov 3, 2011)

I have seen long beams planned with the beam stationary and the planer traveling the distance. Long as in 30' Takes a bit of coordination but it's possible…


----------



## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

Looks like my lumber stack from the local sawmill. I'd be a bit skeptical that those boards are 40 years old. Rough cut lumber gets really dirty and crusty looking in short order. Plus the ends would probably be cracked worse. I bought some old growth walnut that was 40 years old (amazing grain) from a local guy and the boards were full of cracks that I had to work around.

In truth, you might not have to use your jointer to get a flat face if the boards are 40" long and relatively flat. You could run the rough boards thru the planer on one side until the saw marks are removed, then flip it over, plane the other side until the cut marks are gone, then alternate sides until you get to thickness. I do it all the time.


----------



## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

> I have seen long beams planned with the beam stationary and the planer traveling the distance. Long as in 30 Takes a bit of coordination but it s possible…
> 
> - TechTeacher


Huh? Stationary planers don't move (hint: that's why they're stationary).

Yes, Makita makes 6" and 12" electric planers, but they will not serve to make the two faces parallel. They'll simply plane one surface as level as their relatively short length allows. BTW, they go for around $625 and $2000 respectively.


----------



## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

use a helper


----------



## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

> As for the board that supposedly threw the DeWalt 735 across the shop, knocked the guy to the floor and "landed quite inelegantly into a cinder block wall:" I call total BS. Sure, if you faced the planer against a block wall and tried to run a board through it, it would push back. But to suggest that "he lost his grip on the heavy board," and it threw the planer across the shop is ridiculous. Only a fool would believe a story like that.
> 
> Rich


Or someone who saw the planer after the fact, saw the board, and knew the guy who it happened to, and knew he should have never been lifting a 67 pound board, and trying to use it on a 92 pound machine. Beside that a fool might not believe something, as usual you are expert in all matters, and only you could decide if you want to believe something.

Answer if you wish, but I've grown tired of justifying myself to you Rich. You aren't important enough for me to spend more time on you. There is only one power on this Earth I need to justify myself to, and you aren't even close to filling God's shoes.


----------



## tomsteve (Jan 23, 2015)

ive made 16 foot lap siding on my benchtop planer. however, i needed 16 foot siding. if i needed 8 foot, i would cut it down to size.
i dont think thetes a benchtop planer that doesnt snipe to some extent.

when building a project, all pieces are cut to rough size,jointed,planed, cut to finish sizee.length added in rough form to accountfor snipe


----------



## HeinrichS (Jan 8, 2018)

I've personally ran hundreds of feet redwood for a deck through my DeWalt 734 with virtually no snipe - I got 300+ 4×4 10 footers for a steal, ripped them all to 2×4, then planed them down - at least 3 runs on each side (you do the math on linear feet run  ). I also ran about 18 16 foot 4×4's through the same planer without issues. I did use extra in and outfeed tables, and a helper for the 16 footers… Redwood is generally soft and light, so it was doable - but time-consuming taking several days (but lumber was virtually free).
I also ran several 8-10 inch wide, 4/4 through 10/4 thick, and up to 12 ft long air-dried rough milled black walnut boards through - again with a helper, but doable when taking the minimum off at a time. This was a lot scarier due to hardness, varying grain direction, and weight, but still doable… Did go through a few sets of bladed though…


----------

