# Never trust your wood. Even if you know from whence it came :-)



## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Well SHEEEEEIT! I was given some rather large planks of cedar a while back. It came from a cabinet makers shop which was closed down when he passed away about 8 years ago. I helped his wife move some stuff so she could sell the building and when she tried to pay me I asked if I could have some of the wood instead.

She told me that when he was in business he used to buy ALL his wood from one lumbermill and he trusted the guy to always pick out the "good stuff" when he ordered lumber. She said they never had any issues with his lumber. I've used some of the wood and it has been some VERY nice stuff. Rough cut to thicker and wider than "normal" and very clean wood.

So anyways, I'm running a piece of this cedar 1.5" X 12" X 6' thru my DeWalt planer when all of a sudden I realize I have a small "ridge" starting about 2" off one edge as it's coming out. I shut down and take a close look at the board. DAMN! THIS little shiney spot catches my eye! 
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Yeaaaah Aw CRAP! That's METAL! My best hope is that it's an old lead bullet and just MAYBE my blades wont be totally ruined. Sure enough I cut the board and using a chisel I break away the wood and find THIS! 
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Next thing I did was get out my metal detector and check the rest of the board, looks like that was the only piece in it. Well, I just hope I can shift the three blades left and right enough to overcome this nick. A set of blades is NOT in the budget in the foreseeable future.

So take heed folks. Even if someone tells you they've never had any issues with all the lumber they've bought, remove all doubt and check it yourself.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Yup, it's a constant problem when milling your own lumber.


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## Dutchy (Jun 18, 2012)

Hello Joe.

That's a pitty. You can shift the blades left and right but you will still see or feel the knives damage.


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

Your knives aren't double edged? If they are, there's an easy solution.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

I did the same thing with my DeWalt planer. The blades just barely kissed the edge of a forgotten wood screw leaving several very tiny nicks in all three blades. I was able to shift one left, one right and leave the third untouched and it eliminated the problem. I was lucky because of how small the nicks were, the blades allow very little movement from side to side.


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## MLWilson (Jun 28, 2015)

Ewwwww. Joe. A fence staple. Ewwwwwwww. And it was embedded? That's so weird. A mystery is afoot.


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## SirIrb (Jan 12, 2015)

Worst thing I ever found was a piece of lead bird shot in some oak. Planed that ball in half.


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## Truefire (Mar 20, 2007)

Daggone that sucks. Sorry to hear that Joe. Hopefully you can shift your blades a little bit and displace the nicks in the blade or flip them over. Let us know what you find out.


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## Sigung (Nov 20, 2013)

Wow Joe, sorry for your planer, but thanks for sharing. I never thought to check my boards for metal, but I sure will from now on.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

That's a bummer Joe. Good thing you weren't turning on the lathe.


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## splatman (Jul 27, 2014)

I ran some 2×3s thru my planer this morning, and 1 had a nail in it. How I missed that, IDK. Planed the backs of some maple flooring planks later, and no problems there. I'll have to check my planer. It has a Shelix cutter head; maybe that helped.


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## CFrye (May 13, 2013)

Ouch! Thanks for the warning, Joe.


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## bobasaurus (Sep 6, 2009)

Hmm, I should buy a metal detector.


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## ScottM1 (Jan 25, 2014)

I learned rather quick back when my dad and I ran our mill. A dark stain in an otherwise clear section is a really good sine of metal.


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## mikeacg (Jul 4, 2015)

I bought a wand when I got my sawmill and have used it faithfully ever since. You never know what someone may have pounded into a tree! It's a lot cheaper than a new set of planer blades…


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Lots of guys milling lumber have a footage rule - they only take trees that are so many feet away from roads, etc.

But that doesn't count when you think in terms of a huge back yard, where someone may have put up a clothesline, and in this case that would have degraded long ago, leaving the fence staple in the wood.

It's happened to all of us. I lost a couple of sets of blades over the years to metal. So far, (hope I am not cursing myself), I've avoided the issue with my helix carbide cutterhead, although I did hit a bullet in some oak with it and it did no damage.


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## Porchfish (Jun 20, 2011)

I


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## Porchfish (Jun 20, 2011)

I've hit bullets while turning, and once found a horseshoe buried in a walnut crotch while cutting bowl chunks with me chain saw. Never had the pleasure of having to replace plane blades though….you titled it properly Joe…."Sheeeit" it is ! I found the dead walnut tree standing near a clearing at a friends place. We didn't know it was an a homestead location until we found an old dump nearby with some old bottles. We shared the find (the glassware, not the horseshoe) and I still have the half pint cream bottle and a milk quart bottle found that day. The amazing thing is that the quart bottle is from a "Schneider's Dairy" raised letter bottle ! What were the odds ? Go figure.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

I do have a metal detector wand which I bought a while back based on reviews from folks here on LJs. But alas, I have been lax in using it.
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But fear not! For I shall REPENT and heed the warnings of my fellow LJ'ers and use it more faithfully in the future! My planer blades are depending on me, and I shall not fail them again! 
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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

That's a bummer. Hopefully, your knive will be sharpenable


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## mramseyISU (Mar 3, 2014)

Worst thing I ever hit was a railroad spike in a log we were milling up. Hit it with our 60" saw and every one of the carbide teeth got knocked out of it and they went flying. It looked like somebody took a tommy gun to the tin roof right above the saw.


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## dbray45 (Oct 19, 2010)

Been there - my planer cuts a few little imperfections but having them sharpened all the time gets expensive - so it leaves the raised groove or two. Hand plane cleans it right up.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

That totally sucks. When I saw the black stained wood, I got sick to my stomach.


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## TheTurtleCarpenter (Jun 25, 2015)

Chuck it up against the Wall,, it makes you feel much better ! Just kiddin, it slows you down and lightens your pockets. Just think ahead to all them pretty things you can make with it. Maybe embed that planer knife into the project.


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