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Being daring with 21mm sawn boards

B

BaronBiscuit

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I’ve been offered some rough sawn 21mm Poplar boards for cheaps!
However, before getting all excited, I realise getting 18mm stock off the planer might be a bit risky. I usually buy 1” to allow for my inevitable mishaps.
The miser in me says “yeah! Go for it” but I’m not sure. Do any of you reliably get 18mm boards from 21mm rough sawn boards? I guess it depends on the set of the band saw that cut them… hmmm
 
It depends how flat they are, how dry they are, and how big (long & wide) the pieces are that you need from it. I reckon that you'll achieve 18mm if the answers to all those questions are right (and I think that hand planing would increase your odds). But put it this way..........cheap wood is cheap wood. If you don't use it for the current project, you can design the next one around the stuff. Buy it!
 
I think 25mm sawn board would nicly plane down to 18mm thick PAR.

21mm sawn boards are risky because the 21mm board might contain twist or the board might be slightly cupped meaning you need to take off more material to achieve a flat board.

As Mikes says it all depens upon the board you are planing but also the planing machine and operator too!

If it's cheap enough it's always handy to have some extra stock around.
 
Plan out what you are using it for and BEFORE any planing, cut the shortest pieces (50mm over length) that your project needs from the worst of any twisted timber.
In that way you should only need to take the minimum off to get it usable.

Bob
 
Thanks for the advice, I think I’ll get a small amount… A couple of friends are giddy with excitement, so I don’t want to tread on their toes, but I think for my needs 1” boards would be a better bet.
Stay tuned for my next post… in 2 weeks, called “where can I buy 21mm Poplar for cheap?” It’s bound to happen! 🤣
 
How critical is it that you end up at 18mm? Most types of project can be tweaked to accommodate a slightly different material thickness, so even if what you get after planing is more like 16 or 17mm then it's not going to be a complete waste.
 
BaronBiscuit said:
I’ve been offered some rough sawn 21mm Poplar boards for cheaps!
However, before getting all excited, I realise getting 18mm stock off the planer might be a bit risky. I usually buy 1” to allow for my inevitable mishaps.
The miser in me says “yeah! Go for it” but I’m not sure. Do any of you reliably get 18mm boards from 21mm rough sawn boards? I guess it depends on the set of the band saw that cut them… hmmm
Click to expand...
As the man once said, the thing you got to ask yourself is "do I feel lucky?" Why is it cheap? Is it warped, twisted, bowed, freshly sawn (>high MC) full of knots, splits and other damage? It's cheap for a reason, you need to find out why :ROFLMAO: Decent, usable, prime timber is never (in my experience) cheap. Caveat emptor - Rob
 
I would say only buy cheap wood if you a) have spare cash and b) plenty of space. I have got the T shirt on being told off relentlessly for being a wood hoarder. Best to buy what you actually need really.
 
AJB Temple said:
I would say only buy cheap wood if you a) have spare cash and b) plenty of space. I have got the T shirt on being told off relentlessly for being a wood hoarder. Best to buy what you actually need really.
Click to expand...
Nowt wrong with hoarding wood; depends on what wood you hoard, innit:ROFLMAO: - Rob
 
There's someone locally trying to sell a load of 1/2" tangentially sawn spalted beech, I have no idea what you could manage to make from that aside from veneers by the time you've managed to plane it flat.

Not completely impossible to get 18mm from 21mm sawn provided the initial surface is quite smooth and not torn up by the bandsaw/circular saw mill, sometimes if the surface is very shredded you have to plane well over a millimeter off before you get down to a smooth surface. Of course, as others have stated you also need to take cups and bows into account.

I'm with Mike and in the "just buy it" camp, it never hurts to have a bit of stock provided you've got the space, 3/4" sawn is ideal for 5/8" thick and under drawer boxes and used to be a common size to get from timber merchants for that specific purpose but you don't seem to be able to get it anymore.
 
Woodbloke said:
Why is it cheap? Is it warped, twisted, bowed, freshly sawn (>high MC) full of knots, splits and other damage? It's cheap for a reason, you need to find out why :ROFLMAO: Decent, usable, prime timber is never (in my experience) cheap. Caveat emptor - Rob
Click to expand...
At the risk of being a Negative Nellie, this did cross my mind! As for wood hoarding, I have very little space so it might be time to exercise some self restraint!
Thanks for all the advice and input, it’s greatly appreciated.
 
Remember, not all projects require two perfect faces.
Skirting, architraves, dado panelling etc.
Cheers, Andy
 
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