Small scraps in thickness planer?

[SteveMP]

I have a DeWalt thickness planer and wanted to run some scraps of walnut through to about 9mm. I know not to run boards that are too short but heard about using a “sled”. Is it worth making something or bad idea in general?

 

[Woodbloke]

I have a DeWalt thickness planer and wanted to run some scraps of walnut through to about 9mm. I know not to run boards that are too short but heard about using a “sled”. Is it worth making something or bad idea in general?

Sleds are good and work well, but it's the length of the piece going through it that's important as the input and output rollers need to be able to 'grab' it. If they're too short you won't be able to push them through, although I have used a 6mm thick, fairly wide offcut to push stuff through. Not recommended though! - Rob

 

[Malc2098]

I bought some melamine covered board from a DIY store and stuck some abrasive sheets to so the thin workpiece gets pressed down on to the abrasive by the feed rollers and stays in place through the thicknesser. So long as it's long enough.

 

[Lons]

I do exactly the same with my DeWalt 733 (screaming monster machine). I also have a length of wide laminate with a stop strip at the feed end I use under thicker wood.

 

[SteveMP]

Sleds are good and work well, but it's the length of the piece going through it that's important as the input and output rollers need to be able to 'grab' it. If they're too short you won't be able to push them through, although I have used a 6mm thick, fairly wide offcut to push stuff through. Not recommended though! - Rob

If i understand correctly, the rollers are about 15cm apart on mine (Dewalt dw734). So long as the pieces are at least 15cm?

I bought some melamine covered board from a DIY store and stuck some abrasive sheets to so the thin workpiece gets pressed down on to the abrasive by the feed rollers and stays in place through the thicknesser. So long as it's long enough.

Good idea I can do that with some scraps of ply.

I do exactly the same with my DeWalt 733 (screaming monster machine). I also have a length of wide laminate with a stop strip at the feed end I use under thicker wood.

THanks

 

[Mike G]

If i understand correctly, the rollers are about 15cm apart on mine (Dewalt dw734). So long as the pieces are at least 15cm?

Good idea I can do that with some scraps of ply.

THanks

No, 150mm is far too short to go through a thicknesser. I have a rule that nothing shorter than my outfeed table goes through mine. I'd guess that's around 16".

I too have a sheet of melamine coated something with a stop on the underside. Wax the top.....and measure its thickness carefully, because when you are setting the depth you've obviously got to account for the depth of this packer board.

 

[Inspector]

Your best bet if you only have a few to do is glue longer sticks (a foot or more) to the sides of the walnut. If all the walnut is already the same width you can place them end to end with the grain orientated to minimise tear out and glue the sacrificial sticks on the sides and send the longer assemblies through. If the widths are all different you can't gang them together. The extra wood sticking out front/back takes up any snipe and controls the feed. When all dimensioned to thickness you can cut the scrap off.

Pete

 

[Accipiter]

Shortest pieces I've put through my Triton TPT125 thicknesser is 10", a number of short lengths of yew at 11"...

If I'd shorter pieces I'd use double sided tape to put hold them down to a longer board to accommodate a number of pieces along the legth and width, melamine or similar. I'd sort to all of the same thickness and I'd put them end to end - different widths wouldn't be a concern. Only pain in the butt would be releasing from the double sided tape.

I'm not certain but think I've also seen a video on YouTube where the small pieces have had blue decorators masking tape used, instead of the double sided, and some superglue. The tape applied in strips to both the longer board and the pieces and the superglue applied to the tape... A Google search with 'planing short lengths of wood on a (input name of thicknesser model)' may come up with a link? Even put inthe sizes of the lengths you want to try to use.

I don't know which Dewalt one you have but Google came up with this for my Triton TPT125:
To plane short pieces of wood safely and accurately on a Triton TPT125 thicknesser, use a carrier board (or sled) with double-sided tape or a front/rear stop to keep the workpiece securely engaged with the feed rollers at all times. [1]

Why Short Pieces Are Dangerous

• • The distance between the infeed and outfeed rollers on benchtop thicknessers like the Triton TPT125 means a short board (typically under 300 mm / 12 inches) can lose contact with one roller before engaging the other.
  • This causes the wood to get stuck, chatter, kick back, or get chewed up by the cutter head. [1]

Best Method: Use a Planer Sled

1. • Choose a carrier board: Cut a piece of flat, stable MDF, melamine, or plywood that is at least 400–500 mm (16–20 inches) long—well longer than the minimum span between the planer's rollers. [1, 2]
   • Secure the workpiece: Fasten your short wood piece to the center of the sled using strong double-sided woodworking tape or hot glue around the edges. [1, 2, 3]
   • Add end/side stops (Optional): Glue or pin small sacrificial wooden blocks at the front and back of the workpiece on the sled. These act as buffers to absorb "snipe" (the deeper cut at the start or end of a board) so it hits the scrap wood instead of your actual project piece. [1, 2]
   • Calculate total thickness: Measure the combined thickness of your sled board and the workpiece before setting the depth of cut on the Triton. [1]
   • Take shallow passes: Lower the cutter head gradually, removing very small amounts of material (less than 0.5 mm to 1 mm per pass) until you reach your target dimension. Never force the sled through. [1]

 

[SteveMP]

Thanks all, got them done. Just used hot glue on a cutoff of plywood