dacarne Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Question- I was planing some Purple Heart and out of ten pieces eight came out perfect. However the other two were torn up. Each piece had these 1/8 inch plus divots scooped out of the wood. Anyone know if this is my planer or an issue with the wood? I have since planed maple and oak with no issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Were the two that are messed up the last ones in the stack? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phinds Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Did the bad ones have the same grain orientation as the good ones? Do you know if all of the planks were from the same species? There are quite a few that are sold as purpleheart and while they all look pretty much alike, my understanding is that there are some differences in characteristics, although what I've read about the differences is mostly the way they differ a bit in how the color changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtrust Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 From my experience Purpleheart is a hit or miss with a plane. I love the wood, but dread planing it because of what you just experienced. I'm guessing the board that tore out had some really wild grain orientation. It's even hard to put through a drum sander due to the oils in the wood causing the sandpaper to load up and put burn marks on the surface. If I ever get the money, I hear the helical cutterheads do a much better job with these kinds of things. I've never had a problem with any other wood going thru a planer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Don's got it...Shelix is the way to go. Super-hard exotics are tough to plane, period. But it's not the "wood's fault." A guy came into the lumberyard the other day complaining that "your curly maple tears out horribly!" I resisted the urge to laugh in his face, and explained as nicely as possible that it's not "our curly maple's" fault, and if you're having tearout issues, you have to use different techniques or tools to solve the problem. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 Try changing out for new blades. I'll notice chipping on some exotics when the blades get a little dull. Unless you're using carbide blades any wood with a high silica content will chew the living crap out of the cutting edge in a hurry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur eric Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 I'm currently building a military shadow box for a purple heart recipient out of purple heart wood (planned that lol). I took a solid piece and split it into 5/8" pieces and planed them down exactly to 3/4". I only had one come out with an irregular cut. I've never used it before. Only recently heard of it but heard of its difficulty to use. I'm using a planer that my carpentry class has. Un site of the sharpness or blade type but I was happy with only one being damaged. With it being such a hard, dense wood, it's gonna happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phinds Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 I'm currently building a military shadow box for a purple heart recipient out of purple heart wood (planned that lol). I took a solid piece and split it into 5/8" pieces and planed them down exactly to 3/4". WOW ... that is a super good trick to start w/ 5/8" material and plane it down to 3/4" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 WOW ... that is a super good trick to start w/ 5/8" material and plan it down to 3/4" I need one of those machines too. Where do I sign up? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 That's where you run the planer in reverse so it puts the wood back on 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_in_SD Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 What we need is a 3D wood printer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 CNC copy carvers are pretty much that. Just a 'subtractive' process, rather than additive. Maybe Kiki can teach us how to train bonsai trees to grow into furniture shapes .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted October 2, 2014 Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 Met this blacksmith in Kentucky that would swear up and down the iron just grew into vines in the shape of a chair. Sometimes, it's the master, not the material. (And made me that much more aware that I really have some skill building to do.) As for that "wonder plane," I believe Matt got a video of it from WIA. I've only put purple heart through (no, not the wringer) the lathe or hand sanded... because the parts were so small I was afraid to use any powered sander on it. Do have to say the router hated it. (Then again, I was plunge routing with a fixed base, in a narrow strip, with no real hold on the work surface. I don't blame the router at all.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim0625 Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 Grasshoper....there are still many techniques I have to teach you like board thickening. I hear you say "planer from carpentry class" and I think 'probably has dull blades'. You also may have run the purple haze...er heart....(purple haze is what I am seeing)....you may have run this very peculiar/wild grain/difficult wood through the planer against the grain and stroked the proverbial cat's hair backwards increasing the tear out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted November 5, 2014 Report Share Posted November 5, 2014 On this topic, I bought a really cool piece of Purple Heart from woodcraft, about 8"x140" 6/4, Got it home cut off 35" for a cutting board and changed my blades to freshly sharpened ones. One side of the board planed out beautifully, the other side with crazy swirling grain is a mess.. Gotta love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 5, 2014 Report Share Posted November 5, 2014 On this topic, I bought a really cool piece of Purple Heart from woodcraft, about 8"x140" 6/4, Got it home cut off 35" for a cutting board and changed my blades to freshly sharpened ones. One side of the board planed out beautifully, the other side with crazy swirling grain is a mess.. Gotta love it. What did you have to pay for that sucker, if you don't mind me asking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 It was actually quite a bit cheaper than I expected. I think I paid $68 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefmagnus@grics.net Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 I have to say that I am in the club of purple heart killing planer blades. It is worse than planing pallet mystery woods. I was told by the guys at the Woodworker's Shop to only plane 1/128" at most per pass on the planer. Even with doing this your blades are dull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 1/128".. I wouldn't even know how much to turn the dial. . I guess I could set up a dial indicator and test it. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 OE planer knives have a universal grind and bevel. If you have a larger 15" or larger you can just get properly ground knives to deal with these woods. Get this book. its old but last I checked trees have not changed. WOOD WORKING MANUAL by CHAS. G. MONNETT, JR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronnie Posted November 7, 2014 Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 ('' I'm currently building a military shadow box for a purple heart recipient out of purple heart wood (planned that lol). I took a solid piece and split it into 5/8" pieces and planed them down exactly to 3/4".) Grass hoppa, Grass hoppa............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 7, 2014 Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 Oops, better check that 3/4 measurement again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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