treesner Posted July 12, 2019 Report Share Posted July 12, 2019 Hey guys how would you flatten a table top made of plywood endgrain? Say it wasn’t perfectally glued up. Another thread said running plywood through the planner would dull it quick. My only two thoughts would be router jig like they use for live edge tables (would carbide tip hold up to this?) or one of those 20,000 giant belt sander machines you could run it though? any other ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted July 12, 2019 Report Share Posted July 12, 2019 From the picture the flatness appears to be close. Within an eighth. If so a belt sander and a straight edge with a coarse belt for starters... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 12, 2019 Report Share Posted July 12, 2019 What @curlyoak said, although that's a tedious job. The milling sled and router is another good option. Carbide bits would hold up much better than HSS blades in a planer. But I still wouldn't use my most expensive bit. If its really close, sandpaper glued to a flat slab of plywood to make a big sanding block might do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted July 12, 2019 Report Share Posted July 12, 2019 Drum sander is the tool for this job. Baltic Birch is the ply that I've had ruin HSS cutters. What you pictured looks like the American fir core stuff. I use HSS or hand tools on that all the time and have ever experienced dulling out side normal with it. If you are questioning this you can always take a hand plane and shave an edge down. Check the blade after and see if it leaves little nicks in it. I wouldn't hesitate to process BB with carbide cutters.We have to cut the stuff after all and it doesn't destroy our table saw blades ect. Cutters getting dull is just what happens.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted July 12, 2019 Report Share Posted July 12, 2019 I would use my drum sander. If I didn't have one I would reach out to someone that did. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted July 12, 2019 Report Share Posted July 12, 2019 21 minutes ago, pkinneb said: I would use my drum sander. If I didn't have one I would reach out to someone that did. Yes, this. If the table is under about 3 feet wide a home-shop drum sander can handle it. I'll assume from your post that you do not have this animal. You'd have to sand and sell a lot of tables to pay for one so I would ask around at your local cabinet shops what the fee might be for a pass or two. A slab flattening sled for a router would certainly get you generally flat and bring you to where sanding could finish the job by hand or carefully with a ROS. There are more spoil-board and slab-flattening bits to choose from of late and I would not hesitate to go that way if sanding was out of the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesner Posted July 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2019 5 hours ago, Chestnut said: Drum sander is the tool for this job. Baltic Birch is the ply that I've had ruin HSS cutters. What you pictured looks like the American fir core stuff. I use HSS or hand tools on that all the time and have ever experienced dulling out side normal with it. If you are questioning this you can always take a hand plane and shave an edge down. Check the blade after and see if it leaves little nicks in it. I wouldn't hesitate to process BB with carbide cutters.We have to cut the stuff after all and it doesn't destroy our table saw blades ect. Cutters getting dull is just what happens.... I'd be doing it with baltic birch and it'd need a lot of milling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted July 12, 2019 Report Share Posted July 12, 2019 A drum sander could work if the top is not glued to the base...Also if the piece wobbled through the drum sander, might be a problem. You may need to true one side first with a belt sander or something, then the drum...All this depending on what you have to work with...If I used the belt sander, the first pass would be coarse and sanded on a bias angled across the grain. From thereon out I would sand with the grain... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted July 15, 2019 Report Share Posted July 15, 2019 On 7/12/2019 at 12:43 PM, treesner said: I'd be doing it with baltic birch and it'd need a lot of milling I'd do what was suggested above and use a slab flattening setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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