rmac Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Planing construction lumber with some tight knots using a lunchbox planer. What's the reality? 1. Unsafe under any circumstances. Don't do it. That's what belt sanders are for. 2. Okay, but take light cuts and be prepared for some damage to your planer knives. 3. No problem. Go for it. -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Dunno, I've run many sticks of construction lumber through my lunchbox with no ill effect (maybe that's the reason for my nervous twitch?!) If the knots are loose, they are trouble, but the boards I ran through had a bunch of knots that weren't loose and they planed nicely. Actually, they look pretty nice planed. I think I'd avoid taking it to the drum sander. I did once for some outdoor lumber and it just seemed the load the paper very quickly due to the wetter wood. Might also be the reason the knots planed nicely: wood's kinda wet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 I would say somewhere between 2 and 3. I ran a a 12' long PT 2x8 through my lunchbox (DW735) because I needed it thinner (replacing a broken board on my kids' playset). Took thin cuts and it worked great. The blades seemed very usable after but I am sure it took away some of their useful life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekG Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 I ran many bf of glued up pine for my bench build through my dewalt 735 with no ill effect. Of course the second day I had the planer I ran a piece of pine with a pin knot through and knicked a blade. Dewalt replaced the set of blades free though so I assume the planer is built to handle construction grade lumber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Ditto... I've built lots of shop furniture by planing dried construction lumber. My 733 is old enough to register for high school... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimV Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 No worries. They plane just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted November 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Thanks, everybody. I did the deed a couple of days ago with no apparent trauma. I suspect my knives aren't in quite as good shape as they were, but that was to be expected. -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Russ - glad it worked out! You can actually get some good looking pieces from construction lumber, with the right milling. I think the only thing I've run through my planer that noticeably affected the knives were some old oak boards (from an old desk) that still had some poly on them. Next time I'll hit them with a belt sander or a scraper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekG Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 On a side note, did you let them dry out or check the moisture? Lots of construction lumber, even the kiln dried kind, is much wetter than is usable for furniture grade items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 On a side note, did you let them dry out or check the moisture? Nope. This is a project that has to be done by Christmas, so my only option was to buy the driest stuff I could find and go for it. Lots of construction lumber, even the kiln dried kind, is much wetter than is usable for furniture grade items. Well, this isn't going to be furniture grade anything, so as long as my exterior latex paint doesn't peel off, I'll be okay. -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB1 Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 I would say somewhere between 2 and 3. I ran a a 12' long PT 2x8 through my lunchbox (DW735) because I needed it thinner (replacing a broken board on my kids' playset). Took thin cuts and it worked great. The blades seemed very usable after but I am sure it took away some of their useful life. I'm using the 734 and haven't had any issues with using construction lumber. Be advised that construction lumber usually isn't dried as much as hardwood and pines generally have more sticky sap to gum up the blades. Usually it's not a problem but every now and then I come across a particularly bad board for that. Usually requires cleaning the blades with acetone or some other solvent to get the junk off, tables too... -Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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