HL 850 Planer to flatten epoxied slab ?

[Chris Cianci]

I’m trying my first slab that I fill voids , cracks and worm holes with epoxy Would the HL 850 work well to smooth it after the epoxy dries.
Thanks for your input !
Best

 

[Holzhacker]

Not sure about this since too many missing details. What kind of wood, how big, what kind of epoxy, etc.
Based on what you have noted, the 850 could work well depending on experience level. I've used a planer to flatten a slab many times. Have a good straight edge, adjust depth control as you go along, take off the highs down to the lows to get flat. The 850 will get you close enough for sanding.
I would get as flat as possible prior to adding any epoxy. Depending on type of epoxy and heat reaction you could gum up the planer or any sandpaper.
You could of course make your own router jig or get one of the router slab flattening set ups woodpecker or others sell. This might also work better if wanting to flatten with the epoxy in place. I'd rather soak and clean a couple router bits rather than clean out an 850 or waste a bunch of sandpaper.

 

[Svar]

Ask [member=65027]grayedout[/member]. He flattens epoxy filled boards on a jointer regularly. I guess hand planer would work the same.

 

[Michael Kellough]

If the slab is already flat and you just want to knock down the sticky epoxy fill, and the filled areas are not very wide, you could add layers of tape to the sides of the long shoe (outboard) to get the blade a few thousands above the surface and straddle the filled areas. Might add some tape to the front shoe too if it helps balance the planer.

When done remove the blade and clean head and blade with vinegar, and the shoes and chip chute too if needed.

 

[Chris Cianci]

Thank you everyone, The wood alone is already flat wormy maple  My thoughts were to use the planer to knock down the high spots of epoxy as the slabs are too wide for my jointer or planer
These are all good ideas Thank you

 

[GoingMyWay]

Popular Woodworking posted a video yesterday of Christopher Schwarz making a Roubo Workbench.  He filled his gaps with epoxy and then used a hand plane to clean up the dried epoxy.  He said "don't be afraid about planing epoxy because you're not going to ruin the tool.  you can sharpen it can't ya?"
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