Planing boards for cabinet rails & stiles
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Wonderwino
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Walnut dust composted still kills tomatoes & zuccini. [crying]
I have some experience with wood chips. I have had companies that grind up trees dumping the chips, dust etc. on my property for many years. I must be over a hundred large truck loads of chips by now. In my area, north metro Atlanta, they decompose much faster than I was told they would. Most of the loads have green things, wood, some older wood and some dirt. All this makes a decent compost. Within a few days the piles are smoking, they are frequently smoking when they arrive. Within 6 months to a year the piles look like "Natures Helper", in a year + they look like black peat moss. I fertilize fields and gardens with the decomposed material with good results. Mixing some green material like grass clippings and some rotting material or dirt in piles of dust & chips should turn most natural ground woods to compost fairly fast. I do have a tractor (with front end loader) which allows me to turn, move, level... very large piles.
I frequently spread the purest piles of wood chips on paths or trails specifically to prevent new growth, it never works for long, no matter how deep I pile it. So, in my experience, the negative effect of raw wood dust & chips frequently gets over rated. I'm confident the relatively small quantities of wood dust & chips my wood working projects will make are not going to give me a problem once I get the material outdoors on the ground. The air born refuse is a different story.
I frequently spread the purest piles of wood chips on paths or trails specifically to prevent new growth, it never works for long, no matter how deep I pile it. So, in my experience, the negative effect of raw wood dust & chips frequently gets over rated. I'm confident the relatively small quantities of wood dust & chips my wood working projects will make are not going to give me a problem once I get the material outdoors on the ground. The air born refuse is a different story.
Well a couple of things to clarify: first a good drum sander will remove wood as fast or faster than a planer if the wood is figured or very hard, and especially if it is cupped.
Second I would not indiscriminately scatter saw dust any where. MDO and some MDF do not compost and are toxic. Some woods like Ipê and Tea Tree do not compost and will poison a compost pile. When I work that kind of material I play square and remove he bag from the CT and all the dust from the dust deputy, bag it up and take it to HAZMAT disposal. As for regular saw dust and shavings; my current shop has a dirt floor and when they get deep enough I just rototill them in. BTW where I am there are no termites, altitude and cold weather.
Second I would not indiscriminately scatter saw dust any where. MDO and some MDF do not compost and are toxic. Some woods like Ipê and Tea Tree do not compost and will poison a compost pile. When I work that kind of material I play square and remove he bag from the CT and all the dust from the dust deputy, bag it up and take it to HAZMAT disposal. As for regular saw dust and shavings; my current shop has a dirt floor and when they get deep enough I just rototill them in. BTW where I am there are no termites, altitude and cold weather.
Ken Nagrod
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nickao
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You can not compare ground up tree(wood chips) just cut to kiln dried wood that we use in the shop.
If I take a tree I cut down in the yard and and toss some of the cuttings and small dust, etc on the ground it will NOT kill the grass, but it sure does not help. If I take a bag of sawdust out of my dust collector and put it on the grass it definitely 100% kills the grass dead.
That is my experience in my yard. The kiln drying process or even long term air drying must do something to the wood and the dust it creates to make it toxic to yard grass. I am not scientist, but I know what I toss out and cut down and I know what happens in my personal experience. Saw dust kills grass and scraps from a cut down tree doesn't.
Oh and the pine needles from my trees kills grass really fast!
If I take a tree I cut down in the yard and and toss some of the cuttings and small dust, etc on the ground it will NOT kill the grass, but it sure does not help. If I take a bag of sawdust out of my dust collector and put it on the grass it definitely 100% kills the grass dead.
That is my experience in my yard. The kiln drying process or even long term air drying must do something to the wood and the dust it creates to make it toxic to yard grass. I am not scientist, but I know what I toss out and cut down and I know what happens in my personal experience. Saw dust kills grass and scraps from a cut down tree doesn't.
Oh and the pine needles from my trees kills grass really fast!
I ran a tree removal company ten years ago. Cutting tree and chipping them along with my cell phone resulted in wet chips intermixed with green - leaf - material. If the load was left in the back of the truck for three days it would start the decomposing process. The difference is whether or not it has enough nitrogen - green - in its internal process, or if it needs to get it from elsewhere like the ground or grass, or plants. It will get it from somewhere.
Walnut, butternut, and hickory trees all are cousins and have adapted to nature. They and their nuts have chemicals that discourage or kill other plants so that they don't have competition. Who says that trees aren't smart?
Peter
Walnut, butternut, and hickory trees all are cousins and have adapted to nature. They and their nuts have chemicals that discourage or kill other plants so that they don't have competition. Who says that trees aren't smart?
Peter
I'm just saying, I can walk to places on my property that have had 30 or so truck loads of ground wood etc. dumped there in the last 2-3 years and the entire pile is decomposed and covered in lush growth. The ground is black and full of earth worms, easily some of the best soil on my property. Nature obviously handles decaying trees on its own, if left to it's own devices. Nature is a great equalizer if we give it a chance. As Peter says there is a chemical process involved, if you know a little about that process, and take a little time to work with nature, the results can be positive as opposed to negative. What is the alternative, have a waste disposal company deal with the issue? I do not find historical precedent, especially in my area, for that alternative being particularly reliable.
My point is not to deny points others have made. I'm saying there is a matter of percentages and handling too. Piles of decaying chips get very hot inside, causing chemical change, which is the beauty of composting. I have to be careful they do not get too hot. I would not be dealing with the quantity of chips I do if I did not have a tractor with a loader, which allows me to maintain a certain amount of control over all that decaying wood. I have large numbers of Hickory, Walnut, Chinese Privet (also reputed to be toxic to other plants), Japanese Stilt Grass ( another toxic).....). I'm quite sure all those trees & grasses are ground up in what I get in wood chip loads too. These woods & vegetation have not been a problem, quite the contrary. I believe all the wood chips & dust I deal with from wood projects can be recycled and put to good use safely. I do not use MDF or exotic woods for my projects, because they can be a disposal & respiratory problem.
Seems to me, if we all spend a little more time dealing with our local messes, we may all have a better place to live in.
My point is not to deny points others have made. I'm saying there is a matter of percentages and handling too. Piles of decaying chips get very hot inside, causing chemical change, which is the beauty of composting. I have to be careful they do not get too hot. I would not be dealing with the quantity of chips I do if I did not have a tractor with a loader, which allows me to maintain a certain amount of control over all that decaying wood. I have large numbers of Hickory, Walnut, Chinese Privet (also reputed to be toxic to other plants), Japanese Stilt Grass ( another toxic).....). I'm quite sure all those trees & grasses are ground up in what I get in wood chip loads too. These woods & vegetation have not been a problem, quite the contrary. I believe all the wood chips & dust I deal with from wood projects can be recycled and put to good use safely. I do not use MDF or exotic woods for my projects, because they can be a disposal & respiratory problem.
Seems to me, if we all spend a little more time dealing with our local messes, we may all have a better place to live in.
jgeorge64uk
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Hey guys,
I’ve been using the WEN 6550 12.5 planer for almost a year now, its a pretty reliable piece of kit. The best place to pick one up is probably Amazon.
Not too sure about the DeWALT DW735 as I’ve never used it personally myself but I have heard its also a good piece of kit. It just depends how much you are willing to invest to be honest
http://benchtopplaner.com/wen-6550-12-5-inch-15a-benchtop-thickness-planer-with-granite-table-review/
Hope that helps.
Josh
I’ve been using the WEN 6550 12.5 planer for almost a year now, its a pretty reliable piece of kit. The best place to pick one up is probably Amazon.
Not too sure about the DeWALT DW735 as I’ve never used it personally myself but I have heard its also a good piece of kit. It just depends how much you are willing to invest to be honest
http://benchtopplaner.com/wen-6550-12-5-inch-15a-benchtop-thickness-planer-with-granite-table-review/
Hope that helps.
Josh
jgeorge64uk
Member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2016
- Messages
- 2
Hey guys,
I’ve been using the WEN 6550 12.5 planer for almost a year now, its a pretty reliable piece of kit. The best place to pick one up is probably Amazon.
Not too sure about the DeWALT DW735 as I’ve never used it personally myself but I have heard its also a good piece of kit. It just depends how much you are willing to invest to be honest
http://benchtopplaner.com/wen-6550-12-5-inch-15a-benchtop-thickness-planer-with-granite-table-review/
Hope that helps.
Josh
I’ve been using the WEN 6550 12.5 planer for almost a year now, its a pretty reliable piece of kit. The best place to pick one up is probably Amazon.
Not too sure about the DeWALT DW735 as I’ve never used it personally myself but I have heard its also a good piece of kit. It just depends how much you are willing to invest to be honest
http://benchtopplaner.com/wen-6550-12-5-inch-15a-benchtop-thickness-planer-with-granite-table-review/
Hope that helps.
Josh
I don't know why a woodworker would purchase 4 side surfaced lumber. Two sides I understand but the edges can be easily ripped straight and smooth enough with a track saw or table saw. At least around here, four sides is a lot more costly than 2.
I used to use 2 side surfaced lumber and it works. But only if the boards are cut to the same thickness. They aren't always.
I first bought an Inca 8 5/8 wide jointer/planner. The planner attachment is manual feed. I surfaced some rough lumber with it but it was a lot of work. I still use it as a jointer.
But my planer is a Ryobi AP-10 I bought used for $100. It hardly worked but the only issue was really dull blades. I sharpened the originals and bought a replacement set. The Ryobi is the original "lunch bucket" style planner. It is only 10 inches wide. But most boards are less than that. It is one of the best $100 tool purchases I have made. It would be nice to have a height adjustment that locked up better but when I support the boards well, snipe isn't too bad.
You can save enough to pay for a planner if you use a bunch of wood. Rough planned is significantly less expensive and opens up more places for me to buy wood. It also lets you make the boards the thickness you really want (instead of accepting close enough because that's what you can find).
I used to use 2 side surfaced lumber and it works. But only if the boards are cut to the same thickness. They aren't always.
I first bought an Inca 8 5/8 wide jointer/planner. The planner attachment is manual feed. I surfaced some rough lumber with it but it was a lot of work. I still use it as a jointer.
But my planer is a Ryobi AP-10 I bought used for $100. It hardly worked but the only issue was really dull blades. I sharpened the originals and bought a replacement set. The Ryobi is the original "lunch bucket" style planner. It is only 10 inches wide. But most boards are less than that. It is one of the best $100 tool purchases I have made. It would be nice to have a height adjustment that locked up better but when I support the boards well, snipe isn't too bad.
You can save enough to pay for a planner if you use a bunch of wood. Rough planned is significantly less expensive and opens up more places for me to buy wood. It also lets you make the boards the thickness you really want (instead of accepting close enough because that's what you can find).
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