rough wood

[barb.j.enders]

I went for a bit of a road trip yesterday to pick up some poplar.  I haven't been able to find wider poplar in the big box stores.  The gentleman that runs the mill had just cut the wood the day before so it hasn't been planed or sanded.  He did cut it to the 3/4" thick that I wanted.  I don't have a planer, so my question is, can I just run a RO sander over the whole piece and call it done?  I have only, ever bought ready to scroll wood.  The price was $5/bf so I got 3 pieces at 3/4" x 12 x 6.5' for under $70!

[Bill WIlson]

You can achieve smooth with a RO sander.  It's much harder to achieve flat.  It's practically impossible to achieve flat & parallel with a RO sander.

[Wichman]

I've done this. You start with pretty coarse grit (40, or 50) and sand forever. Once you get a consistent sheen you can start working up the grits, and after the initial coarse grit, it only takes a pass or two with each succeeding grit.

If you plan to get much rough lumber the planer will pay for itself in time spent sanding.

 

[dgman]

Barb, if he just cut the wood yesterday, it’s still “green”, it needs to be dried before you can use it. The rule of thumb is one year for every inch of thickness. As it dries, it will shrink and possibly twist and cup.

[barb.j.enders]

Had a chat with the guy a little later.  @dgman, the wood was dried before, just cut into the slabs, so I should be good to go.

@Bill WIlson, the wood is flat & parallel, just needs to be smoothed/sanded.  The guy said an RO would be fine.

@Wichman, I think I just need to really smooth it out.  I will start with an 80 grit and then move up from there.

Thanks to all of you for your input.

[Bill WIlson]

Forgive me.  I don't want to call out your sawyer, but I've worked with enough rough sawn lumber to be slightly skeptical of his evaluation.  Rough sawn lumber that is still green may be flat now, but unless it is dried very carefully, may not be so flat once it is ready to be used.  This is regardless of whether it's kiln dried or air dried.  Also, the standards for "flat and parallel" in the context of green, rough sawn boards are usually somewhat different than what one should expect of joined/planed boards that are ready for woodworking.

I hope I'm wrong and may very well be underestimating the quality of your lumber.  I wish you luck and hope you are successful getting it into useable condition.

 

[barb.j.enders]

16 hours ago, Bill WIlson said:

Forgive me.  I don't want to call out your sawyer, but I've worked with enough rough sawn lumber to be slightly skeptical of his evaluation.  Rough sawn lumber that is still green may be flat now, but unless it is dried very carefully, may not be so flat once it is ready to be used.  This is regardless of whether it's kiln dried or air dried.  Also, the standards for "flat and parallel" in the context of green, rough sawn boards are usually somewhat different than what one should expect of joined/planed boards that are ready for woodworking.

I hope I'm wrong and may very well be underestimating the quality of your lumber.  I wish you luck and hope you are successful getting it into useable condition.

 

Well, I guess we will see today.  I finally have time to get out the sander this morning.

[Norm Fengstad]

I just cut some 10 inch slices from a dried Elm log. Sanding, starting at 80 grit and worked up worked best for me. Actually did try to plane it but the planer doesn;t like to do end grain

[barb.j.enders]

Well,  I did get it sanded.  The wood had cupped a bit.  Started at 80 grit and then did 180 grit.  Didn't have anything in between for the RO sander.  After sanding, I cut it into 2' lengths so it was manageable in my shop.  Got 4 puzzles cut from one of the 2' sections.  These just need to get finished for inventory - sales coming up in Nov & Dec.

[Bill WIlson]

Looks like a success!  Nicely done.

[Scrappile]

Looks good.  A belt sander night have taken it down quicker, but you have to be more careful with a belt sander, you can end up with gouges.  I wonder how an electric hand planer would work for something like this.  I have never used one so I do not know.https://www.amazon.com/WEN-6528-3-8-Amp-Electric-Planer/dp/B079FBDPF4/ref=asc_df_B079FBDPF4?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80127028002516&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583726554806526&th=1

[Gene Howe]

I bought an electric hand planer after watching a YouTube demo. After a couple uses, it went back in the box and stored it away. In my shop, it's capabilities can be matched with other tools more reliably. Possibly, the right situation for it's use just hasn't presented itself.