Stephen Musial
07-22-2009, 4:25 PM
Sorry - had to vent.
I'm trying to mill makore for some trim and it is the most tear-out prone wood I have ever seen.
The problem is that it's only 1/4" thick and I'm trying to mill out 1/8" to get a cap moulding to edge a chess and cribbage board like the bottom piece:
http://hybridtt.com/images/End%20Moulding%20%28End-cap%29.jpg
Since it's only 1/4" by 1" tall, I have to mill it all at once because there's not enough meat at the top to keep it from tipping back into the bit in multiple passes. 1/8" x 3/4" doesn't seem like much but this stuff tears out something horrible. I tried it on the router and on the jointer (using the rabbeting edge) and had to run six 2' pieces to get enough usable material for one 18" x 8" cribbage board. I had every featherboard I owned in use to keep it tight to the bit but it didn't make a difference. Tonight I'll try a dado setup in the tablesaw and see if that works any better for the chessboard.
The game boards are figured flatsawn sycamore, mottled makore and waterfall bubinga veneers. Makore was the only solid I could find for trimming - all the sycamore was quartersawn and looked completely different and the only bubinga I found was 1500.00 at Rockler :eek: The makore veneer is really pretty stuff plus I have another big package of pomelle makore but in the future, I'll be using walnut, maple or cherry veneers with it to make the solid framing easier.
There, now I feel better.
I'm trying to mill makore for some trim and it is the most tear-out prone wood I have ever seen.
The problem is that it's only 1/4" thick and I'm trying to mill out 1/8" to get a cap moulding to edge a chess and cribbage board like the bottom piece:
http://hybridtt.com/images/End%20Moulding%20%28End-cap%29.jpg
Since it's only 1/4" by 1" tall, I have to mill it all at once because there's not enough meat at the top to keep it from tipping back into the bit in multiple passes. 1/8" x 3/4" doesn't seem like much but this stuff tears out something horrible. I tried it on the router and on the jointer (using the rabbeting edge) and had to run six 2' pieces to get enough usable material for one 18" x 8" cribbage board. I had every featherboard I owned in use to keep it tight to the bit but it didn't make a difference. Tonight I'll try a dado setup in the tablesaw and see if that works any better for the chessboard.
The game boards are figured flatsawn sycamore, mottled makore and waterfall bubinga veneers. Makore was the only solid I could find for trimming - all the sycamore was quartersawn and looked completely different and the only bubinga I found was 1500.00 at Rockler :eek: The makore veneer is really pretty stuff plus I have another big package of pomelle makore but in the future, I'll be using walnut, maple or cherry veneers with it to make the solid framing easier.
There, now I feel better.