Help With Planning PT Pine

[william raber]

I needed some 11/2" x 5/8" PT strips. Resawing them from 2x stock was no problem. However when I run them through the planner to clean up the saw marks, I get extensive pitting/chipout. It doesn't really seem to matter how much I try to take off at a time.
The PT pine is fresh from the lumberyard, so the moisture content is pretty high. Any ideas on where to start looking?

[george wilson]

Do you mean 1 1/2" strips/ hard to figure out what 11/2 means.

[Scott Rollins]

try flipping the stock end for end-the grain of the wood may be working against you. You did not specify length of the pieces you are cutting. I am assuing that these are not end grain cuts.

[william raber]

I'm ripping 8'- 2"x6" PT pine into strips 1-1/2" x 3/4" thick. I'm then running these strips through the planer to remove the saw marks and a achieve a final strip 1-1/2" x 5/8" thick.
I also tried reversing them end for end. I couldn't really tell much difference.

[Lee Koepke]

the only thing I can think of is pine, in general, is pretty soft, PT because its wet will move alot and isnt very stable, so the intense pressure of the rollers may let the wood 'bounce back' as the knives pass over it, thus taking chunks out.

I have never ran PT thru my planer, so thats just speculation. You may have to cut thinner the first time and sand out the saw marks .

[william raber]

the only thing I can think of is pine, in general, is pretty soft, PT because its wet will move alot and isnt very stable, so the intense pressure of the rollers may let the wood 'bounce back' as the knives pass over it, thus taking chunks out.

I have never ran PT thru my planer, so thats just speculation. You may have to cut thinner the first time and sand out the saw marks .
------------------------------------------------------------
I thought the same might be true, because I can run a strip over my jointer and it doesn't do it. I also thought the knives might be dull, so I honed them in place, but they still may not be sharp enough. I also tried sending them through my drum sander w/80 grit. That works, but it plugs the paper after only a few strips.

[Pete Bradley]

A lot of PT is really, really wet. You might try going to a lumberyard instead of the borg and seeing what they have that's been on the rack for a while. If this is for something like a trellis, you might consider just using it as-cut. Alternately you might consider spending some extra bucks to buy red cedar or white oak. Be easier on your knives too.

Pete