laminate bending/resawing

[alex grams]

So i am doing some laminate bending, and i get a resaw of some 1/8 stock done. Of course there are minor changes in the thickness of the 1/8th piece, so i would prefer to plane it down to get a good even thickness so the curve of the wood will be uniform and all of the layers bend evenly in the press and have good glue contact.

How do you recommend planing it down? I have a DW734, and seem to get a lot of chipout at the ends, and sometime along the entire length of the piece. I have a long smooth board i use as a sled, but this doesn't fix the chipout.

Suggestions?

PS: While i like the vacuum bag system from rockler, on my second use of the bag, the check valve broke off from the plastic bag... now to drive 30 minutes each way during lunch today to go get it replaced :(

[Hubert Carle]

Can't answer about the best way to thickness ( well actually I can - use a thickness sander but that is another story ) but as for the chip out the key is probably the grain direction. Make sure that the knives are not cutting up the grain and the chip out should be be better. Also on such a thin piece I would suggest a sled and double stick tape the whole length so it doesn't bounce.

[Jamie Buxton]

It is very difficult to run 1/8" stock through a thickness planer. If you run it without taping it to a sled, the leading edge flexes up into the blades, and the stock nearly explodes. If you tape it to a sled, you can make the stock thin, but you'e likely to destroy it while trying to pull it off the sled. If you just have minor ridges running across the stock, consider using a hand plane. You don't have to plane the entire surface. Just knock off the ridges

[Chris Padilla]

Drum sander is your best bet.

You could try hand sanding it with a long, flat board and some sandpaper glued/taped to it.

Jamie's idea of a hand plane could also work. Hand scraper?