How to plane wood down to 1/16"?

[dennis thompson]

I make a lot toys for my grandson. The current plan I have calls for both 1/8" and 1/16" thin wood panels. I have had some success with my planer reducing wood to 1/8" (about 25% has to be discarded, not a problem with the small quantities I use). I have never made any 1/16" wood and am sure my planer will not cut wood this thin. (My small bandsaw won't cut this either ). Any thoughts on how I might get the 1/16" wood I need?

[Barry McFadden]

possibly something like this?? http://ocoochhardwoods.com/hardwood_veneers.php also see some on ebay

[Brian W Evans]

Instead of planing down to 1/16, why not build up to it using a few sheets of veneer? Essentially you'd be making your own plywood, which might be stronger than 1/16 solid wood.

[Dave Verstraete]

You could use a Drum Sander such as a SuperMax to sand down to that thickness

https://www.supermaxtools.com/wp-con...og-2017-18.pdf

[Brian Holcombe]

Three sheets of commercial veneer make 1/16”~

[Frederick Skelly]

possibly something like this?? http://ocoochhardwoods.com/hardwood_veneers.php also see some on ebay

This looks like tthe right answer Dennis, since you said your bandsaw cant do it.

[George Bokros]

I use a piece of Melamine board with a cleat on the bottom so it hooks on my planer in-feed table and then I can plane down to as thin as you like since the planer thinks it is planing to 3/4" plus what ever thickness you want your stock to be. Example 3/4" + 1/16 the planer is really planing to 13/16 on the planer setting.

[Frederick Skelly]

I use a piece of Melamine board with a cleat on the bottom so it hooks on my planer in-feed table and then I can plane down to as thin as you like since the planer thinks it is planing to 3/4" plus what ever thickness you want your stock to be. Example 3/4" + 1/16 the planer is really planing to 13/16 on the planer setting.

Hi George,
This sounds like a great tip that I could use. I can't quite visualize how you keep the part from sliding while being planed. Could you describe it more or post a picture some time?

Thanks very much!
Fred

[Barry McFadden]

I use a piece of Melamine board with a cleat on the bottom so it hooks on my planer in-feed table and then I can plane down to as thin as you like since the planer thinks it is planing to 3/4" plus what ever thickness you want your stock to be. Example 3/4" + 1/16 the planer is really planing to 13/16 on the planer setting.

I have a board I use as well for thinner stock but going to 1/16th I think would tear up the wood being that thin...

[Jim Becker]

Using a sled/fixture can certainly help to a certain extent, but when the material gets really thin, it's prone to getting "caught" by the rotating knives in a "less than pretty" way, sometimes with a nice "bang" to accompany it. It doesn't matter that the machine "thinks" it's thicker in that respect...it's the nature of thin stock and whirring knives. A drum sander is the ideal tool to manufacture stock thinner than about 3/16 but gluing up veneer is also worthy to consider.

[Jared Sankovich]

Check out Brian boggs instagram page. He just posted his setup for planing stock at thin as .030"

It uses a shop vac to pull negative pressure against the stock. The whole thing is just a sealed box acting as the bed of the planer. A set of holes directly under the cutterhead keeps the stock from moving/chattering during the cut. It's a really simple setup.
Screenshot_20180704-120752.jpg

[Randy Viellenave]

I learned a trick from a machine shop for attaching things to a CNC that sounds perfect for this. Put painters tape on the sled and the work piece, then run a perimeter of super glue. When I peel things off the cnc, it has held very very well, then once it is lifted the tape just peels right off.

[Lee Schierer]

I recently planed down some red Oak to about 1/16" thickness with my 12-1/2" Delta lunch box planer. I resawed a piece about 1/8" thick with my band saw. Then I took a flat piece of stock that was longer and wider and spaced out strips of double sided tape every 3-4" cross wise along the length to the strip. I attached the strip to my sled good side down. I ran it through my planer until it was the thickness I wanted. Then I carefully pried up the thin piece to free it from the double sided tape.

[Frank Drew]

Veneer dealers sometimes have 1/16" construction veneers; I bought some in cherry for a bent lamination project some years ago.

[dennis thompson]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I had done a nativity for my wife and I needed to antique it so I went to A.C. Moore for some antiquing paint and surprisingly they had 1/8", 1/16", 3/32" and 1/4" wood at very reasonable prices (I only need small quantities for my toys). Lucky day for me.
Thanks again