Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 29 of 29

Thread: Thickness planer board return ideas

  1. #16
    Plus one on a cart. Why lift the material up over the machine?

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    3,063
    If it were my brand new machine I wouldn't want to permanently attach anything to it. I think I would put a bunch of self adhesive non-skid rubber pads on the plastic sheet to keep it in place on top of the machine.
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  3. #18
    I use carts with a surface 32" off the floor.
    I do too - they're the hydraulic lift style. One on infeed, one on outfeed. These serve as parts catchers, as I'm typically alone while processing. Also used precisely as you describe.

    Why lift the material up over the machine?
    1> parts need to be flipped, and will be lifted no matter what
    2> Now that I have a machine with no top rollers and no infeed extension, I'm certain I'll place stacks of parts up there to feed repeatedly til gone, then fetch from outfeed.
    3> It is a 9.9 sq. foot flat surface. I'm a woodworker. Things will be placed there.

    However, both of you are probably on a better track, and will try that methodology. In 15 years of business, I've always had tight quarters that prohibited cart recirculation around planer/jointer, but in my current shop, I may indeed be able to make that work. I appreciate the suggestion, as the obvious can be hard to see through old habit!

    jeff
    Last edited by Jeff Roltgen; 05-26-2022 at 4:49 PM.

  4. #19
    I use a smaller hydraulic lift table cart (on casters) on the outfeed side as a catcher along with a fixed height shop build table also on casters on the infeed side. My shop is tiny and does not allow rolling the carts in a circular flow (ieutfeed cart filling up with parts then having enough room to move it back to infeed side) so I end up shuffling parts back to the fixed height table and starting again *sigh* one day this will not be the case and more space will allow for dedicated carts / tables to have a rotating flow without the parts shuffling.

    I also have a (much older) SCM planer with a mostly flat top, though not as large and completely unobstructed from DC as yours is; I do use the top surface as staging sometimes depending on quantity and size of parts. I have a thin, ribbed rubber mat that came with the lift table that is sitting on top of my planer with double stick tape. Crude but it works - prevents it from skidding off but easy enough to remove for popping the hood, etc.

    I really like the lazy Susan concept though! Brilliant.
    Last edited by Phillip Mitchell; 05-27-2022 at 7:46 AM. Reason: Typos
    Still waters run deep.

  5. #20
    It requires a bit of floor space, but you can avoid flipping the pieces by rotating the outfeed cart 180* while rolling it back to the infeed side.

    Keeping short parts flowing through the planer alone can be a race. With an unobstructed top like yours I will pull a stack of parts from the infeed cart and place them on the planer to feed from there. Dipping down to both carts can be a hassle.

    A piece of carpet adhered with carpet tape should work fine. Personally I wouldn't bother - after the first ding you will get over it.
    Last edited by Kevin Jenness; 05-26-2022 at 9:41 PM.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Ouray Colorado
    Posts
    1,392
    I use carts and the flat top on my planer. The flat top is a natural to stack parts on after the first pass. Last pass they land on the cart.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,889
    Check this link for how to mount a flat top on that box.
    Bill D.

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....er-Table-Riser

  8. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Joe Calhoon View Post
    I use carts and the flat top on my planer. The flat top is a natural to stack parts on after the first pass. Last pass they land on the cart.

    this is exactly my approach as well. a cart next to the machine, and the steel machine top for material passes.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,889
    I saw a video of a lunch box planer paling a huge beam. maybe 6x12x30. The beam was supported at both ends and the planer walked the length of the beam. Removing and adding supports as it moved along.
    Bill D

  10. #25
    A little more clarification may be in order:

    Kevin says
    I will pull a stack of parts from the infeed cart and place them on the planer to feed from there
    Exactly what I'm doing.

    A 6' tall rolling parts tree/rack with adjustable brackets on each side is standing at outfeed of jointer. Based on machine arrangement, this puts the freshly jointed pieces at infeed end of planer. They are sorted by width on the brackets, and I'll grab a manageable stack with two hands and place at infeed of planer. Old one had a long infeed bed extension for staging, but this one doesn't, hence placement of the bundle on top to stage for feeding. With no extra hand in the shop, now's when I get to play "pick up sticks" at the outfeed, and return. Most often, I'm hitting quantities well over 100 pieces, so I'm at a loss for what else I could do. There just isn't enough space on the outfeed cart to catch anymore than a bundle of a dozen or so without complete chaos.
    A classic problem for the solo woodworker.

    Sounds like a new thread is being initiated: "Sorting/conveyor system for the one person shop?"


    David: I think that SS top skin is a great move by SCM, and signals that indeed, they expect the planer top to be used as such. Not so worried about dings or perfection, I just don't want to grind all that paint off as the projects/years roll by.

    Attachment: I've briefly thought of trying some of this crazy new product called Alien Tape to avoid hole drilling, but more likely to just tack in place with a pop-rivet at the 4 corners.

    jeff

  11. #26
    Do you have room for a pair of large (3x7 or 4x8 ish) shop built tables on casters to circulate between holding all infeed parts, catching all outfeed parts (neatly) and being able to roll from outfeed back around to infeed side and vise versa with the empty infeed cart moving over to the out feed side for the next round? I suppose it depends on the size of the parts we’re talking about as to relative size of table needed.

    If I’m planing more than 30 or so pieces I will stop briefly in the middle of feeding parts and tidy up the outfeed table parts stack so that I don’t loose track of orientation, etc in the frenzy of feeding the beast. Takes an extra 30-60 seconds every so often but it helps my brain on the subsequent infeed side for the next round. You would obviously want to build the tables at a height that was low enough below your planer bed for most common thickness to allow parts to easily slide onto table (if not using something like a lift table.) Something like a large version of the Felder / Barth foot pump lift tables would be nice for this type of operation, but they are quite $$ new for what they are.

    Yes, as you noted, this is a classic solo woodworker problem once you begin processing wood at volume.
    Last edited by Phillip Mitchell; 05-27-2022 at 12:10 PM.
    Still waters run deep.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    2,758
    Carpet tape will hold it perfectly and is easier and cleaner than pop rivets.

  13. #28
    My suggestion: Hydraulic lifting table like the FAT300 or Barth and glue down a piece of low-pile carpet to the lid of the planer. Why do I say this? Because that’s how we did it!

    Erik

    54ED78B1-7D2F-4111-B85D-5FA7E2B7D61C.jpg
    B0F346FC-5E17-4693-819F-F31F366307AE.jpg
    Ex-SCM and Felder rep

  14. #29
    Eric: I love that idea, but I'll share a little secret I discovered: Dog grooming table with electric lift. Found a used one for about $350. Sounds weak, but honestly, the stack of parts gets cycled off for more incoming so fast that no more than the weight of a large dog ever accumulates on it. Been using it at outfeed of wide belt, and the foot-actuated lift/lower switch makes it quite a pleasure to keep things well aligned as thicknesses change. As for longevity: wish me luck!

    Phillip: Yes, I do also have 2 much heavier duty hydraulic carts with tops sized as you describe, but due to their low pedigree, quite plainly, stink. I have to use clevis pins bored into series of holes in the frame for a few common heights or they just bleed down within minutes.
    If money were no object...

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •