Been running 1 1/2″ x 11/32″ salvaged oak strip flooring thru a planer to remove the coating then after laying the small area the idea of a touchup with a beltsander before resealing.
But the buildup on the planer knives is tremendous and quick so I was wondering if anyone had a preferred process used to remove the gunk buildup.
Thanks
Replies
Oven cleaner, but I think it eats aluminum.
If you can take a little deeper bite into the wood so you're not heating up the film finish so much, you'll have less gumming. Unfortunately you don't have much thickness to work with.
So strip the finish. I've stripped trim in lye baths, in a wood trough lined with plastic. (I suppose a PVC culvert would work well, too, with end caps glued on.) That might work for flooring as well. Lye will react with the tannins, though, turning the wood dark, which mght be nice, actually. Do it outdoors, of course.
Thanks splintee but I'm not looking at that involved of a deal. Closet type room of 4 x12 the look of the floor isn't that important and I don't particularly care for the narrow oak strip look but using it because I have it.
Small amount to be cleaned so I can do the extra mile.
be hey, you can do anything for a couple days
razor blade and lacquer thinner
Scrape with a dull putty knife, then a brass wire bush.
din't I learn ya better?
I think this was discussed a few years ago, something about a borrowed planer........
Joe H
Try mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, Fantastik (for the lye content like SG says).....once you find a solvent that softens it, scrape, and scrape, and scrape again. Can't find a solvent, use paint stripper.
I have a rule: no finishes in my planer, ever, under any condition. If I have to, I'll strip the finish before the wood goes into the machine.Cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Amen brother.
WD-40. Spray the blades, spray a rag. wipe. respray. wipe.
SamT
One word of caution. Careful when wiping the blades. I cleaned my planer blades one time (the first time) and found out how sharp they were when it sliced through the rag and my fingers all of a sudden so slick that I didn't feel it until my fingers felt sticky... with blood. Duh, huh. Go figure, the blades are sharp. Who woulda thunk?
Cleaned up well with WD40 then a light scraping, and increasing the depth of the cut a tad made all the difference in the world.
Thanks all.
th-th-th-that's all folks!
Edited 8/17/2007 4:24 pm ET by rez
Glad to hear that trick worked. I have a nearly worn-out set of planer blades i keep just for ugly jobs like that "until i find all the nails". It's $80 for a set of blades for my planer, but i've saved a lot more $$$ in wood than that. I wouldn't trash a good set of blades on used wood, though.
That extra depth in the cut makes a big big difference to the point of remarkable. Those thin strips didn't even gunk the blades up.
$80 for blades means you've got a pretty sweet planer but this little 12" Delta with reversible blades are pretty cheap for the fun ya get out of seeing the new wood grain show up. :o)
be Teflon time
after ya get everyting clean and spiffy...
spray a dry teflon coating on the blades and drum...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!