11-12-2021, 04:50 PM
I was given a rather small section of walnut log a while back and finally decided to do something with it. It was about 31" long, maybe 12"-13" at the widest point. Nothing particularly spectacular about the wood.
I had a slab section that was maybe 2.25" thick and I didn't know what to do with it. Part of me wanted to keep it thick and whole, but that makes it a lot harder to work with with limited options. I ended up deciding to try an internal live edge epoxy table (just black, nothing colorful) to replace a random table we have next to the couch. To do this I cut the slab in half vertically and then resawed in half on the bandsaw. This made it a good thickness for a table top (1" or so) and long enough to get what I needed. Still not wide enough, so I'll have to add something on the outside.
The point is since I didn't have a 48" or longer slab to work with I am aligning the edge and grain as best I can (they were sawn in half, so it's somewhat bookmatched in the wrong direction) and butt-joining using the Domino. But cutting tenons in the end of longer boards like that is a pain and it's not convenient. I ran into this same problem initially with crib slats, but I use it all the time.
Basically, if the board is long enough that it doesn't clamp conveniently anywhere in the shop and not so wide that it doesn't fit in the planer (in my case, 13" or less) it is relatively easy to use the planer as a hold-down to work on the end. More comfortable than getting down on the floor and using some sort of offset. Maybe not rocket surgery, but also not something that some people might think of. Hope it helps.
I had a slab section that was maybe 2.25" thick and I didn't know what to do with it. Part of me wanted to keep it thick and whole, but that makes it a lot harder to work with with limited options. I ended up deciding to try an internal live edge epoxy table (just black, nothing colorful) to replace a random table we have next to the couch. To do this I cut the slab in half vertically and then resawed in half on the bandsaw. This made it a good thickness for a table top (1" or so) and long enough to get what I needed. Still not wide enough, so I'll have to add something on the outside.
The point is since I didn't have a 48" or longer slab to work with I am aligning the edge and grain as best I can (they were sawn in half, so it's somewhat bookmatched in the wrong direction) and butt-joining using the Domino. But cutting tenons in the end of longer boards like that is a pain and it's not convenient. I ran into this same problem initially with crib slats, but I use it all the time.
Basically, if the board is long enough that it doesn't clamp conveniently anywhere in the shop and not so wide that it doesn't fit in the planer (in my case, 13" or less) it is relatively easy to use the planer as a hold-down to work on the end. More comfortable than getting down on the floor and using some sort of offset. Maybe not rocket surgery, but also not something that some people might think of. Hope it helps.