DeWalt Planer workaround?

[Kizar_Sozay]

I have the 11" wide DeWalt planer.  Here's the issue:

I did a resaw on the BS for a bookcut top in tiger maple, planning on laminating them to some plywood.
I cut the pieces 1/4" thick x 6" wide, thinking I would use the planer to remove the resaw tool marks.
I find the cutter head won't go down far enough to do the job as about 1/2" is the thinnest cut.
The bed of the planer is a straight shot through.  No rollers or obstructions.
What I'm thinking of doing is clamping down a piece of 3/4" ply to the steel bed, effectively lifting the bed so the 1/4" boards can be incrementally planed.
I've done the setup and its sturdy and secure.  Only thing left is to start feeding the thin pieces through the planer.  The rollers on the cutting head should hold the thin pieces down to the plywood.

Anyone done this?
What say you?

The alternative is to use 3M double sided trim tape to secure the thin boards to the ply top and feed both pieces through.  This seems dicey to me as the tape might not hold.
Anyone close by is welcome to come by and video the whole operation.

[Chuck 80]

I made a table fixture for my Delta by using a piece of12" wide melamine with a cleat on each side of the table, (on the bottom side) to hold it in place and waxed the surface with paste wax, works great for getting thinner pieces. Just be sure to take light cuts on the thinner stock,

[KC]

I made a table  fixture for my Delta by using a piece of12" wide melamine with a cleat on each side of the table, (on the bottom side) to hold it in place and waxed the surface with paste wax, works great for getting thinner pieces. Just be sure to take light cuts on the thinner stock,

I had a length of melamine with cleats running through mine all the time.  Virtually eliminated snipe, which was what I was after.  I'd do that again if I got another one instead of fiddling with the in/out feed tables.

[Bill Wilson]

I had a length of melamine with cleats running through mine all the time.  Virtually eliminated snipe, which was what I was after.  I'd do that again if I got another one instead of fiddling with the in/out feed tables.

Same here.  I routinely plane down to 3/16", occasionally as thin as 1/8".  Never had a problem.  The main things to watch out for are knots or squirrelly grain that may cause problems with such thin stock.  Otherwise, take light passes (which I typically do anyway, regardless of thickness) and it planes pretty much like anything else.

[brianwelch]

I have the 11" wide DeWalt planer.  Here's the issue:

I did a resaw on the BS for a bookcut top in tiger maple, planning on laminating them to some plywood.
I cut the pieces 1/4" thick x 6" wide, thinking I would use the planer to remove the resaw tool marks.
I find the cutter head won't go down far enough to do the job as about 1/2" is the thinnest cut.
The bed of the planer is a straight shot through.  No rollers or obstructions.
What I'm thinking of doing is clamping down a piece of 3/4" ply to the steel bed, effectively lifting the bed so the 1/4" boards can be incrementally planed.
I've done the setup and its sturdy and secure.  Only thing left is to start feeding the thin pieces through the planer.  The rollers on the cutting head should hold the thin pieces down to the plywood.

Anyone done this?
What say you?

The alternative is to use 3M double sided trim tape to secure the thin boards to the ply top and feed both pieces through.  This seems dicey to me as the tape might not hold.
Anyone close by is welcome to come by and video the whole operation.

I have used double sided tape, don't be parsimonious with it. I have seen where others have successfully used hot melt glue for a similar application.
Small "bites" is the obvious approach...
Good luck!

[MarkSingleton]

I have not done that, yet. Plenty of videos on YouTube that show the same idea
and that it works just fine.

[Large Wooden Badger]

Not a helpful answer but I used this as an excuse to buy a drum sander.

[fredhargis]

I keep a piece of particle board in my planer all the time. It lengthens the infeed/outfeed tables. But my particle board has laminate so that it's slick enough to let the lumber slide easily. That's the only concern I would have with the plywood. If you have a piece of Melamine or such it might work better. BTW, My board isn't secured in any fashion, it just lays there. To keep it from sliding through with the workpiece  there is a pair of cleats on the infeed side to stop it. So I think your idea is fine, other than the slickness. You might want to wax it before using, and try a piece of scrap first to make sure everything is good to go.

[Kizar_Sozay]

Rule of thumb:  The louder the tool, the thinner the cut.

Apparently you survived the operation.  I've got some melamine in the stacks so I'll switch out the shop ply for melamine.

I have a 3/4" lock miter router bit and I sneak up on the final cut by putting four stacks of playing cards behind the surface fence on the router table.  I make a 'barely' pass and then remove cards equally from the stacks until the cut is completed.

Thanks all.

[Kizar_Sozay]

Worked great.  Three passes and done.  All the figure that disappeared in the BS is back.  Daughter's charcuterie board is back on track.  Figured maple with sipo banding.  Several years ago I made up a jig/press for laminating bookcut pieces to ply.  Time to break it out.