Hi there, wondered if anyone can help with this query.
I have some rough/scrap timber, I salvaged from an old decking clear out. It's a bit bowed along the length. And the surface is pretty grimy. So in need of a bit of planing and cleaning up.
I have taken the timber through my planer/thicknesser, to true the wood and clean up. Which it achieves fairly well. Although I only have a fairly cheap planer/thicknesser.
But in the planing process the surface splinters quite badly. Not exactly smooth. If I try to sand down (with a 1/4 palm sander) - fairly harsh grit. This doesn't take away the splinter surface and also cuts up the sand paper pretty quickly.
However if I sand down the surface first, without planing. I don't get the splintering, and a nice smooth surface. Which makes oiling/treating, with a brush much better as the brush bristles don't catch on the splinters and come off. Which has made the finish much much better
But the wood isn't true'd, and still a bit bowed.
Also sanding with 1/4 sander is a bit time consuming, as I have quite a few lengths to do. Was thinking of getting the MAKITA M9400 4" ELECTRIC BELT SANDER 240V, to speed this job up. Apparently a good belt sander and within my budget range. If anyone can confirm this or suggest a different belt sander, I would be happy to here about ?
Would it be possible to sand the timber, then run it through the planer. Would this then prevent the splintering plus true the wood?
Or would a better planer/thicknesser stop the splintering ?
Appreciate anyones help and advise here, on the best method deal with ?
Thanks