heavy duty wood planer

[JohnC]

I have a large pile of very large wood barn beams, approximately

8x8x24', that I want to use to build a post and beam addition to our house. I want to plane them to a uniform size before we begin, and am looking for a suitable planer. My son can get us all the roller table we need to physically handle the beams, but what planer??? Is there one that would handle beams of size? I anticipate buying the planer and then re-selling it, since I don't think I would use it afterwards, but would hope to find a good used one. I would appreciate any advice any of you could offer.Thanks --

[Patriarch]

"JohnC" wrote in news:1168312937.795734.30840 @s34g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Maybe it's just me, but since you asked...

I can't imagine running beams that size through a planer that I could put on my property. I'm thinking that I'd need 3 phasepower and a forklift to move that material.

Were I going to try to smooth those beams, a handheld power planer comes to mind. Or a trip to a well-equipped lumber yard, with a large truck/trailer.

But then, I'm a hobby guy. Choose your battles, friend.

Patriarch

[Chrisgiraffe]

Hello, Assuming your dimensions are 8"x8"x24' then I suggest one of the 20" General Machinery or Powermatic planers. General Machinery:

a used one might be tricky and shipping costs might be pretty steep. These things are crazy heavy and are primarily used in commercial shops. These don't get passed around, but who knows; perhaps a shop in your area is closing it's doors and you can pick one up at some kind of discount.

The poster earlier who suggested hand planing has a good point. If anything you may consider taking off wood with a belt sander then hand planing for the finish.

Best of luck.

JohnC wrote:

[Stephen M]

FWIW, traditional post&beam (timberframe) construction is typically done with rough-cut stock.

When building cabinetry, we true our stock (joint/plane/rip) to a perfect rectangle and cut out joinery from there.

With timberframing, that approach is too cumbersome. Two adjacent faces are selected as the "reference faces". These are positioned to the outside of the building. All jointery is marked relative to the reference faces.

For example, a housed M&T joint is typically used between the post and crossbeam of a "bent". The "housed" part of the socket holds the entire crossbeam and is cut to a depth of 7 inches from the reference face, (not 1 inch from the joining face). This essentially creates a virtual 7x7 into which you cut the main part of the mortise. The distance between shoulders of the crossbeam is the distance between the virtual 7x7's.

This shot shows a brace set into a post using the same housing approach

technique allows the builder to get essentially square joinery without squaring the entire timber.

Be aware that a planer will make your stock smooth but not flat.

Regards,

Steve

This is a really good book if you're interested in an intro to timber frame construction.:

[Gerald Ross]

Before doing any type of machining I would check very closely with an appropriate device to make sure there were no nails broken off inside the wood. A hidden nail passing through a planer can be expensive.