Spalted Maple

[Phil_S]

I hope I'm not boring you. I just wanted to tell someone! I've been haunting Craig's List for cheap lumber to support my hobby. I keep telling myself, if you are patient, there will be a bargain. Last week someone posts $1 each for cut offs. Most are 20" long, none longer than about 24", oak, maple, hickory, and poplar, all rough cut, most at least 4/4 thick, some 5/4, maybe a bit more, most 6-8" wide. If figure, what the heck, so I drove 1 hour into the countryside on a nice rainy day to meet him after he gets home from work. I took 30 sticks of maple and hickory, plus 3 pieces of 4"x8"x20" maple, figuring it would work for end table leg stock. It turns out a couple of the "hickory" are quarter sawn white oak, not too shabby. There were some distinctly red boards of which I took a few and I believe these are curly cherry. But the real find was 16 sticks of spalted maple!

The "problem" I've got is that 20" is too short for the lunchbox planer. If I were to run them through, I'd have to cut off 2-3" at each end to remove the snipe. I flattened several of them using the router and sled method of planing. Thickness after planing ranges from 13/16" to 1 1/8". Finished stock will be a bit thinner. Here's a sample of the spalted maple. I hope you like it.

I haven't decided yet if this stuff will make head cabs -- I need a few -- or end tables.

[ViperDoc]

If you think it's worth it, you can always cradle your short pieces to a sacrificial sled and plane them together, then detach your spalt.

[Phil_S]

Thanks for your thought on the lunchbox planer. I've got the Porter Cable, which is identical to the Delta. This one, I think: https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-1 ... er/3044121 . I bought it used (Craig's list.) I selected this model for it's decent reviews and its weight -- only 65 pounds, which is the very upper limit of what I am able to lift.

I've tried all sorts of things to minimize snipe, but there is always some. "Cradle" is an interesting idea. Do you mean to build a surround on all 4 sides and bottom if needed? I have some scrap and might be willing. I've tried gluing a 1x2 on each side to extend the "length" but it has limited effectiveness. When the planer feels the full width board enter the cutting area, the rollers still manage to go bump and give me snipe. See idea #4 https://fixthisbuildthat.com/6-ways-to- ... ner-snipe/

The planer gives a good finish. The router sled left things rather rough because I could only find the cheap yellow bottom cleaning bit I bought on Amazon. I sharpened it, too, but it doesn't hold an edge for very long. I have a decent bit on order ;-} I'm thinking that I'll give them all a light skim on the router sled when I have a decent bit.

[jabguit]