I have a Delta 12 1/2" planer.
Last year I had to have it rebuild after two years of use. These types of
surface planers are not designed for heavy work. They are intended for
finish work. When milling air dried hardwood lumber I can only remove a
1/64" or less in one pass. If your lumber has not been well stacked when
air or kiln drying many boards will be distorted (crook, bow, cup and
twist). If this is the case either you have a powerful surface planer or
spent all day on a 12-13 light duty planer removing 1/64 or less at a time.
When I am in a rush I use my heavy duty 6" jointer to remove as much
distortion as possible before doing the final surface planing. When I have
more time, I go to a hardwood flooring mill where they have a machine that
surface four sides of a max width of 6 " in one pass. They charge me 0.07
cents per linear foot X 6" wide. Then I bring the milled lumber home and
use my Delta 12-1/2 to do the final finish. Knowing what I know now I would
have invested in a industrial planer. As a norm I now finish the board to a
7/8" thickness instead of 3/4". Sometime where structural strength is
require I finish to 1" thick.

"Joe C." wrote in message
om...

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am buying alot of quartersawn white oak in the rough and I had a
question. I need to mill it in my Delta 12" planner but since both the
top and bottom are rough is there a proper way to ensure I have a flat
board when I finish milling it. The lumber does not have a smooth
surface on the bottom when I first put it into the planer but I want to
make sure that it remains flat as I mill it so when it it flipped over
to do the other side the board is flat or does it matter.
Thanks,
Mike

oh boy, here we go again.

Mike, suffice it to say, this has been discussed ad naseum on the wreck.
DAGS on flattening wood, do i need a jointer, jointer or planer, etc....