Valuable Lesson (April 27, 2006)

One thing that has been going on is that the wood in my backyard has been drying. Last weekend I planed the first board from the wood I cut in Sept 2004. The maple turned out beautiful. It had been stickered for about a year in the back yard and for an additional 8 months or so above the ceiling of my garage. I learned a lesson when planing the board. If you read the earlier entries in this blog you will see how well the sawmill blade held up to the 6 nails that I cut in one of the logs. Considering the worth of the wood, my concern for dulling a blade was minimal. Well it came back and bit me when I planed the wood. The planner blades are more expensive, and harder to change (and set). Here is the lesson: bring some sort of marking pen when cutting wood so that you can circle any nails that you happen to hit. (Crayon works good!) Your planer will thank you.