I'm working with some Santa Maria wood and I'm experiencing quite a bit of tearout while milling. I recently picked up a beautiful live edge piece for a waterfall coffee table, along with a few short boards to practice on, but unfortunately, my first attempts at milling haven't gone smoothly. I'm using a helical head jointer followed by a planer, which I believe is also helical, but I'm not entirely sure. The tearout seems to be particularly bad when I run it through the planer. Has anyone else worked with Santa Maria or encountered this issue? Any tips for preventing tearout would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
It sounds like you're having a tough time with the milling! Pictures could definitely help in diagnosing the issue. However, I recommend checking your cutter head on the planer. If it's not sharp or if it's dull, that might be causing the tearout. Also, try to keep the grain direction in mind and adjust your feed speed; sometimes slowing it down can help. Good luck!
I've had a similar problem when working with challenging woods. A good trick is to use a finishing pass with a very light cut—almost just a skim. This can sometimes clean up the tearout you already have. Also, consider using a higher moisture content wood or dampening the surface slightly before milling; that can help reduce tearout as well!
That's a solid suggestion! I've heard about dampening the wood beforehand too. Might be worth trying, especially with a wood like Santa Maria.
Thanks for the tips! I’ll definitely take a closer look at the blades and see if I can adjust my feeding speed. Hopefully, that will make a difference.