# Can I plane across the grain in my DeWalt planer?



## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I cut a piece of 2x10 pine for a small vise and I glued fir strips across the ends to keep it flat. I also put in a fir spline across the middle to keep it from splitting.

I already flattened it with a hand jointer and run it through the planer before adding the cross pieces, but now I wanted to run it back through the planer just to clean it up. It’s really not important how it looks so I could just skip that part altogether, but was just curious.


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## tvman44 (Dec 8, 2011)

I am fairly sure cross grain is not recommended.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Thanks after posting this I decided not to try it because it might snag onto the grain and I don't know what will happen then. May rip a chunk out of it or something.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

I've done it a time or two, and don't recommend it. I don't imagine the piece would shoot out of the planer provided it was long enough in the feed direction to stay engaged with the feed rollers, but it leaves a crappy surface


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

epicfail48 said:


> I've done it a time or two, and don't recommend it. I don't imagine the piece would shoot out of the planer provided it was long enough in the feed direction to stay engaged with the feed rollers, but it leaves a crappy surface


 Thanks when I originally ran the pine through the planer after flattening it, I hit a loose knot and it scared the heck out of me. I don’t know what happened to the knot, but it was pretty good size and I hope it didn’t do any damage to my planer. I don’t really care too much for the wood because I’ll probably be banging on it anyway with a hammer.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Sleeper said:


> Thanks when I originally ran the pine through the planer after flattening it, I hit a loose knot and it scared the heck out of me. I don’t know what happened to the knot, but it was pretty good size and I hope it didn’t do any damage to my planer. I don’t really care too much for the wood because I’ll probably be banging on it anyway with a hammer.


To be fair the knot would've caused a problem no matter what way you ran it through. At any rate though, still probably isn't the best thing to do to a planer


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

epicfail48 said:


> To be fair the knot would've caused a problem no matter what way you ran it through. At any rate though, still probably isn't the best thing to do to a planer


I'm afraid to look at what damage it may have caused. I'm going to run a board through later to see if there is a problem.


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

I do it all the time, cross grain, end grain, with grain. Works for me, but I am the odd man out on it.


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## jdonhowe (Jul 25, 2014)

If the piece isn't too long, you could send it through the planer skewed, to give more of a shear cut on the cross grain.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

I've done it on drawer fronts that had vertical grain. I take super light cuts and it's worked ok.


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## Stevedore (Dec 28, 2011)

I have an acquaintance who ran a crosscut tree slice through a planer at an evening class he was taking. He did it without checking with the instructor; cost him a bunch of $$ for planer repair/replacement, IIRC. 

Even knowing the above, I'd try it with real fine cuts, and if the piece was securely fastened to a sled.


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