# Planing Bowed Boards



## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I don’t now if this method has been posted before, but this is what I did.

I had three 2×4’s that were bowed on the wide side, not the edges. Instead of throwing them in the trash, I decided to plane ‘em flat.

I have done this before by gluing a piece of wood to each side, just as the board lay on the table. This time, I used pocket screws and attached a piece of plywood to each edge. You might be able to see the bow in the boards vs the plywood. To do this I placed the 2×4 on my workbench so the bow was up and the two end rested on the table.

Then I pre-drilled the plywood runners and screwed them to the 2×4’s. This method worked perfect. I didn’t have to wait for the glue to dry or build some kind of planing sled.

Don’t worry about the screws hitting the planer blades. There is too much timber in between them.

After running the boards through the planer until the tops were even with the runners, I turned them over and ran them through again.

It appears I now have three boards that are about 1 1/4 inch thick…and flat! No dumpster for these guys.
Mike


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## tvman44 (Dec 8, 2011)

Thanks for the tip. :thumbsup:


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## roninrus1 (Jul 20, 2008)

Nicely done. 
Thanks, Rusty


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*that reminded me of this sled*

I had these gluing frames in my shop and wondered .....
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/planer-sled-rails-14940/


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

woodnthings said:


> I had these gluing frames in my shop and wondered .....
> http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/planer-sled-rails-14940/


If I had a nickel for every time I learned stuff from you... :thumbsup:


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

It is a good idea, but I wouldn't run plywood through my planer,


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Huh?*



hwebb99 said:


> It is a good idea, but I wouldn't run plywood through my planer,



Plywood? Who? Where? Which post? :blink: I don't think the plywood rails are being planed off, but I could be wrong.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

woodnthings said:


> Plywood? Who? Where? Which post? :blink:


 The runners were plywood.


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

That's all I had available. I have since run a lot of wood through the planer - no problems.


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## tempest.hazard (Jul 18, 2015)

Great idea, thanks!
I like to reclaim oak from pallets from time to time and will be trying this out.
It will allready have nail holes so no big deal on a couple more holes.


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