Newbie

[BaileyBoy]

Hi all,

I have been reading this forum and the renovators forum for a couple of years now and it has been very informative so thanks everyone.

Lately I have been trying to get into woodworking to make some furniture with left over timber from deck builds and general lumber I stock up from Gumtree. Most of what I have are australian hardwood. And I want to build proper furniture (it mortise and tenon joints) not just two bits of timber screwed together. I have got a table saw and a jointer (both very old, I believe it was 1970s Durben or Artesian) anyway, I have build couple of cross cut sledges and a few jigs. Doing things in pine is ok. But when I get to working with spotted gum or other hardwood. I find my tools gets blunt very quickly and the cut itself doesn't look like it has a good edge. I have got Stanley tools (chisels). Even when I try to hand plane (using a stanley No5). I don't get a very good finish.

Does anyone else have similar issues (Australian hardwood is too difficult to work with). Or do I need to get my tools sharpened by a professional?

[marphlix]

Hi Newbie,

I'm just getting started too. I have not had that problem with Aussie hardwoods, although i have only used blackbutt, tallowwood, Vic Ash and Jarrah - so i don't know about Spotted Gum.

I have only ever used hand tools, aldi chisels and old stanley hand planes. I have sharpened them myself using a technique by Paul Sellers using Sand paper (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki8tt-VjwqI) and then diamond stones. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6ykVzL2VAM)They work fine for me and give a good mirror finish. I don't know if its the right way of doing it, but i test for sharpness but seeing if i can shave my arm hairs with the blade.

I don't find they go blunt that quick myself- how quick are you talking? A possiblity is that you have the wrong angle on the bevel which might be causing them to fracture or dull quicker - maybe. I use a 30degree bevel on planes and chisels

I can't answer your question about the jointer, but you may want to google some videos how to tweak/tune a plane as well.

Also i have found this forum and the knowledge here great, so maybe wait for someone better than myself to reply.

Good Luck!!

[orraloon]

Hi BaileyBoy,
It is best to plane with the grain but spotted gum can be a bitch sometimes as the grain can be all over the place and tearout is common. Blades do need to be sharp. The hand plane blade (and chisels) should be able to shave the hairs off your arm. Even then spotty can still misbehave. You need to set for a very fine cut. On the jointer same applies. Sharp blades and take a light cut. I have an old wood body smoother with a higher angle blade that comes out when tearout is an issue and if that wont do then out comes a scraper.
Using hardwood will require tools to be sharpened more often. What do you use to sharpen both the hand tools and the jointer and how sharp do you get?
There is always google to look at sharpening methods. There are so many methods around now so try to find something you can get comfortable with.
Regards
John

[Kuffy]

you should get your jointer blades sharpened by a professional. dont get a pro to sharpen chisels or plane irons, these things go blunt so fast that you need to know how to sharpen them yourself because as you are working, you will give the edges a touch up with a light hone here n there to keep a keen edge. buy yourself a sharpening jig/honing jig, or make one. I use the veritas mark II, its nice...but bloody expensive. a jig changes a talented skill into an easy chore.

a good sharp chisel should be able to slice paper, shave arm hairs (yuck, i hate doing this), or easily pair away spotted gum across the end grain with little effort.

hardwoods will dull cutters faster than softwoods. for a real example, i used to run a 4 sided moulder, running pine and vic ash handrails and the like. for pine i could run in excess of 3000lm before needing to sharpen (often i hit a rock or staple long before the 3000lm, so be it), but with the vic ash hardwood I needed to sharpen closer to about 800-1000lm.

[3 toed sloth]

Agree with all above, spotted gum is a very hard & gnarly timber, try something that planes a bit easier like.. er..just about anything:D

Also learning to sharpen chisels and plane blades is a key fundamental skill, I'll let you know when I've mastered it:rolleyes:

There are millions of websites around, and everyone has their favorites, but one thing I find greatly helpful as someone who's still learning, is the online membership of Fine Woodworking magazine. This is a huge resource which is easy to use and covers all the basics, and much more.

Another good one is the WoodWhisperer.

Peter

[BaileyBoy]

Thanks guys!

Yes, I have looked up a lot of youtube on sharpening and I think I got my chisels pretty sharp. I only have one set and couple of hand planes, so I guess I was just frustrated with having to sharpening them mid way through a job. Maybe I should have another set?

The jointer is ok I guess, it is a really old design which made it really hard to make fine adjustment so I only got it to roughly 0.5mm co-planar.

I used old spotted gum with the wavy grain. That I think was my biggest issue.

By the way, where can you buy oak? A lot of the american woodwork videos seem to use this timber.
Is there an Australian hardwood that's not ridiculously hard to work with?

[AdamAnt]

Yes there are lots of Australian hardwoods that are softer than spotted gum. Some are mentioned above. Bunnings sells Tassie Oak which I think is actually from a couple of varieties of eucalypt that are on the "softer" side. Prob best to head to a timber yard and ask what they have that's suited to furniture/cabinet making. River Sheoak is similar (in my limited experience with each) to American red oak. There's southern silky oak (lighter) and northern silky oak (darker). Qld maple, not so much like oak I think but maybe more like American mahogany in its properties (though different colour). Mango. Walnut. Just a few suggestions, hope it helps. Btw, I think we see oak come up in American videos because it's fairly common and suits furniture making but they're not all one variety either.

[BaileyBoy]

Thanks Adam Ant