Thread: Squaring wide end-grain

You can plane end grain with a regular BD plane, but instead of long strokes, move in circles (well ... More elliptical I guess) along the edge creating a shearing cut. Not sure I would want to try it with a #8, but a 4 or 5 will work.

To prevent tear out at exit, clamp a scrap piece on the exit side flush to the edge to support the grain. Alternatively, stop short of the exit and then come back the other way.

Wax on sole of plane is a good idea as some timber can sing.

I often find i need to make jigs or forms when starting on some unusual projects. Often it makes the job a lot easier, especially when dealing with things that need to be repeatable like stools/chairs. Why am i talking about jigs? My first thought was why don't you make a longer shooting board if you are used to using that method to square ends and don't want to use machines. You can make a pretty inexpensive shooter from bunnies pine that's been cleaned up a little.

I haven't used one (a shooting board) for years but i understand the joy of hand tools so can't fault you there.

Good luck and make sure to post some pictures of your work (as a WIP preferably)

Cheers
mat

Originally Posted by marphlix

Hi All,

I wonder how people go about squaring the end-grain on wide boards. I am about to embark on the anarchist tool chest build, but i am unsure how to ensure the end-grain of board is square to the long grain.

The boards will be about 600mm wide, which is way too big for my shooting board. Any suggestions ideas?

BTW i only really use handtools and don't have access to power tools. I also don't have any LA planes ( ) which seems to be the consensus for planning end-grain, so hope fully an ingenious method exists within my constraints


Cheers, Dave

Hi Dave

In the absence of a wide shooting board ...

If you have a flat work bench, so much the better. If not, first lay down a sheet of MDF.

Lay down a second (1/4" thick) sheet of MDF on top, but leave space for a handplane to run at one end.

Place your panel on top of this. Clamp it down.

Score (with a knife) a line along the edge you wish to plane. Ensure that the line is square.

Now you can shoot to the line with a handplane, running it on the MDF (which ensures all is flat and parallel).

Regards from Perth

Derek

I am currently building two chests. One campaign style chest which I intend to use as my tool chest. Kind of taking two of Schwarz' books and running with my own take on them... Also a blanket box for my girlfriend.

I use a low angle block plane. Take your time and get one nice and square by checking repeatedly and microtuning with a super fine shaving, then clamp the other one against it and use the initially squared board as a template. Then you can flip both of them around, line up the three squared edges of both boards, and square the other end of both boards simultaneously.

I hope that made sense... It's working for me.

Aaaaand now I see your last sentence... Sorry about that.

If you have a standard angle block plane you could severely skew the blade. That should work.

But man... You gotta get a low angle block plane. I use that thing all the time! Shouldn't be too hard to find a vintage specimen on ebay, but they're relatively affordable from the big names like Veritas or Lie Nielsen. The Veritas apron plane is a killer tool and is only $150 from CarbaTec.

Again, sorry, I know that "Buy more tools!" wasn't what you wanted to hear.

Depending on the wood a sharp normal number 4 etc can plane end grain Id just mark a line on either side of thd board square to the edge put it in vice and plane away, you just have to skew the plane a bit for easier planning of end grain.
Basically what Glenn said.

Thanks for the ideas guys!

Luke - i would love to buy more tools! There are heaps on my wishlist - just have to proceed slowly and build them up over time. A Block plane is very high on my next purchase list

Thanks Again!

Dave

Originally Posted by Luke Maddux

Aaaaand now I see your last sentence... Sorry about that.

If you have a standard angle block plane you could severely skew the blade. That should work.

But man... You gotta get a low angle block plane. I use that thing all the time! Shouldn't be too hard to find a vintage specimen on ebay, but they're relatively affordable from the big names like Veritas or Lie Nielsen. The Veritas apron plane is a killer tool and is only $150 from CarbaTec.

Again, sorry, I know that "Buy more tools!" wasn't what you wanted to hear.

If you do decide to buy a low angle block plane you should have a look at McJing. They're Qiangsheng sourced items are a terrific quality item for the grand sum of $95 the last time I looked - yep, still the same - link here https://mcjing.com.au/categorybrowse...ategoryid=1368
Because of the way he buys them they will have no brand on them (may even have had a brand ground off!), but will have been destined for Workshop Heaven (UK), Deiter Schmit Fine Tools (Germany) or one of the many Luban sellers.
Great people to deal with too.

As I was taught in sixth year.

Plane from each edge toward the center. Three strokes from one edge, three strokes from the other edge. Draw a line to which you want to square to and plane away. No chamfer, no blocking board, just common sense.

A word of warning.
I had a college instructor see me do that and his growl was "Who taught you to do that?" He was shooting board crazy. I could square the ends in much less time than messing with a shooting board. A great instructor but it was his way of the highway.

The end grain does not need to be exactly square if you are dovetailing the corners. Simply mark a square line around the boards, and dovetail to that line, and then plane/saw/chisel/sand/rout off the protruding pins/tails after glue up.

What both posters above have said!

If the end needs to be perfectly square, it's not that big a challenge to plane it as rrich advises. If you can plane a square edge along the grain, you should be able to do it across the grain. It's a little bit more difficult, but not much, as long as your plane is sharp. A low angle BU plane is a bit easier to use for this sort if job, but far from essential. I got by for half a lifetime before I owned a larger BU.

Or, as Peter says, you can live with a sawn end if making through dovetails, since you will almost certainly be cleaning that surface up after glue-up. However, you do need a 'clean', square edge on the 'tail' board if doing half-lapped D/Ts, of course.....

Cheers,

The end grain does not need to be exactly square if you are dovetailing the corners. Simply mark a square line around the boards, and dovetail to that line, and then plane/saw/chisel/sand/rout off the protruding pins/tails after glue up.

This is great!

Tried this last night on a small box for my marking knives. It might be a coincidence, but i think this is the first box that has come out square when assembled. I think it is the best dovetails i have done (although that is not saying much, as i still need lots of practice).

Thanks again, i might keep trying this method for through dovetails.

Cheers, Dave

Originally Posted by marphlix

This is great!

Tried this last night on a small box for my marking knives. It might be a coincidence, but i think this is the first box that has come out square when assembled. I think it is the best dovetails i have done (although that is not saying much, as i still need lots of practice).

Thanks again, i might keep trying this method for through dovetails.

Cheers, Dave

Glad it worked for you, for some reason this method does not seem to get a mention in videos or books. Bob Howard does them this way (or at least taught me to do them this way).