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  1. #1
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    Default Advice on dimensioning a slab with hand planes

    I'm after some tips on planing technique. I'm having a frustrating time dimensioning a board - the board seems to stay warped. Again, I find it hard to describe in words, and I might make take some pictures of my next attempt if I can't make further progress.

    So I'm dimensioning a 350x1000 slab of ironbark. I have a 4 1/2 with a slight camber I'm using like a scrub, and a 7 jointer. I'm using the scrub to take mostly horizontal and diagonal scalloped cuts to get the board relatively flat and then clean up with the jointer taking cuts along the length. However, I'm finding that the board seems to default to a particular shape because some parts cut more easily than others. Maybe some parts of the grain are easier to severe than others, that causes it to revert to a certain shape. In this case, it's a cup, such that the board is flat most of the way across the width but tapers off at one edge.

    So I start by fixing this with the scrub, and then I take the jointer, and start taking full length passes. From all the videos I've watched, I'm expecting it to take progressively deeper shavings off the top of the scallops, and transition to full length shavings after a few passes. However, I never get to this point. Whether I can take a long shaving depends on the part of the board. Some parts of the board I'm getting a shaving on every pass, and some parts of the board the plane just glides straight over rather than cutting. I I've taken a marker on the board to see where I'm cutting, and I can see one of the quadrants I'm completely missing. And checking the flatness of that section I can confirm that it's flat and the plane sole is making contact with the wood. So because I'm trying my best to get a full length shavings across the board, I ended up taking off more stock in some places than others, and the board keeps reverting to its original shape. After an hour, I've smoothed out all the rough areas left by the scrub, but now I have a smooth piece of wood that's bowed.

    So back to the drawing board! Take some scalloped cuts with the scrub to remove the bow. What do? Rinse and repeat?

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  3. #2
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    Mar 2018
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    no planing expert here ! I'd suggest ignoring the scrub plane for the time being. It's what is allowing you to get further out of line than getting better. I'd also question, are you sure you're taking away the high spots and not just making a wavier board?
    Also I'm not sure your terminology is succinct. "
    I'm expecting it to take progressively deeper shavings off the top of the scallops
    " is not true. You want it to take the same DEPTH of cut each time, but it should take LONGER cuts, so that the planed-off areas become larger until they merge into one long shaving.

  4. #3
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    That's pretty hard wood you're working with, and a blade that's losing its edge will start to ride up and over the bumps rather than cutting into them.

    I know when I'm working spotted gum, having to exert lots of downward pressure is a sign that the blade needs sharpening.

    Just a thought.

  5. #4
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    Nov 2007
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    Victoria
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    Is the board flexing/moving under the load of you planing it ?
    You boys like Mexico ?

  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by poundy View Post
    no planing expert here ! I'd suggest ignoring the scrub plane for the time being. It's what is allowing you to get further out of line than getting better. I'd also question, are you sure you're taking away the high spots and not just making a wavier board?
    I'm checking it with a straight edge constantly. It's relatively straight before I'm taking the jointer plane to it

    Quote Originally Posted by poundy View Post
    Also I'm not sure your terminology is succinct. "
    I'm expecting it to take progressively deeper shavings off the top of the scallops
    " is not true. You want it to take the same DEPTH of cut each time, but it should take LONGER cuts, so that the planed-off areas become larger until they merge into one long shaving.
    you're right - I meant longer shavings, not thicker ones

    Quote Originally Posted by LanceC View Post
    That's pretty hard wood you're working with, and a blade that's losing its edge will start to ride up and over the bumps rather than cutting into them.
    Could well be the case. I do sharpen regularly, but maybe the blade never got sharp enough for me to know what it should cut like. It does cut, though. Just some sections are always cutting and other sections don't. You'd think as you keep planing, the parts that don't cut start cutting, but they don't - that's the gist of the problem. It could be the grain that causes this. I'll try to sharpen more regularly and see if I can see a difference.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sam View Post
    Is the board flexing/moving under the load of you planing it ?
    it's an extremely solid piece of wood - ironbark 40mm thick

  7. #6
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    Sounds like you might have missed the critical step of dealing with board twist. Refer to the following video from 8 min 19sec on the use of winding sticks.

    YouTube

  8. #7
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    I used this vid to help me with learn how to flatten timber by hand.

    YouTube

    Hope it helps.

    Regards,


    Adam

    Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

  9. #8
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    May 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by planemaker View Post
    Sounds like you might have missed the critical step of dealing with board twist. Refer to the following video from 8 min 19sec on the use of winding sticks.

    YouTube
    You're right, I didn't!

    That had gone through my mind at some stage, though, but I forewent it. I think I decided to deal with twist at the end for some reason. Are the issues that I described what happens when working with twisted boards?

    Also, I don't have proper winding sticks. Is it very important for the end piece to have bars of a contrasting colour, or can I just use any 2 different coloured straight edges? I've used the latter approach, and found it very rough because the focus is very blurry.

  10. #9
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    My winding sticks are just two pieces of mdf, one coloured on the top with a sharpie!


    Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

  11. #10
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    And mine are just any two straight pieces of anything I can lay my hands on whenever I need winding-sticks. All they need to be is straight & parallel, anything else is icing. Different colours certainly help, particularly if you are squinting towards an open door or other source of strong light...

    Cheers,
    IW

  12. #11
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    I've been thinking more about board flex. I suppose small amounts of flex aren't negligible and I should support my work piece so that it's flat everywhere, and put shims under hollow parts. I've been putting it in the vise with nothing underneath it. Perhaps a bad idea.


    I used this vid to help me with learn how to flatten timber by hand.

    YouTube
    That's a brilliant video! I remember flicking through it at some stage but all the details were lost on me until now. Seems much more systematic than other guides. I'll follow that exact process and see how I go

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