Replies

1. 
   SteveSchoene | May 26, 2006 09:57pm | #1

   Make sure all blades are super sharp.  Dampening the surface sometimes reduces tear out, as does feeding at an angle.  Leave enough extra thickness to be handled with the hand plane.  Really, really sharp blade.  A very small mouth.  And, take very thin cuts.  You want lace, not shavings. 

    

2. 
   highfigh | May 26, 2006 10:07pm | #2

   Dampen it with mineral spirits, not water. The water would cause problems with the grain and the plane.

   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
3. 
   mapleman | May 27, 2006 12:02am | #3

   tc,

   Even with sharp jointer and planer blades you may be in for some disappointing results. Here are some suggestions that may help. Have your jointer and planer blades ground with a 5 degree back bevel. That will reduce (or increase, I can't remember) the attack angle and produce a much better result, but you may still get some tear-out, especially around the birds-eyes. take very small passes! A chip-out at the last stage of milling can take out a small chunk of wood 1/16th deep. When possible, have the stock surface sanded by someone with a drum or wide belt sander, then finish up with a hand scraper. I have that Lie-Nielsen plane and I can tell you it is better suited to curly maple and curly cherry than birdseye maple. Good luck!

   Lee

1. 
   PeteBradley | May 27, 2006 03:03am | #4

   Anyone worked birds eye with a scraper?Pete

1. 
   dgreen | May 27, 2006 03:10am | #5

   I've worked it with a card scraper, worked well taking light cuts with a sharp scraper.
   Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb

1. 
   tcbaldmtn | May 27, 2006 05:12am | #6

   I have a LN scraper plane also, what do you think about using it?

1. 
   dgreen | May 27, 2006 05:34am | #7

   I don't have any experience with that tool, but I've been very impressed with all the LN tools I have tried. Try it on a piece and see.

   Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb

2. 
   ShopHound | May 27, 2006 05:43am | #8

   Hey TC,

   I too love birds eye maple. I would also try placing it in the planer at a slight angle to the grain to help with tear out and it bears repeating.......REAL THIN PASSES. This has got me through the hard times.

   How do you plan on finishing it?

3. 
   dgreen | May 27, 2006 06:21am | #9

   I have been using my double drum sander for the last several years for all my figured wood, no tear out and very controllable for thickness. I did not mention it because it's not yet a common tool in most shops, same reason I did not mention angling it through a wide planer. Both methods work although the sander is by far the safest as far as avoiding tearout. There are people out there that will swear the sanded surface is inferior to a hand machined one I won't get into that here except to say bullsh#t. Next to the sander I would say the scraper will give you the best surface in the least amount of time.
   Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb

4. 
   Pondfish | May 27, 2006 03:41pm | #10

   dampen it (with water) prior to running it through the jointer and planer.  I use a spray bottle and let the wood set for 5-10 minutes (besure the surface is not visibly wet before you cut it).  This will reduce, but not completely eliminate tearout.  You'll also have to make very light passes to avoid chipping out the "eyes."

   I've smoothed rough BE to a glass finish using the planar, followed by sanding down to remove chipped eyes, followed by hand scraping with a card scraper.  This worked well, leaving a very nice surface.

   Recommending the use of "Hide Signatures" option under "My Preferences" since 2005
5. 
   vbwoodworks | May 27, 2006 03:53pm | #11

     I always plane my birdseye "hit and miss" which leaves 4/4 about 13/16 to 7/8 and there is tearout (always is tearout) then I run it though my drum sander just enough to get clear of the tearout then start with any other milling work that needs to be done, ect.

   Darrin 

6. 
   a_Furnitologist | May 27, 2006 06:27pm | #12

   You can built a very simple router sled and using a 1/4 shank straight router bit ( I'd have to be in my shop to give you the exact size 1.5 or 2" diameter).

   Lay your stock on the base of the sled and using wedges or anything to get the board stable, then run the router over the top surface enough to get a flat face.  Then flip it over and "plane" with your router the other face. You now should have 2 parallel faces.  Adjust your router depth to determine your board thickness.

   Belt sand to remove your machine marks...........DONE!!!!

   Neil    http://www.furnitology.com

    

    

    

7. 
   pzgren | May 29, 2006 09:50pm | #13

   For final smoothing, if the LN Yorkie doesn't give satisfactory results, you might try a 60 degree wooden plane such as a Clark & Williams, HNT Gordon, or the Singapore-style smoothers in the Japan Woodworker catalogue.

   You may have to approach the different parts of the wood from different directions. Skewing the plane, as someone else also mentioned, will often help. Very, very thin shavings with a very tight mouth may help.

   The scraping plane may do the job; you'll probably have to play on a piece of scrap to get the angle set for best effect. You may also have to experiment to see whether it works better with or without a burr on the iron. Regardless, keep the iron sharp!!

   Best of luck!!

   James

1. 
   tcbaldmtn | May 30, 2006 03:49am | #14

   I have a stair company near my house.   I think I'll pay them to run the board through their wide belt sander to near thinkness and go from their. 

   I've been thinking about buying a LN Low Angle plane and buying an additional blade and grind it to get the 60 degree angle.  Or maybe I'll have to plan for a Performax drum sander in the family budget.