Just tuned up my garage sale stanley #4 Plane, and am getting mixed results on my glued up oak panel. Was I supposed to make sure all the grain was running north and south…as opposed to south and north and north and south? Am I supposed to plane at a 45 angle? It seems easier going directly with the grain?
I like planing, but sanding never tears up my grain.
Replies
wanabe,
"Was I supposed to make sure all the grain was running north and south...as opposed to south and north and north and south?"
No, not unless you want to avoid tearout when planing.
What were you thinking? Of course the grain has to run the same way to avoid problems. Can you ordinarily plane against the grain on a single board? You've created a real planing problem. You might be able to get away with 45° planing and scraping with a cabinet scaper. Or rescue yourself with sandpaper for this project.
R
Make sure the frog is set so the mouth opening is very small and the chip iron is set close to the edge. Then set the blade to a very fine cut. You can also try planing with the plane held at a skew angle when planing straight down the boards. While this effectively reduces the cutting angle it can help with stubborn grain. Consider using a cabinet scraper or card scraper to finish smoothing after planing. Good Luck
Stephen Shepherd
Lining up the boards in a panel so you plane them the same way is always a good idea. I wouldn't skew the plane 45 deg. I naturally do it at about 10 deg. When you get a lot of tear out from going against the grain, its a better idea to go head on. You will have bad results if you try oak your first try with planes. Buy some basswood and get confident with the plane first. And learn how to put a keen edge on the iron.
Tom
Learning to use a smoothing plane is not too difficult but like many things, it takes practice. With practice comes experience. It sounds like you need some of both. The best way to get there is to simply do it.
As to whether or not you ought to keep a consistent grain direction .......... Well sometimes the grain will reverse direction within a single board. Sometimes the direction will change a couple of times. What does one do then? I believe that one should lay up the boards to give the most interesting figure/appearance. Learn how to use your plane, use a scraper, and in the end.....sand if you have to. But remember, the more you use the plane, the better results you will get.
Jeff, I have to agree with you here. In an ideal world, the best-looking arrangement of the boards in a glued-up panel will also happen to have the grain rising consistently in the same direction. Since that's often not the case (since when has woodworking occurred in an ideal world?), one has to make some decisions, basically between ease of workability and satisfaction with the appearance of the piece.
Since the maker and the user of the piece have to live with the results of the work for a much longer period of time than it takes to actually prep the piece for finishing, I'd suggest that you go for what looks best, then choose your scraping/planing/sanding options accordingly.
DavidLook, I made a hat -- Where there never was a hat!
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