Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Dec 21, 2010 02:31pm | #1

   On Way To Do It

   Pomme,

   This is easier shown than explained in words and a detailed explanation would take a chapter in a book.  Also there are probably a dozen ways to do this, and mine is not the most conventional method, so someone else, if they also respond, may very well give you a different and possibly better approach.

   First of all the plane needs to be of decent quality, be properly tuned up, and have a sharp blade, and you need to know how to keep it sharp.

   Next you need to decide just how close to perfectly straight you need the edge to be.  If this is just going to be the edge of a shelf it only has to look straight to a casual observer.  If you are prepping the edges of several boards to glue them up into a panel then you are going to need to get the edges much closer to perfect.

   Also you should get the wide face of the stock as flat as needed first before you start in on the edges since the edge is almost always needs to be squared up to the face.

    My approach:

   Take a builders level and place it on the edge of the board to get a sense of where the high spots are and whether the rough edge is more or less straight or whether it has a curve over the length of the stock.  Now take a plane with around a 10 inch sole and use it to knock down the high spots and to remove any overall curves in the edge.  Stop frequently and use the level to check your progress. 

   Once you have the edge fairly close to straight use a square against the front face of the board to check if the edge is also square to the face.  To correct for out of square hold the plane so that you are only shaving off the high side of the edge and start to bring the edges square to the face.  As you work use the level and square frequently to judge your progress.  Keep the plane sharp and adjust it to take only very fine shavings as the edge gets closer to straight and square.  Having a good light behind the stock, so you can see light between the level and low spots on the edge, is very helpful.

   Often you can quit at this point or you can take a plane with a longer sole and use it to take a few continuous passes down the length of the stock to get a very straight and square edge.  If you are prepping the edges for a glue up then prepare the second board like the first and then stand one board on top of the other with a light behind the joint to see how well the edges mate and to see where to use a finely set plane to make final corrections.

   This gets a lot easier with practice, I can straighten the edge of a board in just a few minutes using this method.

   Hope this helps.   

1. 
   [email protected] | Dec 22, 2010 05:11am | #2

   Jointing an edge

   Thank you John I will endeavour to put these tips in to action,very helpfull thank's again.

                                                                                                                             Pomme.

1. 
   whitedogstr8leg | Dec 22, 2010 12:50pm | #3

   One other way..

   is  to snap a chalk line along the edge.    It will show up any high/low spots.    Then just plane down until you just touch the chalk line.    Be sure to use the blue chalk, as red will stay on the wood forever.      The blue will just wipe off.    If you are prepping a series of boards to glue-up into a panel, stack the board so that as you unstack them they will unfold ( like a folded piece of paper) in the order you want.    Then plane ALL the edgs at once.   This will give a wider base for the plane to ride on, plus any small dippity-dos will match.   On using a plane for this:   the longer the plane the better. 

   
2. 
   Anji12305 | Dec 29, 2010 08:35am | #4

   Some observations about this process

   I edge jointed four redwood boards last Spring, roughly the dimensions you indicate.

   I found it MUCH easier to plane the length with the boards flat, and clamped to a stable surface.  (I used a recycled door.)

   With .5" square spacers (stickers) to raise the board above the door, I ran my handplane sideways along the boards.  This made handling the large boards easier and more stable than trying to clamp them "upright" and maintain the plane edge at 90 degrees to the board width.

   My first board is thinner than the rest, as I took too much off on each pass.  Cut thinner shavings for better results.  I suppose keeping the plane sole waxed will help in either orientation.

   Each board shows some measure of sideways deflection, presumably in the direction the board was growing in the tree - leave each board a little wide (.125") for a weekend before settling on your chosen width.