A friend of mine (a carpenter) told me that to check the grain direction of unsurfaced wood is by rubbing it with bare palm along the board. If my palm get jabbed by one or more wood fiber, then that is the opposite direction of the wood grain.
Perhaps that is true,… I cannot say for sure. I never try that because never use unsurfaced wood for any of my projects.
Let say that technique is true, to my wonder ..does the direction of log it was
sawn would have any effect on the degree/possibility of the wood fibers to project out ?
Just wonder
Masrol
Replies
Mas, tell him to put his money where his mouth is and demonstrate this concept on a nice wood such as Wenge.
I think your friend was pulling your leg-or just being a carpenter.
Philip,I'm in the middle of a large project with lots of Wenge, and I've discovered something strange... the wenge splinters actually jump out at your hands like heat-seeking missiles. You don't have to go looking for them, they find you! And just in case you didn't notice them right away, they get infected within 24 hours. Ah, the joys of working with natural materials...DR
Ring, you know....Wenge is very nasty stuff, even the dust is dirty....Unless one is very careful, it is almost impossible to even pick up a board without getting a splinter.
Anyhow, it has great character and is well worth the effort in the end.
What sort of prices do you pay for it there? Here in New Zealand it costs more than American Cherry. I have some that came from Mozambique-where they burn more than is usefully used because it makes good charcoal.Philip Marcou
Philip,Terribly expensive. Approx $4000 per cubic meter for wenge. But it's gorgeous stuff. I have a stack of 1" boards, 3 meters long and every one of them is at least 40 cm wide and perfectly straight. The jointer is completely unecessary! So what if every board cost $150? The client is paying... only it's my hands that get the splinters!best,
DR
Hey Philip,
The cool thing about wenge slivers is that they are really easy to see in your skin, no matter how deep they go. And you know you have them instantly.
You can also tell, when you try to get them out and they break which they always seem to do with wenge, that there is some wood still in there, but only the part that is way in there.
Hal
To the lay person, grain is the visual effect caused by the annual growth rings. To the woodworker it is the structure of the medulla rays, formed while the tree was growing. Sometimes the two relate, sometimes they are opposite and other times the structure varies widely. The "grain" in a species like white pine will often follow the growth rings, ribbon mahogany will have the grain running in opposite directions with each ribbon, birdseye maple will have the grain radiating out in a circular pattern from each eye. With experience, many woodworkers can sight down a board and see the predominant grain direction. Running your hand down a rough surface can inject splinters. With some species, these can be terrible. Don't ever do it with luan, it's like grabbing a cactus and you will have hundreds of fine hair like splinters you can't see with the naked eye.
I find sighting down a board often reveals the structure. If you take a sharp utility knife and slice a sliver off an edge, the knife will take a nice consistent sliver off when going with the grain, like sharpening a pencil. Go against and the knife will dive in and the sliver will chip off rather than cut. Some species have a visual clue you can see looking straight on the surface. Here is a picture of red oak. The grain is the little brown dashes that the pencil is pointing to. The annual growth rings are running opposite in this piece. You can hear a "snap, crackle and pop" when running against the grain on machinery. It often results in a rough or chipped surface.
Dealing with cantankerous grain, such as you find in figured lumber, is approached by using a different angle on the cutting blades. This is where York pitch hand planes or a back bevel or change of blade angle on planers and jointers are used. During the milling process, you normally will make a few passes and you change directions if you are experiencing tear out. Grain can change directions on any board.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
What your Carpenter friend is true. But I test with finger tips. Also, Depending on how the lumber was sawn it will have generally have some up hill and down hill grain in any given piece of lumber. Practice grain recognition on your jointer. Barring good graphics, try this. Jointer feed direction is R to L Grain look should be and not /. < and > being finger movement direction for testing. Grain with / and finger movement > you will feel slight catching and fuzz, With grain and finger movement > the lumber should feel very smooth and no catching or fuzz. Works for all edged tools, jointer, planer, router/shaper bits, Hand planes, chisels.
That's one reason Shapers are reversible. Read the grain direction and run the profile for S/R doors Left to right. Then reverse the shaper and run the door edge cutter in the opposite feed direction Right to left, being sure to install the cutter properly so your not climb cutting or running the bit backwards. One way to cut down on a lot of fuzzing and tear out.
An after thought, Like petting your Dog. Maggie doesn't like me going against Her grain. Similar feel.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Edited 11/15/2006 10:27 am ET by BruceS
Hi Bruce,
Thank you for your very informative answer and practical solution. Extend my thanks to ALL.
Actually, I had once encountered problem of working with wood without knowledge in wood grain direction when I made my first workbench top. I bought factory finger-joined, 4 Sides surfaced 2-1/2" W by 1-1/8"T wood of mixed species and hard & soft - and multiple colour just to add varieties. OK look nice....But I spent nearly 10 hours flattening it. I used 6" BS and scraper all the way cos' could not use hand-held power planer and hand plane without tearing 'em enormously.
My first mistake was - I did bother to check the wood grain before gluing-up.
Secondly (I guess) the board was finger-joined in opposite direction to each other.
Thanks
Masrol
One of the problems with the hand or finger tip test is that sometimes one side of a surface of a board may have the grain going one way while the part on the other side goes the other. Or one end could be the opposite grain direction of the other.
I think a visual check and a cut with either a plane or jointer will tell the story pretty quickly. Experience will help.
Hal
http://www.rivercitywoodworks.com
Hi Hal J !
Thanks a lot for your good advice. Surely I will not try to do as my friend told me to.
Masrol
KUL, MY
I have never heard of anyone doing this with a shaper. It doesn't make sense. Yes, the grain direction may go both ways, but when the (theoretical) second cut is made the second direction as you suggest, then your board will have tearout going the other way, if I am getting the gist of what you are saying.
And why would anyone buy two sets of cutters?
A good shaper with good cutters doesn't tear out the wood anyway. Just so you know that I am not just theorizing, I have 3 shapers, good feeders, good cutters, no problem. I spent a couple of hours today making stile and rail door parts and had absolutely no tearout.
Hal
http://www.rivercitywoodworks.com
Why would anyone buy two sets of cutters ?
That's the beauty of a reversible shaper, you can flip the cutter and feed in the opposite direction. And not have to buy two sets of cutters. When one uses a hand plane you go with the grain, Why not do the same thing with your shaper ?
I see your point, If the grain runs both ways on a particular edge. But I work with the grain as much as practical.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Okay Bruce, maybe in theory this would work, but how often do you have symetrical cutters? And why would anyone do it anyway?
If the grain is running the other direction, the board would be flipped and run the other way. What you are saying would be like saying that we need jointers that run the opposite direction for boards that have grain going the wrong way. Just flip the board. As with your hand plane, you go from the other end.
This reminds me of a carpenter many years ago that opened up a new 50 lb box of nails and was really bummed that they put half of the nail heads on the wrong end of the nails.
I just don't believe that any professional woodworker or shop, or anyone, would ever turn cutters over and run the boards again.
The point of a reversible shaper is so that if the user is working with commercially available cutters and desires a shape to be cut from the opposite face, like running raised panels with the face down rather than the face up, then the shaper can be reversed and the panel can be run that way.
Cope and stick cutters would not be run in both directions as they are always indexed off the same face.
Hal
http://www.rivercitywoodworks.com
Those nails with the head on the wrong side are for the other side of the house!
quack, but what if you're left handed? I'd have to stand on my head?
Ray
Ray,
<<quack, but what if you're left handed? I'd have to stand on my head?>>
Naaahh, just put them in from the other side of the board...Tschüß!
Mit freundlichen holzbearbeitungischen Grüßen aus dem Land der Rio Grande!!
James
I know all about this, as you may know I am an expert. I bought a pound of those nails and half had the heads on the wrong end. Well, as I was nailing them in it became too dark to see, but I kept nailing anyway. Next day I discovered thet I had driven those nails in head first. By golly, in order to pull them out I had to go inside the house to do it.
You are spot on, Quack. I just wish they would lay all the nails out in the same direction in the factory....it wastes so much time when they are randomly distributed in the nail pouch - you have to either feel around until you get one laying the right way or just give up and walk around to the other side of the house as you suggest. A solution to this could be to buy those nails that are all glued together and pick them apart when you need them....just a thought ;?)
AussiePete
Retirement is a life long opportunity.
The way they are jacking the age up here, its going to be a long life opportunity! Otherwise no chance.
Well in that case, Mufti, lets hope for a very long life for everyone as well then...
AussiePete
Retirement is a life long opportunity, but so too is what precedes it :?)
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