So I'm working w/live edge cherry I got from a local lumber yard. The piece had been some what flattened but there were planer snipes over the entire length of the board. I used an electric and jack planer to smooth them out but still some deeper marks remain. I am reluctant to break out the planers again as I'm concerned I'll induce more work than what I might fix… any suggestions?
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Jujitsu
Smooth surface
So I'm working w/live edge cherry I got from a local lumber yard. The piece had been some what flattened but there were planer snipes over the entire length of the board. I used an electric and jack planer to smooth them out but still some deeper marks remain. I am reluctant to break out the planers again as I'm concerned I'll induce more work than what I might fix… any suggestions?
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If you want it flat and smooth, call around to some local cabinet shops and ask if you can run it through a wide belt sander. I've been able to do that for about $30.
+1.
Are the deep marks from the initial milling, or from the electric/hand planing you did? If it were already pretty flat, I'd hit it with the jack, and then a #4. You may be able to work those marks out with a card scraper, just make sure you feather in the area you're working.
They are from the initial milling. Educate me on hand planing though, I get that there are # ratings for types of planes, just don't know what the mean. To further illustrate my ignorance in this area I thought they were variants of a jack planer not something different. Also not sure what a card scraper is
Thanks
Thanks
Your jack plane is going to be your #5. #6 would be a fore plane (I don't think they're that popular, I don't see much mention of them here), and 7's and 8's are jointer planes. The #1,2,3,4 are smoothers, 1 being the shortest, 4 being the longest. I don't own anything shorter than a #4, and find it sufficient for what I do. Some people, including myself, also have another #4 set up as a roughing plane, with an aggressive bite for quickly taking down high spots before using the jack and/or jointer. I just finished flattening a 24"x72" table top glue-up…the glue up was decent so I went for the #5 at a diagonal to flatten front-to-back, then at the opposite diagonal, then the jointer lengthwise, followed by the smoother. I gave it a quick sanding (took much surface area for a card scraper IMO).
A card scraper is a thin piece of metal that gets a tiny hook (think, so small, you can barely catch a fingernail on it) that you use to scrape the surface. It will produce a finish-ready surface, and can save a lot of sandpaper.
Google will be your friend here, do some searches on card scrapers.
A card scraper is a thin piece of metal that gets a tiny hook (think, so small, you can barely catch a fingernail on it) that you use to scrape the surface. It will produce a finish-ready surface, and can save a lot of sandpaper.
Google will be your friend here, do some searches on card scrapers.
It would be very difficult to achieve a smooth finish with an electric hand planer, they are used primarily for fast stock removal on construction type timbers, not furniture grade timber. If you are intent on completing the project with power tools then I would set the electric hand planer to its finest setting, skim the surface then work on it with a belt sander or ROS with progressive abrasive belts and disks then finish off with a fine abrasive paper and a sanding block prior to sealing and applying your top coats
As other have mentioned, hand planing will acheive a far superior result, by using power tools you will never acheive the surface finish close to that of a hand planed board. (That's why modern cabinet makers use hand planes to surface finish their work) However, to ensure top class results you will have to spend a little time understaning the basics of hand planing timber. Garrett Hacks' book on hand planing is worth the investment if you wish to pursue hand planing as part of your woodworking arsenal. Surprisingly, once you have a feel for it, hand planing, apart from ensuring better and more accurate results is often quicker and certainly cleaner and quieter than when using screaming power tools. Your lungs will thank you too.
Youtube also offers an almost endless run of vidoes on hand planing, including their selection, fettling, tuning, set up etc, etc. Have a look at the videos of Paul Sellers and Frank Strazza on Youtube. no gimmicks, no adverts or other crap, just the art of hand planing. If you watch a couple of the vids I am confident you will learn something of use
Good luck with whatever way you go.
David
As other have mentioned, hand planing will acheive a far superior result, by using power tools you will never acheive the surface finish close to that of a hand planed board. (That's why modern cabinet makers use hand planes to surface finish their work) However, to ensure top class results you will have to spend a little time understaning the basics of hand planing timber. Garrett Hacks' book on hand planing is worth the investment if you wish to pursue hand planing as part of your woodworking arsenal. Surprisingly, once you have a feel for it, hand planing, apart from ensuring better and more accurate results is often quicker and certainly cleaner and quieter than when using screaming power tools. Your lungs will thank you too.
Youtube also offers an almost endless run of vidoes on hand planing, including their selection, fettling, tuning, set up etc, etc. Have a look at the videos of Paul Sellers and Frank Strazza on Youtube. no gimmicks, no adverts or other crap, just the art of hand planing. If you watch a couple of the vids I am confident you will learn something of use
Good luck with whatever way you go.
David
Might be more to it than just getting rid of planer marks.
Do you want a flat, level surface? If so theres a process like the poster said check some videos.
Me, I would start by checking board with winding sticks to see if there is twist.
First I would grab my No. 6 and plane diagonally across the grain using a cambered blade.
Then plane lengthwise with grain (watching grain direction).
I see a knot so that will be an issue planing. I would finish up with a scraper +/- sanding.
I'm sure there are hand tool guys more knowledgeable could comment, but I think this will give you a smooth, flat surface.
Do you want a flat, level surface? If so theres a process like the poster said check some videos.
Me, I would start by checking board with winding sticks to see if there is twist.
First I would grab my No. 6 and plane diagonally across the grain using a cambered blade.
Then plane lengthwise with grain (watching grain direction).
I see a knot so that will be an issue planing. I would finish up with a scraper +/- sanding.
I'm sure there are hand tool guys more knowledgeable could comment, but I think this will give you a smooth, flat surface.
You can certainly get a great surface using hand planes, but I find its a skill that is not easy to perfect. Before you even begin to practice the art of hand planning, you have to perfect the sharpening and tuning-which is an art in and of itself.
I have a couple old stanley planes that I've tuned up. I'm getting better with them, but I still wouldnt go after a large table top with them for fear of adding more twist and high spots than were there previously. :-/
If it were me, I would continue to practice with hand planes, but to finish this project off, a wide-belt sander would be my choice. It will finish in 10 minutes what would take me days to do with hand planes.
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I have a couple old stanley planes that I've tuned up. I'm getting better with them, but I still wouldnt go after a large table top with them for fear of adding more twist and high spots than were there previously. :-/
If it were me, I would continue to practice with hand planes, but to finish this project off, a wide-belt sander would be my choice. It will finish in 10 minutes what would take me days to do with hand planes.
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To follow up from Marshall, I can almost guarantee you that if you haven't used hand planes much (or at all), you will not get the surface that you want by starting on that piece.
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