![]() ![]() Check your progress frequently with both a straightedge and winding sticks. This step requires some muscle, but it usually goes surprisingly fast. Plane perpendicularly or diagonally across the high spots using overlapping strokes, as shown in Photo D. The crowned blade allows fast stock removal without leaving hard-edged tracks which require you to remove even more stock to make the face smooth. Instead, I usually use a #5 jack plane outfitted with a cambered, or crowned blade (see Photo C). I find a scrub plane to be a bit too aggressive for most purposes. To level the high spots, some woodworkers use a scrub plane, a narrow-bodied plane with a heavily cambered blade designed to remove large scallops of wood. If you crank down too hard, you risk bowing the board and you’ll never get it flat. When using a tail vise and bench dogs to secure your work, apply just enough pressure to keep the board from moving. (If your bench is a featherweight, use cast-iron weights or sandbags to keep it from sliding around your shop.)īefore you begin flattening, it’s important to secure the board to your bench. Last but not least, you’ll need a flat and stable work surface equipped with a vise and stops to secure your boards, and a variety of wedges and shims to keep the board from shifting or rocking during the flattening process. (The 1⁄8"-thick stock is straighter than the thinner stuff.) They can be made from straight-grained wood or plywood, but an aluminum angle from the hardware store works just as well. To check for twist, you’ll need a pair of winding sticks. For shorter boards, I use a 24" straightedge. For long boards, I use a straight 1⁄4 × 11⁄2 × 60" piece of cold-rolled steel. To check for cup and bow, and to assess your progress while planing, you’ll need a couple of straightedges. For final smoothing, I like using my #41⁄2 (see “Smoothing Savvy,” page 56). The sizes of the planes you use partially depend upon the size of your stock, but I find I can get by with a jack (#5) and jointer (#6 or #7). Of course, you’ll need a few hand planes. By practicing my technique, you’ll be able to tackle boards that are too wide for your jointer as well as flatten wide boards and tabletops with ease. My favorite approach to flattening wide boards involves a combination of hand and power tools. Like electricity, I always take the path of least resistance. On a similar (and more practical) note, when a board’s only a few inches wider than your jointer, you may not want to rip it to fit.Īs much as I love using hand planes, my mama raised no fool. For example, should you ever score a clear 24"-wide plank for a tabletop, it would be crazy to rip it into smaller boards to fit your jointer and then glue them back together. A shop full of heavy machinery can help, but there are instances when you must rely on muscle power. ![]() ![]() Most woodworking starts with a flat reference face. Flattening stock may not be elementary, but it is an essential woodworking skill. Many years later, the lesson finally sank in. For a long time, I assumed the man was clinically obsessed with flat, straight, and square, or else dreamed of becoming a drill sergeant. Needless to say, my efforts fell short of his expectations. I remember the day my seventh grade shop class teacher handed me a plane and rough-sawn plank and tried to teach me how to flatten a board. Hand tools lend a hand when machines fall short. ![]()
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