Turning blank for making wooden planes?

[Richard Gonzalez]

I have the David Finck book on making wooden planes. One of the easiest sources I thought of to find a blank would be to start with a 3X3X12 wooden turning blank. I know that these tend to be very wet though. Given the short length, and the dry Colorado air in my area, how long do you think it might take for one of these to dry enough for a plane (after I remove the wax coating). I think a 12" blank would be long enough to make a nice little smoother, and my local woodcraft has several choices of wood I think might be hard and dense enough. Would it make sense to do the initial rough rip and bevel cuts and then let it dry? Anyone have an suggestions for woods not likely to check or split as they dry?

Richard

[george wilson]

Those blanks work best in making hollow vases,bowls,etc. They might crack if left solid like a plane. A fairly thin hollow object cracks less.

[Steve knight]

just by 8/4 wood and flip it on edge and use it that way. you don't need a single piece of wood to make a plane from. I have made thousands of planes this way.

[Steve knight]

as to the drying issue it is critical that the wood be fully dry. having thin and thick wood creates a lot of problems. if you dont want the sides to pop off the body it is very important to have the wood fully dry.

[James Scheffler]

I have the David Finck book on making wooden planes. One of the easiest sources I thought of to find a blank would be to start with a 3X3X12 wooden turning blank. I know that these tend to be very wet though. Given the short length, and the dry Colorado air in my area, how long do you think it might take for one of these to dry enough for a plane (after I remove the wax coating). I think a 12" blank would be long enough to make a nice little smoother, and my local woodcraft has several choices of wood I think might be hard and dense enough. Would it make sense to do the initial rough rip and bevel cuts and then let it dry? Anyone have an suggestions for woods not likely to check or split as they dry?

Richard

That's actually a great question. I have been thinking about that.

It may not be exactly easy to buy one or two board feet of 8/4 or 12/4 stock from a lumber yard to make a plane blank, especially not in an exotic. Oak or hard maple is probably do-able.

At the best one near me, most of their exotics are 4/4, and they might let you take a foot or two off the end of a board if you're really nice, but they would much rather sell the whole board to someone else who wants a longer length. Buying a whole board makes no sense if you just want to make one plane. That's what makes those turning blanks so attractive.

So to answer the OP's question, how long would you have to wait for one of those blanks to dry, assuming you keep it as a solid block? Or is this just a bad idea no matter what you do?

Thanks,
Jim

[george wilson]

Those turning blocks are usually coated with something that prevents drying too fast, or maybe not drying at all! Probably best to get rid of the coating on the 4 sides,leaving the ends coated so they hopefully won't crack. Would be a lot better if your wood was several inches too long.

We had a rule for maple that was to be dried 1 year per inch of thickness.And I wouldn't place it in a hot area to dry if I were you. You have no extra length as a safety shield for sawing off cracks.

[Brian Kent]

Richard, my one attempt at using a 3" x 3" x 12" turning blank for a plane started with me taking the wax off of the sides and ended with me giving the cracked block to my cousin to cut up and turn pens.

I really don't know how turners handle the moisture problems - must be a real art.

[george wilson]

The turners make thin walled vases and bowls out of that green wood. many turners turn green wood. They get away with it because the thin walled vessels might warp,but they are a lot less likely to crack. Some rely on warping to enhance the "art" of the turnings.

CAN YOU NOT GET A DRY 4" X 4" in beech or maple anywhere? I know it is hard to get 4" maple from experience. We made all of the bench screws for everyone in town for years.

[Gary Herrmann]

You can find dry 12/4 or 16/4 turning blanks on the bay. I have a few on hand for rush orders when people just have to have a turned box of a certain size as a gift at the last minute. No maple, but I do have cherry and walnut.

Do a search and you'll find them.

[george wilson]

While cherry and walnut are not the traditional choices for a plane (and neither is maple,really),they would still make a perfectly usable plane. I'd prefer cherry,myself,and it might be easier to see your chiseling down in the throat. Beech is so hard to find that we had to get a portable sawmill and cut 5000 bd. ft. for our use when I was toolmaker.

There is plenty of beech growing. It just isn't used for much these days except for pallets in this country.

[James Scheffler]

Beech is so hard to find that we had to get a portable sawmill and cut 5000 bd. ft. for our use when I was toolmaker.

There is plenty of beech growing. It just isn't used for much these days except for pallets in this country.

Beech seems to grow all over the place in the NE US, but I haven't seen it available at my local sawmill.

I know it's not a popular furniture wood - I guess because it's not especially beautiful. However, it's way more interesting than poplar, and poplar is readily available from any number of sources. Beech is harder and stronger as well. I don't get it. :confused:

Jim

[george wilson]

The English used beech for cheaper furniture,and I've seen other foreign furniture made from it. They even made gunstocks for trade guns out of beech in the 18th.C.,to trade to the indians. I think it was used for tools because it was cheap and plentiful. It really isn't as hard as Northern or Rock maple. It doesn't thread as cleanly as maple,either,and is fuzzy when turned on the lathe unless you know how to slice it rather than scrape.

When I was first toolmaker,I had to resort to getting split firewood and drying it under plastic outside the shop. Then,we got a guy with a Wood Miser to help us get logs and cut wood. It was in February,and we worked about 2 weeks to get the wood cut. A cold job.

[Jeff Willard]

I really don't know how turners handle the moisture problems - must be a real art.

Sometimes we just let 'em warp. Other than that there are a number of magical potions that we use. Black magic. Sometimes we use Fairy Dust. Incantations and dancing nekkid :eek: under the full moon are sometimes used too. It helps to be a Druid. Do you really wanna' know more?

[James Scheffler]

Sometimes we just let 'em warp. Other than that there are a number of magical potions that we use. Black magic. Sometimes we use Fairy Dust. Incantations and dancing nekkid :eek: under the full moon are sometimes used too. It helps to be a Druid. Do you really wanna' know more?

This is fascinating. Please tell us more! :D

Jim