Now That is Good Exercise

[Jim Koepke]

Sometimes when planing wood, the mind wonders.

Today it was 10' long planks of ash that had me thinking.

Just the edge to be the top was being planed today.

One of them had at least 1/4" of saw cuts, hills and valleys to remove.

So to move the plane the whole length was a 10' walk in one direction, then 10' back. At most the shavings were .005". It gets difficult to push a plane with a heavier cut. Many of them were in the .001-.002" range.

Anyway, my thought figured after a few board edges, I have walked about a mile. Maybe more. I feel more pumped than tired.

Guess I earned my Guinness today. Maybe even a shot of the Kraken.

jtk

[Niels Cosman]

Sounds like you earned the Kraken too!
how many planks have you got?

Last spring I had this fun board of ash. it was 16/4, 10" wide, 14ft long. That stuff was HARD! The most interesting thing about it was that the wood got easier to plane as you went down the length. Less minerals im guessing. I was under a short deadline and didn't have time for too many breaks. I was crying for a 12" jointer at the end of the day!
At least, I was able to break it down into bite sized lengths early on!

193439193440

[Bob Jones]

I built my workbench from ash and vowed to never use it again. :) I used to think that cherry was a hard wood. to be fair, my limited experience is with cheery, walnut, and construction grade lumber. Ash is just not fun to handplane.

[Pam Niedermayer]

Sometimes when planing wood, the mind wonders.

Today it was 10' long planks of ash that had me thinking.

Just the edge to be the top was being planed today.

One of them had at least 1/4" of saw cuts, hills and valleys to remove.

So to move the plane the whole length was a 10' walk in one direction, then 10' back. At most the shavings were .005". It gets difficult to push a plane with a heavier cut. Many of them were in the .001-.002" range....

There's a lot to be said for having the seller do the basic prep. :)

Pam

[john brenton]

That must have been a bear on the sjobergs.

[Bill Houghton]

Sounds like you need a scrub plane. That could have cut your walk down to, oh, 1/4 mile or so. Of course, you'd have a harder time justifying the rewards then...

[Michael Peet]

Boy, I hear you. That's how I prepped all the ash for my bench, except mine were only 8'. Allot yourself one extra beer ration per board.

Mike

[Jim Koepke]

Sounds like you earned the Kraken too!

I enjoyed it.


how many planks have you got?

I forgot to count, but about 30 from about 4 - 12". Most are 10', about 5 are 8'. There were extra planks bought just because they looked like they would be great for another project. Probably got at least twice what is needed to allow for waste, cracks, and just some extra.


There's a lot to be said for having the seller do the basic prep.

The flat sides have been run through a planer, so not as much work there. At what worked out to a little less than $1/bf, he didn't want to put any more of his work into it. I mentioned/inquired about ripping it down, he said it shouldn't be too hard for me to do with a circular saw.

Believe me, I would have been happy for him to run it through some of his machines.


That must have been a bear on the sjobergs.

It wasn't too bad. Just a few feet hanging out over each end. There is a bucket of cement at the tail end to keep it grounded. Long boards is the main reason I am thinking I may want to go a bit longer than 8' for my bench.

Some of the boards are only 8'. While I am working on this, I will have to decide if I want to make the bench longer than 8'.


Sounds like you need a scrub plane. That could have cut your walk down to, oh, 1/4 mile or so.

Right now I am doing the narrow edge. When I get to face planing or to the finished top, one of my #5s may get a rounded blade to make a scrub.

I am also thinking of taking an old pitted blade and turning it into a toothing blade.

Updates as they happen.

Today to make a little more room, one of my other projects gave me a kick in the pants.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

Release the Kraken!

I'm with Bill on the Scrub plane. I was pleased with how much time it "shaved" off my last rough board.
I buy milled stock, whenever possible. I would rather spend my efforts shaping and joining.

[Pam Niedermayer]

...The flat sides have been run through a planer, so not as much work there. At what worked out to a little less than $1/bf, he didn't want to put any more of his work into it. I mentioned/inquired about ripping it down, he said it shouldn't be too hard for me to do with a circular saw.

Believe me, I would have been happy for him to run it through some of his machines....

Time to whip out the wallet, maybe $1.50/bf. :)

Pam

[Jim Koepke]

Time to whip out the wallet, maybe $1.50/bf.

During our discussion, I got the feeling he did not have a desire to do any more to those boards even if I offered double that.

One time he even mentioned that he has a wood heating system in his house and ash makes good fire wood.

His other use for half decent pieces he doesn't sell is he donates them to the school wood shops.

He does love wood though, he has a scrap book he showed me with the recent logs he has "opened."

jtk

[Pam Niedermayer]

Sounds like a great neighbor. Glad you're enjoying your workout.

Pam