planing wide panel end grain

[Brett Robson]

So the arbor bearings on my table saw decided they'd had enough, right in the middle of a furniture build, leaving me to explore some Neander ways while waiting for the new ones to arrive.

Issue at hand: I have a large glue up panel, about 26" wide, which is ready to be cross-cut to length. While I can cross cut it with one of my old panel saws easily enough, I'm a little unsure as to how best to square and dress the cut ends.

I have a decent shoot board, but at 26" wide, the panel is nearly twice as wide at my SB.

If I try to freehand plane to a line, I'm concerned accuracy and a square edge may suffer. This panel will eventually be dovetailed into the case sides of a base, so having a good square edge is important.

What say you?

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

One approach - when dovetailing, a good square edge is only a necessity if you're using a marking gauge that registers off the already cut end. If you can mark the baseline with an accurate square registering off the long-grain sides, you don't have to worry about the end of the board, which is apt to get planed away after assembly anyway.

But when I've needed to clean up a cut like this, I simply put the piece in my leg vise, clamp the opposite end against my sliding deadman, moisten the end grain, and have at it with a freshly sharpened jointer or jack plane. Chamfering the back edge or clamping a piece of stock against it can help with splintering, but I often just knife the target line on the edge to minimize splintering, and then it the edge grain with a swipe or two after attacking the end grain. I double up the two boards to give myself a wider surface, which makes keeping square easier. It just takes a little care and attention, but it's not super difficult. With practice, you can get it good enough off the saw, but even if it was perfect, I like to at least hit it with the plane once because it makes joinery marks easier to see.

[David Weaver]

If you're concerned about squareness, mark it with a crisp line on top and bottom, cut it, and sharpen a smooth plane and plane in from the edge in both directions. You don't have to worry too much about the short length of the plane, your line will make sure that you don't hollow the edge or something.

What kind of wood are we talking about?

My favorite plane for cutting *fast* to get to a crisp end on a panel is a continental smoother, but any smoother works just fine if you don't baby it, and it needs to be sharp, but not blinding. I haven't used anything but a washita on my smooth planes for the last couple of months and they will cut the end grain just fine.

I used to carefully plane end grain with a heavy bevel up plane (a while ago), but the smoother is far faster and doesn't have nearly as much friction.

[bridger berdel]

if your bench is big and flat enough you can mock up a one time shoot board using the benchtop.

[Brett Robson]

One approach - when dovetailing, a good square edge is only a necessity if you're using a marking gauge that registers off the already cut end. If you can mark the baseline with an accurate square registering off the long-grain sides, you don't have to worry about the end of the board, which is apt to get planed away after assembly anyway.

That's a good point. I hadn't thought of that.


What kind of wood are we talking about?

Just a plane pine panel. Should be super easy to plane.


if your bench is big and flat enough you can mock up a one time shoot board using the benchtop.

Now that's an idea! That might actually work pretty well!

The panel will ultimately be the bottom of the bottom chest of a Boston style Bombe' I'm building. I got the case sides shaped today after two weekends of sawing, planing and scraping!!

[Tim Janssen]

How about a straight edge and a router to clean up the edge?
Cheers!

Tim

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I had totally forgotten about using the benchtop as a shooting board - I've done that too, and it works quite well as long as you remember to jack the workpiece above the sidewalls of the plane, so the blade cuts the full width of the workpiece. (In my early days of working with handtools I scratched my head trying to figure out what was going one when I didn't)



The panel will ultimately be the bottom of the bottom chest of a Boston style Bombe' I'm building. I got the case sides shaped today after two weekends of sawing, planing and scraping!!

Wait - let's skip talking about shooting end grain and see pictures of that! That sounds more exciting.

[Winton Applegate]

This will ruin my reputation as a Neander do or die / who needs power tools / power tools are for wimps / reputation but . . .

If you have an accurately made or adjustable circular saw which this DeWalt is both and a decent clamp on straight edge guide then these photos will tell the rest of the story.

I mean how would one put this on a table saw ? A home table saw anyway.
http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy298/noydb1/IMG_1012_zps1bac24d8.jpg (http://s801.photobucket.com/user/noydb1/media/IMG_1012_zps1bac24d8.jpg.html)


http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy298/noydb1/IMG_1017_zpsa621b4ee.jpg (http://s801.photobucket.com/user/noydb1/media/IMG_1017_zpsa621b4ee.jpg.html)


http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy298/noydb1/quotTheTablequot-1.jpg (http://s801.photobucket.com/user/noydb1/media/quotTheTablequot-1.jpg.html)


http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy298/noydb1/IMG_1089_zpseb5e9e15.jpg (http://s801.photobucket.com/user/noydb1/media/IMG_1089_zpseb5e9e15.jpg.html)

[Brett Robson]

Wait - let's skip talking about shooting end grain and see pictures of that! That sounds more exciting.

Ha! Ya I suppose that is a tad more interesting than shooting end grain! I'll post some pictures once I get the lower case more assembled to where it'll stand up on its own.


This will ruin my reputation as a Neander do or die / who needs power tools / power tools are for wimps / reputation but . . .

If you have an accurately made or adjustable circular saw which this DeWalt is both and a decent clamp on straight edge guide then these photos will tell the rest of the story.


Ya, I had considered using a circ saw, but...a circ saw is #2 on my list of least favorite tools to use, following just behind using a router freehand. I just hate using ear-splitting tools that spew high-velocity dust everywhere, hence the decision to finish it old-school.

[Jim Koepke]

...a circ saw is #2 on my list of least favorite tools to use, following just behind using a router freehand. I just hate using ear-splitting tools that spew high-velocity dust everywhere, hence the decision to finish it old-school.

+1 on that!

jtk

[Winton Applegate]

Sacrofices to health and safety have to be made.
War . . . er . . . I mean . . . fun . . . is serious business.

using ear-splitting tools that spew high-velocity dust everywhere
I don't know about High-Velocity dust. That might be a bit strong but she does make a bunch of it. Same amount as hand sawing it though come to think about it.

. . . and

Well yah . . .
You got to suit up :
Head phone ear protection
Face shield
Respirator
Lumber jack chaps
Knee pads
Shin guards
Elbow pads
Chest protector
Groin cup
Mouthguard
Wrist braces

Just your standard 'equip for a week end in the shop.
But I'm sure you will agree that is a small price in time and equipment to gain a well trimmed pine board. Verses years of practice to be able to cut off a board square with a handsaw . . . not to mention learning to sharpen the dambed thing right so it doesn't cut whacky.

Yah that is just TOO MUCH effort !

Be sure to keep the protective gear on for when you use your "five horse power" shop vac to clean up all the dust. With that much HP behind a vacuum cleaner things can come apart fast
Right George ?

Seriously though this circular saw is a sweet heart ! It is a shame they stopped making it.
Here is a cool guy article to go along with it to make the sacrificial cutting table.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/tool-guide/article/a-circular-saw-in-the-furniture-shop.aspx

[Jim Matthews]

If you tape the board all the way around, and score your cut line with a sharp knife -
do you have a fine blade on your circular saw? With a straight edge and a taped off surface
you can reduce tear out.

I break down sheet goods on a piece of rigid insulation foam board.

With a decent blade, tear out is minimal.

I needn't shoot the edge at that point, just apply a chamfer so that I can handle it without cutting myself.

Bottom line (by hand or with an electron burner) carefully score your cut line, all the way around.
That's your reference to which you plane.

[David Weaver]

Just a plane pine panel. Should be super easy to plane.


Just marking, handsawing and planing is the way to go, in my opinion. The pine will saw and plane so quickly you'll wonder why you did anything else, and something short like a smoother still lets you plane full power but without the skippy feeling a bigger heavier plane can get on endgrain.

I do like someone else here said except I don't have a deadman. I have a bench with a skirt and clamp one side of the panel to the bench skirt with a quick grip clamp and the other side in the vise. It's rock solid and quick, and a very useful method that you'll use a ton if you get into making door panels, etc.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've also done this job with two long parallel clamps across the bench top. Get some even more security clamping with a handscrew clamp clamping down at the lower stretcher. Can get a little floppy, but as long as you're planing parallel to the bench it's not to bad. There's a limit to how well this works when a piece is really long - at some point it needs to be laid down on the bench. I have planed some things higher up like that by standing on some my record boxes.

[Kees Heiden]

When the board is very long, so it doesn't fit under your ceiling when standing upright, then you'll have to plane it in a more akward position. I have had it clamped to the front of my bench at a slight diagonal. And then use a light weight plane with a very sharp blade. You plane downhill. It is remarkably easy this way.

Of course for dovetails you don't really need a perfect edge. Leave it a little too long and plane after assembly. Like others recommended allready.

[Sam Stephens]

Just marking, handsawing and planing is the way to go, in my opinion. The pine will saw and plane so quickly you'll wonder why you did anything else, and something short like a smoother still lets you plane full power but without the skippy feeling a bigger heavier plane can get on endgrain.

I do like someone else here said except I don't have a deadman. I have a bench with a skirt and clamp one side of the panel to the bench skirt with a quick grip clamp and the other side in the vise. It's rock solid and quick, and a very useful method that you'll use a ton if you get into making door panels, etc.


my thoughts exactly. with a knife line, you'll see it as you plane down the grain you'll know when you're almost there or if an area needs a tad more work. You can do this in far less time than setting up a circular saw or router, plus the end grain looks so much crisper. One other comment, is to reference your square off of the same side (and face) for both ends when setting this up.

Sam

[bridger berdel]

I admit to having that same saw. I sffed dust collection to mine.