beech plane blanks

[Jeff Heath]

Does anybody know of a good, reliable source for quality quarter-sawn beech bench and moulding plane (H&R's) blanks?

Thanks in advance.

[David Weaver]

Mike Digity was the only one I knew of, but he is mostly retired (and his beech was inexpensive). If there are others, matt bickford or larry might divulge them. There are sawyers around here who will custom cut beech, but I have no idea what they'd charge and how much they'd want to have as an order. Mike always had 5/4-8/4 beech any time I called and never charged more than a lot of places will charge for quality flat sawn cherry.

At least one of the other planemakers' blogs have suggested they've gone to trying to create their own supplies.

[John Walkowiak]

Give the guys at Horizon Wood Products a call. They provide the beech that Larry and Don use. It won't be blanks, but boards. Here is the link to their site: http://horizonwood.com/english/index.html

[Jim Matthews]

North American beech is notoriously curly, and that makes lousy blanks.

I rendered some 260 year old Beech from nearby Rhode Island, three years ago.
There wasn't a straight grained section longer than 4 inches in the whole thing.

It was like the whole tree was a giant corkscrew.

[David Turner]

Jeff:

I have purchased quarter sawn beech lumber 8/4 thick from Hickory & Oak Sawmilling and Lumber, Decatur (South West side of Michigan) 49045. Seems as though it was $4.00 per BF.

Phone 269-436-0039

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.

[george wilson]

Maybe it was where you got the Beech,Jim. Our beech was cut in nearby woods,and was fine. Not curly.

[Jim Matthews]

Do you have a current supplier?

My last discussion with Matt Bickford revolved around the scarcity of straight grain stock.
Caleb James has some pictures on his page showing a similar problem to what I can find.

296266 http://kapeldesigns.blogspot.com/

[Warren Mickley]

Beech is notoriously curly? I never heard that before and it is not in my experience. Occasionally it is a little wavy.

Frankly I am a little skeptical that the picture you show is American beech. I can't see the features of your sample very well, but a 30 inch beech tree will have a bark that is about 3/16 thick. Yours appears almost as thick as your little finger.

[Mike Holbrook]

I needed a bench for some work five years or so ago. Highland Woodworking was running a special on a compact Hammer bench so I bought one. I believe the wood is "European Beech". I have found the bench top to be very sturdy. I have even used some of the packing wood to make handles etc. The grain is relatively straight and subtle. At the suggestion of another Creeker in my area I bought "German Kiln Dried Beech" on sale from Peach State Lumber in Kennesaw, Ga to build a bench top with. The wood is light colored with a subtle grain pattern that I believe will be easy to work. Looking at Peach State's web site they still list "European Beech" at the top of their list of Exotic Woods. I bought 8/4"x8+'x8-10" wide boards, with two finished sides and two square rough edges. The boards were more expensive than Ash but still reasonable. Maybe similar wood is available at other wood suppliers?

[Jim Matthews]

Frankly I am a little skeptical that the picture you show is American beech. I can't see the features of your sample very well, but a 30 inch beech tree will have a bark that is about 3/16 thick. Yours appears almost as thick as your little finger.

The picture is from Caleb James' blog, and he's an active plane maker lamenting the scarcity of straight Beech stock.
Matt Bickford has said the same. The Beech that I have rendered locally (South Coastal Massachusetts) has all been like this - reaction wood and pronounced curl.
It's nearly impossible to split straight. I suspect that's because any Beech near me is secondary growth that did not germinate under a canopy.

The Beech I have taken has a smooth, grey bark about 1/4 inch thick. It's more prone to fracture, flake and shake than riving straight.

http://www.ehow.com/facts_7902796_well-beech-firewood-split.html

[James Conrad]

Try these folks: http://www.rarewoodsusa.com/

While I have dealt directly with them in Maine, I have not done any mail order, they may have minimums for that, but I am sure they have or can find what you want.

[David Weaver]

He's just in the wrong place, I guess. There's a ton of beech in southern ohio, and mike digity never had any trouble coming up with lots of it, but nobody else really wants beech. I think the problem with supply is first the few users of beech and second how many people truly quartersawn wood dead quartersawn. Most of the quartersawn wood I've seen is rift cut because of the methods the sawyers use and rift with beech just doesn't do it.

If caleb is taking logs that were cut from residential areas, that might be part of the problem.

Beech does make good firewood, and probably most of what's felled in ohio (residential) is burned.

[ian maybury]

There's some difference between European beech and the US species I think (?), but from my limited experience the characteristics of the wood depend heavily on how the beech grows. It appears naturally here (ireland/Europe), but the 'wild' version if often full of funnies as described. Basically because when it grows naturally it often branches very frequently, and is in a wood where it leans and branches to get away from other trees. Against that if you get a trunk of a free standing tree that for whatever reason didn't branch it can be very clean.

I have a stack of German beech in my shop about to be converted into a bench - it's cultured/grown as a crop there and at times in the UK. It seems that in this situation sprouting branches are trimmed off and the trees well separated. Whatever the deal it's almost perfectly clean and apart from one or two boards that seem to mix heart and sapwood pretty straight.

One way or the other beech does seem to shrink a fair amount as it dries - the tables suggest about 1/3 more than most hardwoods. Chances are that the ready availability of the wood in Europe (as well as its properties - it has good ding resistance, works nicely if clean and finishes well) played a large part in its becoming a traditional choice for plane making ...

[David Weaver]

Yes, euro and american is different. Euro is a little bit easier to work and a little "drier", and american beech is a bit smoother and more waxy (comparing kiln dried versions of both). Of what I've had, american beech has been a little more dense.

[Isaac Smith]

What little European beech I have seen is billed as "steamed" to even out the colors. I don't know that it affects the working properties of the wood, but the color seems less lively than in American beech.

Beech logs are easy to come by here. The problem is that they have little commercial value, so most sawmills don't cut or sell it as furniture wood. What little is cut for that purpose is rarely dead quartersawn, which is what most toolmakers are lusting after.

I've often thought of buying a few logs to cut into plane billets with some kind of radial sawing setup (cutting pie like wedges so that every piece is quartersawn). The problem is that I don't even know if there is a viable market to make it worthwhile.

[David Weaver]

What little European beech I have seen is billed as "steamed" to even out the colors. I don't know that it affects the working properties of the wood, but the color seems less lively than in American beech.

Beech logs are easy to come by here. The problem is that they have little commercial value, so most sawmills don't cut or sell it as furniture wood. What little is cut for that purpose is rarely dead quartersawn, which is what most toolmakers are lusting after.

I've often thought of buying a few logs to cut into plane billets with some kind of radial sawing setup (cutting pie like wedges so that every piece is quartersawn). The problem is that I don't even know if there is a viable market to make it worthwhile.

There's demand for plane billets at about $10 each (for 8/4), but in my experience, as many people as have come to me asking for mike digity's information (and there were tons), even at 6.50 a bf plus shipping for 8/4 (which given the scarcity and ability to request width from mike is not much money), not that many people actually bought.

I'm leaning toward the idea that you'd cut a lot of billets and people would order one or two or 5 and not make it worth your time unless you wanted to do it as a hobby. 90% of the people who beg you to make blanks available will disappear when it comes time to actually send you money for blanks.

I sure do think, though, that there is value in individuals getting the beech and using it. For one thing, dead QS beech makes a great saw handle and works well with rasps, and for another (and this is just my opinion) the idea that every planemaker comes out and copies larry's planes and then copies his prices makes it so that it's a far better option for people to build their own. 10 hours makes a pair and the irons and saves $300+ and provides valuable experience with small tight work.

(I'd describe the steamed beech as being more dead, and lively is a good word for the american beech in comparison - lively both in color and feel. Steamed beech feels like a mildly fossilized version).

[Prashun Patel]

I have some 16/4 beech from Horizon and it was actually cheap. Shorts are often sold at a discount. Further, it's the 16/4 thickness that you pay for - not the fact that it's qs; 16/4 square stock is often qs without trying.

[David Weaver]

Good point, a flat sawn 16/4 board makes quartersawn cuts.

Thanks for letting us know that it's inexpensive (I'll edit that bit out of my post), that makes me inclined to try to get some 16/4 to make some long planes.

Did you get it in person, or were they willing to ship?

[Prashun Patel]

That's the beauty of Horizon. I get ALL my wood shipped by them. Caveat though: I usually wait until I can get a pallet full of stuff. They do Internet bundles by UPS though. Bell Forest does it similarly.

[ian maybury]

Just for info as its not going to much practical use, but this the page on beech from a well known UK timber supplier: http://www.johnboddytimber.co.uk/species_beech.htm

[Isaac Smith]

Just for info as its not going to much practical use, but this the page on beech from a well known UK timber supplier: http://www.johnboddytimber.co.uk/species_beech.htm

From that website: Our Prime White Beech is mainly crown cut with rift and quartered stock being produced to order and is not normally available from stock. Our Red Heart stock is a mix of crown, rift and quartered...

I'm not familiar with the term "crown cut". Is that the same thing as plainsawn lumber?

http://www.logstolumber.org/images/L2L_LogDiagram_Plainsawn.png

[Chuck Nickerson]

I'm not familiar with the term "crown cut". Is that the same thing as plainsawn lumber?

http://www.logstolumber.org/images/L2L_LogDiagram_Plainsawn.png

When my lumber guy refers to "crown cut" he's referring to the outermost slabs from the above drawing; the pieces that have the full smile (or frown) end grain. Plain sawing a log produces quarter sawn, rift sawn, and crown cut boards.