Beech?

[Don Orr]

A friend is cutting down a Beech tree and I can have as much of it as I want and the rest is firewood. If I was to cut out some quarter sawn billets, what size would be good for plane making? Length? Width? Depth? I can wax the ends and put them up to dry knowing it will take a long time. I don't know the size of the tree yet but he says it is pretty big. Anybody interested in some of it for a nominal fee? I am not interested in doing any custom cutting though.

I will try to attach a crude drawing to illustrate my cutting plan. Let me know if it looks reasonable.327617

[Bill Adamsen]

Don ... your results with this project are of interest to me. I am a big fan of our native hardwoods and know very little about American beech.

I recently asked my sawmill about beech and he said only on special order for pallets. That there was zero demand. I was surprised because there is lots of American beech in the forests. Beech sends up sprouts from the root systems allowing nurturing of young until well established. That makes it well adapted to populate successfully in an established forest, and why undisturbed forests in this region of the east tend to have thick homogeneous stands of Beech. But searching through some older threads on this forum indicate that it may not air dry well, and raise some questions about movement of air dried Beech. Still, it sounds like a fun experiment.

[Prashun Patel]

I had a giant beech from my yard milled into wood. My experience is that it works like soft maple, but is a little pinker.

People say that it's temperamental and moves a lot. I have found that it warps and splits as it dries, but once dry, it's not bad.

Personally, I think you're right on by making billets for planes. If i had to do it again, I'd slab it into 4x4 blocks. It won't stand out for its beauty, so let it stand out for its size.

I would cut them as long as you can easily store and stack.

I wouldn't bother with the limbs or anything close to the pith.

If you can find him, reach out to David Weaver. He has a lot of experience in this regard and will have some opinions on beech.

[Steve Voigt]

Your diagram looks good. Cut them into 4 x 4s. The probability of checking is always very high with beech, so it's nice to be able to re-mill a piece that checks, sometimes two or three times, til you eliminate the checking. The best pieces will end up jointer plane-sized (3 1/4" square), and the ones that have more problems can be used for smaller planes.

I would cut them roughly 4' long for drying purposes. Beech tends to corkscrew as it dries, so shorter is better. Still, keep in mind that you will certainly get end checking on some of the pieces.

The most important thing is to stack it right away, seal the ends right away, and cover it right away. Half an hour in the full sun and beech will start checking. I recently bought 250 board feet of beech. They were 8-footers, and I cut them in half for the 10-hour drive home. When I got home, they had all checked about half an inch deep on the freshly cut ends (this was fully kiln dried stock). Not a big deal, I just recut the ends, but that shows you how sensitive beech is.

You are doing the right thing cutting it in the winter; you should be ok on mold and the slower moisture loss will greatly help with the checking, if you do it right.

Larry Williams told me that they always try to get it in December and January. They build a foundation with cinder blocks that's about 18" off the ground, stack the wood, cover it with roofing tin, and then wrap the whole thing with Tyvek, leaving it open on the bottom so no moisture gets trapped. That slows the moisture evap rate and probably helps avoid wind shakes, too.

[george wilson]

Be sure to not leave the log or the wood laying on the ground. It will spalt very easily.

We just slabbed our beech one after the other straight down the log in 4" thick planks. Then,the planks were ripped into 4 x 4's and 4 x 6's. This gave the best yield rather than any fancy cutting.We made some 2" thick slabs for making wooden braces and bits.

Old planes had growth rings up to 45º angle with the bottom of the plane. Making the growth rings dead parallel with the bottoms would be nice,but it will waste a whole lot of your log.

4x4" is plenty large for planes,even with drying shrinkage allowed. We did make some 6" x 6" cuts for making long cooper's jointers,and with the twisting beech does,it was barely enough! We dried the wood for 7 or 8 years in the attic of a garage in the historic area,where the temperature probably reaches 130º in the Summer. We did cut ours in February. I sealed the ends with the oldest,thickest,gooiest paint I could find.

It is said that 1 year per inch of thickness is enough air drying,but even at twice the years in a very dry place,beech is still very unstable if you're trying to make a 4' long cooper's jointer from it. It will be o.k. for short planes up to 2' long.

Have you ever noticed how tight the irons of many old planes that were never messed with get? The bodies keep on shrinking till you can hardly hammer the irons out!

[Don Orr]

Thanks for all the great feedback. I will keep it in mind as I work on the log. I'm not looking to get much out of it but hope for some decent clear stock for the future.

[Allan Speers]

Just a thought, but American Beech is not as stable as European Beech. I dunno what Clarke & Williams use, but if I were build planes, or even a worktable out of Beech, I'd try t find a source for the european stuff, if at all possible. Free is nice, but what is your time worth?

[Steve Voigt]

Just a thought, but American Beech is not as stable as European Beech. I dunno what Clarke & Williams use, but if I were build planes, or even a worktable out of Beech, I'd try t find a source for the european stuff, if at all possible. Free is nice, but what is your time worth?

"Clarke and Williams" have been Old Street Tools for years now, but Larry and his partners have been building planes from American Beech for at least 15 years. Caleb James, Matt Bickford, and every other American maker of traditional mortised planes uses American Beech. The wooden plane industry in this country used American Beech for almost 200 years. And a quick check at http://www.wood-database.com/ shows that American and European beech are almost identical in their shrinkage rates, though American actually has a tiny edge in radial shrinkage, which is the one that counts. Maybe a little research before posting would be a good idea.

[Allan Speers]

American is worse for tangential shrinkage, and both matter, since a block is rarely perfectly quarter sawn.

Also, and much more importantly, European Beech has a lower T/R ratio, which means it's less likely to warp or crack over time. It's not (lack of) movement in any one direction that matters most, but rather the wood's tendency to shrink symetrically. This is why countless articles and threads over the years recommend Euro Beech over American for workbenches.

While the difference is minor, for someone investing this kind of time into a project, and only needing a very small amount of material, I would prefer to find some Euro Beech rather than taking free green American, which still needs to be seasoned as well.

& not to start an argument, but I agree with you: Maybe a little research before posting would be a good idea.

[Matthew N. Masail]

The guy has access to a free tree and I imagine the interest in the project is as much of a motivation than anything else. Some people also believe in using local timbers, I know I do even though there is not much over here. An argument about financial value vs the type of wood is kinda irrelevant here. Plus it's obvious there isn't a great issue with either type of beech, not enough to warrant dumping a tree for anyway.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Good luck Don! We have a very old beech tree nearby that my family likes to picnic under in the summer. It has a tremendously thick canopy, and sometimes it feels like it is 15 degrees cooler under the tree than anywhere else on a hot day.

I have always had a soft spot for them, and am glad to see people making planes out of them again. I mostly have Stanleys, but one of these days I am going to give a wooden design a test drive.

[george wilson]

We in Williamsburg made every one of our planes from American beech,and they were just fine. The only problem we had was trying to make a looooong cooper's jointer. We were successful finally.

You will have no problem making bench planes from your wood,but do not leave the wood outside to dry. I urge you to put it in an attic somewhere as it spalts very easily.

There may be something in the preparation of European beech that is beneficial,such as they STEAM it. I used to think it made their beech more pink looking. I'm not familiar with the steaming process,or what it does. Our beech was just as pink and beautiful as any European beech I have ever seen.

I saved a set of our planes for myself and they are still perfectly straight after many,many years. We made them in 1992.

[Prashun Patel]

George, do you have any pics. Would love to see them.

I will second (humbly) George's rec to store the wood inside. It spalts easily and is not particularly moisture resistant, so is prone to moldy black spots.

I'm sure you'll do some research on stacking and stickering, but it demands some thought and planning.

[Warren Mickley]

A little experience is with American beech is helpful also. For those of us who have been using beech planes for forty years, some of the supposed problems seem kind of fanciful. This morning I dug out some beech which had been green pallet lumber when I got it in 1978. It was low grade lumber and there are cracks and distortions around the knots; otherwise nice stuff.

European beech is susceptible to worm damage, while American beech is not. If you see a moulding plane which is in good condition except for worm holes, it is almost certainly F. sylvatica.

[Kees Heiden]

European beech loves to spalt, split and warp too. I have a big chunck of beech that turned itself into fire wood. It had been outside for way too long, then I moved it inside but that was too late.

[Steve Voigt]

American is worse for tangential shrinkage, and both matter, since a block is rarely perfectly quarter sawn.


The whole point of orienting the rings parallel to the sole is so that radial shrinkage will affect the bedding, and tangential shrinkage will simply provide clearance for the iron. So no, tangential doesn't really matter. Go read the articles on the Old Street website. And by the way, every 19th c. American plane I own, and almost every one I've seen, is dead quartersawn or nearly so. The planes I make are rarely off of dead quartersawn by more than a few degrees, and the same is true of other makers.



Also, and much more importantly, European Beech has a lower T/R ratio, which means it's less likely to warp or crack over time. It's not (lack of) movement in any one direction that matters most, but rather the wood's tendency to shrink symetrically.

Wrong again. The difference between their shrinkage ratios is 0.2%, which is insignificant. In Europe, planes have long been commercially made from pear, which has a much worse T/R ratio. It obviously is not an issue that is important to actual planemakers.


This is why countless articles and threads over the years recommend Euro Beech over American for workbenches.


If there are "countless" articles, perhaps you can provide an actual reference. To an article by a recognized authority, not a "thread" by some guy on the Internet. Not that it would matter, because the subject here is planes, not workbenches.



& not to start an argument, but I agree with you: Maybe a little research before posting would be a good idea.

I've provided links, references, and historical evidence. You've provided unsubstantiated or outright false claims, so yes, a little research would be a good idea.

And speaking of research, would you like to provide a U.S. source for 16/4 quartersawn European beech? Don't bother looking; there isn't one, unless you are prepared to buy a freight car's worth. I've tried to buy it from England myself, with no luck. Something you might've considered at the outset.

I don't usually like to argue from authority, but I've been making planes for a long time, and I've spent a lot of time and money tracking down usable supplies of beech, even teaching a sawmill operator to cut it and dry it the way I want. It's pretty obvious to anyone who's actually made planes out of American beech that it's an absolutely wonderful planemaking wood. If you'd actually done it, I don't think you'd have written these posts.

[Stanley Covington]

I once bought a quantity of excellent 4" thick beech quartersawn planks ranging from 14" to 22" wide very cheaply. While it was great wood, the sawmill had let it get wet, and it had stained and spalted badly. Ergo, cheap. But it was great wood for structural and backing purposes. I made a plane body from it, but was not impressed with the durability, Too soft. Maybe it was just the luck of the draw, but other woods are tougher and just as stable. For instance, white oak. Just my opinion.

[Don Orr]

Again, thanks for the info. I sure didn't want to start any arguements. I will definitely seal the cut ends and store it inside. As a turner I am all to familiar with leaving wood outside and losing it to rot. I cut a few billets of Beech a few years ago and have them drying in my attic. No degrade so far. Part of why I posted was in response to some plane builders lamenting the scarcity of available Beech. Since will have some I was trying to see if someone wanted a chunk or 2 with which to try their hand at making a wooden plane. No interest=no problem. I'll give it a try in a few years when/if I get to retire and the wood is dry enough.

Merry Christmas!

[Kees Heiden]

Good beach is lovely stuff. Very hard, harder then the European oak I know. It takes detail very well. No fear of splintering in areas where you don't want it to splinter, like the mouth of a plane. And on the radial plane it is also very nice with a nice, not too coarse ray fleck patern. But it needs to be truly quarter sawn to expose those paterns, just a few degrees off and it becomes rather bland.

[george wilson]

As requested,here's a picture of a batch of planes we made. I promise you,I have seen many old planes with the growth rings up to 45º off. Ideally,they would indeed be dead parallel to the sole. I think the earlier plane makers might have been sloppier in grain orientation? We were not that careless with our grain orientation as we cut 5000 bf. of beech in February,storing it in the attic of a large garage/stable in the Historic Area,where the remains still reside.

Sorry about the double image of the batch of planes. I don't know how to get rid of it. One of them is a very small pic. that won't enlarge.

The large screw was for the huge cider press. It was made of beech. It was green wood. I drilled a 2" hole down the center so it could shrink till dry without cracking open. A LOT of beeswax was applied to the outside while it rotated in the lathe,applied with a barn brush and a large torch tip.

The single jack plane shows the details of an 18th. C. plane we copied exactly,as we did all of them.

The dark plane is a massive one I made of hard maple,and used as a test bed for some dark violin varnish I made. It has a 3" blade. I used to use it quite a bit when I was younger.

[Don Orr]

Thanks for the great photos George! Your work is just incredible.

[Bill Adamsen]

George ... that's quite humbling. Quite the testament to productivity. Proves the American beech is a terrific choice, and the planes are beautiful.

In a prior posting in this thread you indicated that the wood for those planes air dried for seven or eight years?


We just slabbed our beech ... straight down the log in 4" thick planks. Then,the planks were ripped into 4 x 4's and 4 x 6's. This gave the best yield rather than any fancy cutting. ... We dried the wood for 7 or 8 years in the attic of a garage in the historic area,where the temperature probably reaches 130º in the Summer. We did cut ours in February. I sealed the ends with the oldest,thickest,gooiest paint I could find. It is said that 1 year per inch of thickness is enough air drying,but even at twice the years in a very dry place,beech is still very unstable if you're trying to make a 4' long cooper's jointer from it. It will be o.k. for short planes up to 2' long.

[george wilson]

The Beech was cut in 1986ish and we finally got to making the planes in 1992.

David Weaver bought a fairly small quantity of beech some months ago from an American supplier. He paid quite a lot for it though. I can ask him where he bought it. I think it was something like $12.00 a BF for 4" x4"'s.Perfectly quarter sawn stuff.

[Jim Koepke]

Free is nice, but what is your time worth?

This is an oft repeated yet seldom answered question.

Whether turning a piece of firewood into a kitchen utensil or fettling an old plane, the enjoyment derived from the process and the end result is priceless. Something to give to my wife or a friend that money might be able to buy, but it can not replace.

As of yet the fellow who is going to pay me for not spending a few hours fettling an old tool or making something that could be bought for a few dollars has not knocked on my door.

jtk

[Leigh Betsch]

I'd kinda gotten side tracked from the plane building but you guys are getting the itch going again. I'm not too old to plan 7 or 8 years down the road. I'll send ya a pm, maybe we can come to terms on a blank or two. George I'll pm ya if you think Dave has a beech source.

[Robert McNaull]

George, bit off topic question. What did you use for plane irons in all of those planes?

Bob

[george wilson]

We had the Anderson Blacksmith shop make authentic,wrought iron plane irons,with laminated steel bits in them,rather than use modern precision ground tool steel as another well known plane maker does. Therefore,each plane required some hand fettling to get the irons properly bedded. The irons were made pretty thin,as were 18th. C. irons. So they had to be fettled to not chatter. It is very likely that original planes also required hand adjustment. Our inclines were dead flat,but the smithed irons were not.

Workers in the 18th. C. were required to know how to set up and properly care for all their tools. After I examined the UNUSED saws in the Seaton chest,I was sure that their teeth were not ready for use,but required further filing,setting,etc.. Carving tools were supplied without handles,and certainly not ground to usable sharp edges as are many modern tools. People back then were pretty frugal it seems to me,and did no more than they(as tool makers) than they had to,everything being done by hand,and taking more time than is necessary today.

Things were a bit similar back in the 50's when buying a new car,for example. We bought a new 1957 Chevrolet when we came down from Alaska. It had to be driven no more than 35 MPH for so many miles(500 miles,I think-it's been a long time.),then a bit faster for so many miles,etc,until the engine was fully driven in. It really taxed my patience as we had to drive clear from Seattle to Virginia,4 miles from the ocean! These days,engines are bench broken in at the factory,so you don't have to go through that lengthy process. This is one of the last vestiges I can think of where a product was sold not fully ready to be used by the customer. (There are others,like breaking in a file,but this could turn into a very long post).We can consider ourselves lucky.