Brian Holcombe
03-14-2016, 12:49 AM
There have been a lot of threads recently surrounding this general topic. My thoughts on the subject are that reducing or otherwise minimizing tearout in the jointing and thicknessing process can greatly reduce the amount of work required to finish plane the piece.
I'm doing a quick table here, and so I haven't detailed in the way that I usually do, but I did take photos of the thicknessing and jointing processes. I'm starting here with David Weaver's jack plane, set to take a medium cut. This is a double iron plane and I can take both crossgrain and long grain passes without much in the way of extreme tearout.
The tearout you're seeing to the left of the plane body was how the stock was from the lumber yard. Often these flitches from the crotch section of the log tearout badly when they're skip planed.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/4BC102B4-889E-42FF-9B7B-BE16CE908670_zpsmsdepfit.jpg (http://s27.photobucket.com/user/SpeedyGoomba/media/4BC102B4-889E-42FF-9B7B-BE16CE908670_zpsmsdepfit.jpg.html)
This is how the surface appears, right off of the jack plane. Even with this type of interlocking grain, tearout is minimized. Tearout here can be on the very extreme end if measures are not taken to control it, and ultimately alot of time would need to be devoted to finish planing. Not in this case.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/906CF718-A051-4D4B-A274-91C361915B11_zpslaygcyz7.jpg (http://s27.photobucket.com/user/SpeedyGoomba/media/906CF718-A051-4D4B-A274-91C361915B11_zpslaygcyz7.jpg.html)
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/6C71E505-68B5-4D11-A5FF-7D74806A744B_zpss3rd5jr0.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/1E3EA9EF-82F2-4E17-8F79-9307376AB771_zps6kaulwpx.jpg (http://s27.photobucket.com/user/SpeedyGoomba/media/1E3EA9EF-82F2-4E17-8F79-9307376AB771_zps6kaulwpx.jpg.html)
I do almost all of the work with the jack plane to even and flatten the board, all cross grain. I take the try plane next (and managed to forget to photograph it) and remove the tracks created by the jack. After that's done, I'm ready for a few final passes with the smoothing plane. Once full length shavings are able to be made, a few passes are made and the job is complete.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/AC088C37-4AE1-4485-906C-37D2D9A00652_zpsspiylpxo.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/5A10FF0A-D7FC-410E-BAE0-AA923FAFCCEA_zps5vt42guh.jpg (http://s27.photobucket.com/user/SpeedyGoomba/media/5A10FF0A-D7FC-410E-BAE0-AA923FAFCCEA_zps5vt42guh.jpg.html)
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/E18584B8-6539-405F-850E-5202ED9BF1F4_zpshvwwiz6l.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/3EB8B85A-B902-4A65-A357-73A498113794_zpsicqxjwbh.jpg
For those curious, installing the butterflies (dutchmen)
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/7301D25C-453D-49B3-9C0E-E947CEB05736_zpsjymdjmtp.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/EE59A847-D308-417A-A550-90BE12A79A4C_zpskeffrytu.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/8B6C70E3-B029-4EBB-879D-5836ABB4D08F_zpscyionan4.jpg
I'm doing a quick table here, and so I haven't detailed in the way that I usually do, but I did take photos of the thicknessing and jointing processes. I'm starting here with David Weaver's jack plane, set to take a medium cut. This is a double iron plane and I can take both crossgrain and long grain passes without much in the way of extreme tearout.
The tearout you're seeing to the left of the plane body was how the stock was from the lumber yard. Often these flitches from the crotch section of the log tearout badly when they're skip planed.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/4BC102B4-889E-42FF-9B7B-BE16CE908670_zpsmsdepfit.jpg (http://s27.photobucket.com/user/SpeedyGoomba/media/4BC102B4-889E-42FF-9B7B-BE16CE908670_zpsmsdepfit.jpg.html)
This is how the surface appears, right off of the jack plane. Even with this type of interlocking grain, tearout is minimized. Tearout here can be on the very extreme end if measures are not taken to control it, and ultimately alot of time would need to be devoted to finish planing. Not in this case.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/906CF718-A051-4D4B-A274-91C361915B11_zpslaygcyz7.jpg (http://s27.photobucket.com/user/SpeedyGoomba/media/906CF718-A051-4D4B-A274-91C361915B11_zpslaygcyz7.jpg.html)
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/6C71E505-68B5-4D11-A5FF-7D74806A744B_zpss3rd5jr0.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/1E3EA9EF-82F2-4E17-8F79-9307376AB771_zps6kaulwpx.jpg (http://s27.photobucket.com/user/SpeedyGoomba/media/1E3EA9EF-82F2-4E17-8F79-9307376AB771_zps6kaulwpx.jpg.html)
I do almost all of the work with the jack plane to even and flatten the board, all cross grain. I take the try plane next (and managed to forget to photograph it) and remove the tracks created by the jack. After that's done, I'm ready for a few final passes with the smoothing plane. Once full length shavings are able to be made, a few passes are made and the job is complete.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/AC088C37-4AE1-4485-906C-37D2D9A00652_zpsspiylpxo.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/5A10FF0A-D7FC-410E-BAE0-AA923FAFCCEA_zps5vt42guh.jpg (http://s27.photobucket.com/user/SpeedyGoomba/media/5A10FF0A-D7FC-410E-BAE0-AA923FAFCCEA_zps5vt42guh.jpg.html)
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/E18584B8-6539-405F-850E-5202ED9BF1F4_zpshvwwiz6l.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/3EB8B85A-B902-4A65-A357-73A498113794_zpsicqxjwbh.jpg
For those curious, installing the butterflies (dutchmen)
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/7301D25C-453D-49B3-9C0E-E947CEB05736_zpsjymdjmtp.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/EE59A847-D308-417A-A550-90BE12A79A4C_zpskeffrytu.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/8B6C70E3-B029-4EBB-879D-5836ABB4D08F_zpscyionan4.jpg