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greg Forster
04-21-2016, 9:45 AM
What is the best way to handle freshly sawn beech, with the goal of making
planes? Should I leave it in boards or cut up to oversized plane blanks?
put it in a outbuilding away from sun and wind?



I'm in North Carolina and it is getting hot- would dealing with beech now be an
exercise in futility . I'm only considering a small quantity, from a local sawmill
that just got some Beech logs

Danny Hamsley
04-21-2016, 8:26 PM
Away from sun and wind is good. Beech needs to dry slow. The thinner the stock, the faster it will dry with the least cracking. A 2" board takes 2.5 times as long to dry as a 1" board.

Cody Colston
04-23-2016, 10:57 AM
While a laminated plane blank is perfectly acceptable, I prefer using solid stock. (I've been making wooden planes, too) I would cut the Beech into oversize blanks and then let it dry slowly as Danny advised.

BTW, you probably know this but the plane stock needs to be dry, dry, dry before making the plane.

Kevin Jenness
04-23-2016, 9:57 PM
I would recommend drying the material in longer lengths than individual blanks to reduce the effect of more rapid end grain drying and to ease handling. Size the material close (1/4" strong in thickness and width) to final size, but don't cut to length until it is relatively dry. Seal the ends to minimize checking, and keep the drying rate moderate. When close to target moisture content, cut out individual blanks or multiple lengths depending on how you are processing them (9" blanks may not feed through your planer well but can be hand tooled) and creep up on the final dimension in several stages.

American beech is not noted for its stability,although its hardness allows for good wearing ability. I wonder why so many old planes are made of beech as opposed to other woods like maple.

Danny Hamsley
04-24-2016, 7:55 AM
I sell persimmon to plane makers.