Plane first or cut to size?

[Dan Barr]

Question for the community:

Do you plane a board to "finish ready" first or do you cut to size first.

I plane to dimension the stock (square and relatively smooth), cut pieces to size with a little extra, then finalize by shooting and planing/scraping.

Is there anyone who planes/smooths first, then cuts pieces? Any pros/cons?

The reason I dont do it this way is because sawing leaves some tearout that I then have to shoot. Even then, I still might have to hit the piece with a smoother/scraper.

But, you never know. Someone here may have a technique that speeds what I think is somewhat duplicative.

Thoughts?

Dan

[Mike Cutler]

I would say both. If I need a lot of smaller pieces, it's easier to run the stock at one time and then cut to size.
For bigger projects I'll rough cut to length(s) and plane everything at one time to ensure uniform thickness.

[Matt Day]

I cut to rough length first (allow for planer snipe if you have it) then joint/plane. It's easier mill a shorter board - why wrestle with an 8' board when you only need it 4'?

You seem to be referencing neander methods, I'm talking about machines.

[Dan Barr]

Yes, all neander.

[David Eisenhauer]

I cut first then finish plane to avoid having to take a longer twist, hump or belly out on the original larger piece. The smaller pieces should require less work (on each piece) to get down to a final surface. If we are talking about starting with rough timber (not even skip planed), I do some preliminary jack work first to have a look at the grain/appearance and see if there is any bad wind or other issues apparent on that particular timber. If I see possible problems, I then may plan my part cutting differently to avoid some of the problem(s).

[Andy Giddings]

+1 on Mike, Matt and David's comments, cut first - obviously if the cut makes the piece too short for handling safely, then its the other way around

[Matt Day]

If you're talking all neander you've posted in the wrong forum.

[Tony Wilkins]

I cut first then finish plane to avoid having to take a longer twist, hump or belly out on the original larger piece. The smaller pieces should require less work (on each piece) to get down to a final surface. If we are talking about starting with rough timber (not even skip planed), I do some preliminary jack work first to have a look at the grain/appearance and see if there is any bad wind or other issues apparent on that particular timber. If I see possible problems, I then may plan my part cutting differently to avoid some of the problem(s).

This. Also maximizes possible thickness.

[Joe Bailey]

If you're talking all neander you've posted in the wrong forum.

You seem to be confused.

[Roy Lindberry]

Same as the others, I cut to rough size first to minimize the work required to true a board while maintaining maximum yield for thickness.

On occasion, I will do some rough planing work just to see the grain in order to make decisions about what pieces to cut from where.

[Jim Koepke]

It depends on what is being made. Especially if the finish planing is with molding planes. Then it is easier to run off a longer length of molding details before cutting to size. It is a lot less set up.

If a lot of pieces for a project are cut from the same board it is also easy to plane before cutting to lengths. One needs to take care not to ding the pieces. It may be necessary to do some touch up smoothing before final assembly. That can happen no matter how you prep stock.

jtk

[Dan Barr]

If you're talking all neander you've posted in the wrong forum.

I dont mind the thread moving. Disagree with "wrong forum" though. This applies to both hand and power tools. Just because I am working all hand tools does not mean that this does not apply to the rest of the community. There may be a thing a non neander knows that could benefit me. C'est la vie.

[Stewie Simpson]

Dan; if you run a Stanley Knife over your cut off lines, it will reduce the cross grain tear out on the underside of the board. In answer to your main question, I prefer to leave an extra 1/2" in board length up until final dimensioning has been completed. All the best to you and your family during the festive period.

regards Stewie;