Advise on making flat tops (update)

[Jim Colombo]

I followed your advice and glued up the 30"x7'x4" wide boards first 3 at a time and then 2 at time. however, I still ended up with uneven glue ups on the final couple of joints.

So now my question is, do I go at this huge chunk of wood with a sander or do you think a hand plane would do a better job?

Thanks,
Jim

[Andrew Seemann]

A handplane is faster if you can do it without tear out. Unfortunately on longer boards the grain can rise and fall and be out of sync across joints, even if the boards are carefully matched. I tend to use a scraper and a ROS sander because of this. A lot depends on how prone your wood is to tear out and your skills with a hand plane (and sharpening skills:) )

[Mitchell Ristine]

I've had luck finding a local cabinet shop willing to run stuff through a timesaver for me. They usually want $20 or so to do it. Money well spent.

[Andrew Seemann]

I've had luck finding a local cabinet shop willing to run stuff through a timesaver for me. They usually want $20 or so to do it. Money well spent.

Yep, my next tabletop is going to go through the timesaver at the local high school.

[David Eisenhauer]

Hand plane if you have some experience. But, even if you do not have a hand plane or scraper, the ROS will do it, albeit at a slower pace. You only have one to do, so how long can it take? A bazillion years ago (pre internet/YouTube), I built my first "top" for an entertainment cabinet out of 3/4" mahogany. I had no power tools (including a power sander) and had just bought my first hand plane to do the final levelling with. At the end of my first foray into hand planning (with a wooden plane), I ended up with a 5/8" thick top and there was lot of hand sanding involved. It looked good and served for 20+ years. The wooden hand plane led to Japanese water stones and a card scraper. Lots of fumbling and learning. The local cabinet shop option would be one to explore for many folks. For your next top, you may want to add in some cauls for your edge glueing. The adventure has begun and remember, it is the journey that is important.

[Floyd Mah]

Start with a scrub plane or a cambered iron in a #3 or #4 bench plane. They will do the rough work rapidly to remove high spots. You have to be careful when you first start to avoid removing the desired areas as well. I usually mark the waste areas with a pencil. Also set the blade depth for shallow cuts. Once you have taken down the high spots, a regular plane or sander will easily give you the final surface.

My opinion is that most woodworkers would find scrub planes to be a useful addition to their toolbox. In particular, when you are working with rough wood or glue ups, using a regular plane to prep the surface is more difficult.

[Jim Andrew]

Mike Henderson used to have a tutorial on using cauls to glue up panels. Worth a look!

[Michelle Rich]

if your wood is of equal thickness, then I'd suggest angle iron or whatever it is called..aluminum angle iron? I use it as cauls on large pieces. cheap and at all hardware stores