methods for preparing boards with hand tools

[Eric Rathhaus]

I'm about to begin the process of learning how to prep boards with only hand tools. I've watched many videos, read books/articles, etc. I'm drawn to the method in the attached video, but it's a little different than many others I've seen. What method do others follow and do you see problems with how he does it? (I'm think of you, Warren.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEdgF8NDsB0

[Rafael Herrera]

There are several approaches. I think a good way to go about it is to try first and then settle on something you feel comfortable with. I've drifted towards a combination of wooden planes and metal planes to prepare boards.

Go from this, to this:

471155 471156

I've watched that video in the past, it has good pointers. Wooden soled planes are a lot less effort to push than metal ones.

[Jim Koepke]

As Rafael mentions,"There are several approaches."

A lot depends on what and how big is the piece being worked.

Here is my ordeal with some larger hunks of wood > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?272588 < in this thread winding sticks are used and another method using small blocks and string is used to check a larger area for flatness.

Here is a post on making winding sticks > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?290331 < winding sticks should also be serviceable straight edges that also come in handy in the shop when flattening a piece.

jtk

[Bob Jones 5443]

I learned this process by studying Peter Korn's classic book Working with Wood You can get it used online for four bucks. It changed my life when I was starting out. I thought, wow, so this is how it's done.

[Jason Buresh]

I'm about to begin the process of learning how to prep boards with only hand tools. I've watched many videos, read books/articles, etc. I'm drawn to the method in the attached video, but it's a little different than many others I've seen. What method do others follow and do you see problems with how he does it? (I'm think of you, Warren.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEdgF8NDsB0

The absolute best advice I can give you is to check your work often. Very often. Blindly planing away at a board creates more problems than it solves.

Squares, winding sticks, and a straight edge should all be close by when prepping stock.

Everyone has a personal preference on a method, and I believe it boils down to how to efficiently use the tools you have.

[Ed Mitchell]

I'm with Jason -- if you blindly apply a formula, sure, it may work, but you're likely to end up doing too much work.
Sure, some boards need the full Monty, but most don't.
So look at the board, check it out in detail, consider the context for this board (!), see what needs to happen and do no more than that.

[mike stenson]

Agree with Jason and Ed. This is why I like stops, I can lift and look very easily. Some boards need a lot more work than others. Since S2S is so common, most of the time it's just looking for twist, then getting rid of a small amount of cup. Most times, I don't even have to traverse unless I get stuff from a mill directly.

[steven c newman]

The Woodwright's Shop......"Hand plane essentials, with C. Schwarz....usually found on pbs.org

Well worth the 1/2 hour of your time to sit back and watch.

[Ben Ellenberger]

I’ve used the method Mike Siemens demonstrates. I think that is a great approach to follow, especially if you are just starting out. Complete each step of the process before moving on to the next. As others have said, be methodical and check your work often.

As you do more stock prep you will get a feel for it and learn what is “good enough”. I’d focus on doing it right at first. Speed and efficiency will come with practice.

[Eric Rathhaus]

Thanks, Ben. That's what I liked about his approach, methodical, built checks on your progress, and you get to use geometry to boot!

[Warren Mickley]

I like Mike, but I don't think he has done this 100 times or anything like it. Not very accurate and quite wasteful of material and time. He doesn't seem to know how to use a straight edge. He wants to make a formula to follow, rather than check with the winding sticks and straightedge and just take off the high spots.

Mike uses a similar technique for jointing an edge as David Charlesworth: avoid the ends and plane the board hollow until it stops cutting in the middle. then plane the entire length until you get a continuous shaving and call it flat. After using this procedure, Charlesworth finally checks it with a straightedge, finds it .002 inches hollow and says it is a "remarkable tolerance for a hand tool on timber". Actually it is pitiful. With a plane taking a .001 shaving he could easily improve the tolerance by planing the ends and getting it to conform to the straightedge; it should not take a minute. Siemsen does not even bother to check his work with a straightedge. He assumes that the plane has made it flat.

A plane helps in flattening, but the idea that the tool is what creates the flatness is machine tool thinking, which of course is how these fellows have operated for decades.

[Luke Dupont]

Don't complicate it, but do learn and refine as you go. Generally, you want to start with a face first, because you can't joint a square edge until you have a flat face to register square against.

I generally do the following, using winding sticks, a try square, and a straight edge to check my work and mark high spots as I go:

1. Put board flat on the bench. First, identify any twist or cupping. If there's cupping, I put the hump upwards so that the board doesn't wobble side to side while I plane.
2. Work down the high spots. I plane in any direction I feel necessary. Sometimes that's across the grain. Sometimes that's diagonal from one high edge to the other (when there's twist). Sometimes that's along the grain. Sometimes I just work on certain high spots and concentrate on them when necessary.
3. Flip the board over, do the same.
4. Joint a square edge.
5. Mark the opposite edge from the newly jointed and straight edge, plane down to that line. This is, if I even need the edges to be perfectly parallel. Sometimes you don't.

That's all basically. As you get more advanced, you learn to work to a greater tolerance as needed.

I'm not as experienced as many people here, of course, and I often work to "good enough for the application I need" tolerances. But, I do occasionally work to very tight tolerances when I feel necessary, as Warren describes. A single shaving too much can create a dip that you might not want. It's up to you to decide what tolerances you need or want to work to for a given piece and a given project, ultimately. The tolerances you need for, say, making tools, is different from what you need for making furniture, or chairs, or boats, or outdoor furniture, etc., and even within those categories, it's really up to the craftsman as to how flat is flat, so long as you're not out of square or flat so much as to cause problems. If it causes problems, or just isn't up to your standards and displeases you, well, you know it's not flat enough and you need to correct it!

Ultimately, your tools (winding sticks, straight edges, and try squares) will tell you whether you succeeded or not. How you get there is up to you, and something that you'll learn and refine as you go.

[Ben Ellenberger]

I like Mike, but I don't think he has done this 100 times or anything like it. Not very accurate and quite wasteful of material and time. He doesn't seem to know how to use a straight edge. He wants to make a formula to follow, rather than check with the winding sticks and straightedge and just take off the high spots.

Mike uses a similar technique for jointing an edge as David Charlesworth: avoid the ends and plane the board hollow until it stops cutting in the middle. then plane the entire length until you get a continuous shaving and call it flat. After using this procedure, Charlesworth finally checks it with a straightedge, finds it .002 inches hollow and says it is a "remarkable tolerance for a hand tool on timber". Actually it is pitiful. With a plane taking a .001 shaving he could easily improve the tolerance by planing the ends and getting it to conform to the straightedge; it should not take a minute. Siemsen does not even bother to check his work with a straightedge. He assumes that the plane has made it flat.

A plane helps in flattening, but the idea that the tool is what creates the flatness is machine tool thinking, which of course is how these fellows have operated for decades.

so you say the technique demonstrated in the original video is wasteful of material. I don’t understand that at all. Essentially he gets the four outside corners in a plane removing the minimum wood possible, then planes everything in between those four points down to the same plane.

Can you describe how you would get a surface flat while removing less wood than that?

[Jason Buresh]

Before even grabbing a plane put your board on the bench and study it. If you push on opposing corners. NE to SW, NW to SE, etc. Does it rock? Board is twisted. Get the winding sticks and study the twist. Learn how bad it's twisted, mark the corners etc. Does the board rock edge to edge? It's most likely cupped. Get the straight edge out and study the cupping.

After you learn what your board needs for prep, then grab a plane. Remember, don't plane blindly. Your board will change with each pass, so study often by checking with sticks and straightedges and squares.

This is the best "method". Learning what each board needs and planing to fix specific problems while checking your work often and adjusting accordingly.

[Scott Winners]

Good advice here. You have probably seen this one already. I fine have two plane irons this sharp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_96gNMMc_g

And I bought a DeWalt lunch box. I see a lot of boards in my shop that do need some clean up before I turn them over to the Dewalt, scrub here, winding sticks there, I need a flat surface on one side to lay on the planer ways. I am perfectly happy to let the Dewalt do the thicknessing - once later problems are prevented - and then just take off the machine marks by hand plane.

[Eric Rathhaus]

Warren, I wondered if you would say he wastes material as I think I remember you writing that you wouldn't start working with a crown up for this reason. Is there another book or video that you think provide a better method?

[Tom Trees]

This was only on the UK forum last week.
I suggested this particular video was one, if not the best video on hand planing available for free,
I suggested Charlesworth's methodology for the last wee bit'
some couldn't get around the fact that Rob was using the bench as a straight edge, plus to a lesser extent as winding sticks
even though actual winding sticks were used also.

The only thing that irk's me is the cross grain planing is wasteful and more time consuming compared to just looking,
planing corner to corner yes, that would be the first thing I would have done in the video above, and I don't need a scrub either to do it.
Some even suggest bevelling the end to do this!

If one were to take a leaf out of Charlesworth's book instead, one would be aware how precious the perimeter of the work is, slight hollows if you will,
that is fundamental thinking if one wants to achieve good accuracy in getting a truly flat surface.
One wrong shaving can spoil things, especially if the timber is on the skimpy side, that's why I like having a flat bench to get an idea of what the timber looks like everywhere.

If using a flat surface and referring to it, not just using it, a bevel on the edge of the work makes it less noticeable by eye to see flat,
and for the heavier shavings, takes near twice the effort to check, and this is where the big angle poise lamp comes into play.

Haven't seen a truly honest approach concerning flatness, done as fast as the flat bench method,
Add Warren's suggestion from the old books, of using the cap iron to its full potential and it's an unbeatable combination, regardless if you use winding sticks or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGuGFGAQTxE

[Charles Guest]

I'm about to begin the process of learning how to prep boards with only hand tools. I've watched many videos, read books/articles, etc. I'm drawn to the method in the attached video, but it's a little different than many others I've seen. What method do others follow and do you see problems with how he does it? (I'm think of you, Warren.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEdgF8NDsB0

Here's all you really need to know: the board can never be thicker than it's lowest spot. You have no choice but to plane to the lowest depth (and a touch beyond if using rough sawn lumber) on any face or edge. Save boards with end-to-end bow for long components that will be fastened at mid length -- think cupboard backboards as one example. If you try to flatten a board like that, you'll end up with nothing. Select components that need to stay flat and out of twist from boards that show the least amount of warp in the rough -- you're thinking about door and drawer components in this instance. Cutting critical smaller parts out of profoundly warped boards is asking for trouble. You might get away with it every now and then, but I wouldn't count on it. Profoundly twisted boards are why you don't buy 100 bd. ft. of lumber for a project that requires 100 bd. ft. of lumber. You need to be able to mentally deal with an occasional piece of stock not worth your time or trouble. That or put it into a project and pay later.

The rest of it is just common sense -- don't try to use winding sticks on a convex hump, so start your work on the cupped face. The first side you flatten, the "reference" face, is not necessarily the face that will show. Sometimes it is, a lot of times it should not be. The flattest side of a tabletop should be the one that registers to the undercarriage, otherwise you risk pulling the whole structure into twist when you install the top, etc., etc. We can get into all that later.

[Warren Mickley]

so you say the technique demonstrated in the original video is wasteful of material. I don’t understand that at all. Essentially he gets the four outside corners in a plane removing the minimum wood possible, then planes everything in between those four points down to the same plane.

Can you describe how you would get a surface flat while removing less wood than that?

Mike planes cross grain until the plane stops cutting, which planes the board somewhat hollow. Not only is it hollow, but the low spots are quite torn up from the cross grain planing. So he has to plane down to the low spots and even lower to plane out the torn cross grain cuts. This is wasteful of time and material. When Mike starts with the iron plane he actually planes down the corners which he previously called the low spots. Look at how much planing he has to do just because he planed the center (which had been the highest) lower than his supposed references.

If you read what Jason said last night at 10:54 post 14, he says check with straightedge often. Mike checks with straightedge not at all. Jason's advice is much better:

"Remember, don't plane blindly. Your board will change with each pass, so study often by checking with sticks and straightedges and squares.

This is the best "method". Learning what each board needs and planing to fix specific problems while checking your work often and adjusting accordingly."

[Jason Buresh]

Mike planes cross grain until the plane stops cutting, which planes the board somewhat hollow. Not only is it hollow, but the low spots are quite torn up from the cross grain planing. So he has to plane down to the low spots and even lower to plane out the torn cross grain cuts. This is wasteful of time and material. When Mike starts with the iron plane he actually planes down the corners which he previously called the low spots. Look at how much planing he has to do just because he planed the center (which had been the highest) lower than his supposed references.

If you read what Jason said last night at 10:54 post 14, he says check with straightedge often. Mike checks with straightedge not at all. Jason's advice is much better:

"Remember, don't plane blindly. Your board will change with each pass, so study often by checking with sticks and straightedges and squares.

This is the best "method". Learning what each board needs and planing to fix specific problems while checking your work often and adjusting accordingly."

One thing I should add is just because a board is smooth and glossy doesn't mean it is flat and square either.

When I first started and didn't know any better I grabbed a jack plane and started planing away at piece of pine I had. I planed off any rough spots and then went to work with the smoother, and got a beautiful glassy smooth surface. I flipped the board over and it rocked like a rocking chair. My issue was when I brought the mouth of the plane behind the board edge, I wasn't holding the plane completely flat because the rear of the plane was heavier than what was in contact with the wood, like standing on the end of a diving board, so the rear of the plane was hanging below the board. After some overzealous planing I essentially made an arc on the face of the board.

If planes automatically made boards flat, we wouldn't need different sizes of them. If your board is wide enough or long enough or both, a no 4 will follow any inconsistencies in the board. That is why it is so important to use sticks, edge and square.

[Ben Ellenberger]

Mike planes cross grain until the plane stops cutting, which planes the board somewhat hollow. Not only is it hollow, but the low spots are quite torn up from the cross grain planing. So he has to plane down to the low spots and even lower to plane out the torn cross grain cuts. This is wasteful of time and material. When Mike starts with the iron plane he actually planes down the corners which he previously called the low spots. Look at how much planing he has to do just because he planed the center (which had been the highest) lower than his supposed references.

If you read what Jason said last night at 10:54 post 14, he says check with straightedge often. Mike checks with straightedge not at all. Jason's advice is much better:

"Remember, don't plane blindly. Your board will change with each pass, so study often by checking with sticks and straightedges and squares.

This is the best "method". Learning what each board needs and planing to fix specific problems while checking your work often and adjusting accordingly."

I think you are mis-understanding the video. He checks for twist, then planes down the two high corners. He explicitly calls out not touching the two low corners.

When traversing, he explicitly calls out not touching the outside edges until the very last pass.

I think you are arguing over one or two shaving thicknesses you could save by switching to planing with the grain slightly sooner.

[Eric Rathhaus]

Hi Tom - what is this UK forum?

[Rafael Herrera]

That's the link I sent you.

[Eric Rathhaus]

Thanks, Rafael. I just checked it out. I enjoyed the the thread that you linked. Looks like many people from Wood central and Wood net.

[James Pallas]

Mr. Seimen’s way is just one way to accomplish the task. He is not working a ten foot piece it’s more of a panel. I approach flattening this way. Evaluate the material for purpose. Plan on a progression of work. Only take off the high areas. Don’t ever trust a low corner for a starting point, you may just have to cut 2 inches off that rough board instead of an eighth inch off a whole face. I use chalk, string lines, straight edges, winding sticks, squares and wedges to stabilize. Be methodical in your approach to work. Each piece of material is different. I haven’t found a one size fits all method that doesn’t make for a lot of extra work.
Jim