open pores after hand planing?

[Alex Liebert]

So I'm preparing to apply finish to my piece- I used hand planes for the first time on it. I did a wipe down with naptha and noticed a strange appearance to the surface- it looks like each pore in the wood is an oval sequin that I can see. I put some naptha on a board from the same batch I had sanded but not planed and it did not exhibit this. I did a quick finish test on the planed board and it exaggerated the effect even more.

It's hard to photograph but hopefully this picture shows what I'm talking about:

poresboard.jpg

I realized I've seen this once before in the corner of another piece in my home, it looks like this- more pronounced and this is the same look I got after applying finish to my own board:

porescabinet.jpg

So what am I seeing here? And what are my options for undoing it, if any?

[Joe Bailey]

So what am I seeing here? And what are my options for undoing it, if any?

In a word: "chatoyance"
To "undo" it, simply sand it to no more than about 220.
For many though, this sheen/shimmer is desirable.

[Alex Liebert]

In a word: "chatoyance"
To "undo" it, simply sand it to no more than about 220.
For many though, this sheen/shimmer is desirable.

This is actually not what I typically call chatoyance, but maybe I'm misunderstanding. Usually I'd call chatoyance the color shift / depth effect you get on a smooth surface, especially around knots and changing grain etc.

This is a uniform distribution of small dots across the entirety of the surface. The "color shift" of the dots is minimal but they do reflect light differently. It looks like the pores of the wood were all opened up wide, but I really don't know.

I may not be describing, or photographing, it very well...

[Patrick Chase]

This is a uniform distribution of small dots across the entirety of the surface. The "color shift" of the dots is minimal but they do reflect light differently. It looks like the pores of the wood were all opened up wide, but I really don't know.

Assuming your plane is sharp it's not so much "opened up" as "not shredded into oblivion". Sanding crushes and tears the wood's microstructure, and in so doing it hides small-scale variations like this.

Most of us would consider that to be a feature, not a defect to be concealed. There are some things you can do to conceal that sort of variation via filling (in the case of pores), staining, and toning.

One contrary thought: A dull plane can amplify variations by selectively tearing some parts of the surface while cleanly cutting others, but I don't think that's what happened here. One way to check is to look at the "shininess" of the planed surface with grazing light. If it's uniformly shiny then your plane was cutting cleanly everywhere. If the same spots look dull when viewed that way then you didn't cleanly plane the surface.

[Patrick Chase]

On a related note: I transitioned a while back from sanding to finishing straight off the hand plane, and one of the biggest differences i see is in pore filling-leveling. When I want a glass-smooth finish I have to put down more sealer/build coats before leveling to ensure that I can level the deepest pores without sanding through (there are some other tricks, but that's sthe general idea). Alternatively I have to resort to wood-filler on finer-grained wood than I otherwise would.

On the plus side, I don't have to worry about grain raising. Absent the destruction left by sanding there simply isn't anything to swell and stick up when exposed to water.

[Dave Beauchesne]

This is actually not what I typically call chatoyance, but maybe I'm misunderstanding. Usually I'd call chatoyance the color shift / depth effect you get on a smooth surface, especially around knots and changing grain etc.

This is a uniform distribution of small dots across the entirety of the surface. The "color shift" of the dots is minimal but they do reflect light differently. It looks like the pores of the wood were all opened up wide, but I really don't know.

I may not be describing, or photographing, it very well...

Looks to me that what you are seeing is the medullary rays - What type of wood is it? Quarter sawn something or other.

A sharp hand plane will let you see things you dulled or muddied up with sandpaper in the past.

Enjoy it!

Dave B

[Jim Koepke]

I may not be describing, or photographing, it very well...

What type of wood is it?

That is also my question. Some woods have a more open cell structure.

Do your shavings look like a miniature chain link fence?

jtk

[Alex Liebert]

Looks to me that what you are seeing is the medullary rays - What type of wood is it? Quarter sawn something or other.

A sharp hand plane will let you see things you dulled or muddied up with sandpaper in the past.

Enjoy it!

Dave B

Wow, thanks Dave! I think this theory fits. I went back and looked at the end grain of the sanded board, and there's a circular pattern- then the planed board, and the end grain has a straight pattern. This would likely indicate quarter-sawn, correct?

The only time I've consciously identified medullary rays is the crescent shapes in quarter sawn oak. I personally don't like that look either but it's a matter of taste. This is poplar by the way. The phenomenon I'm seeing kind of resembles when you look at the end grain of certain pieces of walnut and you can see the open ends of the grain, except here it's more subtle and on the face side. The effect on this board, to my eye, is just muddying. From a distance you don't pick out the individual "pores" but taken as a whole dulls everything out, killing the crispness of the long straight grain.

On a related note: I transitioned a while back from sanding to finishing straight off the hand plane, and one of the biggest differences i see is in pore filling-leveling. When I want a glass-smooth finish I have to put down more sealer/build coats before leveling to ensure that I can level the deepest pores without sanding through (there are some other tricks, but that's sthe general idea). Alternatively I have to resort to wood-filler on finer-grained wood than I otherwise would.


On the plus side, I don't have to worry about grain raising. Absent the destruction left by sanding there simply isn't anything to swell and stick up when exposed to water.

This is pretty fine grained poplar. I've used pore fillers in the past (on restoration / refinish projects), mostly on oak where I'm trying to tame some overly crazy looking grain contrast. In that case I've used clear pore filler, but mostly so I could apply a glaze by hand without too much clinging to the grain. I could do the same here, but I worry a clear filler would still show the pores, and a colored filler would turn them into brown polka dots.

[James Pallas]

Alex, Many people love the look of sycamore because of the ray flecks. When dealing with QS material it's an all or none thing for me. Mixing between flat sawn, quarter sawn or rift sawn doesn't work well unless it's intentional and part of the design. It would be difficult indeed to try to hide that look on your piece of lumber. Paint? Take a look at some sycamore pictures.
Jim

[Robert Engel]

I think its just the grain pattern of the wood. A planed surface always amplifies, sanding always dulls.

Check the grain pattern. Is the board quarter sawn?

If so, I think what you're seeing is medullary rays on end.

I've seen patterns just like this in Tulip poplar.

[Don Orr]

First of all what you are calling Poplar is most likely Tulip Poplar and not a true Poplar at all. This "pore" pattern is actually the medullary rays often seen in many species when sawn in true quarter manner. You are looking at the edges of the annular rings to which the medullary rays run perpendicular. Definitely enhanced by planning over sanding, but sanded quartersawn "poplar" will show the same effect. If sawn just slightly off quarter the effect disappears.

[Prashun Patel]

I agree with the medulary rays comments.

What you appear to have is a quartersawn poplar board. Cherry, maple, and sycamore all sometimes look like this in quartersawn orientation.

Your "oval sequin" description puzzles me though.