When are you smoothing?

[Keegan Shields]

Pretty simple question where the answer might be "it depends" - but at what point are you using your smoothing plane? Before joinery? Before glue up? Perhaps after final assembly?

I'm working through a hand tool cabinet build and am curious what everyone's general practice is.

Thanks!

[Jason Buresh]

I'm sure there are many different opinions on this topic, but I generally start smoithing after flattening and before joinery. After joinery i will use a smoothing plane to touch things up if needed.

In general, you want smoothing to be as close to the last process as possible so you aren't picking up knicks and bumps from assembly or working in what you want to be a finished surface. If your building a cabinet, it doesn't make sense to try and smooth the inside faces after assembly, although technically the outside could be smoothed after assembly.

[Rafael Herrera]

If you expect to bruise or get some of the surfaces dirty as you work on the pieces, wait until you're ready to assemble to do some final cleaning passes. I'd say have everything preperly dimensioned and smoothed before starting your joints if further planing after the joints have been cut would screw the fit.

Handling and holding a large cabinet after assembly to do planing passes might not be easy.

You don't say if you're sanding or not. If you are using a smoothing plane, it's possible to get a finish-ready surface after the smoothing plane. Although sandpaper may be needed to get rid of unwanted smudges.

Keeping your hands and work area clean is par for the course.

[Ben Ellenberger]

If I’m making a dovetailed cabinet I’m not picking up my smoothing plane until after glue-up. I expect to do some clean-up of the corners after glue-up anyway.

[Andrew Hughes]

I’ve gotten my milling of project woods down so well I go right to my Lie Neilson smoother. Sometimes before jointery and assembly sometimes after.
I haven’t bought paper with small rocks glued on it for about a year.
Good Luck

[Derek Cohen]

If I’m making a dovetailed cabinet I’m not picking up my smoothing plane until after glue-up. I expect to do some clean-up of the corners after glue-up anyway.

Regarding this, I would smooth the inside faces of a drawer, and leave the outside until later for final smoothing.

at what point are you using your smoothing plane? Before joinery? Before glue up? Perhaps after final assembly?

I do use a smoother for dimensioning small areas ,as well as for a finishing a surface.

Further, a good surface can be important, even when you need to do final finishing later: I will create a good surface on the inside of a drawer side because this make it easier to lay out marks and not have to finish at a later time.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Warren Mickley]

Peter Nicholson (1812) says the smoothing plane is "chiefly used for cleaning off finished work." This what I have been doing for more than forty years.

I use a jack plane and a double iron trying plane for preparation, after which the surface is in very nice shape. After joinery, and just before gluing or finishing, I go over the surface usually only one swipe with the smoothing plane to get rid of scratches, scuffs, pencil marks and the like. I do not use it for interiors of drawers or cases or boxes; the trying plane leaves a very fine surface.

[Rafael Herrera]

Lots of very useful information packed in the planing sections of the book Warren is referring to. Efficiency. See pages 104, the preceeding ones, and 158 onwards.

https://archive.org/details/PeterNic.../n234/mode/1up

[Prashun Patel]

There's no answer or rule to this.
I try to think ahead. If I can hold it more conveniently before assembly and think I can resist damaging it subsequently, I'll smooth before. If I can't, or if I forget to think ahead, I'll smooth after.

You'll need to do both. Get comfortable with either.

[Keegan Shields]

Thanks for the input and the link. I'll check it out.

[Derek Cohen]

There's no answer or rule to this.
I try to think ahead. If I can hold it more conveniently before assembly and think I can resist damaging it subsequently, I'll smooth before. If I can't, or if I forget to think ahead, I'll smooth after.

You'll need to do both. Get comfortable with either.

Nicely stated, Prashun.

Flexibility and planning are two key factors in hand work.

Regards from Perth

Derek