Planing Walnut Crotch

Re: Planing Walnut Crotch

David Barnett

>My way, and it's certainly not the only way, is to use a scraper plane. I'll often go once over with the toothing blade (different directions, criss-crossing, etc.) and then a pass with the regular blade set lightly (a 'medium' hook), and finally with it set to just feather it oh so gently (or use a card scraper with almost no hook for the final pass). Some species and some grain formations are easier to smooth if you lightly mist the wood with water.

Before I go to the #112, though, I'll try the Primus smoother, which on walnut often does the trick, then touch up with a card scraper.

Re: Planing Walnut Crotch

John K in Hastings, MN

>Figured, difficult grain is not something to use a plain old plane on. This is the kind of thing that three things are made for:

- Infill planes with very fine mouths

- High angled smoothers (50 or 55 deg)

- Scrapers and scraper planes

I'd recommend a card scraper. You plane until you run into trouble, then do a good scraping on those areas.

John

Re: Planing Walnut Crotch

Jim in Burlington Ontario

>I imagine that it's similar to curly woods scraping planing very very thin sharpen often and close the door because there's going to be some swearing going on. Pull your hair out tough work.

Re: Planing Walnut Crotch

Bob Rozaieski in Eastern PA

>I am having the same problem with some African Mahogany I'm working with. I am making a sort of cabriole leg and the only thing I can use to smooth the curves are a smooth cut rasp and card scraper. None of my spokeshaves will do a good job without tearout because the grain changes direction so much. But you wouldn't know that by looking at the wood. I couldn't tell until I started trying to use a shave and it dug in. Yes, some words were said! lol

try perpendicular to the grain?

Mike Schwing from Md.

>I know it sounds counterintuitive, but it works for me on several difficult woods where tearout was a nightmare. It doesn't make a glass shiny finish but it often does plane successfully with no tearout when nothing else will.

Try planing 90 degrees to the grain orientation. Yes, the crotch will have different grain directions as you noted, but you probably know what I mean. Plane in the strangest orientation you can think of - right across the grain. Not on a skew, but directly perpendicular.

Might not work for you but its worth a shot. I stumbled on it by accident.

Re: try perpendicular to the grain?

Jim Doughty, handcrafter of fine firewood

>I'd thought of going cross-grain, haven't really tried it yet. I'll see what happens, hope it works. I figured a scraper would give less tear-out, but I need to get this board flat so I can resaw, thus the plane.

Re: Planing Walnut Crotch

Jim Doughty, handcrafter of fine firewood

>Thanks guys, like I said, bit of a novice, where would be a good place to look into scraper and infill planes? Thanks.

Why plane at all?

Sandor in Boyds, MD

>Not that I'm in favor of alternate methods to handplaning, but in this case if all you are trying to do is establish a flat for referencing the resaw fence, why not just epoxy or bondo a piece of MDF to the one surface to use as a reference?

Two ways to cut veneer: set the fence once and use the meat slicer approach, or adjust the fence for each cut and have the venneer be the offcut. You could easily use the reference surface for offcutting or use it for the first cut then discard it once you have cut through to the first layer of all wood.

Did this make sense?

Re: Planing Walnut Crotch

Ernie Miller Topeka

>I got the LV 112 for christmas great plane. you can make a card scraper from an old hand saw blade if new tools are not an option. do you have a #3? close the mouth up and give it a try. LEE Valley if you are wanting a new plane.

Re: Why plane at all?

Jim Doughty, handcrafter of fine firewood

>Now why didn't I think of that? Great idea Sandor, thanks, I think that will get me going.

Re: try perpendicular to the grain?

Dan Donaldson

>I have done perpendicular planing on nasties also and it does help sometimes. One thing is that you need to make sure that the iron is VERY sharp for best results.

Re: Planing Walnut Crotch

John K in Hastings, MN

>I haven't tried it yet, but the LV set I have includes shims to allow you to narrow the throat and reduce tearout. A back bevel would probably help too.

John

Spiers infill

Ron in Kokomo

>Here us one place that make members of FOYBIPO

smile.

My Spiers infil smoother really earns its keep here. You must hone before and often during the process. Finest cup you can achieve. But I have had good luck with my infil on Crotch walnut