grain direction???

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

As others have noted, you always plane up hill. I suspect that what you are asking is what to do when tthe grain is not obvious. Rough sawn boards can be vey woolly and grain is further obscured by dust. Often I will need to take a light shaving with a jack plane to uncover the grain. Sprinking a little water on a side helps. Beer is not a substitute - just a waste - unless you're drinking while making up your mind.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[David C]

Sgian makes a very good point.

Remembering which way was best is vital to avoid major dissapointment when taking final extra fine clean up shaving just befor applying finish.

This is why my face side, face edge and fibre mark system of marking is so much more useful than the simpler traditional system. Also why it is so important to preserve these marks right up to finishing stage.

F&C article which I am happy to say is in the new book ~;-)#

David C

 

[CONGER]

D... and where is the new book. I have just polled AMAZING and the only DC candidate I could find was "The Lost Child by Will David Charlesworth". Is, in fact, your new book the "Lost Child"?

rgrds, -gerard-... who has just seen a LARGE truck with chinese writing on the side, drive past his house... heading west... sadly, nothing 'fell off the lorry'.

 

[bugbear]

i guess i am still not being clear.

what is it that draws your eye to the grain direction
what clues do you look for, or is it just something that
eventually comes with experience??

As long as the tear out from your first stroke isn't deeper than the amount of waste removal, you can tell the grain direction from the first stroke.

BugBear

 

[Chris Knight]

It may be a function of the generally poorer quality timber one sees around these days but I find grain reversals so common in almost any wood I buy these days (sawn through and through) that I count myself very fortunate if I find a board with a single best planing direction. For this reason I have most of my smoothing planes set up with a high angle and very tight mouth to take very light finishing cuts more suited to exotics or burrs than the actual wood I am planing - this way I can avoid faffing about planing this way and that just to avoid tearout.

 

[Philly]

Got to agree with you, Chris-my (user :wink: ) smoother has a 60 degree bevel and is used for final smoothing on pretty much all timbers.
Also amazing the difference a freshly honed iron makes (although I am sure everyone but me keeps their tools honed to perfection :lol: )
Cheers
Philly

 

[engineer one]

now you've hit it philly, how do you know it's grain direction, and
how do you know it's plane honing????? :twisted:

see for us newer users, we spend so much time setting up the
plane at the get go after sharpening and honing, and then have
to re-hone and reset every time

paul :wink:

 

[David C]

Conger,

On some boat from possibly Singapore??........ hope it did not go aground in Germany......

Should be here in a week or three, I have not been granted a precise date.

David
was not that fond of Peter Pan, it is on various sites but no one has copies yet......