Handtool Techniques Part 2: Hand Planing

[Rosewood]

Hello,

I have been watching David Charlesworth’s ‘Handtool Techniques Part 2: Hand Planing’ DVD, which I hope will bring greater accuracy to my hand planing when I put the information into practice. The DVD has been a wonderful eye opener, in my naivety when I read something needs to be ‘dead flat’ or ‘perfectly straight’ I thought it was achievable, and now feel a great sense of relief to know that in reality you can only ever be one side of a straight line, and therefore you have a choice and a method to put it on the ‘right’ side.

In the preparation of the face side, Mr. Charlesworth demonstrates the use of stop shavings to ensure there are no bumps, but when thicknessing the wood, it is all done with through shavings. His measurements at the end clearly show that it works, but I’m struggling to understand why the face that has been thicknessed has not been slightly hollowed just like the face side with stop shavings, is it because we now have a reference line to work to? And as the marking gauge was referencing the face side which is ever so slightly hollowed, would this not create an ever so slight bump in the thicknessed side. I’m sure I’m missing something simple, or seeing an issue where there is none, but if any one could help me understand I’d be very grateful.

I have to confess to looking at my straight plane irons thinking why did I not recognise the need for them to be curved until now?

Best wishes,

Chris

 

[SteveJ]

Hi Chris,
I too have this DVD, must say I think its excellent. In response to your query - when planing to thickness you mark the two long edges, take shavings with the centre of the curved iron just inside the edge and continue to the middle. By ensuring that the shavings taken from the very edge are not quite full depth you will create the hollow in the width as you work the board, or at least that's how it seems to go for me.

With reference to the above I was thinking about marking out done on the board, it struck me that depending on the length of the stock on my square I'll get different readings when testing how square my edges are to the face side (since the end is registering at different points on the face hollow)... I guess it might be academic though, since we're aiming for such a small hollow, and should use only 1 square throughout the marking out process (perhaps I need to get out more!).


All the best
Stephen

 

[Rosewood]

Hi Stephen,

I whole heatedly agree with you on the DVD, it has great charm in the way it was put together, and the information and delivery is excellent.

What you have described makes sense and ties in with the information on the DVD, however, it’s one thing seeing it done, and another actually doing it! I think it would be best if I just put all the guidance into practice on a bit of scrap wood and then see how it goes - I’m sure I’ll then understand or have specific issues that can then be addressed, sometime the mind tries to over think things!

Thank you for your help,

All the best,

Chris

 

[matthewwh]

I'm sure DC will be along shortly to give you a definitive answer, but my initial thought is that if stop shavings were required on the face side (suggesting that it was convex to begin with) then the opposite side would typically be concave and therefore call for through shavings to true it up.

Regarding the guage line, if you have erred on the side of concavity by half a shaving you can treat it as being absolutely flat - this is why it is treated as a definition of, rather than an objective distinct from, flatness.

 

[David C]

Chris and Steve,

I am delighted that you are enjoying my precision planing DVD.

Chris makes a good point. If the face side is produced minutely hollow in both length and width, it is reasonable to expect that the opposite side will be marked minutely convex in both dimensions. This will probably have no impact in the majority of situations and is easy to rectify if necessary. Marking out is done from the face side and face edge only. The opposite surface is rarely anything other than the exterior of the job. Short smoothing planes were used on the exterior, precisely to clean the hills and valleys which might have resulted from carcase glue up.

Stephen is correct. I use a 5" engineers square virtually all the time. (Unfortunately no longer available). The stock length is reasonable.

Matthew, thanks, perhaps ultimately nothing is entirely definitive.....? I suspect my planing sample was fairly accurate to begin with. One thing I often forget to say, is that gross errors must be reduced before my precision techniquess will work. I have always had a planer thicknesser so no need for the scrub and No. 8 techniques!

Best wishes,
David Charlesworth

 

[GazPal]

One thing I often forget to say, is that gross errors must be reduced before my precision techniquess will work. I have always had a planer thicknesser so no need for the scrub and No. 8 techniques!

Best wishes,
David Charlesworth

Perhaps there's a little scope for reference in future publications, for the sake of learners without mechanical stock reduction tooling David?

 

[David C]

Gary,

Good idea but, I think that has been done rather well by my friend Rob Cosman in "Rough to Ready", and probably several others.

Best wishes,
David

 

[Rosewood]

Hi David,

Thank you for responding to my post, your DVD’s are proving to be extremely useful to me as I try and refine my skills and understanding. I’m not using a planer/thicknesser and so I’m using my jack and #7 to correct major errors in the wood. I will investigate the Rob Cosman video you mention as I’m sure there is much I still have to learn.

One of the things I’m doing is stacking three pieces of wood together and so slight belly isn’t desirable, but I can see that once thicknessed I can easily create the slight hollow following the same procedure as you did on the face side.

I really appreciate your advice to use paper shims to evaluate the adjustment required to correct wind with the winding sticks, I’ve been seesawing a bit when trying to correct it. I should confess to having bought my winding sticks from a shop! But I did know what they were and had been using them before I bought your video.

Thanks again for your help,

Chris

 

[Jacob]

......... Marking out is done from the face side and face edge only. The opposite surface is rarely anything other than the exterior of the job.

Unless it's a box, a piece of furniture i.e. almost everything except a door or window frame!
I was taught that face and edge marks go on the best face and best edge. On a door you'd want these on the most seen side but on the stiles, rails, and frame itself onthe inside edges (most seen), the outsides being hidden in the rebate.
This gets confusing with say a drawer, where the outside of the front but the inside of the sides want to be the best sides of the pieces. Similarly with a muntin or intermediate rail - faces all one way no prob, but which way the edges?
One convention is that the best face/edge are planed first, and marked, then all the waste then comes off the back face/edge, because taking stuff off the worst face/edge usually improves the quality (knots get smaller) but vice versa with the best face/edge (knots get bigger).

 

[andy king]

......... Marking out is done from the face side and face edge only. The opposite surface is rarely anything other than the exterior of the job.

Unless it's a box, a piece of furniture i.e. almost everything except a door or window frame!
I was taught that face and edge marks go on the best face and best edge. On a door you'd want these on the most seen side but on the stiles, rails, and frame itself onthe inside edges (most seen), the outsides being hidden in the rebate.
This gets confusing with say a drawer, where the outside of the front but the inside of the sides want to be the best sides of the pieces. Similarly with a muntin or intermediate rail - faces all one way no prob, but which way the edges?
One convention is that the best face/edge are planed first, and marked, then all the waste then comes off the back face/edge, because taking stuff off the worst face/edge usually improves the quality (knots get smaller) but vice versa with the best face/edge (knots get bigger).

Pretty much the same way I was taught, the exception being that once you have component dimensions established from your cutting list, the stock is prepared to those dimensions and then given the once over to establish best face and edges, position within the project etc, and face and edges marked up accordingly - in doing so it should hopefully overcome any exposed flaws that may come to light if you mark face and edge first and then do finished dimensioning.
Essentially prepping a face and edge for reference without actually commiting to any marking as such (such as initial prep on the planer/jointer) then taking down to component size before making a full assessment of best face and edges.

Andy

 

[David C]

Well, this is very odd.

I was taught that the face sides and edges were datum or true surfaces from which to complete the marking out. They have nothing to do with facing the public or exterior.
Having rough machined the components I would assign each one a position in the job according, either to aesthetic choice or practical need. i.e. drawer side exteriors are best planed from front to back.
The positions of face side and edge then become clear. For a drawer the face sides will be inside and the face edges will be at the bottom.

If we think about a single lap dovetail at the front of a drawer, one gauge line is marked from the inside face, (not outside). If the inside face is poor and in wind the sides will be twisted and much height will be lost.

I like to look at the inside corner of dovetailed joints. Only the best craftsmen get these really clean and crisp. This join is the meeting of two face sides.

Bob Wearing puts it like this "For some constructions the true face is inwards, others require it in the outside. It is important to bear this in mind when examining the timber before facing. In other words does the best looking surface have the true face or not?"

Best wishes,
David

 

[andy king]

I think I may have confused or misunderstood!
I was referring to initial stock prep which was in reference to Jacob's comment about how things change after resizing. The initial planing to attain a flat square reference is not necessarily the ultimate best ones, I always plane to true dimensions once the initial square edge reference is achieved and then look at the timber for the best face and edges and then mark up as flaws can manifest themselves or cure themselves as the final dimensions or indeed, initial squaring is achieved.

Andy

 

[Jacob]

Well, this is very odd.

I was taught that the face sides and edges were datum or true surfaces from which to complete the marking out. They have nothing to do with facing the public or exterior.
Having rough machined the components I would assign each one a position in the job according, either to aesthetic choice or practical need. i.e. drawer side exteriors are best planed from front to back.
The positions of face side and edge then become clear. For a drawer the face sides will be inside and the face edges will be at the bottom.

If we think about a single lap dovetail at the front of a drawer, one gauge line is marked from the inside face, (not outside). If the inside face is poor and in wind the sides will be twisted and much height will be lost.

I like to look at the inside corner of dovetailed joints. Only the best craftsmen get these really clean and crisp. This join is the meeting of two face sides.

Bob Wearing puts it like this "For some constructions the true face is inwards, others require it in the outside. It is important to bear this in mind when examining the timber before facing. In other words does the best looking surface have the true face or not?"

Best wishes,
David

Well there you go then! I did say it was potentially confusing. From a constructional point of view you are spot on but when it comes to "best" face/edge things are different. Maybe one should mark best face and edge for planing purposes but then revise them for constructional purposes.
Another essential face/edge mark detail is that it identifies pieces so that you can pair them left/right, top/bottom, when stacking for marking from a rod. No danger of getting all left hand components and no right hand.