how to flatten board with no.7 handplane?

[enterthedragon]

lets say i wanna flatten a board that has a typical twist in it ie 2 high corners, 2 low corners. wats the step by step process i need to take inorder to get it flat? the no.7 is used for true flatness.

 

[Pvt_Ryan]

Get two straight sticks to use as winding sticks and a pencil / chalk.

lay the wood out on a flat surface with it's flattest side down, mark out the Highs using the winding sticks with the pencil.

Take a few passes with the no7 and repeat once it is more or less flat then flip the board and repeat.

 

[enterthedragon]

how does 'traversing' effect flattening? when should i plane across the grain ie 90 degree to the grain?

 

[LuptonM]

To get a face flat I'd try and make it concave first by planing out the wood from the middle. Then draw pencil lines across the width of the board and plane diagonally both ways across the board until the pencil marks are gone. Then plane down the length, making sure you don't make the board convex across the width (check with the edge of the plane sole)

 

[custard]

I'd follow Pvt Ryan's approach of laying flat face down on a flat surface, but then I'd mark the LOW corners. I'd take long passes over the entire board with the grai,n but lift my plane in order to avoid those low corners.

The other thing in all this is that I'd have a rough idea of how many passes with my plane I'd have to take to remove the high spots. I'd know this because the winding sticks, by virtue of being longer than the board is wide, exaggerate the problem. I can get a decent sense, from looking at the gap out at the end of the winding sticks, of how high the high spots are. Say I estimate them at 0.5mm, well I also know that for an exercise like this I'd be taking a relatively heavy shaving, which is about 0.1mm or 4 thou. So five strokes with the plane should fix it.

Consequently I'd take four passes over the entire board, just avoiding the low corners, then check again with the winding sticks, before reducing the plane's cut to about 0.05mm or 2 thou, which is a normal cut for me. I'd then take one or two more finishing passes over the entire boar,d again avoiding the low corners.

If it was a board with difficult grain or a particularly important job I might even aim for a 0.025mm or 1 thou shaving.

The important thing is that all the plane strokes for removing wind would be along the grain, and the objective is to avoid planing the low corners.

 

[Jacob]

lets say i wanna flatten a board that has a typical twist in it ie 2 high corners, 2 low cor This would meners. wats the step by step process i need to take inorder to get it flat? the no.7 is used for true flatness.

Woodwork!
I'd first decide on which was the best face, and flatten that one.
If the concave side it's obvious you go from high corner to high corner until it's flat enough to carry on along the length, checking all the while with winding sticks for twist, squint along for straightness and a straight edge for flatness across. A steel combi square ruler is best for this as it will leave a mark on the high points if you rub it a bit. Or you could charge it with pencil to do the same.
If the convex side you start in the middle and spread the planed area until it reaches the ends, checking all the while as above.
Don't look at the shavings - look at the surface of the wood! Either way you'd reach the low corners last so monitor your progress so that this is done systematically.
Scribble a candle over the plane sole at intervals.
Scribble a soft pencil over the wood surface so you can see where you've been.

 

[bosshogg]

I see you've been given some good advise so far, but my way is thus - if you have a flat bench top place the wood to be planed on it, by pushing down on each corner you can establish a rocking due to the wind of the surface. Now place this against a bench stop (clamp a piece of wood thinner than that you want to true up) at right angles to the bench top. Plane of the high points with a jack/scrub plane first, also check the planed face with a straight edge , the idea is to work the surface until you rid the face of any wind. Do the same with the opposite face, rough is good enough at this point. Now choose the face you want as your good side, with the above techniques and a no. 7, blade sharp and set reasonably fine, start planing at 45 degrees or there about, alternating to straight with the grain checking all the time with a straight edge. With the good face flat and true gauge the thickness you require, plane the two edges until almost at these lines, dress the middle section until level and with a very sharp smoothing plane finish the board...bosshogg

Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.
Albert Einstein 8)

 

[Shrubby]

It can help to put shims or small wedges under the board to support it (stops it rocking or flexing as you plane)
Matt

 

[Jeff Gorman]

This page might help - http://tinyurl.com/3s5mmml

Best of luck!

Jeff Gorman
www.amgron.clara.net

 

[bugbear]

lets say i wanna flatten a board that has a typical twist in it ie 2 high corners, 2 low corners. wats the step by step process i need to take inorder to get it flat? the no.7 is used for true flatness.

This is too big a question to usefully and completely answer in a forum, because it's essentially "how do I prepare stock by hand?".

Fortunately, this is well covered in books. Garret Hack's "The Handplane Book", Sam Allen's "Plane Basics", Robert Wearing's "The Essential Woodworker" all describe this well.

For freebie reading, here's "Handwork in Wood", William Noyes, 1920.

click here; search/scroll down to the heading "Planes"

The relevant text starts "It is important to know what is the best order of procedure in planing up a board..."

There are also DVDs and Videos available - Kingshott and Cosman spring to mind.

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

.....
This is too big a question to usefully and completely answer in a forum, ....

Really? Fairly simple stuff I think, and well covered above.
Week one stuff. Week two is halving joints!
The main thing is to do it and find out how to do it in the process. Like so many things.
If you are actually doing it rather than thinking about it I wouldn't bother with the books and dvds, just get stuck in. There is too much information out there. Don't let them persuade you it is difficult!

 

[bugbear]

.....
This is too big a question to usefully and completely answer in a forum, ....

Really? Fairly simple stuff I think, and well covered above.
Week one stuff.

If you're at a college, that's 40 hours.

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

.....
This is too big a question to usefully and completely answer in a forum, ....

Really? Fairly simple stuff I think, and well covered above.
Week one stuff.

If you're at a college, that's 40 hours.

BugBear

There'd be a few other things included :roll:
Sharpening freehand on a double sided oil stone being one.

 

[woodbloke]

.....
This is too big a question to usefully and completely answer in a forum, ....

Really? Fairly simple stuff I think, and well covered above.
Week one stuff. Week two is halving joints!
The main thing is to do it and find out how to do it in the process. Like so many things.
If you are actually doing it rather than thinking about it I wouldn't bother with the books and dvds, just get stuck in. There is too much information out there. Don't let them persuade you it is difficult!

This is a process which essentially is not difficult, although it may appear so when you do it for the first time. Place the board on the bench, chock it so that it's stable and use a woodie or even a scrub to get the high corners reasonably true...check with winding sticks to see that you're getting there. Then go to a No5 (or similar) to refine the surface, checking three things constantly a) that the board's not in wind b) that it's flat in the width...300mm rule and c) that the overall length is still flat...your longest straight edge here. Once the board is in this happy state, then attack it with the No7 to get off the last few shavings till it's as flat as you need, still checking those three parameters as you go. Have a go...it's not all that difficult - Rob

 

[bugbear]

be a few other things included :roll:
Sharpening freehand on a double sided oil stone being one.

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

Absolutely. I'd also use a 5 or 5 1/2 and save the 7 for super straightening.
I wouldn't bother with a scrub though - they are a bit redundant IMHO unless you have some very rough stuff to attack. The "scrub" finish is worse than a sawmill finish - but clean, which is the whole point of a scrub.
NB scrub plane more or less obsolete and forgotten until reintroduced by LN (or LV?) fairly recently.

 

[woodbloke]

Absolutely. I'd also use a 5 or 5 1/2 and save the 7 for super straightening.
I wouldn't bother with a scrub though - they are a bit redundant IMHO unless you have some very rough stuff to attack, and the finish is worse than a sawmill finish - but clean, which is the whole point of a scrub.

Agreed, which is the point I was attempting to make. The No7 is left for those last few shavings to bring the board to the required flatness and finish...I'd also set the plane fairly fine. The scrub is useful if it's a board straight from the mill, or an old board, where there might be some dirt of contamination engrained into the surface...the scrub gets under rubbish to leave you with nice clean timber ready for the next plane - Rob

 

[Jacob]

....
Agreed, which is the point I was attempting to make. ...

I know - I was agreeing with you! :roll:

 

[woodbloke]

....
Agreed, which is the point I was attempting to make. ...

I know - I was agreeing with you! :roll:

Makes a change Jacob! :lol: - Rob

 

[soulboy]

To get a face flat I'd try and make it concave first by planing out the wood from the middle. Then draw pencil lines across the width of the board and plane diagonally both ways across the board until the pencil marks are gone. Then plane down the length, making sure you don't make the board convex across the width (check with the edge of the plane sole)

you should stick to making your millions on the stockmarket!