How to get it flat?

[Gary Morris]

Hi
I wasn't sure where to post this, but as it will eventually end up on my scroll saw I thought about posting it here.
I need some advice on getting odd shaped off cut pieces of hardwood into 3/4" (19mm) thick pieces that are flat and true. The pieces would be fairly 'small' in nature, for example, around 7" x 3" I would like also, to be able to join pieces together to make larger ones, so I would have thought that the 2 pieces would need to be fairly accurately produced.

What combination of tools would be best? I have a small shed, scroll saw, Draper table saw (very inaccurate) and a bench drill. Only the scroll saw has a permanent home, oh! and soon a small lathe (bench mounted)

I read in a post that a P/T machine had it's blade dig in to the wood, due to it's short length. Would this rule out a P/T?

thanks
Gary

 

[Chippygeoff]

Hi Gary. 7 x 3 is not that small in scrolling terms. I am currently making things 2 x 1. You have listed the equipment you have and I think if I were in your shoes I would fix a straight edge to the T/S and clamp it and when it is spot on make several of the pieces you need for the project in mind. I tend to make 12 of an item at a time as I sell everything I make at craft fairs. Among the various pieces of equipment I have is a bandsaw and a belt/disc sander and if I want to join 2pieces together I use the belt sander, its a bit time consuming. You can achieve some very good results using a router table.

In all things safety but be at the forefront when working with machinery and producing small pieces of wood on a T/S can be a bit dodgy. I buy all my timber in planed both sides and 3/4 thick and cut the pieces I need to fit a pattern on the band saw. I think if you had a P/T you would need a few feet of wood to be on the safe side.

 

[AndyT]

You need a bench and a hand plane!
A planer/thicknesser needs enough length for the wood not to drop down unsupported at one end - a couple of feet at least, depending on the model. You could get round this by temporarily fixing your pieces to a longer board, but it would be a lot of messing about. Your machine would also be noisy and dusty.

In contrast, you can buy a decent used Stanley or Record no 4 on ebay for under £20. Have a look in the hand tools section for threads discussing 'first plane' and suchlike. Once you've learned to use it, you will have hugely expanded your options for sources of wood for your scrolling.

 

[marcros]

There are other options, like a router and sled, but to be honest I think that Andy has probably given you the simplest and cheapest solution.

 

[Gary Morris]

Thanks guys, there's plenty to consider, I think a band saw would be good to get larger pieces down to size, and I would really like how to use a plane and keep it in good condition. Buying the timber in planed all round is another option, but obviously more costly and not one I can rely on at the moment. I'll search the threads for planes and have a look on ebay and internet.

thanks
Gary

 

[marcros]

what about using floorboards- they would be reasonable size, and ready planed in a (small) choice fo different hardwoods. You could probably even convince suppliers that you were needing to buy a sample of a few, and they would price it to get a larger order!

 

[Gary Morris]

never even entered my head Marcos!! brilliant idea, and inexpensive too. I bought a pack of 5 last year they came with grooves in to join them. I think I will still get a hand plane, and defiantly some floor boards, as I want to do an intarsia 'Dragon's Head' on a largish scale.

thanks
Gary

 

[martinka]

Gary, a friend recently gave me some really cheap shelving for scrolling which was planed but had a slight twist, which is why it was cheap. For small cuts, the twist didn't seem to matter, though to be fair, I've only used it for practice so far. I've cut some bits from laminate flooring too, but I don't like the dust from that and wouldn't cut it without a mask. The problem with intarsia for us in the UK seems to be the difficulty getting different types of wood. It'd be handy to have a thread where different types of wood can be bought for scrolling.

I asked in one place about some Baltic birch ply and the yoof looked at me like I was from another planet when I told him what it was for. He said, "Dunno mate, yer can 'ave them two pieces of ply there for nowt," and pointed me at a couple of pieces of 3/4" ply, each about 18" square. I got them out to the car quick as I could in case his boss was around.

 

[Gary Morris]

martinka - nice one! Yes a thread on the different types of wood specific for scrolling would be great, I've been looking for some Aspen, but as yet can not locate any. I need to look 'outside' the box a bit as your idea of shelves and flooring' would never of occurred to me.

Gary