maple with rough/interlocked grain

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paulc

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Making a mirror frame from maple , trying to plane it true with bailey bench plane but certain areas are rough , should I try planing at right angles , forgive my ignorance but does planing with the grain mean simply not across the grain, or in one particular direction , if that makes sense , help the slow learner , thanks , paulc.
 
Paul... welcome aboard....

Planing across the grain should take the worst of the rough areas out of your boards, but that won't get them as smooth as they could be; to do that you need to plane with the grain. Easy way to figure which direction the grain's running is to retract the blade fully, gradually start advancing the blade till it's just starting to take a cut. If you're working in the wrong direction, the plane will skip and chatter across the board, hence the retract the blade; with the minimum of blade showing, any chatter you get will cause minimal damage to the surface. To remedy, simply plane in the opposite direction, when you're sure the direction's right, advance the blade a little more until you're taking proper shavings.

One note to be mindful of; grain direction can change in a board, particularly around any knots etc; it may be necessary to plane towards the centre from either end, or from the centre to either end. Make a few test passes along the length of the board to confirm that the direction is uniform along the length, and if not, mark the direction that gives the least chatter in an area.
Make sure your blade's good an sharp and take light passes until you're confident that you have the direction sussed.
Above all, take your time, don't panic if it doesn't turn out right at your first attempt, we can always offer more help if you're still having trouble.
 
Paul,

See how good you can get it using Mike's excellent advice, then if there's still trouble come back and we'll talk scrapers (or maybe even back bevels if you feel adventurous :shock: ).

As I have it handy, this diagram showing grain direction might help a little:

graindirection.jpg


Cheers, Alf
 
Cheers for the advice Mike ,I see what you mean about changes in grain direction , I had been trying to plane down to a smooth surface rather than adjust position, there are still some rough patches however so if yourself or Alf have any advice as to what kind of scraper/s to purchase and best method of use that'd be much appreciated , cheers, paulc.
 
Paul,

Just buy a simple card type scraper (no need for a holder or a scraper plane for a mirror frame - a table top is a different matter) Read up one of the numerous "how-tos" on sharpening a scraper and go for it . You will find it is not very difficult and the results will amaze you.
 
Paul,

This old thread could be useful. I've been using a burnisher like the one in Bob Smalser's article, using a defunt solid carbide router cutter shank, and it's very, very good. Practically foolproof* too, FWIW.

Cheers, Alf

*For me, it needs to be... :roll:
 
*For me, it needs to be...

HA.... who you tryin t kid Madam....????
;)

Paul

Chris is right on the money, a bassic scraper will more than suffice for a small project like this; the key to them is getting their cutting edge just right. For some, this comes easily... I kinda struggle with it.
Best I can do is offer a link that Alf posted a while back... de-mystified the whole thing for me...

http://www.brendlers.net/oldtools/scraping/scraper.htm
 

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