Methods for squaring timber by hand

[MistaJW]

Thanks for all your help guys, its really helped. im now considering the dvds and a scrub plane

 

[ac445ab]

Ciao,
If you accept subtitles, here is my modest contribute:
http://woodworkingbyhand2.blogspot.it/2 ... board.html

Giuliano

I draw a line across the back edge and take a shallow mitre cut right down to it. This avoids tearing out at the back when planing across the face.

This seems to me a very good advice!

 

[Pete W]

If you accept subtitles, here is my modest contribute:
http://woodworkingbyhand2.blogspot.it/2 ... board.html

That's an excellent video. =D>

 

[Kalimna]

Jacob - may I suggest that pencils aren't necessarily the best option, as winding sticks need to be straight, don't they? And in my experience, not all pencils are. Frequently they have a slight bow in them, due to the less-than-rigorous selection of pencil timber.... Also, as an aside, they wouldn't need to be the same diameter, as a difference would only alter the sight line for checking wind, and not the ability of the 'sticks' to ascertain twist.
In other words, any two straight, longer-than-the-board-width rods/pencils/bars/slats/etc should do the trick, shouldnt they?

Cheers,
Adam

 

[Jacob]

Jacob - may I suggest that pencils aren't necessarily the best option, as winding sticks need to be straight, don't they? And in my experience, not all pencils are. Frequently they have a slight bow in them, due to the less-than-rigorous selection of pencil timber.... Also, as an aside, they wouldn't need to be the same diameter, as a difference would only alter the sight line for checking wind, and not the ability of the 'sticks' to ascertain twist.
In other words, any two straight, longer-than-the-board-width rods/pencils/bars/slats/etc should do the trick, shouldnt they?

Cheers,
Adam

I didn't say they were the best option - I just suggested they would do if you hadn't anything better. :roll: Yes they would have to be straight, well spotted! Pity though, or a pair of bananas would do the job!
They would also have to be the same diameter - you are wrong on that detail.
Forget pencils if it causes too much anxiety!
What's the difference between "wind" and "twist"?
I used to have purpose made oak winding sticks but they often need truing up. I don't bother with them now. If I need them I just make and match a pair of laths from scrap. 3 is handy as you can check for straightness at the same time as twist/wind i.e. a board can be bowed but not twisted.

 

[marcros]

Jacob - may I suggest that pencils aren't necessarily the best option, as winding sticks need to be straight, don't they? And in my experience, not all pencils are. Frequently they have a slight bow in them, due to the less-than-rigorous selection of pencil timber.... Also, as an aside, they wouldn't need to be the same diameter, as a difference would only alter the sight line for checking wind, and not the ability of the 'sticks' to ascertain twist.
In other words, any two straight, longer-than-the-board-width rods/pencils/bars/slats/etc should do the trick, shouldnt they?

Cheers,
Adam

I didn't say they were the best option - I just suggested they would do if you hadn't anything better. :roll: Yes they would have to be straight, well spotted!
They would also have to be the same diameter - you are wrong on that detail.
Forget pencils if it causes too much anxiety!
What's the difference between "wind" and "twist"?
I used to have purpose made oak winding sticks but they often need truing up. I don't bother with them now. If I need them I just make and match a pair of laths from scrap. 3 is handy as you can check for straightness at the same time as twist/wind i.e. a board can be bowed but not twisted.

It's not about the tools? :lol:

 

[Richard T]

An excellent video Giuliano (as usual) =D>

Levels as winding sticks - perfect; as long as you remember you are sighting the ends and ignore the bubbles.

 

[AndyT]

+1!

Much clearer than a long explanation. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

[adrian]

I was greeted this morning by an email hawking a pair of winding sticks at "only" US$70. :?

I think it helps a great deal if the winding stick in the back is a different color, or has a different colored stripe, than the one in the front. And further it's nice if the rear stick has a different colored stripe only at the ends rather than a continuous stripe. These things make it easier to tell what is happening. If you want to use pencils, it's better that they aren't the same color.

When I first tried to true an edge to a face with a straight blade in my plane I was not successful. I could not get the edge square to the face. I even tried attaching a fence to my jointer, but was unable to get it to work. I gave up and did this operation with a powered router instead. When I learned about the method of using a cambered blade and shifting the plane left and right to remove the high part of the edge then I was able to achieve a flat and square edge.

 

[ac445ab]

An excellent video Giuliano (as usual) =D>

Levels as winding sticks - perfect; as long as you remember you are sighting the ends and ignore the bubbles.

:mrgreen: ....even if bubble positions should be correspond in both levels. Their relative positions can help to check biggest twists but of course sighting is more accurate.

Thanks
Ciao
Giuliano

 

[ac445ab]

+1!

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Time is always a problem, but is really a pleasure to make a video and share it.
Grazie
Ciao
Giuliano

 

[Kalimna]

Jacob - yes, of course 'wind' and 'twist' are the same - Forgive my nightshift brain! However, different diameters (so long as the diameter consistent along length) would be OK - when I have a little more time after tonights shift, I shall attempt a diagram to explain. It just means that your sight line would be not parallel to the board, but at an angle to it - the principle would be effectively the same.
Banana's as winding sticks eh? I think BnQ might be able to pull that one off!

Cheers,
Adam

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Chris Schwarz came up with the idea of using two pieces of aluminium angle as winding sticks. Light, strong, readily available from most sheds-on-the-bypass, corrosion resistant, not very elegant but effective. You can cut them to any length you like. Paint one black if you feel like the effort.

I rather like the posh polished mahogany ones with inset boxwood sighting strips and centre dots. Might even make a pair if the mood takes. In the meantime, for years I've used two beechwood sticks 2" x 3/8" x about 16" long, slight bevel on outer edge for decoration more than anything else. They've stayed straight and parallel for ages, and despite the fact that they're both of untreated wood (no contrasting colours) I don't have any trouble seeing when they're showing wind.

Jacob's right - two straight pieces of almost anything will do the job. Longer is better, but shorter will do if you're truing narrower stock.

 

[Jacob]

..... different diameters (so long as the diameter consistent along length) would be OK - when I have a little more time after tonights shift, I shall attempt a diagram to explain. It just means that your sight line would be not parallel to the board, but at an angle to it - the principle would be effectively the same.

Only if you could keep them parallel at the same time i.e. in parallel vertical planes (I think :shock: ).

 

[Midnight]

At the risk of muddying the water a bit, I'll toss in my tuppence worth...

Apparently I do things a little differently (judging by the majority of posts here/elsewhere), starting out with a roughcut slab of former tree, i.e. a country mile away from being smooth, straight, parallel and free of wind (twist). The majority of the boards I have in stock right now are well over 20" wide, a kick in the ass offa 10ft long, and that's exactly how they'll be when I start to work them (most are intended for use as panels and I prefer to keep them as a single piece rather than composite).

I start by assessing the board with winding sticks (uber pencils??) and the biggest builders level I could lay hands on. Between the two, I can map the high spots across the boards width, all the way down its length and across the diagonals, and that's the places I hit first with the scrub plane. Flatten out the furrows with a course set jack before rinsing/repeating the exercise with the sticks, level and scrub until you've worked the board down to a point where any hollows have just about been planed out. I'll stress the point here that the plane doing the majority of the work is a jack, not the scrub... sure, a scrub makes a hellova difference in time taken, but it loses most of its effectiveness if it isn't ploughing into a sorta-kinda flatish surface; scrubbing at 2 different diagonal angles without a flattening stage in between is an exercise in massocism, hands taking a hellova pounding without much actual progress being made. Your #7 will come into its own when the board is within a mill or two of flat along its length; using it earlier will simply drag the process out longer (not to mention causing premature knackeredness cos 7's aint exactly lightweight).

Once you achieve the first true face, things start to get appreciably quicker. You should already be able to see where to make cuts to get the best figure from the board, crosscutting the board into more manageable lengths should be done with that in mind. Rip the edges of the board, joint them (plane out the teethmarks) before scribing the required thickness, flipping the board over and starting to plane down to the lines using the exact same techniques as before.

One last tool to mention, one that won't break the bank (for a change)... taking a leaf from DC's excellent books/DVD's, the Mk1 cigarette paper... when assessing flatness, try slipping the cig paper under the straight edge; if it passes, you've more than 1 thou clearence between the board and the straight edge... when it won't pass, she'll do!!

If, on the other hand, the intended purpose for the stock you're working is to make smaller, narrower pieces (rails n styles for example) then Jacob's advise re starting as close to the finished dimensions as possible is the way to go

 

[GazPal]

Checking for wind can be done using any form of parallel faced shop-made paired "sticks" of length suited to the work in hand. 24" sticks are way overboard if checking for wind in 3" wide boards/stock, so it's best to match stick to stock size. It's no hardship to make one or three sets of sticks ranging through sizes suited to the stock being worked. Once the ends have been rebated on an even plain, it's a simple matter of boning (Sighting) across the winding sticks while using an intermediate traveller to identify areas in need of reduction to level. The high degree of accuracy using this method of checking for and removing wind in surfaces (Used in both carpentry and masonry) is borne out via the ancient Inca and Egyptian masons.

 

[Jacob]

....The high degree of accuracy using this method of checking for and removing wind in surfaces (Used in both carpentry and masonry) is borne out via the ancient Inca and Egyptian masons.

Then if you add a plumb bob or two, bobs yer uncle.

 

[GazPal]

....The high degree of accuracy using this method of checking for and removing wind in surfaces (Used in both carpentry and masonry) is borne out via the ancient Inca and Egyptian masons.

Then if you add a plumb bob or two, bobs yer uncle.

And Fanny's yer aunt It's surprising just how far simple tooling and means of determining accuracy can get you. Extreme accuracy isn't always necessary in woodworking and one mainstay I was taught and still abide by is to keep the work "pleasing to the eye". If it looks right, it is right and precision engineering isn't necessary unless crafting items such a ball bearings, pistons, etc..

 

[bugbear]

Checking for wind can be done using any form of parallel faced shop-made paired "sticks" of length suited to the work in hand. 24" sticks are way overboard if checking for wind in 3" wide boards/stock, so it's best to match stick to stock size. It's no hardship to make one or three sets of sticks ranging through sizes suited to the stock being worked. Once the ends have been rebated on an even plain, it's a simple matter of boning (Sighting) across the winding sticks while using an intermediate traveller to identify areas in need of reduction to level. The high degree of accuracy using this method of checking for and removing wind in surfaces (Used in both carpentry and masonry) is borne out via the ancient Inca and Egyptian masons.

Superb post - concise and clear!

BugBear

 

[Sawyer]

It's surprising just how far simple tooling and means of determining accuracy can get you. Extreme accuracy isn't always necessary in woodworking and one mainstay I was taught and still abide by is to keep the work "pleasing to the eye". If it looks right, it is right and precision engineering isn't necessary unless crafting items such a ball bearings, pistons, etc..

Totally agree. Woodwork involves a good deal of je ne sais quoi as old writers (eg. George Sturt) often alluded to. Super-accuracy is rarely appropriate in a material which is always on the move. I've sometimes been amused by student projects made (at the expense of a great deal of time) with hairline clearances to drawers or doors. All well and good until the next change in the weather, whereupon everything is stuck fast!