Query about best practice when dimensioning timber

[Adam9453]

Hi,
This is one of those questions that popped into my head and I thought I'd see if everyone does the same as me.
So it's recommended to thickness material in stages and allowing the time in between stages for the timber to acclimatise again and get its moving out of the way.
Now my question is do you re cut the face side and face edge at each stage to re-establish your accurate reference face and edge (as it often cups or moves slightly between stages, the previously established reference face is often no longer precisely flat and square)?
Personally I recut the face side and face edge at each stage but I wondered what you guys do?

 

[adidat]

Usually yes!

adidat

 

[Adam9453]

Thanks for the confirmation adidat, I just had a nagging thought that i might have been wasting time doing it but I also work hard to maintain the highest degree of accuracy I can attain so I was reluctant to stop doing it without good reasons from others

 

[adidat]

It depends on what I'm making and how long the timber has been sitting unused. Also different timbers move more than others.

Adidat

 

[Jacob]

If I've done face and edge that's it, done, unless it bends so much as to become unusable, which means I should have left it untouched a lot longer.
In general the minor twists and turns which creep in get straightened out again when the thing is put together; if you try and correct them all it could go on for ever!
There are some bits of wood which are impossible to plane flat but this doesn't mean they cant be used - they may get pulled into place by the structure.

So the answer to your question is no - you should not be continually correcting your reference faces, unless of course it is essential and would otherwise compromise the final outcome e.g. if you were making a pair of boning rods.

 

[Phil Sewell]

The answer is yes, you part plane it, stick it, allow for any movement and then face and edge and plane to dimension.

Surely that makes sense!

 

[custard]

There isn't a yes/no answer to your question.

For example, if you're working entirely with hand tools then you'd be less likely to tamper with the true face and edge once they've been established, they represent a great deal of labour and you don't want to chuck that effort away. But if you're working with good quality, accurate machinery then it doesn't matter so much, as all faces and edges are generally machined true as part of the standard process.

Also some components in a typical furniture project will need to be more stable and accurate than others. Drawer sides, or the rails and stiles for framed cupboard doors, are examples where you absolutely must aim for extreme accuracy and stability. As I'm picking through the timber and marking out for a project I'll earmark the straightest grained, quarter sawn timber for components like these. Furthermore I'll get these components out first and give them the maximum time to settle and stabilise.

 

[Phil Sewell]

Aright, I was copying someone else and being dogmatic.

As Custard says, it depends on the circumstance. I rarely part plane it's too time consuming but I do on solid tops, drawers sides etc. I can't see much point in part planing if you are not going to surface plane again after any wood movement.

 

[Adam9453]

The current project requires 38mm thick oak so I bought 50mm rough sawn oak. Planed the face side and face edge of each piece, then thicknessed each piece down to circa 44mm.
I have left it to acclimatise for a week and I will now re cut the face side and face edge on each piece and then thickness each piece down to its final dimension.
I use good quality machinery (only hand tools where absolutely unavoidable) so it's a quick process.

 

[Phil Sewell]

I'm making an oak dresser atm with a 30mm top and I've part planed it at the start of the job ready for finished dimensions towards the end of the job. We are singing from the same hymn sheet Adam!

 

[Adam9453]

Thats good to hear, i'll "keep calm and carry on" as they say