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Recent Bios FAQ

121333 Dean Roehrich <roehrich@s...> 2003‑08‑29 Re: Help with dimensioning stock
>From:  T&J Holloway 
>
>On Thursday, August 28, 2003, at 12:40 PM, Brent Beach provides some 
>amendments:
>>  1 I work against a stop, rather than between stops, so the board is 
>> free to move during planing. This requires that the ends be close to 
>> square to the length first. It also means that the sides have to be 
>> roughly square to the faces.
>
>	I was trying to avoid taking Ian Kirby's name in vain in this 
>discussion, but it seems to me that when dimensioning rough stock it is 
>a major advantage to be able to secure the piece in such a way that it 
>can be worked without worrying about it sliding around.

Seems I recall that Kirby has stated, in both books and magazine articles,
that he uses only a #7 jointer and a #4 1/2 smoother.  I take this to mean he
doesn't dimension rough stock with hand tools.

Planing against a stop with a #7 or #4 is a fine activity, as long as the
stock is already of a shape that will behave.  If you can get comfortable with
it you'll begin to view the vise screw as a pain in the ass.  That said, I
tend to use dogs when I scrub, so I occasionally spend time turning that
screw.  Klaus's idea to put a motor in it sounds great to me.

Pardon me for butting in.  Dean Roehrich.  Eagan, Minnesota.  If I hadn't
discovered bench planes--and a few other quiet tools that one might notice
while looking at them--a few years ago I'd...hmmm, well, my wife could put her
car in the garage; I'd have more money; my daughter would be sleeping in some
store-bought crib....

That's something, isn't it?  When your wife finally, quietly, gives up on her
attempts to drive into the garage.  Not to worry.  I know her better than you
do, see.  She's not going to put her rear-end on a cold car seat.  I think I
have it under control, though.  Our daughter will probably be climbing out of
the crib sometime this winter anyway, which means I kinda have a deadline on
when I must finish her bed, which means the cherry will be out of the way soon
enough.  I think.

Anyway, the cherry is rough cut.  To joint I'll knock down the concave side
with a scrub and a Stanley #7 with a blade that has a gentle radius (I think I
have it at about 6"-8" radius, which is far too aggressive; I don't have a
#5).  Then I joint with a Clifton #7 (when the Stanley was my jointer, I hated
it; hence, the Clifton, which I love).

I use winding sticks when taking the wind out of the jointed sides.  Someone
was asking about winding sticks--hey, just grab some straight pieces of wood,
maybe 2 feet long, 1 inch by .5 inches; I think they're easier to use when
they match in length and height; straight grain preferred, but as long as you
pay attention to the weather and make adjustments, don't sweat it.  Pick
contrasting woods, or paint one of them.  I began with two pieces of hard
maple, but everything became much easier when I swapped one out for a piece of
cherry.  Point is, it's just a couple of straight sticks of different colors
and that's exactly what anyone will think when they look at mine.

Thicknessing is different.  I might mark around with a gauge, then chamfer
down to the line, then scrub/shave until the chamfer disappears.  This works
well on small stuff.  When I have lots of parts or long parts I still joint
with planes, but I'll often thickness with a planer (tailed, benchtop).

Anyway, that's all I have to say about dimensioning rough stock.

Dean
roehrich@s...



Recent Bios FAQ