Method for leveling a blank

[Glenn Hurley Jr.]

What method do you use to level the top of a blank?   The one I am using has a few waves in it which makes laying out the pattern difficult.  BTW, I don't have a planer.  Thanks in advance
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[Long John]

I use a big old jack plane with a razor sharp iron set for just a hair breadth of cut.  I get some exercise!

Best Regards,

JMC

[Acer Saccharum]

I have a 4' aluminum straight edge. When rubbed on the maple, it leaves black marks. I plane those off, do the rub again. Keep going until I have a reasonable surface. Also keep an eye on the squareness of the side of the stock to the surface you're working.

I have heard the term 'scrub plane' which I think Rich Pierce uses. It is for roughing, has a thicker blade than the norm, with a convex grind to the blade profile.

I think a toothed blade may chew the wood off pretty quick, too.

[Benedict]

I use a sharp jack plane to true up the top and make one side smooth and at right angles to the top. 

Mark Silver's DVD show the use of the jack plane and the scrub plane to shape the stock.

Bruce

[rich pierce]

One thing I learned when rough planing is you need a stout bench and vise to hold the blank steady.  Lacking that, I work on the floor and put the end of the blank up against a concrete wall.  A good scrub plane will knock off the most offending parts pretty efficiently.

[Jerry V Lape]

Glenn,  I would be surprised if your uncle doesn't have a planer and/or jointer in his shop. Just be sure it is really sharp and you know which way the grain prefers to be cut or you can get a lot of tear out.  The use of a manual plane isn't  difficult either provided the plane is a long one like a Jack plane .   Acer's aluminum straight edge is great tip!

[t.caster]

Anyone have pics of a scrub plane they could post? Please!

[rich pierce]

http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?sku=40_5

looks like a jack plane, but the blade is much thicker, 2x as thick so it won't chatter, and is convex.  It is used diagonally on the wood, one way then at right angles.  Because the blade is convex, it does not lift or rip the grain.

Here's a wooden one but the Stanley and Lie-neilsen (spell) are metal bodied and look just like jack planes

[keweenaw]

Here's a link to a Lie-Nielsen scrub plane.  Pretty much like a jack plane except with a narrower sole, wider throat and a very, very heavy iron with no chip breaker.  One doesn't want to buy too many of them at the price.

I'm not sure what the question is about leveling the top of the blank for layout work.  The top is all going to get cut off anyway when you bandsaw the top profile of the stock.  I frequently run the top line of the barrel channel at some angle to the top of the blank to improve the grain flow through the wrist n or some such so having that top straight is of no importance.

Tom

[Scott Bumpus]

Does the convex blade of the scrub plane leave a ripple finish in the wood? If so how is this smoothed out?

[John Archer]

The scrub plane is for removing a lot of wood in a hurry...it will leave an uneven surface. Use a jack plane for smoothing out the 'ripples'

John.

[keweenaw]

Scott,

The scrub plane does just that to the wood, scrubs off the excess.  It's not intended to give anywhere close to a final surface, only to get rid of the bulk material.  If you look at the back of old boards in furniture or floors you can often see the wide, shallow grooves cut by the scrub plane. These grooves usually run across the board at an angle, not along the length of the board. When doing a board, you then level it off the finished side with a standard plane.  The scrub plane has a lot of advantages over a draw knife for basic shaping of a stock as it doesn't have that nasty tendency to split off pieces.  You can, however, get pretty close to a final surface by having just a bit of the blade extended.

Tom

[Rolf]

I joint alot flame birch when making furniture. I have a good jointer, but on this type of highly figured wood it gives to much tear out.

The easiest way for me to get a perfect, flat, 90⁰ "top" with no tear out, is to use a router with a pattern bit and  strait edge.

Best regards

Rolfkt

[Scott Bumpus]

Another tool to add to my want list.  So many tools, so little money. Thanks for the info.

[Tim Crosby]

 Keep your eye out for a Jointer plane, 20 some inches or longer, the wider the throat and the longer the better. Set it for a very thin cut, lock it up in a vice on a sturdy bench or make a stand alone for it. Slide the wood over it instead of the plane over the wood.
 

 Tim C.