Replies

1. 
   Samson | Feb 27, 2008 07:09am | #1

   First. you likely would not want to thickness stock with a 4 alone, as a 4 is a smoothing plane.  You would be better off with a scrub (40) and/or a Jack (5).  A 7 (to function as a try plane, might also be useful depending upon the size of the board or panel you were working.

   Second, the best way to get two borads to the same thickness is to get one face of each board flat and then use that face a reference for a marking gauge.  The gauge scribes a line all around the edges.  when you've planed a flat to those lines, your boards should be the same thickness.

2. 
   troys | Feb 27, 2008 08:48am | #2

   If you want to see a good lesson on how to prep wood with hand planes including thicknessing the wood check out the video buy the late Jim Kingshott on doing this with hand planes. I think they now carry this on DVD at "Tools for working wood" I found a copy in VHS on E-bay. A great video.

   Troy

1. 
   BruceS | Feb 29, 2008 03:09am | #12

   I've got a Jim Klingshott DVD on special planes put out by Fox Chaple Publishing @ $19.95 a 90 Min. DVD ( Sorry Taunton)  A very informative and fun video to watch.Work Safe,  Count to 10 when your done for the day !!

   Bruce S. 

    

3. 
   RMillard | Feb 27, 2008 02:41pm | #3

   Zappa,

   Thicknessing stock by hand can be fun. I do it quite often, but only on pieces that are larger than the capacity of my planer.

   Thicknessing is not just planing the board thinner, but also flattening it; removing and cupping, bowing  or twist. I start by removing any cupping and bowing. At this point the board will look flat but may have a twist to it, so you'll have to plane that out. To do this you need a pair of winding sticks, which are just two pieces of material the with parallel edges. For a long time I just used two framing squares, but now I have dedicated wood sticks I made for the purpose. By placing one at each end and sighting across them, you can see how much the twist there is in the board. Mentally divide the board into quadrants and plane down the opposing high corners until your board is flat. Then you want to switch to a larger plane to remove the scrub plane marks, and further refine the surface. I have a large wooden jointer (30") I use for desk, card table and sideboard tops, but before I bought it, I got by quite well with just a No.7. For small tops a No. 6 is ideal, because it is much lighter. Then you can finish with the No. 4.  Depending on the grain pattern and species you may want to plane across or diagonal to the grain for all but the final passes.

   With one side flat and smooth you use it as a reference surface to scribe a line with the marking gauge, setting the thickness. Now it is just a simple matter of planing down to that line.

   Rob Millard

   http://www.americanfederalperiod.com 

4. 
   lwilliams | Feb 27, 2008 03:01pm | #4

   Zappa,

   Check your local library for Charles Hayward's, now out of print, Cabinet making for Beginners. There are other good sources but make sure anything you invest any time into anything unless it starts by cutting stock to rough dimension. A lot of people seem to think you thickness whole boards and I wouldn't do that with machines unless the board was very close to the final dimension of the element or piece I needed.

   Larry Williams-posting from Kelly Mehler's School

    

5. 
   BossCrunk | Feb 27, 2008 04:11pm | #5

   Join FW online and read this article, about as no-nonsense as it gets:

   http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=2652

6. 
   derekcohen | Feb 27, 2008 05:13pm | #6

   Hi Zappa

   I recently put together this pictorial, "Preparing a board without a thicknesser-planer-jointer".

   http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/dCohen/z_art/prepBoard/prepBoard1.asp

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

7. 
   BossCrunk | Feb 27, 2008 05:41pm | #7

   I'll refer you again to the Guidice article link.

   But I want to caution you about one thing - you need to learn how to evaluate cup and twist before you even touch a board to MAKE SURE that you can get the required thickness from the board you are considering working up to fulfill whatever requirement(s) you have on your cut list.

   Cup is easy to see by laying a straight edge across a board. If it's pretty pronounced, I'll sometimes draw the dimension I need on the end grain to see just how much thickness I have to work with to remove the cup (remember the side opposite the concave side will be convex so material has to be removed from both sides). Sometimes it is simply too close for comfort. You can get more thickness from a cupped board if you rip it down, but I hate doing this unless I know I need narrower parts.

   Four-squaring lumber does not happen in a vacuum - presumably you have a cut list of parts you need. You'll almost always be working to specific dimensions.

   If you go about this mindlessly you'll most likely end up with a board that is too thin. The common "rookie" mistake is a board that is too thin and still warped (cup, twist, bow, etc.) in some way. Or I should say too warped for its planned use. Every piece of stock does not have to be perfect to work in the project. This part of it will come with time. For now, learn how to truly four-square parts - all of them.

   The skill in this, learned only by doing it a whole lot, is nine times out of ten knowing you can get what you need from any particular roughsawn board before you remove the first shaving. I say nine times out of ten because there will always be a surprise or two - it's wood not iron. You just have to laugh when a board betrays you, grab another one, work it up and move on.

   You need a scrub plane, a jointer, and a jack by the way. You can get by without a scrub plane but I personally wouldn't want to.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 2/27/2008 12:43 pm ET by BossCrunk

8. 
   nboucher | Feb 27, 2008 08:14pm | #8

   Z--I work in a tiny space as well, and because I don't have a power jointer or planer, I prepare all my stock by hand. I seem to recall Philip Lowe doing an article in FWW not to long ago on this subject. If you're not a member, I highly recommend you become one and search both the magazine archives and Knots for preparing stock by hand. You'll find all the info you need.

   You asked what hand tools you'd need. I agree with BossCrunk on his recommendations, although I do get along fine without a scrub plane; I use a #5 jack plane set for a coarse cut, which makes the job take a little longer. To Boss's list, I'd add a good low-angle block plane, which represents the best bang-for-the-buck plane. At the very least it makes squaring end grain on small boards easier.

   You should be able to make your own winding sticks very quickly. Again, searching the magazine archives will produce articles to show you how.

   Two other essential items are some kind of accurate square—a machinist's square, or even better, a 6-inch and a 12-inch combination square. (Starrett is the brand to look for.) A couple of dead-accurate straight edges are essential for telling you when your stock is flat. I keep a 6-inch one in my pocket, but also have a 12-inch and 36-inch one within easy reach. Finally, you'll need a marking gauge—just about any one will do—to scribe the thickness of your board.

   That's it. As BossCrunk mentioned, cut your boards down to rough parts before you start working them. You don't want to waste your time planing a board flat and square, then cut it only to have the internal stresses of the board produce a bunch pieces that are no longer flat.

   Have fun,
   Norman

1. 
   user-162978 | Feb 28, 2008 11:37am | #9

   To echo the point above.

   Before thicknessing twisted, bowed and cupped lumber, I like to set it on a flat surface, wedges under opposite corners to stabilize and then scribe two parallel pencil lines off the surface. 

   One line represents under surface and the other, the top surface.

   Scrap blocks lift the pencil to desired height. 

   It is now possible to see what thickness can be obtained, and it stops me from removing too much from one end and losing potential thickness.

   Best wishes,

   David

9. 
   perizoqui | Feb 28, 2008 05:27pm | #10

   I would echo Boss's points and add that rather than reading Guidice's article, you should get the whole book:
   http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Essentials-Woodworking-Anthony-Guidice/dp/0806925272/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204208788&sr=8-1
   It's a great tutorial on doing everything with handtools. Simple, straightforward, and it focuses on accomplishing a lot with very little rather than buying a lot to do very little.
   Best,
   ---Pedro

10. 
    bones | Feb 28, 2008 06:50pm | #11

    I think you have received great points, and I'll just add one more option.  I would reccomend Rob Cosmans rough to ready dvd.  It taught me a lot.  It is avail at (one source many others) lie-nelsens web site.  I have used the scrub plane to get it going (it will hog off quickly), and then the LN #7 with winding sticks.  It may be just me, but I learn a bit easier watching something as aposed to reading about it, but that's just me.  Good luck. 

     

    Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:
    If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
    And if it stops moving, subsidize it.