I’ve recently bought a jointer planer and as I have limited experience with machining wood (used hand tools until now!) I would like some input into the process. Not the straight forward stuff, but the “how long do you wait to joint/plane down a board to finale thickness?” or “must a board stabilize to its environment before machining and so on?”
I’m sure there are dozens of other issues that I have not thought of.
Thanks
Chaim
Make your own mistakes not someone elses, this is a good way to be original !
Replies
I think the answer depends on exactly how stable the stock is when you get it.
Shalom
dusty, careful not cause my wife to go mashug
Thanks Dusty,
Most of the wood you get here in Israel has been kiln dried, but sometimes if its just off the boat (literally) you may have some warpage due to sudden humidity changes!
I on the other hand drive my wife nuts at every turn! Not usually on purpose, its just the way it goes!!!
ChaimMake your own mistakes not someone elses, this is a good way to be original !
If you don't have a moisture meter it would be a good idea. But in the meantime...
If you tell me what wood you've got and where you bought it I'll probably know more or less what you can expect. What's on the market in Israel isn't very mysterious.
regards,
David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e
Thank you, I usually buy my stock in Jerusalem at a place called Amos Shtien.
I posted this question as a general discussion!
I've found that most places will mill the stock for you (at a cost) but I don't find their methods up to standards!
I simply wished to know if there is any standard practice for milling stock to thickness. Wood being what it is, can move when you expose a new surface. Is it advisable to do this in a few sessions or can you mill your stock up in one sitting?
This being said, if you know of any sources for purchasing lumber with reasonable prices I would be glad to hear of them!
Thanks,
ChaimMake your own mistakes not someone elses, this is a good way to be original !
Not really standard, which is my point. For instance, we use a lot of French Oak, as opposed to other varieties available. IMHO it's the best oak there is (actually a toss-up with the English), but the 8/4 is almost always too wet - around 16-18% typically. You must let it airdry for quite a while. On the other hand, poplar, cherry and maple are invariably ready to use as you buy them. Imbuya is terribly unreliable in MC, from all suppliers. Padauk is usually ready to work at about 10%. Bubinga often needs to airdry for quite a long time. So it depends...
I don't know Amos Stein, so I'm not gonna guess anything about his stuff. If you're in the center of the country you need to get to know May Hasharon in the Segula Indutrial zone of Petach-Tikva. Also Averbuch in Ramla. Trust me on this. I'm in the north and don't travel too much these days, but if you want to meet sometime in the Tel Aviv area I could introduce you to a few of the serious "players".
regards, David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e
Thanks David, I also don't get out to often (at least not to the Tel Aviv Area) as I stay mostly in the Jerusalem Area.
I would like to take you up on the offer meet sometime though, as it would be nice to get to know a fellow knotter! and a serious wood worker.
My business is still in its first stages. I'm working out of my home shop which is undergoing modifications to allow more space and efficiency! I'm doing this myself and it is a frustrating process and hopefully only temporary.
but the information on suppliers is priceless to me. Do you know of any quality hand tool dealers? Chisels, Gouges, Bench vises, and such?
Thank You,
ChaimMake your own mistakes not someone elses, this is a good way to be original !
Wood being what it is, can move when you expose a new surface. Is it advisable to do this in a few sessions or can you mill your stock up in one sitting?
I would say no! Just just my opinion.
I'm not sure if it is right/wrong.. Whenever I purchase my hardwoods I always flatten one edge and one face on my jointer. Mark the new surfaced edges with chalk so I do not forget what I did. I let it sit a day or two. I only take enough wood off to make it flat. In ALL my work I take very light cuts (OK except for ripping on the TS!).
I find that even taking off a small amount of wood will tell you alot about what you have. NO I do not sticker it. I just let it stand on end set up against a wall.. If the wood reacts to this simple surfacing I set it aside for another future p[project.. I have ALOT of those sticks. I find ALOT of reaction wood these days. Maybe cut from tree branches?
If all seems well, after a day or two, (I never know when I'll be able to get back into the shop), I'll rip the stock to approximate size (bit' extra in width and length). I let it sit a day or two. Been bitten a few times but most woods seem to react to changes very quickly. But some 'sticks' that seem perfect will surprise you.
I recreantly purchased alot of Pango-Pango. I went through my ritual... I tried to rip the wide board into two equal width pieces. It EXPLODED as in like a rifle shot went off or the noise Some green trees make when you split it with wedges.. Amazing trees.. Trying to tell me to leave it alone so it can rest?
Morning to you Will ,
You know ,,, sounds like you joint or flatten one side of the boards and then let it stand against the wall for a time , the standing up is not a problem but, by only surfacing one side even slightly and not the other you could be getting more reaction and what looks like stress and cupping and warping .
The moisture content is no longer centered in the board much like the idea of painting one side and not the other you can get movement .
dusty
dusty,
This may sound like I'm anal (maybe I am) but I have taken to stickering milled stock and laying them flat. I may have just been lucky with choice of boards but they seem to keep better between milling stages. My experience has been that if a board has reactionary wood you'll see it right away.
I also remove equal amounts from the face sides when planing too.
Would you also recommend stickering?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Hi Bob ,
To sticker or not may depend on how dry and stable the stock is.
The only downside to stickering is so often the boards can get stained or even like marks or bumps where the stickers were that seem to set into the cells of the wood not just the surface .
Sometimes I will place stickers under some boards but lay them out without stacking on top of each other .
dusty
I think you have a point there.. Next time I'll run the other side throught my planner. Hard to chang old ways though. I may forget!
Hey there young fella,
If ya mark yer sticks on the ends with triangles with the point aimed at the good sides, then ye knows where you're at.
Run the sticks thru the planer first, good side up. Stack 'em out of the planer as they went in. Once ya geet all of 'em thru and stacked, flip your stack and run the other side thru, wid da triangle down.
Yer top side on the outfeed is the one ya jist done.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob..
Hey there young fella,
I'm only 66.. June 13.. ,, Young by my kins standards. Hell, most lived to be a 100 or more.. Guess God wanted us to put up with all the Earth's BS fo a long time?
If ya mark yer sticks on the ends with triangles with the point aimed at the good sides, then ye knows where you're at.
Dang! I thought I said I did wit' chalk.. I never bothered surfacing the other side or edge.. NO special marks.. Just a 3 year old child's markings.. That I could see after!
One poster said do both sides.. I sort of agree but never saw a reason to go further.
Maybe, I wanted to see which way it would cup! Or other nasty things wood will do!
I think God made most wooddworkes men so we could appreciater Her! Trees... God MUST BE A WOMAN.. She just look down as us men and smiles.. And thinks.. Someday they will get it! Life is about you Children that carry on!! Cutting my trees is a gift if the child is sleeping AND HAS NOTHING BETTER TO DO!
Edited 6/12/2008 7:52 am by WillGeorge
Edited 6/12/2008 7:56 am by WillGeorge
Thanks for the info.
Now that I think of it by jointing only one side you expose only one surface to dryer (hopefully) conditions thus perhaps creating optimal condition for warpage.
Just my thoughts.
ChaimMake your own mistakes not someone elses, this is a good way to be original !
Assuming you buy kiln dried roughsawn wood - skim plane it and cut an inch or so off each end when it comes into the shop and let it sit a minimum of two weeks before putting it into a project.
This should be done regardless of whether you use machines or hand tools.
If you buy S2S lumber you may not have enough thickness to skim plane, let it move, then joint and plane to project requirements. I have no advice in that situation but to quit buying S2S stock.
Edited 6/11/2008 10:37 am ET by TaunTonMacoute
Thank you for your advice, I didn't think I needed to store wood for two weeks prior to use.
I thought a couple of days would do it.
You learn something new every day!
ChaimMake your own mistakes not someone elses, this is a good way to be original !
You need to order lumber for your next project about halfway through the one you currently have on the bench. Lumber doesn't spoil. The longer it sits it's even better.
No need to sticker KD lumber. Just skim plane, saw an inch or so from each end and deadstack it.
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