TobyB
Established Member
Am I being cack-handed - or is this just how it goes ...
Trying my hand at a bit of "cabinet making" to make a small occasional/hall table about 50 cms square and a metre or so high. Bought a big plank of 1 1/4" beech for the top and rails, and a smaller length of 2" stock for the 4 legs. Handsawn and bandsawn the components to length. Now preparing the boards by hand to get them smooth and square and the right thickness. This is going to be the largest amount of hand planing I'll have ever done
The 4 side rails have been OK - used my Clifton 5 1/2 to get them flat etc (it has quite a curve on its blade and will cut a thicker shaving to shift the excess wood), and final finish with a Veritas LA BUJ which cuts a broader fine shaving for a nice finish.
Struggled with the legs however. On the first, most of it was OK, but one corner (ie affecting an edge and face) for about 10 cms I had loads of tearout problems. Re-sharpened the blades, checked I was going with the grain (and just to be sure tried the other direction and confirmed I was right because it was even worse!), tried using the plane skewed in both directions, and also tried oblique strokes. Got most of it OK after all this - and have marked that corner as the bit to loose when I cut tapers onto the legs.
On to the second leg. Aaahhh! A whole face is like this. A slightly "pippy" or "quilted" appearance emerges from the rough sawn surface as it's got smoother - but tearout all over, and quite deep. Tried doing some really light cuts with the BUJ and it's even worse - although the blade was set for a very light cut it ripped out a huge area - dreadful. Tried all the "tricks" I could remember reading about - no joy.
Anyone recognise what I'm doing wrong, or what I could do better? Are some bits of beech just like this? If I was turning a bit of spalted I might accept that a whole load of sanding was the only way I could get a finish in an area which tore out like this ... is that the way forward here?
Trying my hand at a bit of "cabinet making" to make a small occasional/hall table about 50 cms square and a metre or so high. Bought a big plank of 1 1/4" beech for the top and rails, and a smaller length of 2" stock for the 4 legs. Handsawn and bandsawn the components to length. Now preparing the boards by hand to get them smooth and square and the right thickness. This is going to be the largest amount of hand planing I'll have ever done
The 4 side rails have been OK - used my Clifton 5 1/2 to get them flat etc (it has quite a curve on its blade and will cut a thicker shaving to shift the excess wood), and final finish with a Veritas LA BUJ which cuts a broader fine shaving for a nice finish.
Struggled with the legs however. On the first, most of it was OK, but one corner (ie affecting an edge and face) for about 10 cms I had loads of tearout problems. Re-sharpened the blades, checked I was going with the grain (and just to be sure tried the other direction and confirmed I was right because it was even worse!), tried using the plane skewed in both directions, and also tried oblique strokes. Got most of it OK after all this - and have marked that corner as the bit to loose when I cut tapers onto the legs.
On to the second leg. Aaahhh! A whole face is like this. A slightly "pippy" or "quilted" appearance emerges from the rough sawn surface as it's got smoother - but tearout all over, and quite deep. Tried doing some really light cuts with the BUJ and it's even worse - although the blade was set for a very light cut it ripped out a huge area - dreadful. Tried all the "tricks" I could remember reading about - no joy.
Anyone recognise what I'm doing wrong, or what I could do better? Are some bits of beech just like this? If I was turning a bit of spalted I might accept that a whole load of sanding was the only way I could get a finish in an area which tore out like this ... is that the way forward here?
