which handplane to remove machine marks after doing this?

[crackerjack]

Hellow there!

Just flattend a couple of slightly cupped dining table tops using this method

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/library/makingitplane.pdf

Its a fantastic method and very fast and very accurate.

The only downside is that there are lines of marks where the router cutter has been that look like stripes. This is due to some passes with the router being at very slightly higher of lower that the pass adjacent to it. I'm talking 0.25mm max.

My question is which is the best handplane to remove these marks. I just spent 2 hour removing them with sanding on one of the tops and don't want to do this for the second top. I only own a block plane and could do with getting another and this is a great excuse to buy one.

Do I go for a smoother or a Jack?

Cheers guys.

 

[dannykaye]

the pdf that you link to recommends a no 80, we are both in notts so I could easily lend you an 80...

 

[crackerjack]

cheers danny

I would prefer to use a handplane though either a jack or a smoother. Which would be best?

I've got nothing against scrapers I just think that if I get a jack or a smoother I'll be able to use it for lots of other things.

Jack

 

[Harbo]

If you do not want to use a scraper or a scraper plane then the plane names give a clue?

Smoothing Plane is for smoothing - a Jack or Fore Plane is really for preparation work.

Rod

 

[dannykaye]

not sure you need anything other than a scraper, where are you in nottingham? you could come and play with a selection and see what suits you

 

[jimi43]

Hi CJ

I have a router sled and what I found was that the carrier stock for the router has to be hardwood or some other non-flexing material. Softwood tended to flex ever so slightly causing variations in depth and the marks you describe.

There are also end mill type router bits which give a smoother surface but I just use a straight bit. I move the sled side to side as well as back and fro which tends to clear all the deviations.

Then I use a hand cabinet scraper with a proper burr on it.

Jim

 

[wizer]

Another vote for a No.80 scraper here. If you start using a plane you might mess up the work you've done with the router, or at least you might as well have done it all with a plane.

 

[WellsWood]

Actually I think I would have skimmed it again before removing the router thingy to try and get those marks out, but of course you may have done that and this is still as close as you can get.

I'd agree that scraping rather than planing is the way forward, either with a plain old hand cabinet scraper (my 1st choice as I find them a lot easier to prepare) or a No.80 as others have said. One thing you should do though, if you choose either of these options, is to ensure you have the means to prepare them properly or frustration will surely follow. There was a thread on here recently about this very subject - it isn't rocket science, but there's a definite knack to it. here it is

 

[crackerjack]

thanks for all the advice

Danny I'm out of Notts for a few weeks - will PM you when I get back.

Looks like its a unanimous recommendation that I use a scraper so I guess I'd be a fool to try something else. Thanks for that.

The bridge or sled that I'm sitting the router on is made from offcuts of engineered flooring so its mainly ply. Its 22mm thick and about 180mm deep so there is no deflection as far as I can see.

I dunno what is causing the marks. I've had this before when I've cut tenons with the router. When the length of the tenon is more than the diameter of the tenon cutter you have to do it in more than one pass. This causes "ripples" on the cut face aswell.

Am I doing something wrong?

 

[jimi43]

Hi CJ

Something is moving up and down...so if it is not the sled cross member it is possibly the tightness of the router base on the sled or perhaps play in the router shaft up and down. I can't see it can be the bit unless it is a dicky collet that gets slightly loose.

Do you have another router you can try in the sled?

Jim

 

[crackerjack]

I have this problem with my dewalt router - the one I use in the sled for flattening tabletops and also my festool router which I use with the MFT and guide rail for cutting tenons on long rails.

I wonder if it is to do with climb cuts and normal cuts.

With the sled I rout away from where I'm standing to the other side of the tabletop I then move the sled 40mm or so along the table and then rout back towards myself. Maybe as one is a climb cut and the other normal there is a slight difference in cut depth?

 

[Smudger]

Could the marks be made by material gathering in the front of the cutter as it rotates? That wouldn't be flat, and may be lifting the router. On the other hand that might be a stupid idea. Tom told me to say it.

 

[Mikey R]

Surely the smallest amount of dust between the router base and the sled would be enough to lift the router, which will lift the cutter, and cause this?

 

[crackerjack]

thing is this happens when I use a router on a festool guide rail cutting tenons.

I'm sure i've experienced it on router tables cutting tenons aswell.

 

[SDF]

Was the router cutter axis perfectly perpendicular to the surface? If not one side cuts a little deeper than the other and leaves a step or scallop depending on the direction of the error. It only needs to be one degree off for a 0.25mm error across a 15mm dia. cutter.

Steve.

 

[WellsWood]

Just a thought, but most routers only have the height lock on one pillar. On both of mine this is on the same side as the turret stop and will allow a tiny amount of tilt when downward pressure is applied on the opposite handle.
Try routing with the handles (and therefore plunge posts) in line with the direction of travel to see if things improve.

 

[crackerjack]

will try that mark

many thanks