Workbench Flattening by Hand

[Joe]

Just when I thought I was making a tiny bit of progress, along comes a new problem to make me feel completely inept. I have a small Sjoberg workbench with shoulder and tail vice which I inherited a couple of years ago. It was pretty scruffy when I got it, having been stored in a damp loft space for a while and also used as a general work surface in a painting studio. I originally gave it just a cursory clean up before starting to use it.

I have spent the last four days labouring in vain to do a proper job of flattening the top of the bench. There was quite a bit of wind, perhaps as much as 8mm, which I have more or less planed out (at the cost of losing most of a dovetail pin on one corner). The problem I am having is that I can't take anything even approaching a full shaving along the length of the bench - the plane (a no. 6) just skates along taking the odd tiny shaving here and there. The top is made largely of beech (the grain running the length of the bench) with birch end caps (grain running across). I am covering the entire width and length of the surface with the plane iron (which is slightly cambered).

I appreciate that it may be difficult to deal with this without seeing the bench first hand, but if anyone can offer me any advice I would be very, very grateful. You just might save a family heirloom from being hacked to pieces by an extremely frustrated and inexperienced woodworker with a large axe.

 

[Philly]

Joe
A quick idea - give the plane a quick sharpen. You'd be amazed how quick it can lose an edge, especially on certain timbers. Should make all the difference.
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[Paul Chapman]

I'd second that. Beech can be very hard so you will probably need to re-hone your blade frequently. And take very fine shavings - it will be quicker in the long run than trying to take thick shavings.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Chris Knight]

Joe,
You don't say how you started the flattening process but it is best to start by planing at right angles to the grain, moving to 45 degrees or so and only finishing with longitudinal strokes when near the end of the process. Also, plane from the opposite direction - whatever the orientation (90, 45 or longitudinal) after a modest number of cuts, to avoid cutting unduly heavily in one part of the board because of a lack of skill, or sense of what the plane is doing.

Make frequent squiggles across the surface with a 4B pencil to see where the plane is cutting and to assist any necessary course corrections.

 

[MrJay]

...take very fine shavings - it will be quicker in the long run than trying to take thick shavings.

See, I'd be taking very thick shavings. My bench top didn't suffer from the curse'd wind, but it was similarly afflicted by my ham-fisted glue up. I cracked mine in a morning and had it oiled and waxed, ready to go and in use the following day. As said, keep the iron keen and wax/oil the sole. Take lovely thick shavings (think getting on for stiff paper) diagonally one way then the next until you get good contact all over, then work length ways. When you're done back off on the iron for another couple of passes (if you're not getting full length/width shavings after a couple of passes you've either backed off too far or your need to give your plane some love) before switching to a smoother/sand paper to finish.

 

[Joe]

Thank you all for your input. I've been trying to make 90 and 45 degree passes from both sides, but this is proving tricky due to the edge of the tool well on one side and the shoulder vice on the other. I'm on baby-sitting duties tomorrow so I'll take a breather, let the blisters go down, and try again on Thursday with a freshly sharpened iron. Don't think I have the strength for thick shavings though...

 

[Paul Chapman]

Hi Joe,

Here's another suggestion. I don't have a powered planer so all my planing is done by hand. Where I have a lot of material to remove on really hard wood, I keep a #7 plane with a heavily cambered blade like this

Because of the heavy camber, you are using just the central portion of the blade and there is less resistance, so you can take thick shavings (it's working in much the same way as a scrub plane). Here I am using it on some oak when I needed to remove a lot of stuff

I was able to take thick shavings and get the wood down to almost finished size, then move on to my other plane with a finely set, normally honed blade. You can also take finer shavings with the cambered blade if you don't need to remove too much wood.

If you have a spare blade for your #6 (or can get one) it might be worth your while trying - it really works and makes it so much easier :wink:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Joe]

Cheers Paul, that's an interesting suggestion.

 

[Anonymous]

Joe

Try to get hold of the last issue of Popular Woodworking as Chris Schwarz wrote a very good article on benchtop flattening and it describes the way I did mine - takes about an hour when doen this way

 

[Wanlock Dod]

I've heard it suggested that the accumulated grit in benchtops is probably what does the blades in so quickly (especially an old one I'd imagine), so frequent sharpening is probably the only way forward.

Cheers, Dod

 

[Karl]

Paul

I like the paintbrush in your final picture (presumably for clearing the plane throat) - I use the same method - much cheaper than LN !!!!

Cheers

Karl

 

[Paul Chapman]

I like the paintbrush in your final picture (presumably for clearing the plane throat) - I use the same method - much cheaper than LN !!!!

Yes, us paupers have to make do with what we can get...... :lol: