Comments on: Secret to planing end grain?

By: rfswanson

rfswanson — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 23:39:17 +0000

Gunny Gene, when I sharpen my irons they are only just sharp enough the shave with (I’m too afraid to try them on my face); I’ve found that planing with the direction of the growth rings whenever possible helps quite a bit. I always get more tear-out if I plane across the rings as opposed to along them.

By: planer

planer — Mon, 28 May 2012 13:36:12 +0000

This is a tricky challenge, and I am sure that practice after many mistakes makes perfect. It also pays for your mind to connect with the working surface. Connecting with the tools is discussed at http://www.friendsofwoody.com

By: Galoot

Galoot — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:20:58 +0000

Try using a knife to scribe around all four sides of the end. If you already do that, try scribing a little deeper. The wood at the edges won’t tear out because the fibres have already been cut.

If you’re getting spelching at the short ends, try starting at one end and planing toward the middle. Then do the same from the other side.

By: tconover@fuse.net

tconover@fuse.net — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:30:36 +0000

I am 66 and very new to woodworking and I am donig my best to soak in as much information as I can.
I have purcheshed three very good planes (lie nielsen), a #4 smoother a # 5 ½ fore and a #7 jioner.
I have built two projects so far (a bench hook and a sawbench (Christopher Schwarz design) and want to build my workbench next.
I am puzzled about end grain. Even on my two “small” projects I had a problem with small pieces of the wood tearing out from the edges.
I have a hand plane book on order from “Woodworking” which I hope will answer this and many other questions I have.
Also are there any good woodworking classes in the Cincinnati Area.

By: Adam Cherubini

Adam Cherubini — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:43:28 +0000

Conventional wisdom says steeper grinds hinder our efforts planing end grain. The belief seems to be that only a low angle plane can handle end grain. Clearly that statement is flawed. I can easily plane pine end grain (pine’s end grain is particularly difficult to plane) with a smoothing plane.

My view is simply that any sharp plane will do okay. Smoothers offer advantanges only in that they are easy to handle on what is typically a short and narrow surface.

By: Adam Cherubini

Adam Cherubini — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:20:05 +0000

Hey Gunny,

My view is that a new or special purpose design is NOT required. All that’s needed is a REALLY sharp plane. In the hand plane design world, I think sharp trumps all.

Just my 2 cents

By: C.Woodhouse

C.Woodhouse — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:40:27 +0000

Wouldn’t a steeper grind help?

By: zdillinger

zdillinger — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:36:16 +0000

You’re a lucky man, Caleb. I’d love to own an Old Street plane.

By: GunnyGene

GunnyGene — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:33:15 +0000

This leads us to the question of how sharp is sharp? I usually get them to the stage where I can shave the hair off my chiny-chine-chine (which looks a little odd for a few days), but still have difficulty with endgrain on various hardwoods even tho I do employ the recommended techniques, etc. that have already been mentioned.

Instead of a brute force frontal assault, it seems to me that a new plane design might be in order which takes into account the physics of the problem. What’s needed is a slicing or sawing action. Any ideas?

By: wmickley

wmickley — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 01:38:08 +0000

I use a plane bedded at 42 1/2 degrees for end grain. I can see and feel a small improvement over 45 degrees. Likewise I think 45 leaves a better surface than 50. A fine surface is helpful for finishing because it takes less finish material to get a good surface; less coats are necessary.