Recently a great question was asked about finish surface preparation for stains, oils, and coating type finishes with hand planes. It was regarding the finish a plane leaves, if sanding is necessary, and which grits are appropriate. It’s a great question. Let’s explore the options.

In many woods, a planed surface will leave a surface quality similar to that of 600 grit finish smoothness, and without burnishing the wood surface. Sanding in this case may not bring much to the table.

Occasionally there are grains that are just too difficult to plane successfully, and so you must sand.

Planing will help wood pores remain open, sanding will often fill them and burnish the fibers so “in the wood” finishes may have some trouble soaking in.

I often follow this ascending grit schedule: 120 – 150 – 220 – 400, I also use 320 but often omit it on softer woods.

If the wood will have a finish that is “in” the wood, smooth is important, but sometimes it is best to sand at 150 – 220, but no finer. Burnishing will foul the woods ability to allow stain in. Staining will raise grain so sand beyond 220 after staining.

If the wood will be finished with a finish that leaves a coating on the surface, sanding the wood super smooth is not constructive. 150 – 180 is fine, then finish a coat, knock the high spots off lightly with 320 or 400, and re coat. Then sand between coats lightly with fine, fine papers. Think 600-grit or finer range. The last coat, you can likely just let dry, depending on the final outcome.

Using a block is important when sanding finishes. You are flattening the finish, it is easy to sand through so be careful there and go really light near the edges and corners.

Other final outcomes; the last coat can be polished using Rottenstone, Simichrome, even auto polishes.

There are different sandpapers for different moments. Getting the feel for this will develop as you watch the finish you like using and how it reacts to what you do with it. Your observations will help you adapt what works best. Eventually you will decide there are finishes you like and others you won’t so much. You may stick to just a few.

If I am working on a blotchy wood, my sense is and observations are that while burnishing the wood may sometimes help me somehow, I have never felt the help was providing consistent results. What I mean is, while the burnishing may be somewhat successful in slowing how some areas of a board take in finish like oils and stains, and how some areas don’t, is still not averaged out enough to look all that great. I still see the blotches.

The reason is that while I am attempting to burnish the places that will wind up looking dark, I am also burnishing the places where it will wind up looking light to some degree. While I may be able to see where I think the problem areas will be, and focus some burnishing, if I try to focus on sanding some areas of my piece more or less than others, then I am not actually sanding everywhere equally and with consistency. My sense is that a consistent sanding is important, likely more important to the overall look than any attempt to burnish a surface as part of the prep or not.

Another point about burnishing. What burnishing is and how it happens is usually what we don’t want to have happen. Often burnishing occurs when we are using the correct grade of sandpaper for the task at hand, but we have allowed the sandpaper to clog with dust, or the grit to become to dull. This means the sandpaper is trying to do something at a higher grade than it’s rating, because all the sharp points have worn off the grit.

Sandpaper needs to cut, not polish. If we use fresh papers or discs, we should not expect too much burnishing at 180 to 220 grit. This is the maximum we want to sand if we intend to stain, because we actually want to let the stain into the wood. Once the stain is in, and the grain raising is done, we can sand more finely if we like, but we have to use care. Stains are usually going to be used in conjunction with a coating style finish, as stains are often made darker than is our goal by using oils with them, so to smooth the wood further would not be worth the effort. When it comes to finish smoothness with coating finishes, our fingers will feel the surface of a coating, not the wood itself.

If intentional burnishing of the wood fibers is what you intend, the best way to achieve this is to stop sanding at a higher grit. If you should ordinarily stop at 180-220 for the usual surface prep, burnishing would be like stopping at 400 or 600 instead.

If the finish is going to be an oil finish, and I mean a fine oil finish, you can stop at 220 for the first coat of oil, and give it a heavy wash. The lack of burnishing will help let the oil into the wood. But once that coat is in, you may proceed sanding finer, and applying more coats of finish. You may even choose to sand in the finish as you apply it in an attempt to fill the pores of the grain some. As you add oil finish coats, you will sand with higher and higher grits, each successively finer than the last. A lot of walnut gunstocks are finished like this. This often has a really deep look.

Some woods will make these choices for us. Blotchy woods are not so easy to use oils and stains with. Oily woods and dark woods tend not to benefit from oil finishes either. These are woods that will benefit from finishing with Lacquer, Shellac, and Poly.

Some woods will be made to look more descriptive, and have contrast added as well as deepening the natural colors by using oils, and since oil finishes are often usually BLO based, the finish will have an amber colored effect. The rest of the finish is mostly a mineral spirits carrier and a varnish that will be carried into the wood grain, allowed to soak a bit and wiped off, rather than allowed to dry on it. It is important to remember that not all woods are helped by an ambering effect, or a darkening effect. They get all they need by just looking clear/wet.

It may not seem like what effect we want from the wood, or which finish we want to use on the wood has much to do with sanding, but my observations are that it has been helpful to understand these relationships of wood variety, surface prep and finish type in ensemble.

If you are planing, then you get some added benefits that come without some of the trade offs in tow. You will get a surface quality equivalent to what 600-grit sandpaper would accomplish, yet with no burnishing; the grain will remain open and unclogged. It will take oils and stains much like sanding to 180 will. If you are using a finish that coats, you are already more than smooth enough.

If you have to make something using woods that tend to blotch, grain selection in the showy areas can help you, but I have found that while I have gotten to where I can spot where I think a spot will look dark, the spots that wind up looking too light are often a surprise.

What I think is the best way to address blotchy woods, is to either consider them paint grade, or seal them with shellac and use a gel stain over the shellac. This will get you a predictable outcome. Also, consider seeing woods that have blotchy tendencies as woods that are best to be part of a non-show sub assembly. Save the showy, more consistent woods for where the looks are.

Hope that fleshes out some of the mysteries a little more. These are just some of my observations and understandings.

Have you been combing eBay in hopes of finding vintage sets or individual planes of the Hollows and Rounds variety? I’m happy to help get the word out that there is a new plane maker on the scene that may be able to help.

Matt Bickford Photo.

In recent times the desire for these planes has increased dramatically, and the availability of them is scarce. The plane makers who currently offer them have backlogs I’ve read that are over two years long.

Matt Bickford Photo.

Enter Matt Bickford. Matt was recently asked what his focus was on and he said:
“I’m focusing on molding planes: hollows/rounds, snipes bills, I make rabbets like that pictured too. Basically, I make those non-bench planes listed in Builders Dictionary published in the early 1700’s less the plow. I can certainly make specific profiles if you want something out of Chippendale’s Director.

Is there something specific for which you are looking? Please let me know.”

Matt Bickford

The photos tell the tale. Welcome Matt to toolmaking! If there is something specific in this line of tooling for which you are looking, please do let Matt know!

Contact Matt, Place your order.

Shooting boards are very handy for fine trims that clean the rough sawn edges left by saws, power tools and shop machines, so the wood is looking it’s very best, and even made as accurate fitting as can be. But even as we do this most commonly on end grain, end grain is not the only place on a board that can benefit from the use of a shooting board.

There are a number of things a woodworker can classify as delicate work. It can of course mean short in length or width, thin stock, veneer, inlays, book matched pieces, and even working with tone woods. Luthiers commonly join book matched boards for stringed instruments, and these boards are very fragile.

There are also the occasions where using a power tool or a shop machine may not be the safest way, or the most accurate way to accomplish a task and so we are left trying to come up with an alternative method for accomplishing the fine work we need done.

Often even the finest blades of a shop machine can leave some tear out, or small nicks on a cut edge, and due to the rotational force and unequal loadings on rotating blades, the attempt to trim just a little can often result in too little or too much. At best, it isn’t often predictable.

Jointers too, are not without issue. Handling small or thin stock on a Jointer can be dangerous due to the size of the piece and the lack of structural integrity the materials can have when they are thin. If we try to joint them we risk damage to both the stock and ourselves, and this is never good either way. There is never a good reason to have the fingers in harm’s way.

Another happening with cutting and jointing thin stock is that if you are not using high tooth count blades on your Table Saw or super thin settings on the jointer, what you get is a bunch of chatter and snipe. You can joint with the router table if your fence will allow this, but in my experience, there are times on small work that I would prefer to remove less that 1/32nd or even 1/64th, yes .008… It is really hard to get most fences to dial this, but a plane will do this easily, and still with power tools some boards will require you to have your fingers way too close to a dangerous area.

Sometimes it is safer, or more desirable to resort to hand tool methods. Yes, this is the Saw Stop method of jointing edges. Fixture the work and use a sharp plane. Planes have none of the characteristics of the rotating oscillator. They simply shear off a layer one thin bit at a time. This is particularly useful on boards that are too fragile or small to safely size with power tools.

Jointing edges of thin stock and short stock is just as important as the larger stuff. Fit and finish are often even more crucial because the small items may be picked up and closely examined. At the same time, gluing and clamping still requires the same tolerances of larger boards. A straight edge, matched in the joints is still important as always.

Often, many Luthiers feel jointing book matched instrument tops and backs with a plane is both preferable and desirable with tone woods, as this prevents any damage to the wood fibers that could interfere with instrument resonance. The rotary cutters involved in shop machines often make them wonder and give them some concern if making a beautiful sounding instrument is possible if wood fibers should suffer bruising. Certainly good, even great sounding instruments are made, but, the question is, can they be even better? Perhaps shooting these edges manually is part of what takes good to great.

So we have established that it is important to joint and shoot the edges of small boards, tone woods and veneers. We may find it less than easy to balance a #7 or #8 jointer on top of a thin board. Doable sure, but it is tricky work, and easier if it is something you are used to doing frequently. Shorter planes can work but there is still balancing the plane for side-to-side squareness. Of course there is a need for truing any stock, and when you build small boxes and drawers, maybe even cleaning up inlays and virtually any board less than 24 inches long or 3/8’s of an inch thick or less, the need is still obvious, but the size tends to change the dynamics of how.

Edge Jointing veneer while balancing a plane on the edge isn’t going to happen, because there is no way to balance a plane on veneer, and this won’t give you the accuracy needed should you want to create a sunburst pattern or well, even book matching of stock that thin.

Enter the long grain shooting board.

A long grain shooting board can be very effective for handling all the difficulties that shop machines, or trying to plane without one can have.

Several woodworkers have approached me about adding a long grain shooting board to my product line this year, and after discussing with them what features would be most desirable in a shooting board purpose designed for long grain shooting, I am now offering a long grain shooting board. It uses a lot of the same Features and Specifications that I offer in my end grain shooting boards.

The major differences are that it is nearly 30 inches long, and offers at least 24 inches of shooting run, a fence that is a 90-degree fence only, but is user calibratable to confirm it is accurately set to 90 degrees.

I have also included a couple anchor points for a caul that is used without the fence that helps fixture the materials you are shooting along the chute at any angle or shape you choose, as long as you are trying to shoot an edge that is parallel to the chute. This way you can fixture materials to be jointed squarely to 90 degrees, or any arbitrary angle you desire.

So whether you work with veneers, or small boxes, or even are interested in Luthery and need a way to joint edges in a damage free way, a long grain shooting board can be a help to you. It is also just handy for general purposes, allowing you to joint the edges of any board and any thickness straight and square, with the safety of knowing a board too short or two thin will not stop you from safely bringing that board to the dimensions needed for your project.

If you are interested in a long grain shooting board, I make them for the left or right-handed woodworker. Please have a look in the Woodworks Store, or at the Long Grain Shooter’s page. If you are interested in a fixturing caul for it, please be sure to mention one when you contact me.

I am always open to discussing shooting devices, accessories and other jig suggestions. Good things are coming, Stay Tuned!

Shooting Boards and they’re red hot, yes I’ve got em’ for sale!
I have to thank the early bluesman Robert Johnson, for the inspiration on the title here. I have been getting some email reminding me to come up for air and write a little bit here, as I have been working with my head down. With that said, I am still amongst the living!

Here’s a photo of a pair to draw to. The shooting boards, shown here in left and right-handed models. You could almost call them V-Twins, but darn it, somebody already thought of that…

Back in late March 2009 I revealed I was going to be making a shooting board with an accurately calibratable fence, which can be fixtured in six positions. Woodworkers found this very interesting! I want to take a moment to say thank you to all who have purchased one. It has been a warm and well-received response from the woodworking community. I plan to continue making them, and even have a few ideas to accessorize them as well.

If you are a left handed woodworker, No Problem! I can make a shooting board that works for you. Same price as right handed, just let me know.

The first weekend of May, woodworker and furniture maker Jeff Miller sponsored a Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event at his shop in Chicago. From what I understand, it was quite the event.

Infill Plane Maker Ron Brese, www.breseplane.com and Toolmaker Jameel Abraham, www.benchcrafted.com/ were both in attendance as exhibitors.

Jameel and Ron with Angie of Lie-Nielsen
Cian Perez Photo

Ron and Jameel have been working together on Infill Plane designs and other cool tools in collaboration with other toolmakers. Ron approached me about a shooting board for his beautiful infill miter plane, which he is soon going to be adding to his infill offerings.

The Brese Infill Miter
Cian Perez Photo

The Brese infil miter on the Evenfall Studios Shooting Board
Cian Perez Photo

Those who made it to the event were able to see Jameel’s bench, featuring the Bench Crafted “wagon style” Tail Vise and the New, soon to be released Bench Crafted Leg Vise Hardware, as well and Ron had the full offering of his Infill Line, and featured his prototype Infill Miter on one of my shooting boards.

Ron’s planes, Jameel’s bench and bench accessories
Cian Perez Photo

Cian Perez was at the event and offered me the use of his stellar photos, showing the shooting board, Ron’s Beautiful Planes and Jameel’s great bench and bench hardware. Some of you may know Cian from his wonderful and super useful How-To Guide, woodworking link sites: The Neanderthal Braintrust, and The Power Index. Thank you very much for offering me the use of your great photos Cian!

I can’t thank Ron and Jameel enough for taking my board along to the show, and if you follow the link to Benchcrafted’s website above. While you are looking at all the cool things Benchcrafted offers, Jameel has a schedule of where he and Ron are exhibiting. They are both great guys, and top craftsmen who are always willing to answer questions and offer great insights. Get out and meet them if you can! Be sure to visit Ron’s website as well!

Jameel demonstrates Ron’s Infill Miter
Cian Perez Photo

I originally released what is now known as the Deluxe Shooting Board for $89.99. That was an introductory price. it now sells for $120.00. But there are two shooting boards that are completely similar to this design, with fewer, but the most needed settings for most woodworking requirements, starting at $90.00 and both are available for under $100.00. These prices do not include shipping and handling.

If you would like to place an order, it is pretty simple to get started. Just navigate to my Contact link, either here or at the top of the page, and shoot me an email. Let me know what you would like to do and please include your Zip Code for a shipping quote. I’ll figure the shipping for you and we can talk about what you would like. Shooting Boards in either Left or Right hand models are the same price. I also sell extra fences, and a Board Lift Hook that matches the lift of the shooting board for when you shoot long boards. Just let me know what you would be interested in.

The product line continues to evolve, just peek into the Store from time to time and see what’s new.

I’m thinking I may branch out into a few other woodworking tools and jigs for sale in the future as well, so keep an eye out, and I’ll be sure to announce it here.

Also while you are here, remember it is woodworkers safety time.

So much has been said, all of it is good. For my part, I just want to remind you of this one important batch of thoughts.

Mindfulness is everything. Your brain is the most important safety device you have. Keep your mind in the work. Watch what you are doing. Think about how you do it. Know where your flesh and clothing is in relation to the cutters and tooling. Short cuts are throat cuts. A clean work area is a much safer work area, so clean up frequently and often. If it seems unsafe or risky, trust your instincts, it probably is. If you are working with a hand tool, fixture the work piece. If you are using a power tool or shop machine, jigs, guides and guards are important.

The one time you bypass a safe practice, you invite the perfect storm to find you.

ACHTUNG

Alles touristen und non-technoschen lookens peepers! Das machinen
control ist nicht fur der fingerpoken und mitten grabben. Oderwise
ist easy schnappen der springenworks, blowen den fuses, und
poppencorken mit spitzensparken. Der machine ist diggen by experten
only. Er ist nicht fur geverken by das dummkopfen. Das rubbernecken
sightseenen: keepen des cottonpicken hands in das pockets. Relaxen
und watchen des blinkenlights!

Thanks for everything, and please work safe!

One of the coolest things about hand planes is the finish they leave behind. We have all seen the finish quality they are capable of free hand, but when you put hand planes on jigs, a door is opened and passed through where clean, straight, and angular accuracy becomes something that is hard to obtain in any other simple way.

Yes, I am talking about shooting boards.

Shooting boards are one of the gateways to fine woodworking. Sure, there are many gateways, but the shooting board, in its different configurations guide the cleanest edges and end grain cuts to the finest accuracies, the most spectacular fit and finish, and it puts this capability in the hands of any woodworker.

I have always enjoyed woodworking jigs, and have made a number of shooting boards over the years. I have thought about many different designs for a long time. I’d have one that did this, but not that, and wish I had one that did that too, but then, that method can become a stack of shooting boards, and most of us don’t have the space for that. It’s true; there are some very specific types that are meant to cover specific uses. Others are great for general work, but the worry over wood movement and long-term accuracy causes some folks to question how much energy to put into the making of their own.

I decided to try designing a shooting board, using a design that encompasses the many qualities that I felt most woodworkers would most desire and need in a basic shooting board. Reinforcing as many strengths as I could, while diminishing the weaknesses where possible, and offer it for sale to woodworkers who may be interested in a shooting board that can cover a lot of fine woodworking situations, yet may not want to build one of their own. If you are interested in purchasing a shooting board, I’d be happy to build one for you. Please see the details at the end of this article.

My design is a shooting board with pivot fence. Made from Baltic Birch for durability, and stability in most any climate. It’s adjustable and calibratable for square as well as the 15, 22-1/2, 30, 45, and 60-degree radials. The base measures approximately 14-3/4 inches square. The plane chute is 14-3/4 x 2-3/4, and 1/2 inch below the base to assure a firm squaring registration with most any maker’s planes. The fence, 11-1/2 long by 1-1/4 wide, is positioned 3 inches from the back edge for planing stability in the chute, leaving a full 11-1/2 inch surface for the work piece. The base has been sanded to 150 grit overall to improve traction on the bench and work piece. The Chute has been sanded to 400 grit. The Shooting Board has been finished with Watco Teak Oil, a user repairable finish, and the Plane Chute has been waxed to aid smooth shooting operations.

Steel T-Nuts, counter bored, pressed and epoxied into the base provide 5/8 inches of steel threading to assure accuracy and lasting structural integrity through years of adjustable use. The cleat hooks the unit to the bench with four 1/4-20 flat head socket cap screws tapped directly into the base, and countersunk into the cleat for a very sturdy connection.

A dust groove runs along the left side of the chute to help assure that dust and shavings don’t foul the shooting plane’s accuracy during use. The chute is checked to assure it is coplanar with the top of the jig, and corrected before it leaves here.

Steel Button Head Cap Screws with Brass Knurled Knobs assure a long lasting, secure, comfortable way of adjusting and fixturing the fence. Under both knurled knobs, a brass washer protects the fence from wear. The fence has a small-elongated slot machined on the calibration side that matches the pivot radius, so the fence can be calibrated to the drafting squares accuracy in any climate or wood moisture condition.

Fence calibration is easy and inexpensive with $4.00 Drafting Triangles available from nearly any good office supply store in their drafting supplies section. The 8-inch 45-45-90 square and 12-inch 30-60-90 drafting triangles assure the best registration. Other angle finders such as adjustable drafting triangles and various styles of protractors and protractor squares can be employed to find the other angles as well.

Here the fence is being calibrated to shoot in the square position. Simply loosen the fence fixturing knobs. A 45-45-90 Drafting Triangle is positioned between the fence and the sole of the shooting plane. The shooting plane is positioned with the toe end at the fence, and the plane sole is pulled firmly against the left side of the plane chute. The fence is then positioned so that there is a tight fit of the triangle between the sole of the plane and the fence, and the fixturing knobs re-tightened. You can also use machinist squares, combination squares, and vernier protractors with rulers from the edge of the chute. THe accuracy of your set up tooling is transfered to the jig. It just takes a few seconds. This assures total shooting accuracy every time you use the Shooting Board, any season of the year.

Here the fence is being calibrated to shoot in the 30 degree radial position. A 30-60-90 Drafting Triangle is positioned between the fence and the sole of the shooting plane. The same procedures for squaring the fence are repeated.

Here the fence is being calibrated to shoot in the 45 degree radial position. A 45-45-90 Drafting Triangle is positioned between the fence and the sole of the shooting plane. The same procedures for squaring the fence are repeated. This is the woodworking secret to perfect mitered corners, perfectly squared ends, perfected dimensional accuracy in layout.

Here a Lie-Nielsen 62 is engaged in shooting square the end of a board, the angle cut on the fence near the knurled knob is used to shoot at any angle other than square. Simply flip the fence over so this angled portion faces the work piece and recalibrate.

Here is a look at the fence, sole, chute relationship, where the wood if engaged would be being pared square by the shooting plane. A fine adjustment and a sharp blade is desirable.

This is a look at the hand position, fixturing the board to the hook portion of the Shooting Board. A firm grip on the side of the plane body near the blade bed pushes the plane forward while holding the plane against the left edge of the chute.

The Stanley #4 is a viable shooter when sharp. Here is it shooting the end grain of Panamanian Rosewood Veneer. Veneer can be trimmed long grain and on any miter angle using this method. Starburst or mitered veneers anyone?

The Shooting Board can shoot Long Grain to 11-3/4 inches.

As shown, the Plane Chute measures 14-3/4 by 2-3/4, which will accommodate Lie-Nielsen’s #9 Iron Miter Plane and 62 Low Angle Jack, the Veritas Low Angle Jacks, as well as other Infill and wooden miter and non-miter planes. Any of the Stanley Bailey and Bedrock planes are suitable for use, and a even a block plane, particularly a low angle one can also be employed if the wood isn’t too thick.

For the best results when using a plane for shooting, the soles should be square to the sides of the plane body, the iron sharpened to the equivalent of an 8000 grit waterstone and stropped. The side and sole of the plane waxed and the iron set for a thin shaving of .001 or less.

When shooting, a firm right hand grip on the plane on the side of the sole positioned near the plane bed at mid-plane, with the shooting board firmly hooked against the bench or fixtured in the face vise. The left hand fixtures the work piece against the fence.

In order to reduce the possibility of tearout, consider making your first cuts to the work with the index finger only of your left hand between the work piece and the fence near the plane chute, so as to skew the work towards you at a slight angle. Take a few passes with the plane here, so as to relieve a slight amount of material at the back of the area being squared. Then place the work piece full against the fence and shoot the edge, stopping when you have planed to the area you relieved. With experience, you will be able to determine for yourself when this method will be most helpful.

When shooting angles other than square, it may occasionally be helpful to fold an eleven inch strip of 320 grit sandpaper cut 1-1/4 inches wide in half, lengthwise, and place it between the work piece and the fence to help resist slipping. This is particularly helpful when working steep angles.

I am offering this shooting board (the deluxe model is shown) for sale in right or left handed versions at $120.00 plus shipping and handling. There are Shooting Boards available starting at $90.00, please have a look in the Evenfall Studios Online Store. These jigs are craftsman made by me, built for accuracy and longevity. Meant to be a durable, serviceable tool that helps promote the ability for any woodworker to work at the finest levels of woodworking accuracy.

Custom offerings are possibilities! Please feel free to email me and discuss your needs. I also have some accessories available for the boards, such as taller fences, and a bench hook board lift that matches the shooting board height, as an aid for leveling long work is also optional and made only if ordered. Please feel free to inquire about these and other custom options.

To place an order, have a look in the store at the various models I have available, and simply send me an email expressing your choices. I’ll reply with a quote for the total including shipping. If the total works for you, the the order is placed when you make your purchase. For purchases, I accept PayPal and United States Postal Service (USPS) Money Orders only. PayPal is preferred.

To contact me via email, just click this “Contact Me” link, which will take you to the contact page, or use the “Contact” navigation button at the top of this page, to email me and place your order.

I hope you enjoyed a look at the shooting board, and as always, your comments are welcome as well!

I know it seems like an odd name to call the process, but it is based in science, and what happens to wood while being worked isn’t really any different when you are going slow with hand tools.

Planing woods is a process that has a number of considerations, which require their needs met all at once, in order for the process to be successful. It isn’t just one thing happening at a time. There are causes, effects and recognizing which you have. The answer isn’t simple until we understand all the usual suspects involved.

If you haven’t already, read chapter 9 of Understanding Wood By R. Bruce Hoadley. It is a real good primer about how wood reacts to planing and machining to brush up on. Overall, the book will improve your skills as a woodworker. It is available in many places, and both Taunton Press as well as Amazon.com are good sources.

Wood reacts to machining in observably repeatable ways. If we understand these ways and learn to recognize the conditions, our own success in working wood is repeatable as well.

During planing operations, it is desirable for wood to be severed right at the cutting edge of the plane blade. It would seem obvious that this is happening. It is when things go well, but this does not always occur in practice.

When you plane, you make a shaving. Technically the shaving is called a chip. Shavings curl, but there is science behind the curling. The tightness of the shaving’s curl is significant. The tightness of the curl is a derivative of how frequently the chip is broken.

What breaks the chip is the blade bevel angle, just after it severs the wood fiber. The angular change from wood being at 0 degrees on the boards face, cut, then suddenly at the angle the final bevel angle the iron presents, causes the break in the chip. The wood being planed is running into a wall. The steeper the wall, the closer the breaks are, and the tighter the curl. The further the breaks are the looser the curl.

The chip (shaving) is referred to in types. There are 3 types of chip.

Type one is loose curl, and is the result of being planed at a low angle such as 45 degrees, which is known as “Common” pitch.

(Yes there are planes meant to plane at 38 degrees but this is generally meant for planing for end grain, which is a cross grain planing operation, and as such, is not generating a chip, per se. It is severing wood fibers crosswise, and as such is not considered applicable to this discussion, despite possible exceptions to this rule.)

Type two is a medium curl, and is the result of being planed at medium angle such as 50-55 degrees, which is known as “York” or “Middle” pitch.

Type three is a tight curl, and is the result of being planed at a high angle such as 62-63 degrees, which is known as “Half” pitch.

75 degrees is the next significant pitch angle for planing operations, and is considered scraper country.

Now there are a few important considerations going forward.

The lower the angle that the bevel angle the plane severs wood fibers at, the easier it is to push, and this is desirable. Planing is work! But the lower angle that makes work easy, isn’t always capable of getting the desired results in every wood.

Something that can occur when planing, even with a sharp blade, is tearout. Tearout is defined as when the angle of the blade lifts a wood fiber that is supposed to be being cut by the cutting edge, but the chip is not breaking like it is supposed to, because perhaps the wood fiber is too strong, or the planing angle is too shallow for the strength of the fiber being planed.

When the chip does not break at the cutting edge, and instead breaks after the fiber lifts, by riding up the bevel ahead of being cut, it also causes lifting and peeling ahead of the cutting edge. The blade is no longer in control of the depth, and usually the tearing that results from the lifting fibers is deeper than the intended surface desired.

This is at the heart of why planes are developed to plane at specific angles, such as described earlier. The steeper angle is meant to be an alternative available to generate a different chip type. The higher angle, forces the chip to break at a more frequent interval. Every time the chip breaks more frequently, that is a shorter length chip and the shorter length chip does not allow the fiber to ride up the blade. When the chip does ride up without being broken, tearout is likely happening.

The essence of stopping tearout is about understanding wood grain, and the planing bevel angle that will generate the chip type most compatible for the grain type being worked.

The rest of the process of tearout reduction falls to a couple factors. Tool and Human.

Tool wise, The Plane can also help reduce tearout by adjusting for a tight mouth if the plane can be adjusted. Stanley Bailey style planes use adjustable frogs and some steel planes which bed the iron bevel up offer an adjustable sole. I am not going to offer specific clearance numbers here because I want to avoid helping to develop a belief that specific mouth clearances are perfect. If you plane has variable adjustment, then it is best to experiment. You will be working in the .003-.010 range on high-end smoothers.

Another tool factor is blade sharpness. Sharp tools sever fibers. Dull cutting edges tend to blunt them an rip them… Remember, reducing tearout is the want here.

Finally, tool factors wise, Planing depth. Smoothing is a final dimensioning process. You are creeping or sneaking up on things here, so the thinnest shaving is going to offer the least resistance to being cut, and as such, leave the smoothest glossiest surface.

The human factors are about perception and action. Reading the grain is a biggie. If the grain is straight then planing with the grain is usually doable. Just remember against the grain is usually as effective as petting a porcupine, and so it goes. However if planing with the grain is problematic, sometime changing the angle a bit can help.

When changing planing angles, sometime a shallow angle off the grain direction will help reduce tear out, and there is no rule stating that going fully across the grain is taboo, as long as it will provide the finish quality you are looking for.

On flatsawn boards there is a place where tearout can hide, some people refer to it as “cathedral grain”. What cathedral grain is, is where the board was milled and the blade passed through the growth rings and a shallow skew angle. It looks reminiscent of the gothic arches seen on cathedrals. The concern with cathedral grain is that early and the late wood of the growth ring lay right there, and they come up all the way to the surface.

Something common that happens when planing over cathedral grain, is that when planing with the grain, the plane whisks over these areas, and the thin late wood of the growth ring just separates and pops loose. Seems the same as tearout, but it isn’t. It is the late growth ring’s (dark) inability to adhere to the next year’s early growth ring (light) at such a thin and shallow angle.

The trick to approaching these areas is to do it at angles the run closer to longwise with the “cathedral”, with a sharp iron set for a thin shaving and the plane body skewed to the direction of planing. Sometimes a light wipe with mineral spirits can soften wood fibers enough temporarily to assist in this. I have even seen where rays and chattoyance have given similar planing issues, and so again, be vigilant.

In curly grain, many of the same aforementioned strategies will play. Be willing to come at the grain at any angles that will work. However, please reach for half pitch planes in this situation, and don’t hesitate to simply stop and move to scraping planes, even card scrapers if that helps. Sometimes it is simply acceptable to resort to sanding.