Comments on: Episode 11. Flattening the workbench http://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/ Woodworking with passion - The woodworking blog and podcast of Al Navas Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:29:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Al (Sandal Woods)http://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/comment-page-1/#comment-673 Al (Sandal Woods) Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:17:35 +0000 http://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/#comment-673 Thanks John! I now make it a practice to check for flatness every month, to determine if / when to do it again. I look forward to reading about the results you get when you flatten your workbench top! Thanks John!

I now make it a practice to check for flatness every month, to determine if / when to do it again. I look forward to reading about the results you get when you flatten your workbench top!

]]> By: Johnhttp://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/comment-page-1/#comment-672 John Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:48:17 +0000 http://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/#comment-672 Thanks for the demonstration Al. I'll be flattening my top soon and seeing you do it first is reassuring. I hope it stays flat for you. Thanks, Thanks for the demonstration Al.

I’ll be flattening my top soon and seeing you do it first is reassuring. I hope it stays flat for you.

Thanks,

]]> By: Al (Sandal Woods)http://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/comment-page-1/#comment-586 Al (Sandal Woods) Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:19:18 +0000 http://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/#comment-586 Graham, Thanks for your comments and suggestions. The suggestion to use a #5 is great. THAT will be so much easier than doing the whole thing with the BIG iron! On the return stroke: I was terribly worried that dragging the blade would cause me to have to sharpen it more often. It did not! So, I learned from this workout - and what a workout it was! Graham,

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

The suggestion to use a #5 is great. THAT will be so much easier than doing the whole thing with the BIG iron!

On the return stroke: I was terribly worried that dragging the blade would cause me to have to sharpen it more often. It did not! So, I learned from this workout – and what a workout it was!

]]> By: Graham Hugheshttp://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/comment-page-1/#comment-585 Graham Hughes Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:07:18 +0000 http://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/#comment-585 Hand plane work can be a real workout; I would probably use my #5 with an aggressive camber for most of it and follow up with the #7 later, but there's nothing terribly wrong with what you're doing. Sometimes people advocate lifting the sole of the plane on the return stroke to avoid dragging the blade across the wood, but this is still a subject of some debate. Nice job. Hand plane work can be a real workout; I would probably use my #5 with an aggressive camber for most of it and follow up with the #7 later, but there’s nothing terribly wrong with what you’re doing. Sometimes people advocate lifting the sole of the plane on the return stroke to avoid dragging the blade across the wood, but this is still a subject of some debate. Nice job.

]]> By: Al (Sandal Woods)http://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/comment-page-1/#comment-502 Al (Sandal Woods) Wed, 21 May 2008 02:33:55 +0000 http://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/#comment-502 Mike, I am glad you pointed out that I should go *with* the crown - THANKS! I will take some boards and practice on them, until I have a better feel for this. And THEN try on the hollows of some of the boards - I have plenty of those too! Mike,

I am glad you pointed out that I should go *with* the crown – THANKS! I will take some boards and practice on them, until I have a better feel for this. And THEN try on the hollows of some of the boards – I have plenty of those too!

]]> By: Mike Lingenfelterhttp://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/comment-page-1/#comment-499 Mike Lingenfelter Tue, 20 May 2008 14:31:39 +0000 http://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/05/20/episode-11-flattening-the-workbench/#comment-499 Al, Looks like you gave yourself quite the workout. I'm building a bench and just went through the flattening process. So, I know what you went through. I'm more of a hand tool guy and there are some strategies that might help you next time. When you have a crown you should try to remove the crown by going in the same direction as the crown. In your case lengthwise. Even with a a "big" #7, when you go across the crown the plane can "follow" the crown and rise and fall. You showed it can be done, but I think it took you a lot more work to get it done. To go across the grain with your #7 you really should have a slight hollow. Crowns can be a real pain to deal with. Mike Al,

Looks like you gave yourself quite the workout. I’m building a bench and just went through the flattening process. So, I know what you went through. I’m more of a hand tool guy and there are some strategies that might help you next time. When you have a crown you should try to remove the crown by going in the same direction as the crown. In your case lengthwise. Even with a a “big” #7, when you go across the crown the plane can “follow” the crown and rise and fall. You showed it can be done, but I think it took you a lot more work to get it done. To go across the grain with your #7 you really should have a slight hollow. Crowns can be a real pain to deal with.

Mike

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