I guess I had kept the panels a bit too ling on top of the warm transformer. In an attempt to rectify it, I smeared some water over the cupping side and placed all the panels under a large battery (100 Lbs) to flatten them.
So far it looks like it is a bit of a success.
I planed the six thin panels that I have glued up, and they ended up reasonably flat and consistent.
Planing is one of the most difficult things to do in this small shop. The workbench is technically too high and it is also a bit short, but as long as take a small break once in a while I get by. It is hard to get my body weight over the plane, so it is not a textbook example on how to plane.
The good thing about it is that spruce smells nice when planed, and I learn to accept a surface that isn't 100 % perfect. And I also appreciate the fact that I have a joiner/planer at home that makes jobs like this easy and fast.
Even when all the boards aren't exactly the same, it is possible to accommodate it in a build. And especially if you use hand tools. E.g. if you need to make a bunch of dadoes for the dividers.
If you use a router with a bit, all your dividers need to be the exact same thickness or there will be problems with the dividers not fitting in, or fitting sloppy.
If on the other hand you are using hand tools, each dado can be custom made to the exact thickness of the divider, Even if the divider is thick in the front and thin in the back, you can just make a tapering dado. You just need to remember to mark out which piece will go where.
Today I planed the thicker panels that are going to be the top, bottom and sides for the carcase itself.
When I glued those up I wanted to make each side a bookmatched pair. So I just flipped them over and forgot that by doing so I would alternate the growth rings.
So where the thin dividers planed effortlessly, the thick panels didn't..
I had to go as close to the middle ofthe panel as I could - and then turn it around and plane from the other side to avoid tear out. The surfaces are less than perfect, but they are reasonably flat. I guess I'll have to try to sand my way out of this once I am done.
New low-point in picture uploading, 35 minutes for one lousy picture.
Planing set up, notice the limited space to start the plane.
Hi Jonas. For the workbench being too high for surface planing, maybe you could wear high-heel sneakers. I'm kidding, of course, but there is the possibility of standing on something raised off the floor to give you a better leverage. I've done that in cases where I'm trying to plane something that sits high on my bench.
ReplyDeleteAlso, have you thought about planing diagonally on the bench, into the back left corner? Maybe that would make it easier to start the plane.
Matt
You also could always move to the floor.
DeleteHi Matt.
DeleteHigh heel sneakers sound like a good idea, I just need to convince the company that they will be a benefit for the safety on board, and then I can order some :-)
I could bring a pallet down to stand on, but that all makes it harder to clean the floor plus the shop is tiny, so I try to bring as few items as possible so there wont be any trip hazards (which by the way is one of the most frequent forms of accidents on board ships).
I could plane diagonally, but then I would have very little pressure to ad to the plane at the end of the stroke.
I could also use some slightly shorter plane stops, but then there is the problem of my hand smashing into the bulkhead at the end of each stroke.
I guess I just need to limit myself to stuff that is around 16" long.
But thanks for the suggestions :-)
Brgds
Jonas
@ Brian
DeleteWWTOD?
For the uninitiated, we made a lot of fun at the DCBE concerning WWTOD? (What Would Toshio Odate Do?)
It might come as a surprise to a lot of people, but the floor in our shop is not very flat.
There is a lot of stress when welding a boat together, and welding seams are around 1/4" high plus if there is something welded to the underside of the floor, like e.g. a stanchion, it will show on the top as well.
So I could move to the floor, but I think I'd better bring a Japanese type plane if it should be a success.
Cheers
Jonas
Expanding on Matt's suggestion - how about using a planing board? It's just a shooting board with a small stop.
ReplyDeleteHi Ralph.
DeleteThat is actually a good suggestion.
But I would have to find a reasonably flat board and I would still need somewhere to put it.
I guess I am technically using the bench top as a planing board. But my stop is a thinner piece of wood or for the dividers it was a piece of 1/8" teflon plate.
I guess I should stop whining about all my difficulties in planing everytime I build a project out here. But it really is the hardest part for me to do decently.
Brgds
Jonas
What's at the other end of your bench? Any possibility of pulling the plane? I've seen people, including Paul Sellers, pull a bailey style successfully.
ReplyDeleteHi Jefski
DeleteWhat you can just see at the vice end of the bench is a lathe.
I guess I could pull the plane, but I don't think that will help me a lot. I think that I would have to learn it first to get an acceptable finish.
What causes the most problems this time is my stupid idea of bookmatching the panels.
Having little space for starting the plane is preffered to having short space to stop the plane. I have smashed my hands into the steel bulkhead way too often, and that is not fun. Nor is it very easy to try to plane and at the same time stopping the motion before reaching the end of the board.
It is just my usual whining for public support whenever I face difficulties :-)
Brgds
Jonas
If worse comes to worst, you could always saw your panels apart and glue them up again with grain better suited to hand planing.
ReplyDeleteI have started dovetailing, and if all fails, I will use the belt sander when I come home. That should take care of the surface albeit in a not 100% hand tool way.
DeleteThe sad part is that usually I do my best to make sure the grain direction will enable me to plane the panel after gluing it up. But I am fairly sure that I won't make the same mistake again :-)
Cheers
Jonas