Thread: Thinning wood?

I went down to home depot and talked with one of the lumber/cabinet guys. He pulled up a name and number of a steady custom cabinet guy that gets supply's there.

Called the guy up and a few bucks later for his time, he took four 1"x1"x12" pieces of exotic stock and gave me back 12 or so 1/8"x1"x12" pieces. Planned and all .

If I was making a ton of scales I'd look into equipment, this way just seemed easier for me.

Will the block plane work well on hardwood such as lignum vitae? Also, how do you hold a thin piece of wood while using the plane?

Originally Posted by joebehar

A well sharpened and tuned block plane is your friend.

I've planed wood to 1/16 inch consistently and well.

The best part is, after planing you go directly to 400 grit sandpaper if its a rough wood or even 600 if its tight grained.

Double stick tape,Lignum being 40% oil by wgt machines like butter.
Is hard but not that hard,is very dense tho,so dense and so heavy that it is one of very few woods that will not float in water,a joy to work with.

I use the sanding drum/drill press method. It is fast, and I seem to manage to get the job done, but it is not ideal. I figure a proper beltsander would be my goal, if I had the space to expand.

Originally Posted by joebehar

A well sharpened and tuned block plane is your friend.

I've planed wood to 1/16 inch consistently and well.

The best part is, after planing you go directly to 400 grit sandpaper if its a rough wood or even 600 if its tight grained.

What size and kind of a block plane do you use (standard, skew, low-angle)?

I use a 16/32 inch jet surfacing drum sander. I have gotten strips as thin as a 32nd of an inch with a backer to keep the wood higher. Otherwise your drum will scuff the feed belt and mess up your sand paper.