How to secure wood for planing? A successful woodworker needs to know how to stabilize board for planing. It is preferable to make the workbench functional in all ways you can. Dealing with lightweight woods such as poplar can sometimes bring problems when performing finishing tasks. The last thing anyone wants is to keep disengaging the planer while adjusting the wood.
Find out more about stabilizing work that may be done for your hand planing, as well as how to secure wood for planing so that it can be planed.
Table of Contents
How to Secure Wood for Planing?
Fostering the structure of the wood is necessary in order to guarantee the availability of the wood for planing. The process of wood stabilization is extremely helpful in situations like these. It is essential to locate acrylic resin since this substance contributes to the process of filling the cellular gaps in the wood.
As a consequence of this, your board will wind up being heavy and, as a consequence, stable on the bench. In addition to that, the process of dehumidification needs to be carried out. The use of an oven for this particular operation is essential to the completion of the curing process.
Inspect the Wood Structure
Before anything else, take note of the type of wood you are dealing with. The guiding principle should be focusing on the structures of cellular spaces and density per unit volume. Some woods with high natural oil content may bring some problems with the absorption of resin.
Exotics such as rosewood and teaks lay in this category. The last time I worked with denser woods such as walnut and beech, the resin hardly gained any entry into the structure. However, if dealing with porous boards, then you can be sure of success.
This is the first and one of the crucial factors when it comes to the question: How to secure wood for planing?
Find the Right Stabilizing Resin
It is common to see people picking acrylic resins for the procedure. The question is, which properties do we look at when choosing these chemicals? Aim for the pre-catalyzed acrylic resins which are heat-activated. I find it efficient with all types of wood hence use it often. Another valuable option is going for the stick-fast resin. This is due to its fast ability to fill up the spaces in the structure.
It may be a great idea to not settle for the generic brands in the market as you hardly know about their performance. Some of them are dissolved in acetone which can be flammable. At times, this poses a risk to the vacuum pump.
How to Stabilize Board for Hand Planing?
The first thing I find significant is focusing on the end-size of the board I want to do planing. It is helpful as you save a lot of resources and time. I once stabilized blocks well but later had to cut them into the specific pieces I needed. This took me long before having blocks ready for the sanding.
Thus, take the measurements and make the dimensions closer to the size you want. Consider drying the board well and if possible, make it 100% moisture-free. At this stage, putting the wood pieces in the oven is necessary. Through this, you provide maximum room for the resin to occupy the grain structure of the board.
Dip the blanks in the acrylic resin in the chamber and do the sealing. This is where you power the set vacuum generator. After a short time, there will be a formation of foam which is an indicator of air displacement in the wood structure. You are almost done with stabilization after this stage since what you need is proper curing of the wood through baking.
The stabilization of a board before planing is significant as it makes it denser. This is because the cellular spaces are filled with the resin. Your boards will, therefore, be much stable on the bench when doing the finishing work.
A clear instruction of how to stabilize board for hand planing:
FAQs
Oak vs poplar: which one is the superior wood?
Oak comes at a heftier price. Oak is more substantial and solid than poplar, and it has a beautiful grain pattern. Although it is more difficult to work with than poplar, the finished products are of far higher quality and can withstand much more wear and tear. Oak is not always difficult to work with; there are other types of wood that are far denser than oak; but, oak is not even close to being as soft as poplar.
What do you call the device that retains the wood?
The use of Clamps and Vises
C-clamps and bar clamps are two types of clamps that are commonly used by woodworkers. C-clamps are used to hold pieces of wood together or to the workbench, while bar clamps are used to hold wider pieces. The same idea is behind vises, with the exception that they are permanently attached to the workbench. In contrast to clamps and vises with metal jaws, those with wooden jaws are able to securely hold wood without causing any damage to the material.
What keeps the timber in place while the cut is being made?
When working with wood, a workbench appliance known as a bench hook is utilized so that a workpiece can be held in position while a crosscut is made with a hand saw.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading this article in the series how to secure wood for planing. We hope that it was informative and helped answer any questions that you may have had about how to secure wood for planing and stabilizing boards for hand planing. As always, if you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to us at woodworkingskills.com. We would love to hear from you and thanks for stopping by!
