Planing without winding sticks

[Andy Kev.]

I've recently got a few boards of knot-free, relatively even-grained pine and I've been preparing a few 2' lengths from them before going on to the 6' for my soon(-ish) to be made bookcase. Normally I start in the conventional way by seeing what the winding sticks say.

However, I forgot that with the first board, rocked it on the bench to find the high spots, knocked them down with the No. 5 1/2, then used the scrub to deal with the minor degree of cupping and bowing and finished the board off with the No 7. Only then did I remember the winding sticks and they showed that the board was flat and square.

The process took no longer than when starting with the sticks. I concluded that the planes had told me all I needed to know about the condition of the board during the planing. I certainly won't stop using winding sticks but this seemed to show that they are not always essential. Maybe I got away with it because it was only a short board. That said, I'm now tempted to try this approach on one of the six footers.

Any thoughts?

 

[Dr.Al]

I'm far from an expert, so take this with a pinch of salt...

I've generally thought that a flat bench is a perfectly reasonable way of testing whether a board is flat and twist-free (although it might need to be combined with a straight edge to check it isn't bowed upwards in the middle and just resting on the outer edges).

Winding sticks come into their own when the board is too big for your biggest flat surface or you want to save the time involved in flipping the board over and then also flipping over (in your head) the detected high spots. The winding sticks show you the high spots and you can plane them away, rather than the bench showing you where it's rocking and you keeping track of that as you flip it over.

I usually start by lying a board on the bench and seeing how flat it is, then use the winding sticks (in my case, just lengths of aluminium extrusion) as I find them quicker.

If I'm understanding your method right, you checked for flat on the bench, then removed the high spots (which will have dealt with the twist), then got it flat. The winding sticks help primarily with getting rid of the twist and you did that with the bench as a reference. Seems reasonable to me.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I don't possess winding sticks, I generally just squint down the board. But I don't make very big things.

 

[Andy Kev.]

I'm far from an expert, so take this with a pinch of salt...

I've generally thought that a flat bench is a perfectly reasonable way of testing whether a board is flat and twist-free (although it might need to be combined with a straight edge to check it isn't bowed upwards in the middle and just resting on the outer edges).

Winding sticks come into their own when the board is too big for your biggest flat surface or you want to save the time involved in flipping the board over and then also flipping over (in your head) the detected high spots. The winding sticks show you the high spots and you can plane them away, rather than the bench showing you where it's rocking and you keeping track of that as you flip it over.

I usually start by lying a board on the bench and seeing how flat it is, then use the winding sticks (in my case, just lengths of aluminium extrusion) as I find them quicker.

If I'm understanding your method right, you checked for flat on the bench, then removed the high spots (which will have dealt with the twist), then got it flat. The winding sticks help primarily with getting rid of the twist and you did that with the bench as a reference. Seems reasonable to me.

Yes, we're pretty much of the same view. While I would certainly not do away with winding sticks as part of my armoury, I certainly think that the bench surface is a quick and reliable measure for most normally sized boards.

When I get round to trying a 6 footer, I think I'll start with the bench but use the sticks to monitor or double check what the bench is telling me.

 

[AndyP]

My two pennies worth is the larger (longer) the plane the easier it is to flatten without winding sticks.

 

[Andy Kev.]

My two pennies worth is the larger (longer) the plane the easier it is to flatten without winding sticks.

I have not used the No 7 too much in the past except for jointing. However, it's proved terrific at detecting and dealing with unevenness on 2' boards. I think I'll be using it more often in the future.

 

[spb]

Another method that works if your board is wide enough is just to test the diagonals with a straightedge. If the board is twisted then at least one diagonal across the face will have either a hump or a hollow, but for long narrow pieces that can be difficult to detect by eye and that's where I'll go back to winding sticks.

 

[AndyT]

In my avatar picture, I'm demonstrating how to squint across a smaller board to check for straightness.
I hope it helps.

 

[Mike G]

The issue with having a flat bench as a reference surface is that you have to be certain your bench is flat.....and the best way to do this is with winding sticks! But certainly, smaller boards are easily flattened by reference to a flat surface, and by squinting......and by good planing technique with a long plane. Remember the adage "planes don't lie", and observe where your finely tuned number 7 knocks off high spots and so on.

This technique breaks down with longer boards. Once you get past 5 or 6 feet long, the only practical way (as far as I have seen), is with the use of winding stick. I like to practice, so I use winding sticks on everything over 18" or 2 feet long, but you really don't have to if you have a true suface to work on (which I haven't had for most of my woodworking career).

 

[Mike G]

My two pennies worth is the larger (longer) the plane the easier it is to flatten without winding sticks.

We don't have a "like" button (yet?), but if we did, this would have earned one from me.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

A long plane used poorly can still create a convex surface, though it does limit how concave you can make it. And without a flat surface, for thin material (like, under an inch) you will have difficulty as it will flex to follow the supporting surface.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

In my avatar picture, I'm demonstrating how to squint across a smaller board to check for straightness.
I hope it helps.

Very good :lol:

 

[Woodbloke]

In my avatar picture, I'm demonstrating how to squint across a smaller board to check for straightness.
I hope it helps.

Nah, I don't bother with any of that; I just drop the board or whatever on top of the cast iron router table (which is as flat as a flat thing) If the corners wobble, it ain't flat Also very handy to check drawer bottoms etc are dead flat before final fitting - Rob

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Wood bloke said:

,

I don't bother with any of that; I just drop the board or whatever on top of the cast iron router table

Agreed. Wadkin AGS side wing for me. Any of the older generation cast gear really. A blob of hot-melt glue helps and is easy to pop off afterwards.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Agreed. Wadkin AGS side wing for me. Any of the older generation cast gear really. A blob of hot-melt glue helps and is easy to pop off afterwards.

You’ve lost me with the blob of hot melt glue Sam - what does it do?

Cheers

Robert

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Sorry, Robert. If you suss out the corner of the plank that has the most 'lift' off the cast surface, a quick blob of glue at that corner will stabilise and hold the wood 'level' or 'stable' while you work on it. I find it usually takes three additional blobs to hold the wood from skating off the surface. Experience and experimentation will give you what works for your setup.