el capitán Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Okay this should be an easy one for all you much more accomplished woodworkers. I bought a 4/4x10"x10' piece of Flame Birch. My question is should I mill the board as one stick or should I cut it down and mill it as needed. I am assuming that the figure on this board will not be consistent along the entire length, and if I cut it down before milling I could cut into a heavily figured section accidentally "ruining" some of the figure. I will be using this for drawer front/accent pieces and/or maybe a box or two. I am probably over thinking this, but I think that is part of why I love this craft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 If it were mine,I'd be dying to see to see what it looked like under the ruff stuff. Then set it aside in one piece and cut it up as you need it or as the grain dictates. When you do run it thru the planer, post a pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post drzaius Posted May 21, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Unless the board is perfectly flat & straight (they seldom are) then milling it as 1 piece will get you a lot thinner board than if you cut it to the required length & then milled. You could us a block plane or a sander to smooth the surface just enough to see the grain. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 ==>an easy one for all you much more accomplished woodworkers Actually, it's one we all struggle with -- what to do with a pearl of great value... or stick of great potential... First of all, you’re not going to do much with a 10’ stick – the odds of keeping thickness over 10’ is rare – doable, but rare... You'll have to make some educated guesses at those first few crosscuts... But to help improve the education... I’d skip plane it enough to expose some grain at the high points, but not enough to thickness the stick... You’ll be forced to make some educated guesses at this point – it happens to all of us (except St. Bruce). Think about the project, then take a stiff wire brush and block plane to where you think the components live... Now that I think about it, Mike Pekovich did a video on getting the most from a single nice stick: http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/115620/single-board-side-table It might be behind their paywall... Crosssut for the most visible first: top, drawer fronts, side aprons and/or panels... That's about 80% of the 'wow' factor in a project... But one thing... You will screw-up a bit -- everyone does --- I've never taken a rough stick to perfect components the first go -- maybe you will, but... Just accept it and don't get frustrated... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Is the board in a rough sawn state? If so, trip covered it well. If not and you are just talking about getting it into s4s state, I would definitely cherry pick the parts I want for the project and cut that section out Oversized then mill them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 ==>an easy one for all you much more accomplished woodworkers Actually, it's one we all struggle with -- what to do with a pearl of great value... or stick of great potential... I don't struggle...those boards go up in my racks and they're labeled "too nice to use." And that's where they stay. Otherwise, yeah, do what these guys said. ^^^ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 I don't struggle...those boards go up in my racks and they're labeled "too nice to use." And that's where they stay. . ^^^ Ain't that the dang truth. I've decided to start using my rack boards. . It's a terrifying prospect but I'm out of room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 I set up infeed and outfeed rollers for my drum sander and dress one face lightly w 60 grit , leaving enough rough to joint, plane etc. That should give you a look at the grain. No drum sander ? Listen to the guys above ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Wait Steve. . Some people don't have drum sanders? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Poor or broke guys have an excuse, mascochist who want to do it by hand must suffer ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el capitán Posted May 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Thanks for all the great advice to everyone. I am going home from work today to skip plane this bad boy and see what I got. I have already hit it with a hand plane on one end and it looks like I might have gotten lucky with some nicely figured spots. I will post up some pictures (if I can figure out how), once I get some time in the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Hit it with a hand belt sander first of all to make sure you take the crap off the top layers to see what you have. I would then cut it to the approximate lengths I needed after first of all examining it for knots/flaws and cutting them out - some people like knots of course and they can be stabilized with epoxy. Leave enough on each board for snipe removal and mill away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 ==>hand belt sander first Wow, blast from the past --- I gave mine away so long ago that I forgot they even existed... Do you find much use for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stampy Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Put the board away on your rack, forget about it for 2 or 3 years. Then one day when your finnaly cleaning your shop re discover it and tear into it. Thats what usually hapens to me. Oh and in the mean time deny yourself the pleasure of working with a nice peice of wood by going to the local diy store and buy some over priced crappy wood and try to make chippendale furniture with it. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 ==>hand belt sander first Wow, blast from the past --- I gave mine away so long ago that I forgot they even existed... Do you find much use for it? I use mine all the time for that... sometimes I even (hold your nose!) use my Bosch power planer to take a first pass at rough 8/4+ material Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 I use mine all the time for that... sometimes I even (hold your nose!) use my Bosch power planer to take a first pass at rough 8/4+ material I have an old black and decker belt sander, from back when black and decker was a good brand. It's a beast, that thing will eat a board quick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 I think any belt sander is better than the crap sand paper they sell to fit them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 ==>my Bosch power planer Had one of them to... Maybe it was Makita... Forget... Same guy who got my belt sander (that was a Makita) also got the planer --- traded him for a couple of cases of B&P sporting clays shells... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 ==>hand belt sander first Wow, blast from the past --- I gave mine away so long ago that I forgot they even existed... Do you find much use for it? Mine holds things down, and takes up space. Good for those rare occasions where I actually need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPCV_Woodworker Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 ==>hand belt sander first Wow, blast from the past --- I gave mine away so long ago that I forgot they even existed... Do you find much use for it? I have one, I use it to ruin tops on coffeetables... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Remember the good old days of NYWS? Norm used one on every project, “Now we flatten the panel with a belt sander”... Usually right before, “We’ll just tack this in place with a couple of brads”... Pop... Pop... Pop... Pop... Wonder how many folks ‘followed along’ and ruined a perfectly good table top... But I agree, if you've got a belt sander, it's a good way to expose the grain on the high spots... Those hand planers would work as well... I'm not actually sure I ever used mine... Back to the @OP... How's that stick looking? Any photos? We'll be all to happy to tell you what to build from it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el capitán Posted May 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 No Pictures yet....I would have needed some shop time to get them, but I will try again tonight. *mini rant* 4 days off work and only about 2 hours in the shop and half that was to sharpen the lawn mower blade. Stupid responsibilities getting in the way of my fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 No Pictures yet....I would have needed some shop time to get them, but I will try again tonight. *mini rant* 4 days off work and only about 2 hours in the shop and half that was to sharpen the lawn mower blade. Stupid responsibilities getting in the way of my fun. responsibilities suck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el capitán Posted May 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Here's some pics of the board I am very happy with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 Very pretty! Hope you have some worthy project in mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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