Will Wenge last as a plane wood?

[Paul Hinds]

I agree w/ those who've said:
1) splinters are a REAL problem (boy are they nasty)
2) it can be very tough to work with because of the stringiness.

As Mark's planes show, though, it can produce beautiful results if you DO get something made with it (and don't have blood all over it from the splinters cutting up your hands )

[Matthew N. Masail]

I really appreciate the input. will give it a shot, not much to loose. as long as I manage to plane it..... Rick, what plane configuration did you use to plane it?

[Mark Kornell]

Matthew,

Both planes work quite well and have proven to be very stable - soles have not needed flattening since they were built. That may be partially due to the laminated construction.

The reason I don't use the block plane much because it is too wide for my hand. Rookie mistake on my part.

I use the smoother more, but I usually choose my 45° smoother over this 50° plane. Just depends on the wood I'm working. Often, though, I'll use both to stretch out the time between sessions at the sharpening bench.

I have to disagree with Rick on the sanding results - I have no issues getting it to sand up nicely. It is a very porous wood, more so than oak, so you never get a truly smooth surface overall. But the areas between the pores sand well.

Splinters are problematic. Anything resembling a splinter will tear through sandpaper. And your finger, if that is what is behind the sandpaper. If those planes ever get stolen, the maker could be readily identified through analysis of the copious amounts of DNA left as trace.

I've even turned some and that turned out nicely. Using a skew. I suspect a gouge or scraper would tear out big chunks.

[Rick Fisher]

I really appreciate the input. will give it a shot, not much to loose. as long as I manage to plane it..... Rick, what plane configuration did you use to plane it?

Me ! .. For Wenge, A 12" Jointer with a Tersa head, and a Helical Head planer .. I would loathe using hand tools on Wenge ..

When I said it doesn't sand well.. Afterwards I read "Stringy" . that is it . its stringy ..