Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 19

Thread: planing tips for lacewood?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Spokane, Washington
    Posts
    4,021

    planing tips for lacewood?

    Has anyone out there had success using handplanes with lacewood?

    I picked up some nice lacewood a while ago, got around to playing with it this evening and found it to be quite difficult to plane. I tried my LV BUS with low, med, and high angle blades, all of them left tearout, as did a 60 degree woodie (Mujinfang) and a standard Bailey 4. The blades were all freshly sharpened to 8000 grit waterstone. It seemed like the higher angles actually did a bit worse than the low. The grain is running pretty flat, so there was no "with" or "against" the grain, but I tried going in both directions anyway, with no difference noted. I finally had to resort to sanding, but would much rather use a plane.

    Dan
    Eternity is an awfully long time, especially toward the end.

    -Woody Allen-

    Critiques on works posted are always welcome

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Philadelphia, Pa
    Posts
    2,266
    The only plane that I have successfully used on Lacewood is an HNT Gordon smoother. This is bedded at 60 degrees, and has a very tight mouth. It is still a hard and nervous making push, however.

    For lacewood, abrasives are not a bad choice. It is a very difficult wood to plane without tear out.
    Alan Turner
    Philadelphia Furniture Workshop

  3. #3
    What Alan said. Steep pitch, sharp cambered iron, and very shallow cuts. Don't go for a full width shaving on this one. Nasty stuff to plane, but scrapes fairly well. I've used it a bit, and don't fret over sanding this one. Good luck.
    "When we build, let us think that we build forever." - Ruskin

  4. #4
    I use lacewood for a lot of the drawer fronts in my shop. I find that my Clark & Williams 55 degree smoother set for a very fine shaving does the job nicely without any tearout whatsover. Having said that however, it is slow work when you are only taking off about .001" at a time. If I'm in a hurry, I'll often sand it down with the random orbit sander and do the final few passes with the C & W. It saves a lot of time.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Plano, TX
    Posts
    2,036
    I have used lacewood on a couple of projects so far. I don't have a high angle smoother so I tried the usual culprits, even a low angle block plane. My final decision was to use sandpaper. But I went up to a 600 grit as the final finish and hand rubbed it for several days using mineral spirits and a dash of BLO as lube. The end result was quite satisfactory for my standards. The good thing about Lacewood is that the contrast between the two tones inherent in the wood is quite strong, so there is no chance of the figure disappearing. Since there is no 3D effect, as in curly woods, a neatly shaved surface doesn't enhance the visual appeal. Essentially the only thing to make sure is that the final surface is smooth to the touch, with hand rubbing at 600 grit the final finish was glassy smooth.
    Last edited by Zahid Naqvi; 02-14-2006 at 10:17 AM.
    The means by which an end is reached must exemplify the value of the end itself.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Laguna Beach , Ca.
    Posts
    7,201
    I have used lacewood...I can't remember planing it...some woods, zebra included must be sanded and that is ok....its the best end result we are after and not driving ourselves crazy...a high angled wood body like a Knight wood be my first try...and cross your fingers helps too
    "All great work starts with love .... then it is no longer work"

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Just outside of Spring Green, Wisconsin
    Posts
    9,442
    While I'm no expert, I'll have to echo what the rest of the guys said. I've done several smaller pieces w/Lacewood and only after a couple swipes with my 4-1/2 w/York pitch, I quickly resolved myself to going the sandpaper route!
    Cheers,
    John K. Miliunas

    Cannot find REALITY.SYS. Universe halted.
    60 grit is a turning tool, ain't it?
    SMC is totally supported by volunteers and your generosity! Please help if you can!
    Looking for something for nothing? Check here!

  8. #8
    figure=scraper....02 tod
    TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN; I ACCEPT FULL LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY POSTS ON THIS FORUM, ALL POSTS ARE MADE IN GOOD FAITH CONTAINING FACTUAL INFORMATION AS I KNOW IT.

  9. #9

    Lacewood

    Dan: Lacewood is easily planed with a sharp plane iron and a tight throat. There is no tearout when fine shavings are taken.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Spokane, Washington
    Posts
    4,021
    Thanks guys. Guess I'll see if I can tighten the mouth and take a finer shaving, and see if I can get the old #80 cab scraper working.

    Dan
    Eternity is an awfully long time, especially toward the end.

    -Woody Allen-

    Critiques on works posted are always welcome

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    South Carolina
    Posts
    1,429
    Dan,
    From the looks of Don's post, you NEED a nice infill smoother!

  12. #12

    Lacewood

    Mark: yes, an infill smoother will also work, but so will a 604 with a Stanley plane iron if it is sharp.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    South Carolina
    Posts
    1,429
    Quote Originally Posted by Don Naples
    ... but so will a 604 with a Stanley plane iron if it is sharp.
    Don,
    That's too bad

    Dan,
    I still think you NEED an infill!

    Mark ( who is trying hard not to pull the trigger! Maybe I should make something out of lacewood! )

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Don Naples
    yes, an infill smoother will also work, but so will a 604 with a Stanley plane iron if it is sharp.
    Don, what about the chisel/scraper, would that work or is the lacewood too soft?
    --
    Life is about what your doing today, not what you did yesterday! Seize the day before it sneaks up and seizes you!

    Alan - http://www.traditionaltoolworks.com:8080/roller/aland/

  15. #15

    Lacewood

    Quote Originally Posted by Alan DuBoff
    Don, what about the chisel/scraper, would that work or is the lacewood too soft?
    Alan: The lacewood is too soft and the chisel scraper too difficult to control on such a soft wood. I use it daily on Bubinga and Jatoba to clean glue lines that have dried. Lacewood has beautiful chatoyancy when planed. One just needs a sharp plane iron to get smooth results without tearout.
    Don

Similar Threads

  1. Planing Board/Box
    By Kieran Kammerer in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 02-22-2007, 4:52 PM
  2. Question on hand planing without a bench
    By Dennis Petrillo in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 12-03-2005, 11:12 PM
  3. Hand Cut Dovetails, tips?
    By Chris Thompson in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 29
    Last Post: 08-10-2004, 8:34 PM
  4. Hand Planing Maple
    By Richard Gillespie in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 03-19-2004, 8:47 PM
  5. Planing Long Boards
    By Kieran Kammerer in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 02-27-2004, 4:22 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •