Smoothing Wood to Make Pine Furniture and Oak Furniture
Timber purchased from a sawmill will arrive in an non-smooth state.
This is called "rough sawn.
" The first thing that happens is that the timber is planned.
For very small pieces, and in the home workshop, this can be done with a hand plane.
For larger quantities, an electrical planer-thicknesser is used.
The lengths of timber are fed through at one side and the machine takes them up by using powered rollers.
Electric knives cut into the surface and they are ejected at the opposite side smoother and somewhat thinner.
Planer-thicknessers are serious pieces of kit and should not be used by inexperienced and untrained people.
In common with all powered machinery, all loose clothing should be secured and long hair tied back.
An extractor/dust bag will help to keep the workshop air supply clean and healthy.
A metal guide piece that keeps the timber length in a straight line is called a "fence".
It should be noted that when one buys square-section lengths of timber, the dimensions supplied are the ones prior to planing, so the timber will always be smaller than expected.
The previously rough sawn timber is now referred to as PAR or Planed All Round.
Some large stores that sell ready-to-assemble furniture may describe some of their products as "unfinished".
This usually means that they have undergone the planing process but have had no surface finish applied, not that they are rough-sawn on the surface.
After planing, timber needs to be sanded.
Mass-produced articles and timber bought from DIY shops will not have had this done.
Glasspaper is the correct term for the abrasive paper used - sandpaper is used in the bottom of budgie cages! A cheaper version of glasspaper is sometimes called garnet paper.
Sanding can be tough on the hands so it is usual to wrap a section of a sheet around a cork block.
Wet and dry paper should be reserved for use on metals and polymers.
Abrasive papers come in various grit grades.
The smaller numbers means that the glasspaper has a coarser surface.
This will remove more material but will not leave a very smooth surface.
The expression "working through the grades" means that one starts with (say) 80 grit and finishes by using 320 grit paper.
The final act is to remove all the dust ready to apply a finish.
This is called "rough sawn.
" The first thing that happens is that the timber is planned.
For very small pieces, and in the home workshop, this can be done with a hand plane.
For larger quantities, an electrical planer-thicknesser is used.
The lengths of timber are fed through at one side and the machine takes them up by using powered rollers.
Electric knives cut into the surface and they are ejected at the opposite side smoother and somewhat thinner.
Planer-thicknessers are serious pieces of kit and should not be used by inexperienced and untrained people.
In common with all powered machinery, all loose clothing should be secured and long hair tied back.
An extractor/dust bag will help to keep the workshop air supply clean and healthy.
A metal guide piece that keeps the timber length in a straight line is called a "fence".
It should be noted that when one buys square-section lengths of timber, the dimensions supplied are the ones prior to planing, so the timber will always be smaller than expected.
The previously rough sawn timber is now referred to as PAR or Planed All Round.
Some large stores that sell ready-to-assemble furniture may describe some of their products as "unfinished".
This usually means that they have undergone the planing process but have had no surface finish applied, not that they are rough-sawn on the surface.
After planing, timber needs to be sanded.
Mass-produced articles and timber bought from DIY shops will not have had this done.
Glasspaper is the correct term for the abrasive paper used - sandpaper is used in the bottom of budgie cages! A cheaper version of glasspaper is sometimes called garnet paper.
Sanding can be tough on the hands so it is usual to wrap a section of a sheet around a cork block.
Wet and dry paper should be reserved for use on metals and polymers.
Abrasive papers come in various grit grades.
The smaller numbers means that the glasspaper has a coarser surface.
This will remove more material but will not leave a very smooth surface.
The expression "working through the grades" means that one starts with (say) 80 grit and finishes by using 320 grit paper.
The final act is to remove all the dust ready to apply a finish.
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