Planing and sanding are two methods of removing material and smoothing surfaces. Each technique is completely valid and has its advantages and disadvantages.  When deciding which to use, consider the following.

Plane when:

1. you want to achieve a flat surface and crisp edges;
2. you are using a wood with varying densities and you want it to feel flat and even;
3. the material tends to clog or quickly dull sandpaper, making sanding impractical; or
4. the most perfect surface is desired.

Sand when:

1. the flatness of the surface isn’t critical or you need to blend curves or surfaces;
2. you are using softwood and want the surface to simulate wear or create undulations;
3. the material is too soft or difficult to work with a plane; or
4. it is undesirable to have cleanly cut fibres and a highly polished, bare wood surface (e.g. to reduce the sheen).

Some pieces which you may not have seen previously appear in the video and can be found in my  Gallery.  The video also shows different angles of the pieces with which you are already familiar.

I would suggest watching the video in high-definition.  The video is 8:36 long and free of dialogue.

Although some woodworkers don’t like to use knots in their work, I really like the focal point which a knot can provide.  The grain around the knot is also very interesting and pretty.

In the past, when using wood with two live edges, I have employed a few different techniques for addressing the cut ends.  In this case, I sculpted the ends so that the profile at each edge matched the angle of the live edge.  Since the angles of the live edge were not equal, this of course resulted in a twisted end-grain surface.

You can find the product page for this table with the critical details HERE.

Also, please have a look at my newly formatted Gallery.

Have a look at the new format HERE.

There, you will also find three items I just added.

The video duration is 13:16.

Title:  Forms in Nature
Artist Name:  Hilden & Diaz
Material:  Polymer
Dimensions:  60cm x 60cm x 60cm
Year:  2012

Why It’s Notable:

Light can be functional, decorative, or both.  The light from Forms in Nature is both.

As furniture designers, we usually think about the form of our furniture and how light will fall upon it.  Because light is usually not integral to woodwork, we have little control over how the two will interact.

Hilden & Diaz have taken light and made it an integral part of the design.  The light is manipulated to cast shadows created by the frame of the chandelier.

As I continue to design, I am realizing that I want to incorporate materials other than wood (including light) in my work.  In Deconstructed, I used a urethane resin for the casting and I incorporated metal into the base of Maple Slab Table.  I want to incorporate light into a future piece, probably in a decorative manner.

The design was simple – too simple.  It needed something else to elevate the project to the next level.

After some deliberation, I decided to carve some paw prints into the stool’s treads.  From the Animal Tracks guide I selected a paw print and asked another Lee Valley staff member (hi, June!) to sketch the shape proportionate to the width of the treads.  I positioned photocopies of her sketch on the treads, then taped them in place with packing tape.

To carve the design, I installed a 1/2″ core box bit in Festool’s mid-sized plunge router, the OF1400.  A smaller router would have been more agile, but I liked the idea of the additional mass which I thought would give me more control.  I set the plunge depth to about 3/16″ and routed a test piece (which you can see under the bottom step in the picture below with the photocopy still attached).

I found that I had good control plunging the bit to the full depth and moving the router around with two hands on its base.   I focused on the perimeter first, then removed the waste from the centre area.

Happy with the setup, I routed the three treads, working up to the lines of the sketch.  Then, I removed the photocopies.

I wasn’t concerned with following the lines exactly, but wanted each paw print to look similar.  The shape of the core box bit didn’t leave a flat surface which I preferred.

I found it amusing that during the course of three days demonstrating Festool products, the largest crowd I attracted was while carving these paw prints with the router, which is, perhaps, the loudest of all the tools.

In other news, I wrote two sidebars which appeared in the latest issue of Canadian Woodworking (issue #84 – June/July).  Find them on pages 12 and 30.

I got this e-mail earlier today:

Hello,

Am Mr, Mark.I want to order some wood glue from you and i want to  know whether you have it in stock.I want you to email me back with the total price as well as the type of credit card you accept for payment. Thank you

Best regards.

Mark

Here is my response:

Mark,

I have wood glue in stock.  The total price will be $547 and the only credit cards I accept are Club Flair Visas.  If you do not have such a card, you may mail your cash to the address found on my website.

Chris

Note:  I have a $5 fee for writing an e-mail reply and a $10 fee for preparing a quote, conditions to which you agreed by sending your e-mail.  This sum of $15 is not included in the total quoted above and is not disputable.  Thank you for your cooperation.

*To be perfectly clear, Club Flair Visas do not exist, I do not charge for replying to e-mails or for preparing quotes.  I will, however, sell you wood glue for $547 if you are willing to pay it (of course, you’ll get a boat-load of glue for the money).

Click here to read Darrell Peart’s response to this type of e-mails.

Intrigued by the form, I built a version using square cherry stock.  Although I liked the appearance, I was surprised at how expansive it was – at only 14.5″ tall, it approached a diameter of 40″.

I mitred the corners and reinforced them with floating tenons.  Rather than leave the supporting corners sharp and vulnerable, I flattened them slightly.  I was relieved that this did not diminish the effect of the form.

Originally, I built Broken Square to help visualize the form and saw it as a sculpture of sorts.  When I stood back and looked at it, I realized that the design would work well as a table, particularly if scaled to be taller.

You can find Broken Square in my Store as well as my Gallery.

Let me know what you think of the form and possible variations in the comments section.

This is the Veritas Scraping Plane Insert, installed in my favourite bench plane.  I bought it years ago to use in my #4 bench plane and used it a few times, but over time I found it simpler and easier to use a cabinet scraper or card scraper.  I haven’t used the insert in years.

The assembly installs without tools in a bench (bevel-down) plane with a blade at least 2″ wide.  I think that a #4 is the perfect size for it.

I am including a 0.016″-thick, 2″-wide blade (shown installed) as well as two 2-3/8″-wide blades with thicknesses of 0.016″ and 0.024″.  The blades can be used on their own as card scrapers, as well as in the insert.  I still have the instruction sheet but the 3/32″ hex key to adjust the set screws in the sides of the insert (seen in the top photo) has gone missing.

Okay, here’s the deal.

If you would like this Veritas Scraping Plane Insert (just the insert – not the plane, too!) please leave a comment below indicating your interest by 6pm Sunday May 5.

I will then draw a winner at random.  Even if you don’t get this item, remember that there is still much more I want to give away.

Review the details of the Overflow program.