I was in the same place about ten years ago Christopher is now. I
wanted beech for planemaking and couldn't find any. I finally decided
to buy some logs and have them sawn. Not having learned my lesson, a
few years later I also cut some beech on my own property and cut it
into plane billets.

Lumber yards don't stock beech because it's a pain in the ass and
almost nobody wants it. While drying, beech would rather turn into a
hand grenade than make nice flat boards. Try kiln-drying beech
sometime. I did that once. It also doesn't rive well, if at all, so
sawing it's the only way to go. I tried riving it once too, I got
stories about that. Oh, it also attracts worms like crazy, so keep it
covered and completely dry at all times.. I lost a whole log's worth
of boards when the cover blew off in a storm and I didn't realize it
for a couple of days.

The only method that worked for me was to cut it as close to quartered
as possible on the band mill, then cut the boards into the size/length
plane billets I needed. I sealed the ends of each billet with wax and
let them sit in my garage for a while. I think it's been eight years
now. I may try to joint and plane some of them soon.

Want my advice? Screw beech, go for yellow birch. That's a proper,
well-behaved wood. I've got a bunch of that drying as well and it's
been a dream to work with. It works just as well as beech and has
similar mechanical properties which makes it a good choice for planes.
It was America's planemakers' first choice for plane wood until they
switched to beech in the early 19th century for whatever reason. Why'd
that happen again? I wish I could have the time back I spent messing
around with beech.

Back to my hole underneath the porch.

Josh in CT



On Mon, Jul 27, 2015 at 10:37 PM, Christopher Dunn
 wrote:
> Galoots
>
> My dad lives in Maine and said the state is full of beech trees. He talked
> to a boat builder friend of his who said nobody cuts beech because nobody
> wants it. I struck out in my usual lumber yards, all in New England where I
> live. I've got a lead from a sawmill in New Hampshire who said they
> sometimes get 8/4 beech, but it's yet to pan out. I'll widen the search
> area and start with the three suggestions you found Kirk.
>
> The suggestion of using a beat up wooden plane as a donor is also a good
> one. If there is one thing the antique shops have around here in abundance
> is beat up wooden planes. They'll probably pay me to take them off their
> hands.
>
> Thank you for your help and suggestions,
> Chris
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