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273596 John M. Johnston <jmjhnstn@m...> 2021‑05‑05 Re: flattening a large slab
Andrew,

For $129 you can get a Lee Valley a scrub plane; a much better tool than the
Stanley.
Cheers,
John Johnston



John M. Johnston

“P.S. If you do not receive this, of course it must have been miscarried;
therefore I beg you to write and let me know.” - Sir Boyle Roche, M.P.


________________________________
From: oldtools@g...  on behalf of Adam R. Maxwell via groups.io <
amaxwell=mac.com@g...>
Sent: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 1:32:32 AM
To: Andrew Heybey 
Cc: OldTools Group 
Subject: Re: [oldtools] flattening a large slab

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> On May 4, 2021, at 20:27 , Andrew Heybey  wrote:
>
> Agreed, I have *used* a #40, but don’t own one.  I could try grinding the iron
to a smaller radius…

As I learned from this list, a German jack is worth acquiring as a scrub, and
last I looked, could be found for a small fraction of the cost of Satanley's
#40. They have a front horn, are lightweight, very nimble, and can hog off big
ol' frito-like chips of wood without a galoot's arms falling off. Mine have a
heavy single iron with a very pronounced radius, and wide open mouths. It's
shocking how fast you can remove wood.

For flattening a slab, I like to wedge it on my bench so it's stable, then use a
surface gage (or hold a pencil on a piece of wood, etc) to draw a line around
the perimeter and define the top. Plane a bevel down to that line, then work to
it without constantly stopping to fart around with winding sticks. Shown here
with a wide, twisted board, rather than a slab, but it's the same idea.

https://maxwells.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Kitchen-Lights/i-4cS7VJp/A

Probably too late for all this, but I never pass up a chance to promote the
German jack.

Adam
doing more shoveling than woodworking lately, in Benton City, WA

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