Flattening Drawer Fronts (How Flat???)

[Travis]

Still bumping along on the closet project for the wife. I have all of the chest of drawers construction complete except for the drawer fronts. There are 16 of these puppies and they range in size from 10"x27" to 8"x18". (See Pic below for scale.) So after gluing up the soft maple fronts I figured out I am not going to flatten on my 8" jointer. Time to get out the brand spanking new stanley jack plane and flatten my first board.

1. I felt like I did a decent job on my first board. It was flat except over the 27" span it had about a 1/16" crown. Went back over it and still had the same crown. With just a little pressure it would lay down flat. I am attaching it to the front of a four sided drawer carcass, so I am guessing it will pull down flat when it is attached. Ideally I would flatten every board to perfection but the LOML has me under the gun to finish and I am already months behind my stated completion date. (why does this keep happening?)

2. Tear out can really be bad on maple. Is it best to flatten the back of the board and then use the 15" planer to smooth the front side of the board.

3. I am just starting this this hobby and I do not have a "real workbench", any sugestions on how to hold down a board short of bolting it to a concrete floor. I tried double back tape and secured it to the table saw but found the table saw was moving around.

 

[Nativespec]

I just finished a 7 drawer chest w/flush fitting drawers. The drawer fronts were flattened in my drum sander. I then fitted the drawers in their spaces and had to use planes, sanders and scrapers to make them flush-they are no longer "flat." For me, there are multiple factors and each project is unique and no one solution-I can only hope to improve over time.

 

[FredP]

given your joiner is only 8" you are correct that you cannot flatten 10" wide boards. but you could make a sled for your planer to do this. there are plans all over the net but it is as simple as a tortion box and some wedges with a little hot glue to secure the piece. once flat on one side just run through the other side to get to the thickness you desire.

fred p

 

[Keye]

Actually you can flatten a 10 inch board on a 8 inch jointer. Maybe someone will jump in with how this is done. I have read how it is done but just have never had a need to try it.

If you do not receive a reply to this on this forum you might try the Woodnet forum if you use it. I know I have seen this discussed on that forum.

 

[jeff...]

You may want to check with Earl - I think he said he drags boards behind his pickup truck up and down the street till their flat. Not sure if he uses cement blocks to weight em down or exactly how he does it - Earl???

Thanks

 

[DaveO]

Personally, if you had glued up the "panels" to become the drawer fronts, I would have flattened them on the jointer before glue up. Then any glue joint issues could have been smoothed out with a planer, hand-plane or scraper. Now if you are trying to use full width boards for the fronts then that's a different story, but you might be better off with a glue up for ease of working with them.
I don't have a real bench either so I have made bench stops to hold stock for planing. All that is is a flat board with a piece of wood on the bottom that catches on the edge of the bench (or what ever work surface your using) and another piece of wood on the opposite end, on top to stop the stock from sliding. Ideally it would be thinner than the stock your planning to plane.
Dave

 

[cpowell]

If the stock was dimensioned prior to glue-up then any bow/cup should be minimal. Run it through the planer using very light passes to clean up the glue line then saw to finished dimensions.

That slight bow will disappear when you attach it to the inner drawer.

Chuck

 

[mkepke]

2. Tear out can really be bad on maple. Is it best to flatten the back of the board and then use the 15" planer to smooth the front side of the board.


3. I am just starting this this hobby and I do not have a "real workbench", any sugestions on how to hold down a board short of bolting it to a concrete floor. I tried double back tape and secured it to the table saw but found the table saw was moving around.

re: #2 - Use the plane to knock off the high-points on one face and then use the planer with a light cut to flatten the other. By taking multiple light passes and occasionally flipping the board, you'll converge to a flat and mostly parallel board.


BTW, tear-out can be bad on maple..but if it happens with the plane and doesn't happen with the planer, you should check that the blade is sharp, set for a light cut and that you're planing with the grain.

re: #3 - Well, you need a work-bench of some kind, even if it's a simple affair made out of 2x4s and plywood.

If the tablesaw was moving, it's either on unlocked wheels or you are taking to large a cut, or have a dull blade.

-Mark

 

[Monty]

Take 'em to John's shop and flatten them on his wide jointer. Better go tonight... or you'll have to wait another month.

 

[cpowell]

Take 'em to John's shop and flatten them on his wide jointer. Better go tonight... or you'll have to wait another month.

Now that's what I call a good suggestion!! :icon_thum

Chuck

 

[Gofor]

From a novice: Tear out can be bad on any hard wood, even if the irons are razor sharp. The problem is that quite often the grain changes when the layers raise through the face you are trying to plane. A high angle (i.e. 60 - 70 degree) iron angle works well. Planing the high spots (hump in the middle) at a 45 degree angle to the grain will also minimize tearout. Smooth the surface with a cabinet scraper afterwards.
On a hand plane, I have found that a minimum throat clearance will reduce tearout (as long as the sole is flat in front of the iron. If it is worn into the mouth, you cannot prevent some tearout when the grain goes "squirrelly" except by raising the angle of the iron. On my bench, I did this by flipping the iron over on a #5 stanley, bevel up, which can cause its own problems in getting the iron to fit into the plane without too much extension).
May want to hunt down one of the folks with a big sander.

Up til I built my bench, I was using a cheap $14 wood vice with raisable dog that I bought a tractor supply. I mounted it to a piece of particle board (computer desk top I rescued from the dump) and clamped a back board across it to allow me to clamp the board tight. With that many drawers, most of the same length, I would drill a hole and stick a dowel in it for a dog. Consider it a jig.

Just some thoughts

Go

 

[Travis]

Great idea. I just got back into town. Does anyone have a key to John's shop? LOL

 

[Travis]

Re: Flattening Drawer Fronts (How Flat???) : Solution

Much great advice here. I will probably try several of them until I hit a solution that works. Let you know the results.

Thanks.

So here is what I came up with. The jig that you run through the planer was the best choice for me. I found an article on it in American Woodworker Magazine, July 2006. It is simply a piece of plywood cut to the length of your board with stops on both ends screwed into the plywood that are below your cutting depth. Simply shim the gaps between the object board and the sled and run through the planer to joint one side. I did 16 of these in no time. I would hate to think how long it would have taken me to plane them hand.

 

[Travis]

Re: Flattening Drawer Fronts (How Flat???) : Solution

When you edit a message, does it automatically post back up in new post?

 

[DaveO]

Re: Flattening Drawer Fronts (How Flat???) : Solution

When you edit a message, does it automatically post back up in new post?

I don't think so :eusa_thin


Dave

 

[woodguy1975]

Great idea. I just got back into town. Does anyone have a key to John's shop? LOL

LOL, yeah I do but.......... I'm a little too far away at the time. Dude if you need access I can get my neighbor to let you and Monty in to use the big jointer. You know you're welcome to it.

 

[walnutjerry]

Actually you can flatten a 10 inch board on a 8 inch jointer. Maybe someone will jump in with how this is done. I have read how it is done but just have never had a need to try it.

If you do not receive a reply to this on this forum you might try the Woodnet forum if you use it. I know I have seen this discussed on that forum.

I have done what you are talking about-------flattening a board wider than the jointer. You have to make a deeper pass on each outer edge of the face with the fence set to make a rabbeting cut, say 1/4"-------then move the fence back and reset the height to take 1/8" deep cut on the portion left in the center. That center portion then is the flat surface that rides the bed of the planer to make the opposite face flat. Then flip the board over and dress out the high center.

The sled idea works well also----I have used both methods with success.

Jerry

 

[Monty]

Re: Flattening Drawer Fronts (How Flat???) : Solution

Glad to know you got the job done -- that sled is a neat trick.

 

[Travis]

Thanks for the offer John. It would be little like when you were a youngster and you would go down the street and play with all of your friends cool toys.