this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
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Woodworking
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A handmade home for woodworkers and admirers of woodworkers. Our community icon is a planter box made by @Captain Aggravated, the winner of our summer '24 woodworking contest. Congratulations!
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Learned this one from Frank Strazza, you can make handplaning easier by spraying a mixture of 50/50 water and alcohol to raise the grain and soften the fibers. I've seen Japanese woodworkers do something similar when paring endgrain but just with water
Closely related: a little wood paste wax on the sole will make planing easier by reducing friction between the sole and the wood. I've also started doing this on the surface of my table saw. It's pretty obvious when you need to apply more and the effect was very noticeable.
I do that on my table saw too and it's delightful how slippery it becomes. Almost like air hockey! plus I think it protects the cast iron against rust?
Totally. I do my old cast iron Craftsman table up maybe twice a year and can totally tell if I miss an application.
Great point. The jointer is another one that benefits from a bit of paste wax on the cast iron bed