http://www.woodreview.com.au 71TECHNIQUEgauge line. You’ll know when you’ve taken the final pass, as
the plane will release a thin wiry shaving as it cuts through
to the level of the gauge line (photo 1 4 ).
Dressing to length
To fully complete the dressing process you now need to
square the ends. Assess how much material needs to be
removed to eliminate any end-checks or other defects
and square a line across one end with a knife. If there is a
significant amount of material to be removed, remove the
bulk of the waste with your choice of handsaw.
Ultimately, you need your ends to be flat, straight and
perfectly square to all four longitudinal surfaces of the
board. The best way to achieve this is with a handplane
and a shooting board. Many standard planes are ideal for
shooting, such as a No.6 or 62, but there are also dedicated
shooting planes, such as a No.51 and a No.9 (photo 1 5 ).
Once you have the first end true, carefully measure to the
other end and scribe a line across the board at your desired
length. Now, repeat the process at the other end.
Keep things in perspective
So now you’ve dressed one board and should have
an appreciation of the time and effort required for a
full project. This is how it used to be done, before the
mechanical age of jointers and thickness planers.
Now, when visiting an antiques dealer or museum, think
back to yesteryear. If you see or feel some residual tool
marks on the bottom of a tabletop for example, keep in
mind your new perspective as you imagine the effort that
went into the whole piece.
In practical terms, please do consider your fitness and
health when deciding to attempt to dress a whole series
of boards. Depending on the size, species and quantity of
boards you have to work on, this has the potential to be an
onerous and draining task.
In today’s mechanical age, dressing boards by hand is, and
should be, the exception rather than the norm. However,
as mentioned earlier, there are several good reasons
why practising and having these skills will be to your
occasional advantage. Start by taking a friendly species
such as hoop pine, sharpen your plane irons and take
some shavings. You’ll be amazed at how proficient your
handplaning skills will become, and your versatility as a
woodworker will be enhanced.
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