I have two planks. One is a Black Walnut 4/4 by 6” by 30” long. There other? Well, here is a clue
Lovely, ain’t it? More on that one in a bit. I went after the Walnut plank, looking to smooth the faces of it first. A little time with a #6 small jointer, and a #5 Jack plane, and one face was ready for a smooth plane
Bandsawn from a log awhile ago. Saw marks were easy to clean off. The edges were a little more work. One was almost done, just had a low spot in the middle. Got that edge straightened out and “true” then it was time for the “Ugly side” on the edge. Scribed a pencil line, just to show much much was going to go, and got the #6 and the #6c after it
Just under this #6c, you can see a bit of BARK. As for the other #6?
After awhile, things were starting to look a little better
And after checking it out with a straightedge
Found both ends were abit on the high side. More shavings, check again with the level, and finally it was ready for a smoother to go the length
Now , about that mystery board. I got out a saw, and cut off the worse of the junk. Still had some issues
Like BIG splits, and BIG nails. Hand saw worked pretty good, though
Got some bolt cutters after those long spikes, making it easier to pull them out
Might too wide for my vise, so a clamp on one end, and a screw along the edge, driven low enough so as not to get hit by a plane. Used a scrap board under the claws to help pull those nails. Next, I have a Corsair Jack plane, with a cambered iron. Gave it a go on the rough stuff
Once it’s turn was done, got out the #6s again, and went the length of the board, until all the nasty stuff was gone
Then a few trips with a smooth plane, and ONE side is done. 
Still have the edges, and the other face to smooth out. Lunch is ready, so….....until next time.
-- A Planer? I'M the planer, this is what I use
3 comments so far
RGtools
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3233 posts in 1034 days
#1 posted 253 days ago
Nice to see some one else working gnarly stock by hand. Keep it up!
-- Make furniture that lasts as long as the tree - Ryan
bandit571
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#2 posted 253 days ago
and now, the other face of this old plank.
All clamped up, and ready to be scrubbed down. I had a choice between a #5 jack set up as a cambered fore plane
iron was re-ground into an 8” radius. Plane is by Corsair. Or, I could use a small scrub plane
Ithas a 3” radius ( or somewhere close to that) on it’s iron. Hungry little devil. Both were used across the grain. For the Diagonal plane work, I went with a little bit bigger plane
A #6c. Made all the diagonal cuts, then with the grain, to get rid of the high spots. Followed up with a Smooth plane
I checked for flatness, not with a straightedge, but just the side of the plane I was using. Board is now flat and 3/4” thick. Next, the edge grain
Dippity-do city. Ran the jack plane down the edge until it was almost smooth, and square. Then ran the smooth plane in one final pass
Edge grain now looks a little bit better?
As for the shavings?
Board is now ready for a project. Didn’t take all that long, either.
-- A Planer? I'M the planer, this is what I use
DIYaholic
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9252 posts in 1055 days
#3 posted 253 days ago
I think that board would make a bunch of really nice toothpicks!!!
-- Randy-- I may not be good...but I am slow!
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