Working very curly maple

[TGeorge]

What is the best implement for working a flat surface on highly grained curly maple? I tried a plane and it tore small chips out. I'm sure a drawknife would too. I have a jointer, but I'm sure it will shred it to pieces.
Is a rasp or scraper best?

 

The best tool for shaping is a #49 Nicholson cabinetmakers rasp, followed by files, then scrapers. You also can use a surform, it will work, but not as good as the rasp. With the hard maplr, you generally get the tearout in one direction, but not the other.
Bill

 

[flashpanner]

I have been using a finely sharpened scraper with good success.

 

[Nightwind]

OOOOOH yea, wait till you start shaping near the top front end of the forestock at the barrel channel! I had a piece flip off like fish scales. Luckily for me, that part was going to be cut off anyhow. I'm going the sandpaper route with this one. it's over 30 years old and brittle.
GOOOOD LUCK!

 

[blacksmithman64]

If you're rough shaping, try dampening the wood with water.It swells the cells and makes it easier to cut. works great when chiseling out lock mortises and breech tangs too

 

[rich pierce]

Good tip. I also try to work diagonal to the grain with rasps. Be careful of brusing with some rasps. The Nicholson #49 is good.

 

[George F.]

Your question is very vague or generl. Different tools are best suited for certain areas of the stock, and at what phase of shaping your at. A plane must be kept vey sharp, and always at an angle to the direction of travel and with the grain running away from you, which at times is not possible, also with the plane you want to just shave it and not grab the wood which you can see pulls chunks out. A cabinet scraper works vey well in any direction as long as its sharpened properly. With the scraper you can dish the stock out if over agressive and not paying attention. Of course rasps are very good as long as they haven't been abused( like mine are) from contact with other files and rasps. And of course you've heard this one don't be too agressive with removing wood... you can always take more off, but its a pain to replace wood that has been removed "by accident"...George F. End of lecture, I'll get off the soap box now.......

 

[Vaino]

Starting w/ a blank, I band saw very close to finish size and on many areas then use a #49 Nicholson rasp. This avoids having to use "harsher" tools to "hog off" a lot of wood which can bruise and chip out the wood on curly maple. To get rid of the corners after bandsawing, a Surform plane is used and then the #49. Bandsawing close to finish size is the best way to remove a lot of wood and thereby save a lot of time and elbow grease.....Fred

 

[Stophel]

I do most of my shaping, and even much of my "finish shaping" with rasps and files. Go across or diagonally with the grain. If the wood is really super curly and prone to chip out, avoid the use of edged tools as much as possible. Only use chisels and such at the very end, and do so VERY carefully...preferably across or diagonal to the grain with the chisels as well. You want to shear the wood off, not lever or wedge it off.

I have a curly ash blank at home waiting for me to work on it. It has REALLY strong curl...it scares the manure out of me! :shocked2:

 

[TGeorge]

Thank you very much for all the advice and I'll try your suggestions out.

I have a beautiful curly maple blank and I'm trying out the technique used by the Gunsmith of Greenville County in laying out the project.

The top of the blank is fairly level but not perfectly so. I want to make it as perfectly flat as possible.

I guess the suggestions about rasps, file and chisels with a straight edge are the way to go.

Again, thanks for your help.

 

[john armstrong]

Good luck, slow and painful process, the slower the better.

 

[Ephraim]

water is the way to go when working maple. when I an not shaping or carving I cover my stocks with damp rags not soping wet just damp to keep the moister content in the wood. when maple drys out it will chip out on you so keep it damp but not wet. It will carve and shape better.

Ephraim
ps sorry about the spelling.

 

[dlocke]

Well, be sure to keep us updated on your project, as myself and a bunch of others (I'm sure) would like to see how Alexander's barrel channeling and ramrod holing works out.
I had a curly piece of wood that I was working on once that was a chip-fest waiting to happen. I wound up using 60-grit sandpaper to bring wood down and into shape for final sanding. What a bear that was. Works great, but takes a long, long time.
DJL

 

[Runner]

You guys are scaring me! This new blank is all curl! :grin: Not really, cause I have better sense than to touch that one myself until I know a lot more than I do now!

 

[rich pierce]

Bob, I can swap you a really plain piece for that curly one. :rotf:

 

[Runner]

Ughh, I don't think so! :grin: I am not gonna cut horn plugs out of it either! The one I am sending back would have been good for that. Now, if you want to cut the barrel channel and drill the ram rod hole, maybe we can work something out!