Scraping and planing for finish

Overview

A plane or card scraper can leave a surface ready for finish with no sanding at all, and is the usual way to deal with tear-out in figured grain. This entry is deliberately short: the sources opened for this guide say that cutting is an accepted alternative to sanding and when to reach for it, but give no technique detail on sharpening, burnishing or setting a plane, so none is given here. Use a dedicated hand-tool reference for that.

When to use

• Mill marks. Popular Woodworking's cabinet-grade finishing guide says mill marks must be removed by "sanding, scraping or handplaning" before finishing.
• Tear-out in figured wood. Southwick's figured-wood article tackles tear-out with a sharp card scraper or a freshly sharpened plane, and then sands ("no shame in sanding"). Dust settling into small pockets after a first sanding shows where the tear-out is. See Figured wood and Burl wood.
• When a plane or scraper is all you will use. Flexner: "unless you are solely planing or scraping, sanding is necessary."

Materials and tools

A sharp smoothing plane, a sharp card scraper, and sandpaper and a block for whatever the cutting tools leave (Sanding schedule). The Wood Handbook says that planing the transition between dense latewood and low-density earlywood is challenging and calls for well-maintained, sharpened tools and proper feed rates.

Steps

1. Sand the whole surface lightly with a rough block, and wipe the dust off. Dust settles into tear-out so you can see where it is (Southwick).
2. Cut out the tear-out with a sharp card scraper or a freshly sharpened plane.
3. Sand through the grits to your final grit. Southwick goes to 320 for a penetrating oil on figured wood (Sanding schedule).
4. Raise the grain if the finish will be water-based (Raising the grain).
5. Vacuum, and check under raking light (Dust removal and tack cloths).

Common problems

• Grain raise after planing. The Wood Handbook attributes grain raise to the planer crushing earlywood cells; when the wood is wetted the earlywood springs back and pushes the latewood out. It is common in woods with thick, dense latewood bands, such as southern pine (Southern yellow pine). A film applied before the grain raises can crack. See Raising the grain.
• Tear-out you cannot see on bare wood. Sand lightly first so dust settles into it (step 1), rather than discovering it under the finish.
• Skipping sanding on a stained piece. Not covered by the sources opened; test on scrap.

Safety and environment

Any sanding that follows produces fine wood dust: use extraction and a respirator. Sharp-edged tools need the usual care in handling.

Related

• Sanding schedule for the grits that follow
• Raising the grain for what planing can set up
• Finishing resinous and blotchy woods, Wipe-on application