How to Read Wood Grain
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from proper machine setup, the most important aspect of planing
wood is reading the wood grain and knowing the characteristics
of the wood. By misreading the wood grain, or misfeeding a
board, the planer can ruin wood faster than any other tool
in your shop.
sound a bit strange, but planing wood is a lot like petting
a cat. If you stroke the fur in the wrong direction, it'll
stand up and look awful. But if you stroke the fur in the
direction it lays, the fur stays flat and smooth.
fur on a cat, wood grain generally lays in one direction.
And, as planer knives rotate, they must stroke the wood in
that same direction (see Fig. 1). This is called feeding the
wood with the grain.
feed a board with the grain running in the wrong direction,
of feed it too fast for the grain pattern, the knives will
dig under the annual rings and tear out chunks of wood. Instead
of cutting a smooth surface, the planer leaves the board torn,
chipped, and rougher than when you began planing. The general
rule for feeding a board into the planer is simply that the
knives should stroke the wood, not ruffle its fur.
of wood grain is determined by several factors; the annual
rings; how the board was cut; from what part of the tree the
board was cut; and other natural phenomena such as curls,
burls, and bird's eyes.
be able to recognize all of these qualities before
you plane any board.
general grain direction, look at the edge of the board perpendicular
to the face you want to plane. If the grain is obscured by
mill marks or rough sawing, join or hand plane the edge (see
Fig. 2). Look down the edge of the board for the lines created
by the annual rings. These lines will show you the general
direction of the grain.
notice that the annual ring lines will either follow an edge
or lead off toward one face or the other. Wavy grain my lead
first to one face, then curve back to the other (see Fig.
3). Look for the general direction these lines take. This
will determine the direction that you should feed the board
into the planer.
the general grain direction is just the first stem. A board
may also have knows, crotch figuring, burls, bird's eyes,
or a curly grain pattern. Some boards may even have two or
more of these characteristics, and each must be taken into