Planing the end grain of a pencil sized tree core

I would think that a stain would help see the growth rings. That's its purpose, though perhaps a woodworking stain isn't the best solution. Biologists have a number of stains they use for this sort of thing. You might try your state's extension service.

zed, 16" long piece of end grain using a hand planer? I am trying to count very faint tree rings on a sugar maple without using sandpaper, which clogs up the pores with saw dust. Would a hand or electric planner catch rather than cut, or create a rough surface when viewed under a microscope? If anyo ne knows of a better method then please let me know.

oth surface on:

I have used stains to help clarify the tree rings, but it is only after san ding to 1200 grit that I am able to see the rings. I only use stains if the sanding is not adequate enough which is rarely the case.

Dave Picciuto got pretty good results using both sandpaper and hand plane:

Got a microtome? Or a sharp knife or chisel? Razor blade?

Is a microtome a place where really short people a buried?

Oh wait...that's not a b. ;-)

A SHARP hand plane, adjusted to take light shavings, will work very well. To avoid breakage, I'd make a jig to support the core. Dado a slot as wide as the core in a board, but shallower, with an end stop, to hold the core in place as you plane off the protruding top. Or build up a slot along a core by tacking slightly thinner strips of wood alongside.

I would try a a quality card scraper before I'd try a hand plane.

Have you sharpened your core sampler lately. Hone its cutting surface.

Is getting/having more than one core sample possible? I'd try Larry's (ver y sharp plane, etal.) suggestion and, maybe, wet one sample... see if that softens the fibers for better/best/easier planing. Slow, not fast, planin g strokes?

If the log/tree has some significant age to it, I'd like to see a pic of th e log/tree/snag. I enjoy "visiting" old grandpa trees/snags and the like. When I come across old magestic(?) trees, I sometimes imagine what storie s/life they could tell or have experienced.

Sonny

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you have any recommendations for a brand or type or hand plane I should use?

ery sharp plane, etal.) suggestion and, maybe, wet one sample... see if tha t softens the fibers for better/best/easier planing. Slow, not fast, plan ing strokes?

the log/tree/snag. I enjoy "visiting" old grandpa trees/snags and the lik e. When I come across old magestic(?) trees, I sometimes imagine what stor ies/life they could tell or have experienced.

Here is a 250+ Sugar Maple tree

A 239 year old live oak

A 300+ year old Green Ash

And a 225 year old Eastern Red Cedar

Three things I'd try: Bore a hole in a wood scrap, put the stick in and wedge it, and fill with paraffin wax. Then, with a heavy workbench vise, you can hold it still for a swipe or two with a sharp plane. Low-angle (block) plane would be suitable, maybe a final pass or three with a card scraper. Hole, wedge, wax again, only this time make a crosscut pass with a steel plywood blade in a table saw. Hole, wedge, wax again, only this time make a light pass with a straight carbide router bit.

Planing a loose knot is a close approximation to the task you have ahead of you; making it a NOT-loose knot would be a high priority.

This sounds like instructions for planing the end of his "stick", like the end grain of a dowel. Am I thinking correctly?

I think he wants to plane along the length of the stick, which is a core sample, which the end grain is along its length, is perpendicular to the length.

Sonny

That's correct. Wit3rd, are you thinking of encasing the core in wax and then shaving off small sections with a planner?

stabilize the wood with acrylic resin in a vacuum pot then slice it

I've never heard of a vacuum pot before. Is that needed to stabilize the wood in resin?

Ah, the LENGTH. In that case, forget the microtome et al, a hand plane will do the job but it must be sharp. For what you want, I'd think a block plane would be the thing, just rig some way of keeping the core immobile.

Ok thanks, i'll look into that.

But you said you couldn't see the rings because the sanding plugged up the grain?