Planing the end grain of a pencil sized tree core

Does anyone know if it is possible to make a flat surface on a pencil sized , 16" long piece of end grain using a hand planer? I am trying to count ver y 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 tha n cut, or create a rough surface when viewed under a microscope? If anyone knows of a better method then please let me know.

Here is a link to an image of what I am trying to create an even and smooth surface on:

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Reply to
jcoruddat
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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.

Reply to
krw

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.

Reply to
jcoruddat

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

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Reply to
Spalted Walt

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

Reply to
dadiOH

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

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

Reply to
DerbyDad03

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.

Reply to
Larry Kraus

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

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Reply to
Swingman

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

Reply to
Leon

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

Reply to
Sonny

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

Reply to
jcoruddat

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

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A 239 year old live oak

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A 300+ year old Green Ash

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And a 225 year old Eastern Red Cedar

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Reply to
jcoruddat

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.

Reply to
whit3rd

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

Reply to
Sonny

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

Reply to
jcoruddat

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

Reply to
Electric Comet

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

Reply to
jcoruddat

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.

Reply to
dadiOH

Ok thanks, i'll look into that.

Reply to
jcoruddat

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

Reply to
krw

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