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Best way to flatten a piece? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 6 days ago by Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/woodworking@lemmy.ca
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Can anyone tell me how can I flatten a Minecraft heart please? I've put this together:

https://www.instructables.com/MineCraft-Heart-wood/

but I've noticed that it bows slightly. I've managed to get the ends to raise slightly when I've screwed it together. The top needs to be smoothed too, as there are some small differences between the pieces. Both sides are only off by a millimetre or two, but it's enough to be noticeable.

My thinking is to clamp it down at the centre, which seems to be mostly flat on both sides, then sand the top until it's level, then flip it over and clamp the edges to smooth the bottom.

Are there any likely problems with doing it this way, or is there a better way of doing it? Thanks in advance :)

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[-] oo1@lemmings.world 10 points 6 days ago

I can't see any problem with sanding. I don't see why you need to clamp though and risk introducing a bend while you sand. I'd glue or tape a sheet of sandpaper, larger than the workpiece to a hard flat surface and rub the piece on it.

Except thst I woudn't because I'd use a hand plane, No real benefit, but I prefer a planed finish, I enjoy planing more , and, plane shavings are way cooler and harder to inhale than sanding dust.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 6 days ago

I'd glue or tape a sheet of sandpaper, larger than the workpiece to a hard flat surface and rub the piece on it.

This is the sort of answer I'm looking for, thank you. I wouldn't have thought of sticking sandpaper down, and it definitely sounds easier :)

I do own a plane, but I haven't used one since I was in school about 30 years ago, and that was already set up. I might have to save that for after I've had a chance to practice first :)

[-] oo1@lemmings.world 6 points 6 days ago

No bother.

Yes planing does take a bit of experience - not as much as you'd think though to start getting decent results. It mainly has to be sharpened regularly and set up right and you need to know how to adjust the cut depth.

There are lots of youtubes on sharpening and setup if you want to get into that. I watch Paul Sellers mostly, there's plenty of others though.

And certainly practice on a few different wood types, before using a hand plane (or any new tool) on anything you've already put time into.

[-] ArsonButCute@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 4 days ago

I haven't worked with wood in years, but when I did I was in a high humidity enviro.

To flatten and prevent future warping we would dry out our flat pieces in an oven set at 250F for a few days then stabilize with resin using a vacuum chamber. Following this, pieces would be planed to final thickness.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago

Thanks, but unfortunately it hasn't warped, it's just user error. I cut the pieces from the same length of wood, but didn't quite get them flat across the width when I either screwed or glued them together.

I had to screw most of the pieces together from left to right, so I stacked them on top of each other to drill the pilot holes downwards. With hindsight I would have taken longer and clamped them to a flat surface with another flat surface on top, and drilled sideways, if that makes sense.

[-] MrAlternateTape@lemm.ee 2 points 5 days ago

I don't know if you have a router available? If you can make a leveling jig that you can run the router over, flattening is easy.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 5 days ago

I do have a router. I'm not sure how I'd secure the heart though, as it's quite small.

I might have just thought of a way, but I need to look and see what scrap I've got first. Thanks for the idea :)

[-] MrAlternateTape@lemm.ee 2 points 4 days ago

A piece of double sided tape might be enough if it is not that heavy. Just make sure to take slow passed and not too much at a time.

If it is really small I've been know to just hold it against my orbital sander, just be careful for your fingers.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 days ago

I wouldn't have thought that tape would be enough. It's definitely worth a try though, thanks :)

It's a bit too big to hold against the orbital sander, but I was thinking of clamping some wood that's the same thickness to either side, then screwing those to a bigger piece attached to the table, so the scrap pieces act like a clamp. That should hold the heart in place, and give me a reference of the correct thickness to either sand or route. Maybe...

[-] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 days ago

Clamping it flat would prove counter-productive; it would spring back when the clamping pressure is removed.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 5 days ago

Sorry, what I meant was to clamp the flat part of the heart to the surface so that I could sand or plane the outer edges level with the centre. I don't want to clamp the raised edges, just hold the piece still :)

this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2025
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