I am moving along on my Chippendale Library Bookcase. I've laid the figured mahogany veneer on the rails and stiles of the doors. Since the mahogany was hand cut there are slight irregularities in the veneer thickness. I've planed these down with a toothing plane and then smoothed with a card scraper. This is the technique the Colonial Williamsburg boys used in making the veneered top for the Seaton tool chest (viewable currently on line at PBS's "The Woodright's Shop".) I don't have too much experience with toothing planes and have had some problems. I was getting some tear out in the figured mahogany. I have an ECE Emmirich toothing plane. The iron is bedded at a very high angle, almost vertical and I still seemed to get tear out. Lee Valley sells toothing plane blades for their low angle planes, blades bevel up. Does anyone have any experience with these? I would think that the lower angle blades would be more likely and not less likely to cause tear out, even with a high bevel angle on the blade. But I am interested in comments and experience.
Howard Steier
Howard Steier