I never really seemed to care before, but it’s noticable that the outer crust of blanks are different on top vs. the bottom. Most of my boards are easier to plane on the bottom than on top. This isn’t because of the rocker or anything. It just seems like there is almost a cross-grain of somekind on the deck side. I enjoy using a low angle block plane and usually have no problems. This last blank, however, doesn’t plane as easily on the deck. Just wondering why this is?
-cjs
Hey
Consider it a blessing, unless you need to know “why”.
So don’t skin too far into the deck, resulting in a stronger deck that might not dent/delam.
The bottom is basically flat, and easier for them to mill to thickness spec.
Always buy the smallest blank you can for the thickness you want.
I am, in fact, always pleased with the firm deck. I just wanted to know why I find more variance from blank to blank on the deck quality. The bottoms seem pretty consistent. I am interested in gaining a better understanding of the manufacturing process.
Clarks catalog has a description of the manufacturing process and why it results in a difference between top and bottom. Can’t remeber exact details, so I won’t post misleading info right now…