Working with sycamore

[Dennis]

Back in the Spring we cut down a sycamore for green woodworking. And got a surprise at how difficult it was. The drawknife floated through Ash, but not this sycamore, even though the timber was less than 48 hours from cutting. Other tools - a plane for example - have done no better. By now the wood has dried out significantly so the problem is worse than at the first.

The objective is to get flat smooth pieces at least 4 inches square and ½inch thick for pyrography. Any suggestions on how to work sycamore to achieve this? Internet searches have yielded very little.

[Darren]

Is the grain straight?

Some woods you need to mellow for a few weeks after cutting and seasoned wood is going to harder to work.

[RichardKing]

Sycamore is more properly named Sycamore Maple.

Maple is well known as a hard wood & was commonly used for things like butchers blocks.

You dont say how large the original piece is, but only need an area 4 in square.

If its a plank I would put through a planer-thicknesser, if you have already reduced it to 4 x 4, then sanding or scraping is the only option. I would use a 6 in belt sander.

If you dont have acces to any of thes power tools then do the following :-

Glue a sheet of 60 grit aluminium oxide paper to a flat board & then rub the Maple block over it with some force. Use some finer grades of abrasive paper to get a reasonable finish.

Finish off with a cabinet scraper for a fine surface (ensure cabinet scraper has been sharpened corectly first)

[Dennis]

Thanks for these comments. Having started from logs, and not having a chainsaw mill, planks are not possible. Cleaving has produced uneven results. No power tools so I'd already resorted to sandpaper and have obtained a fair result, but was wondering whether there was a quicker tried and tested method. At least I know now that this wood was always bound to be hard to work.

[woodbodger]

Yes the reality is not quite what it seems just because it is a Sycamore tree does not mean that it is the same as any other Sycamore. In my experience where a tree has grown is very relevant ; Thonette, of the bent wood chairs, specified beech trees from the East facing slopes of woodland for his furniture. I know that in making Windsor chair bows I couldn't use Ash trees that were fast grown say from a hedge for instance. The woodworkers of old used their wood for what it wanted rather than for what they wanted which is why we get Elm for the bosses of wheels but it doesn't mean that it always has to be so.

[Darren]

You can use a block plain and cabinet scraper.

[wood troll]

You will find that a plane will work much better on seasoned wood than on green, so have a go after leaving the cleft wood to season.

[Dennis]

Right, thanks: I'll try planing it in a while.

[woodbodger]

A fabulously quick way of getting a flat surface is a sanding disc in a disc cutter! Go 60 120 240

[Rivenwood Coppice]

You might also find it's not Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus). I've found the very similar Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) to be a much harder wood to work with, though it can give a much finer finish.

Key id difference is in the buds which are green in sycamore and red in Norway maple. Norway maple also has much more jagged (plat-annoyed-es) leaves.