How to Square Board Edges With a Block Plane

Assessing the quality of a wooden board by the squareness of its edges is a good way to estimate the best pieces to use and which pieces of wood need additional sanding. Below are details on how to square up wooden board edges for a perfectly uniform finished project. It is always a good idea to wear safety goggles and gloves when completing woodworking projects.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Goggles
• Gloves
• Wood
• Tri square
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Vice
• Paper
• Block plane

1. Put wood block on top of a colored piece of paper on a flat surface.

2. Place tri square against the edge of the wood block, mimicking the edge of the block. This means the tri plane fits against the wood block so that both one length and one width are included. Be sure not to push or force the tri square to fit against the block.

3. Look at the edge of the wooden block from above so that your eyes can search for signs of colored paper. If you can see the colored paper between the edge of the wood and the edge of the tri square that means the end of the block is not even.

4. Mark any inconsistencies in the wood's end for sanding. This means to take a pencil and ruler and draw a line along the edge of the wood so you can see where the block needs sanding down. Be sure to set your ruler straight and flat against the wood's surface before drawing the line.

5. Put wood block into a woodshop vice and secure in place. The pencil line should be facing upward, ready for sanding.

6. Take a block plane firmly in both hands, place on one end of the wood surface and push forward to remove the excess wood.

7. Return the block plane to original position before repeating Step 5 as many times as is necessary to even the surface and plane the wood down to the pencil mark guideline.