Like most woodworkers, I've learned about grain direction the hard way. I still remember the sound a beautiful piece of spiderwebbed Brazilian rosewood made when I sent it through a planer with dull knives, nor will I forget seeing it emerge with terrible tearout. I was making a jewelry box for my girlfriend, and I nearly wasted that pricey piece of wood. In the end I had to make the sides much thinner than I wanted. I've now been cutting, drying, and selling high-end lumber for furniture and instruments for more than a decade, and I've been making furniture for much longer than that. Along the way I've learned a number of reliable ways to read grain and avoid tearout, whether I'm surfacing the wood using power tools or by hand. I'll help you make the most of your materials and avoid mistakes reading grain.
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