Question for the woodworkers here

[Mabouya]

I have an 18" long 2" x 8" on which I want to round one of the long edges to at least a 1/4" radius, preferably 1/2". The problem is that I don't have a router and don't feel like spending the $ for just one job. If it were a tool I thought I'd need in the future I'd gladly buy it, but we're talking over $100 for something that I may never need again.

I've done some research and there are some hand tools that can break corners, but none that go to that size radius.

Any thoughts (other than carving and sanding, which I think would take forever) on how to do this?

TIA

Asides:

1) Harbor Freight has a $20 trim router that I may consider if I can't find any other way to do it.

2) The job could potentilly be done using 1/4 round or shoe molding by adding material instead of taking away material I don't want, but I think that's a messy solution that I'd like to avoid if I can.

[Paul Jacobs]

I have two routers and lots of router cutters but if I wanted to round over a single 18" corner I would simply use a hand plane and finish off with a sanding block. I could do this in less time than it would take me to set up a router.

If I had neither a router nor a good plane, I would buy a hand plane before a router.

For example:

https://literaryworkshop.wordpress.c...edges-by-hand/

[Peter Polack]

I have two routers and lots of router cutters but if I wanted to round over a single 18" corner I would simply use a hand plane and finish off with a sanding block. I could do this in less time than it would take me to set up a router.

If I had neither a router nor a good plane, I would buy a hand plane before a router.

For example:

https://literaryworkshop.wordpress.c...edges-by-hand/

That was gonna be my suggestion. Clamp the wood in a vise and use a small hand plane to roughly angle the edge. Then use strips of sandpaper in a "shoe shine" motion to finish the edge.

[rec head]

Don't forget Craigslist for tools. If it is priced right you can buy a router, use it and resell it for what you paid.

[ides1056]

You can speed up the process with a wood rasp.

[jmgorman]

Agree a utility block plane is a better choice here. If you can't find that at the big box, they often have spokeshaves for a song and as simpler devices, the cheap ones aren't bad tools for the long term.

https://paulsellers.com/2019/05/spok...g-versatility/

[Ras72]

Use Peter's method. He's speaking the truth. It's what I did when shaping the outer stems of my canoe.

Before:
plane2.jpg

After:
plane3.jpg

Using:
plane1.jpg

I also used a larger plane to cut down to rough shape, then cleaned it up with the micro plane.

Sorry for the orientation of the first two photos.

[Paul Jacobs]

Apart from anything else a well sharpened and adjusted hand plane makes a much nicer sound than a router, in my opinion.

[72gmc]

Using:
plane1.jpg

What a photo.

I am usually partial to the hand tool over the power tool. Meanwhile, my wife is lobbying for a 10" compound miter saw.

[ides1056]

There are competitions to see who can make the thinnest shavings from planes:

[guido]

A low angle Record block plane now costs more than the router. But it still is my choice... The Stanley quality has fallen off a lot in recent years... But with some work flattening the base, cleaning up the throat and attending to the blade it can be made to work...

[DaveS]

Agree with the router or plane suggestions. Are you near any stores or maker spaces where you could drop in or have the work done for you? (or if you're near baltimore, you're welcome to use my tools)

[jimcav]

great suggestions above. I've done some quarter-rounding effect using a nice sharp wood chisel. I happen to have a decent set I picked up decades ago at Rockler, and a wood chisel is easy to find at most hardware/home improvement stores. As with the plane you can roughly shape it, and then sand to final shape. I think it is is easier and far cheaper to find a chisel in comparison to a block plane (likely easier for the average person to sharpen too).

[Mabouya]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

It sounds like the consensus here is to go with hand tools instead of machine. Maybe I'll swing by the local Rockler and see what they recommend to do the job.

I do have my great-grandfather's old bench plane and draw shave, but they're in a toolbox that's 1750 miles away in Haiti, and it would be way more trouble to get them here than it's worth.

(Although this does make my think - my parents are about to move, and I know they don't want to take that big crate of tools with them. Unfortunately, it would cost an arm and a leg to ship it to me. Only reason to keep it all would be for sentimental reasons. I'll have to see what they want to do with it all.)

[jimcav]

I do have my great-grandfather's old bench plane and draw shave, Only reason to keep it all would be for sentimental reasons. I'll have to see what they want to do with it all.)

Not sure what the shipping is, but I'd love to have my GRANDfather's tools, let alone GREAT-GF. I have one pocketknife from my GF, the blade has been used and sharpened so much that it is less than half its original width. I'd bet a tool from that age is well made, too.
Good luck
Jim

[claritycycler]

On the corner you want to round (using hand tools) scribe or draw a line on both sides of it; if you want a 1/4" radius round over the lines will each be 1/4" from and parallel to the corner, etc., this helps keeps the round over from wandering as you work along the corner. Also check the grain direction, you want to cut with the grain and not into it so the tool blade is cutting cleanly, not tearing it up by cutting against it.

[claritycycler]

There are competitions to see who can make the thinnest shavings from planes:

Really cool, some of the tools displayed are works of art, take the time to watch it, shavings as thin as 5 microns!

[Mabouya]

Well, I think I've decided to go with a Stanley Sureform rasp tool. Looks pretty basic, but since the 2x8 is soft I think that and some sanding will do the trick.

Plus, they only cost about $17, so it won't set me back much if it doesn't work out.

[ides1056]

Surform is great for making surfboards.

Get a decent wood rasp instead is my suggestion:

https://www.circlecsupply.com/nichol...yABEgIFWfD_BwE

A decent lumber store will have these as well, I expect.

[j44ke]