I will be inspecting a fairly large pile of Sitka Spruce for purchase in a couple weeks. I'm seeking suggestions for a good tool(s) to bring with me so that I can examine the wood characteristics. Typically the spruce lumber is rough cut and in pieces approximately 2" by 9" by 12 to 20 feet long. They are stacked in bins so that you can really only inspect one of the 2" x 9" ends. I'll likely be purchasing about 1,000 bd.-ft. I need a tool that can clean up (grind/shave) the rough endgrain so that I can see the annular rings. I've used a small hand plane in the past, but it's rough planing end grain and often I can't even get the darn plane on the end of a board that is set in a little further than the one above and/or below. A tiny belt sander about 1" x 4" might work quite well - don't know of any that small though. Cordless would be good also. Is there any kind of small plane or other tool that would work for me? Any suggestions would be appreciated (well, constructive suggestions that is.....). I'm hoping that this time after I select lumber candidates I can re- inspect the lumber after a couple days - after they've pulled my selected lumber. Then I would like to spot check the face of the board for defects - pitch pockets, etc. - and again, I will need some sort of tool to clean up the rough surface to inspect it. Sure, I could take a belt sander to it, but I'm not sure the lumber yard would like that if I were to reject it. Maybe for the face a good hand plane would be the ticket - I've got a nice smoothing plane with a curved blade that won't gouge the wood - maybe that would be best. Any other ideas? Thanks! Terry Farrell Farrell Piano, Inc.
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