Questions first, commentary follows.
When you’re hand planing, do you lift the plane off the wood on the return stroke? Just curious.
At what plane angle (in the plane body) do you switch the blade from bevel down to bevel up?
And now the commentary.
I bought two Hock blades and a granite lapping stone from the local Woodcraft on Friday afternoon. I used the sandpaper method to sharpen a blade, finishing up with some 2000 grit wet/dry that I bought from a Checker’s Auto Parts store. After I got the back to a signal mirror quality polish, I did the bevel at 25 degrees, give or take, and then put on a micro-bevel of 1 degree. That blade is the sharpest I’ve ever gotten anything. I strongly recommend using a lapping plate. I mounted this into an antique plane that I bought off of eBay, bevel down, turned the depth knob, and went to work.
Wow. That’s all I can say is wow. I was working on some scrap hardwood, just to practice planing, and I couldn’t believe it. The face of the board was finish quality after just a few passes, and smooth as a baby’s butt. When I jointed the edges, the corners of the board flat, square, and sharp!
I had a bunch of boards that needed to be the same thickness, so I just clamped them together face-to-face and gang-jointed them. I won’t say that I did it as quickly by hand, but I will say that I did it a lot quieter, and there is a certain rhythm associated with hand planing that you don’t get with a machine. And you don’t get sawdust all over the garage!
I’m converted.
Replies
<<When you're hand planing, do you lift the plane off the wood on the return stroke?>>
Yes, lifting the plane off the wood saves wear on the (sharp) edge (of the iron) and helps it last longer (this is largely wood-dependant).
<<At what plane angle (in the plane body) do you switch the blade from bevel down to bevel up?>>
Hmmm...not sure exactly what your question really is. Nearly all block planes are bedded at either 12º, 12.5º, or 20º, and of course are bevel up. Most smoothers are bedded at 37.5º, 42º (these are primarily Japanese plane bedding angles), 45º, 47.5º, 50º, once in a while 55º, or 60º; On a few planes you'll sometimes find other angles (52.5º, etc). These are all normally bevel down. A handful of planes (mostly 60º smoothers like the HNT Gordons, allow you to flip the iron over to give an effective cutting angle of 90º for scraping.
So...not sure that I answered your question, but hope you find the info useful.
BTW, I have a little tutorial on hand planing raw boards square and to size/ thickness, if you're interested.
Also live in Albuquerque.
Cheers!
James
Thanks James, you answered my second question perfectly.
I'm interested in the planing tutorial. Is it on the web?
Glad that the info was of some use; the tutorial is attached.
James
"When you're hand planing, do you lift the plane off the wood on the return stroke?"
Nope. Er, not exactly, that is. If you're doing a lot of planing with a heavy metal plane, you'd be pretty whipped by the end of the day if you picked the beastie up for every return stroke! For surfact planing (as opposed to jointing or moulding) the best practice is to simply tip the plane a bit to one side for the return trip so it's still supported on the workpiece, but the blade isn't dragging. Another trick I'll use for bigger jobs (like thicknessing) is not to waste that pull stroke, but to turn the plane and work the piece in both directions. Obviously, this doesn't work for smoothing (tear out) but it really moves the job along when surfacing larger boards with a scrub or jack.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Great to read your revelation - well setup tools well sharpened are a joy to use, as you've discovered. Thanks for posting.
I always pick up for the return stroke, for a couple of reasons:
This is one of my constant irritations with the so-called TV experts. If you watch Marks, you'll notice he scuffs his cabinet scrapers back and forward. I know it's being a bit anal, but it sets my teeth on edge! Likewise putting a plane down on the bench on it's sole ... just inviting some errant piece of grit to put a ding in that nice sharp edge. Lay it on it's side.
Malcolm
Likewise putting a plane down on the bench on it's sole ... just inviting some errant piece of grit to put a ding in that nice sharp edge. Lay it on it's side.
Actually, lying a plane on its side leaves the blade exposed to "activity" on the bench, such as picking up and putting down other tools. It's also possible to plane yourself if you brush against the exposed blade.
It's much better to place them down on their sole, but with a simple strip of 4mm ply (say 4" x 1") under the toe so the blade clears the bench surface.
BugBear
Or Paul, assuming the plane is out of the box doing something useful, the thing can be dumped sole down on some of the copious shavings it's produced. That's always worked fine for me, ha, ha. Slainte.
Richard Jones Furniture
Edited 5/11/2006 11:47 am by SgianDubh
Yeah - a pile of shavings will also keep the plane off the bench... BugBear (who also does that)
Richard,
Aw cheez, the sole down/sole sideways controversy. Almost as acrimonious as the pins first/tails first debate.
My 8th grade shop teacher, Mr Wood (really!), beat it into our thick adolescent skulls that a plane must, MUST, always, ALWAYS!, be laid on its side. Since it was his shop, and he was from S Carolina, and talked just like Foghorn Leghorn, I listened to what he said. It still pains me to see someone put a plane down on its sole on a nasty, grit infested benchtop. (There might be a screw lurking inside that pile of shavings.) Such are the ways old habits influence our everyday actions. I see a plane on its sole, and I hear Mr Wood's mantra for when a kid did something stupid- "Son..., wheah were you when th' lights went out? In th' dahk??"
Cheers,
Ray Pine
Ray there is a guy in the community where I live that does remodeling,roofing and other assorted carpentry work, his name I kid you not, is Guy Carpenter.Ron
Edited 5/12/2006 9:05 am ET by Ronaway
BTW, the plane that I put that sharp Hock blade in is a Bailey #5.
I made about a cubic foot of shavings this morning, planing some pine 2x4s for a slab for my lathe. I had fun with the pine, it comes off so easy, and doesn't dull the blade at all.
Does anyone use the Japanese obdura stone or whatever it's called? The one that is used to put the final polish on an iron? I remember seeing it in a Japanese woodworking catalog years ago.
Dammit, now I'm going to answer my own question.....
Its a NAGURA stone!!! Doh!
http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?s=JapanWoodworker&pf_id=15.576.48&dept_id=13260
<<Does anyone use the Japanese obdura stone or whatever it's called? The one that is used to put the final polish on an iron? I remember seeing it in a Japanese woodworking catalog years ago. Dammit, now I'm going to answer my own question..... Its a NAGURA stone!!! Doh!>>
Yes. I use it on my 8000 grit stone for final polishing; it works quite nicely, and will help put a real nice mirror finish on your edge/bevel/back.
If you're in the market for one, check around: most of the web catalogues want around $20 for one, but one of the big WW tool dealers -- I don't remember which one (Woodcraft, maybe?) -- still had them for about $8 or $10.
James
Did he, I say, did he ever try to teach you how to make a paper aeroplane? I mentioned the side/sole lay down to Deneb (from L-N) at the Woodworking Show and his response was basically that, if the bench is kept fairly clean and is made of wood, the iron is hard enough that it won't be damaged unless it was dropped on a hard object and even then, there's not much of it coming out the mouth of the plane. He also said he sometimes lays the toe on a strip of wood. Anything thicker than a few thousandths of an inch this will get the exposed edge off of the benchtop. I don't know how much gritty stuff I want on my benchtop if I'm using my edge tools, anyway.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Try it Ray. Some shavings scattered about the panel and bench. Put the plane down on its sole in the shavings. I promise you the world won't stop turning and Newton's Law will still be applicable, ha, ha-- ha, ha, ha.
And where the hell would all the nails, screws and other extraneous metal come from if you're planing wood anyway? Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture
Aw Richard,
I'm not trying to turn you to my way of thinking, only suggesting that "that's how I was taught, so it has to be the right way" is the guiding force in the reason most of us do the things we do. Besides, after thirty some-odd years of doing so, my wrist just flips the plane on its side of its own volition. I couldn't change now, if I wanted to.
On my bench, that stray screw/nail/bit of grit was left there after taking apart the last repair job that came thru the shop. I swept the bench off, but it got hung up behind the bench dog. I didn't notice it til I turned over the new tabletop I was planing on, and it left an imprint an inch from the edge, right in the middle. When I lay the plane down (on its sole) to look for the dam' thing, guess where it will turn out to be?
Mama told me there'd be days like this, but she never said they'd come in hills, like potatoes.
Cheers,
Ray
Richard (my sons name) Geee..I figgure, if ya' can push that sucker across a slab of Hickory from one end to the other, ya' out' to be able to set it down on a bench!
With or without nails there!
> Aw cheez, the sole down/sole sideways controversy <
Well, we spend a fair bit of time dealing with stuff that does matter, so why not a bit of time talking about the barely rational things that really pee us off?
Malcolmhttp://www.macpherson.co.nz
Daggs
Turn back now or you will be sliding down a slippery slope from which there is no return! FIrst it will be the the regular Stanleys, and then you will decide that you have to have a preWW2 Stanley just so you can see the difference. Then you will find yourself staying up late at night perusing the ebay pages for the elusive 604 Bedrock because you just gotta have a better smoother for that tiger maple you just bought. Then you'll notice something very reflective about midway down the bench plane page on the Lie-Nielsen web site, solid cast manganese bronze smoothing plane, wipe the drool off your chin and take a deep breath. 5 months later and half of the planes you bought on Ebay are back on Ebay so that you can raise the funds to buy that georgeous infill plane with the massive 3/16 iron and beautiful rosewood tote and glittery brass sides that contrast so nicely with the steel sole, once again wipe the drool off your chin and take a deep breath. (yes there are therapy groups for this) Then you come to the realization that yes you can make that infill plane that you so desire, yes I can have my infill and save money at the same time (Yeah right!!) Turn back now or the second slippery slope will be coming up just about now!!
Ron
Heh, that's good, Ron.
All of the planes that I have are old antiques that I got off of eBay. Or at least they were advertised as antiques; they sure have the rust to validate it.
I sure enjoyed peeling off those long thin strips. It was pretty damn cool.
Daggs, You may want to check out the Stanley 4C I have for sale in the classifieds section. It is not rusty and would make a nice user or collector. I do a bit of collecting but I don't keep planes that I don't use.Ron
Daggs, I am stunned and amazed at your perception that the Ebay antique planes have rust. Don't you know that it's a "patina" commensurate with it's age and will make a fine addition to your collection or shop. I was sent for a cure after I filled my shelf 1 to 8 almost all bed rocks or cliftons and a LN 5 1/2 yorkie. The 1-2-5 1/4 and a few dupes at 4,4 1/2, 5 and 7 are bailey style, but I am done. I have recovered. enjoy, Pat
ps. don't ask me about specialty planes--would you know what a very large drawer full of 45's and 55's is called? A herd, a pride, a flock or a gagle?
a mould?
I have "patina".. BUT most folks just think I'm OLD!
Ron,
You must be peeping through my windows. I'm about up to the part where you put the old Stanleys back on ebay.
Do you have a number for one of those therapy groups?
Well down the slippery slope,
-Chuck
Don't worry Chuck I would imagine there are quite a few people on this forum that resemble my remarks. Just call 1-800-nomoplanes.Ron
I haven't slid down that slippery slope. I tumbled head over heels. It started with tuning up an old scrub plane and using it on some oak. Then a #5 jack plane, followed by a Stanley 7c jointer (Pat. 02). My latest fix for my addiction was a 5c Keen Kutter made by stanley for $4.00 I can listen to the radio as I get a workout. I love standing ankle deep in wood shavings and my skills are improving the more I use them. I found a patience I didn't know I had.
When you're hand planing, do you lift the plane off the wood on the return stroke? Just curious.
I'd bet we mostly just drag it back on the 'stick' thinkin' it will 'Hone' the blade... LOL
I do that BUT try NOT to!
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