Shaping plane irons. I am planning to put a bit of curve into the irons in my Jointer, Jack and Smoothing planes. I have read articles that say it is a must and others say not to worry about it. I bought my planes used and all had straight grinds on the irons. Anyone have any thoughts?
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Replies
On everything but rabbet types, I tend to favor some degree of camber (e.g., more for the jack and very little for the smoothers).
I just ease the corners of smooth planes and jointers, so they don't leave tracks when flattening panels and you do get flat edges when jointing.
On jack planes I do put a radius on, bigger (less curve) for hardwoods and smaller (more curve) for softwoods.
I don't go in much for the science of it all, but that's what I do and it works.
David
See Derek Cohen's informative piece at http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=fw-knots&msg=42875.5
Mike D
(or just search for message 42875.5)
You only need a flat iron to produce a straight edge when jointing edges. Other than that, I find a cambered iron much more useful.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
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