Replies

1. 
   JeffHeath | Apr 27, 2008 12:43am | #1

   No doubt, hickory is a very hard wood.  However, with a properly tuned and sharpened plane, you shouldn't be experiencing these troubles.  Are you planing against the grain?  It also sounds like your cutter is a bit too deep. 

   If your plane is working well on other hardwoods, try to take a slightly lighter cut on the hickory.

   Jeff

1. 
   heirloombill | Apr 27, 2008 05:23am | #3

   I have tried various depth settings. Some shavings came off my set up poplar scrap piece so fine I didn't need to hold it up to light to see through them. I am trying to use my L-N 4-1/2 York pitch finish plane which is very well tuned. I was wondering if I am the only one that has experienced so much grief from hickory? Would it help if set up a second blade at perhaps 60 degrees or so? Bill

1. 
   JeffHeath | Apr 27, 2008 03:58pm | #10

   Is the plane you're using tuned properly, and does it have a flat sole??  I can take proper shavings off of cherry and poplar with a sharpened spoon.  Those are easy woods to plane.  Hickory is quite a different story, much harder.

   That would be the first place I'd be checking.  If the area in front of and behind the mouth isn't in the same flat "plane" as the toe and heel of the plane, then you will continue to experience these problems.  If so, fettle the plane to flatness, and try again. 

   Hickory is definately a tough wood, but I've worked with it before, and planed it without incident.  You could, however, have yourself a piece of stock which is particularly gnarly.  Try another piece, also, for varying results.

   Jeff

   Edited 4/27/2008 8:59 am ET by JeffHeath

2. 
   BruceS | Apr 27, 2008 03:59am | #2

   Hickory problems.  I just machine planed some hickory a few weeks ago and the grain was wild.  With new blades I was still getting chip and tear outs no matter what direction I planed it.  Ended up using my Performax drum sander to solve the problem.

   Work Safe,  Count to 10 when your done for the day !!

   Bruce S. 

    

1. 
   heirloombill | Apr 27, 2008 05:35am | #4

   Ah how I have wished for a sander such as yours---someday. Till then I keep slugging it out with my plane collection. I haven't had a request for Hickory before and I admit this is a real experience. At the point were I am thinking about breaking down and using my little belt sander to flush the surfaces that didn't mate up perfectly. I am not trying to dimension the lumber just get the faces all in the same plane now after glueing the faceframes and such. Keep on making shavings. Bill

1. 
   BruceS | Apr 27, 2008 05:47am | #5

   Nothing wrong with hand planes!!! I'am using them more and more.  Great way to burn off a few calories and get in some cardio-pulmonary, only 25lbs. to go.Work Safe,  Count to 10 when your done for the day !!

   Bruce S. 

    

3. 
   lwilliams | Apr 27, 2008 06:53am | #6

   edited to correct depth of cut statement, explained in a later post

   Bill,

   The depth of cut of your planes will vary according to the density and deflection of the wood. Hickory deflects less than poplar or cherry so a plane set to take a .001" shaving on hickory will take a lighter shaving on cherry and even lighter on poplar. There are some boards that seem to defy finishing well with a plane and that could be what you're dealing with.

   You didn't say what plane you're using. Because you seem to be able to take very fine shavings in cherry, my first guess is that you're sole is very slightly out of flat where the mouth is more recessed than areas ahead of and behind it. If this is what you're experiencing it's very slight--maybe a couple thousandths of an inch. A plane like this will usually work fine in mild woods but balk and tear things up when used in a more demanding situation. Both wood and metal planes will flex enough to pull the mouth coplanar with the rest of the sole which also increases depth of cut.

   Other areas you might want to check is how well the iron is bedded (supported by the bed) and your sharpening. I don't think it's your sharpening because of your description of the plane's performance and shavings. If flattening the sole doesn't fix your problem you'll have to remove the iron to check the bedding. I'd double check the sharpening if I removed the iron for any reason.

   I'm not sure this is much help to you because I can't tell what's going on without seeing and using the plane. If flattening the sole doesn't help, I can give you some pointers on bedding the iron but I'd need to know what kind of plane it is.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 4/27/2008 9:04 am by lwilliams

1. 
   heirloombill | Apr 27, 2008 07:03am | #7

   Thank you for your reply...it made me stand and take a good think. I had not considered fully the wood deflection idea at all. A Hmm moment. I have to get some sleep but will try the sole to a bright light and straight edge in the morning before anything else. The plane I most often grab for these little true up jobs is Lie-Nielsen 4 1/2 smoother with high angle frog iron angle set at 27 degrees.
   My wife would be shocked if she knew I actually think at night. :)Bill

1. 
   lwilliams | Apr 27, 2008 03:55pm | #9

   Bill,I wrote the part about depth of cut backwards last night. It should have said, "...a plane set to take a .001" shaving on hickory will take a lighter shaving on cherry and even lighter on poplar." Sorry about that. I'm going to edit that post to be right.The reason for this is the wood deflects ahead of the cutting edge. When it bends in the direction of the cut it leaves less of the wood fibers exposed to the cutting edge. Planes and other cutting tools need clearance angles behind the edge because these fibers spring back after they're severed. I never thought about using the difference in cutting depth at the same plane setting as a way to explain why 12º bedded planes suffer from heavy wear on the back side of the edge but it's a great way to demonstrate what's going on.

2. 
   derekcohen | Apr 27, 2008 08:31am | #8

   my first guess is that you're sole is very slightly out of flat where the mouth is more recessed than areas ahead of and behind it. If this is what you're experiencing it's very slight--maybe a couple thousandths of an inch. A plane like this will usually work fine in mild woods but balk and tear things up when used in a more demanding situation. Both wood and metal planes will flex enough to pull the mouth coplanar with the rest of the sole which also increases depth of cut.

   Good point Larry.

   I have recently had first hand experience of this. Trying out a new woodie smoother it worked fine in mid-hard Tasmanian Oak and was able to take fine shavings and leave a clean surface. On hard Jarrah it would not cut and required a slight blade projection adjustment. However now it just chattered or left a coarser finish. I sharpened and re-sharpened blades, and spent time meticulously adjusting the blade. These did not help. This was a new plane custom made so I was not expecting this effort. I subsequently checked the sole with a straight edge and could see light around the mouth area. I lapped the sole on 360 grit W&D. There was not much to remove, but it was all in front of the mouth. The wood must have moved in its journey across the Pond. After lapping it was working as I expected of it.

   Generally when I experience unexpected chatter or a difficulty in obtaning a reliably fine shaving on a smoother, then it is time to check whether, as you note, the sole is coplaner.

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

4. 
   WillGeorge | Apr 27, 2008 05:58pm | #11

   I agree with Jeff but I do not use hand planes that often. I only have a large wooden jointer' and my trusty old Stanley #7 which I feel works great! I have no idea how those so called 'good planes work'. I have the same problem with Purpleheart and sometimes Jatoba. Just like the plane was a ice skate! I know exactly where you are coming from! Been there many times.

   Edge planing usually goes OK but face planing is another matter.

   I gave up long ago trying. Now, I run it through my drum sander to get the rough stuff off and then finish it off with a scraper. I put on my welding gloves because that scraper sure does get HOT!

   I use Hickory often, but not as much as my other favorites. As far as the plane issue, as Jeff mentions, I have no idea. My plane will slide on the Hickory and Purpleheart and I can turn around and get nice shavings on some white or red oak? I do not use hand planes enough to add anything useful for you.

1. 
   heirloombill | Apr 28, 2008 04:03pm | #13

   Thank you all for the helpful feedback. I have checked and will be doing a little sole flattening. As mentioned this stuff is hard but really quite attractive, grain wise. As a learning process it has helped me to understand why I prefer working with Cherry so much! This is a wonderful community that I intend to frequent much more often! Time to be getting the heart rate up now. Thanks again Bill

5. 
   danmart | Apr 28, 2008 12:04am | #12

   Bill

   I live in the North Carolina Piedmont area and we have a ton of hickory. I have tried to use hickory in windsor chairs for the spindles and some of the bendings over the last 25 years.

   When hickory is green, its a friend. When hickory dries up just a little-- its a bear.

   If hickory was easy to work-- it would be on the shelf. I drift towards red oak for all of my splitting and shaping because its easy. I don't have any great love of red oak but it lets your tools pass thru without much of a fight. Hickory... No.

   If you are set on using hickory, you will need to adjust and go forward. This wood is just difficult to work when its dry.

   If the hickory in front of you is dry- take a super light cut and turn on the fan. You are going to be working to get it done.

   If you get as frustrated as I have in the past, just put it aside... its the best wood you will every stuff in your wood stove.

   Good luck with the hickory.

   dan