Using my planes, but things are out of square

[Dan Karachio]

After a year or so, I think I finally have a good sharpening technique and I look for every possible chance to use my planes (vs the jointer and the planer). However, something is not right with my technique. In the past week I planed some tapers on some legs (cut originally on the bandsaw). I also planed down some narrow pieces to final width (planed the edge). In both cases I am ending up with the planed surfaces being out of square to the other surface. What might I be doing wrong? I have been using primarily my Lie Nielsen #4. I'm not taking off much, but the squareness issue comes up quick. Is it something with technique? Might my plane blade be a little angled? What should I trouble shoot first?

On the plus side, I am getting great results in planing boards and boy am I getting some "finish ready" surfaces with that #4. I am really loving this and any time I can use a plane over a sander or sand paper, I am one happy person. My other planes are a LN low angle block and a Veritas #5 bevel up jack. I know... I need more.

[Sean Hughto]

Unless you put a fence on your plane, your hands control the relative position of the sole to the faces of the board. In short, yeah, it's your technique. With some practice - checking periodically with a square, you'll begin to get the feel of "square." Even if you cant get the feel, there are shooting boards you might set up, or more simply, just check with a square, and take some passes to plane off the high side.

[Dan Karachio]

Thanks Sean, I seem to lean to the right - when planing! No politics on SMC!

I'll try and figure out why I do this.

[James Scheffler]

Unless you put a fence on your plane, your hands control the relative position of the sole to the faces of the board. In short, yeah, it's your technique. With some practice - checking periodically with a square, you'll begin to get the feel of "square." Even if you cant get the feel, there are shooting boards you might set up, or more simply, just check with a square, and take some passes to plane off the high side.

I would add that the blade projection has to be even. A little error there will mess up the squareness of the edge.

[James Taglienti]

The fastest (and least precise) way to check the cutter is to sight down the sole and observe the blade as it stands proud of the plane bottom. I am pretty bad at this but I find that I have better luck tilting the plane towards me slightly and sighting the cutter to the front edge of the mouth. Then I check the depth of cut with my fingertips. carefully. I know I am just inviting other inconsistencies (ie mouth out of square) by doing this, but it seems to work pretty well.

If it was my situation I would check the lateral first. When I'm using a smoother I check it on a piece of scrap by making a couple passes and making sure the shaving is consistent and fades away to nothing on both sides.

When smoothing tapered legs with a cambered cutter, if they're square to start with, I start smoothing with the plane about halfway off the edge of the workpiece and make multiple strokes until i'm about halfway off the other side. I am inclined to sometimes work the same spot until all the bandsawn roughness is gone and I expose nice, smooth wood, but this invites crookedness.

If the leg is narrow enough to get it in a single pass, I'll use a plane with a square ground cutter. I test it for square by finding a scrap that I know has a square edge. Then I'll make a nice even pass with the plane along that edge, right down the center of the sole, and recheck it for square. If it's out of square, I adjust the lateral accordingly. hope that helps.

[Prashun Patel]

Have you checked your blade for square?
Or, have you checked your shavings for uniform thickness?

If that's dead-on, then +1 for altering yr technique. Are you able to clamp a fence to the side of your sole when jointing? I've done that when it really matters.

[Richard Magbanua]

I've used a technique I've read about from Chris Schwarz. When squaring a narrow edge I use a cambered blade. I use my fingers as a fence to keep the same area of blade in contact as I plane. Then I check the stock for square. If I am off a bit I simply move my finger fence to either side. Since it's a cambered blade it will take more off of the side I choose. You can make very precise adjustments like this. Other than that, just check for square frequently and try to create a "topographical map" in your head and remove what you need.

[Paul Murphy]

LN had a nice series of free web sharpening videos. In them they demonstrate taking a shaving from both sides of the blade, and adjusting until both sides plane equal thickness shavings. I am no expert, but it seems to work pretty well. I don't have the feel for square yet, so I have to check as I work also.

[Gary Hodgin]

If you want to see where you're planning and where you're not, put some pencil marks across your board and plane.

[Dan Karachio]

If you want to see where you're planning and where you're not, put some pencil marks across your board and plane.

Brilliant! Thanks and for all the other good advice!

[george wilson]

Pencil marks are good,the equivalent of machinist's Prussian blue when scraping off high spots.

Checking your work more often with a square will help too.

I set my blade by making a little tunnel over the blade of my upturned plane blade(in the plane,of course),and setting it the same all across the sole. The shading helps a lot.

If you want to examine a big surface you are planing,shut the lights off,and get the work between you and a window as distant as possible(you don't want too much light). You could shade the window to make it smaller if you have a smaller shop. Look across the surface with your eyes close to the surface. Dips and hills will stick out like a sore thumb.

I taught this trick to wind tunnel makers in Newport News years ago. They were making big wind tunnels out of jelutong(sp?) wood,and were having trouble locating waviness in their work.

[Kirk Poore]

Pencil marks are good,the equivalent of machinist's Prussian blue when scraping off high spots.

Checking your work more often with a square will help too.

Do these, and practice. I won't say a whole lot, but consistently, like every day or two for two or three weeks. You will get to the point that you can see square, and you can square up stuff by tilting the plane a little. Sure, you'll still need to use your square, but only intermittently and to make sure you're finally done.

Kirk

[Dan Karachio]

Thanks again everyone, I will take all this advice.

[Erwin Graween]

Hi.

You can also try the plane gauges like stanley 386. But they're expensive.

But as someone told me once, they're like training wheel on bikes, once you can ride, you don't use them anymore.

Anyway, I think the keyword is training !

Best Regards.

[Terry Beadle]

I have found that I need to check the camber with a extremely straight edge. Rock maple is what I use. I find that it can wander over sharpening sessions and needs to be centered as recommended by Mr. Charlesworth.

The other thing is to make the camber about 4 to 5 thou on a jack.
2 to 3 thou on a jointer. 1 ~ 2 on a smoother.

Use the jack to get square. The jointer and smoother should finish it up.

As every one has recommended....practice, check square, and mark with penciled tic marks the working edge. More tics for more out of square and fewer for close to square, none or a straight across the edge for square.

It's the process not the product ! Enjoy!