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Thread: FWW's "Every Handplane Needs a Tuneup" - a video response

  1. #31
    Worse yet, I would not use a file to clean up/round the plane body on my bench

  2. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Fournier View Post
    It is very interesting to watch how a plane sole distorts when a blade is tightened. If you want the plane to be ideal in use it is critical to evaluate it's condition while under operating settings -tight blade.

    One thing to remember about measuring the flatness of a plane body is the temperature of the plane body. Holding the plane in your hands while lapping the sole will change it's dimensions and consequently flatness, especially in cooler conditions. Manipulating metal to a fine degree gets very fussy very quickly but it can be done with some knowledge and care.
    This comment intrigues me Chris--can you say more about how the sole distorts, and by any chance have you taken measurements, giving us a sense for how bad things could get lapping with the frog and blade assembly out?

    Thanks,

    P

    p.s. Hi to Carl from HP of yore (I was with HP Corvallis for 14 years), and thanks/your welcome as appropriate for folk's comments on the video.

  3. #33
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    As a machinist and toolmaker,I can verify that things like precision levels need to be handled with gloves. Micrometers will also be affected by the warmth of the hand. Many of the modern ones have plastic heat shields on them.

    The level I use to level my lathe is accurate to within a ten thousanth or so of tilt per foot. We are talking about very fine measurements here. Gage blocks are another tool you don't want to be affected by the heat of your hand. They can be accurate to millionths of an inch. They come in different grades of accuracy. When using high precision straight edges during re scraping of machine surfaces,and working to very close tolerances,the straight edges should be handled by the wooden handles usually mounted on them,or with gloves,or they will warp and give inaccurate readings.

  4. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by michael osadchuk View Post
    There is one qualification I would make to Pat's reply video.

    Pat recommends, at about the 2:35 point in his video to always flatten the back of a blade.

    Lee Valley blades, for at least the past four or five years have come to us with a very flat tolerance on their faces .... something like 0.0005" over their entire faces
    http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/pag...182,43698&ap=1
    ...... yes, I gather the faces have a dull charcoal grey finish to them, not "shiney" but they are flat.... I suggest is that if you want to make the last inch of the back 'shiney' use an 8000 grit stone or finer or some green honing compound (also to remove any burr which I suspect LV removes)

    good luck

    michael
    Great point Michael. For starters I should have called it "back preparation" or maybe "back polishing", as these blades are plenty flat. With a bit more time I'd have started the back discussion w/ something like "the objective (for the back) is to be flat and polished at the cutting edge", then gone on to various steps that might be necessary to achieve the objective, and how to decide which ones your blade needs. As George pointed out somewhere, learning to SEE well and work from there is invaluable, much preferable to applying a recipe.

    Given the flatness of blades from these companies, I could skip back prep, since with even a tiny back bevel all my polishing effort lands right at the cutting edge. However...I do still prep the back as shown (though perhaps less diligently than before, and in far less time with these nice flat blades), and from time to time polish the back laying flat on the 8000 stone as well as honing the back bevel. Why this apparently superfluous step? In order to keep rust at bay and stop pits from forming that would create problems down the road. Not sharpening per se, but worthwhile blade maintenance for me in rainy Oregon.

    Thanks for raising this point.

  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pinwu Xu View Post
    Worse yet, I would not use a file to clean up/round the plane body on my bench
    Couldn't agree more, my bench doesn't need embedded metal particles for patina!

  6. #36
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    Gage blocks are another tool you don't want to be affected by the heat of your hand.
    Having heard stories of journeymen tossing them in the garbage after some apprentice oiled them, I don't think I even want to breath near a set of gage blocks.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  7. #37
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    I cringed when I saw Tommy use the cap iron to loosen the chip breaker screw. I've seen far too many broken cap irons where that was the cause. Just because it fits doesn't make it the right tool for the job.
    I don't disagree with disassembling a plane and cleaning the excess oil off. If nothing else it gives the proud new owner a chance to learn how it all goes together. If ever I buy a new plane, I may do the same. I gravitate toward the old Stanleys and usually I have to disassemble them to clean the rust instead of oil off them. I have yet to find even one of my basket cases that was seriously out of flat on the sole. If you're buying the cheapest of the cheap then maybe you will need to flatten it. I wouldn't expect a high end manufacturer to let a plane that was out of flat leave the factory. I doubt the sole flattening step is really necessary.
    Rodney

  8. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rodney Walker View Post
    I cringed when I saw Tommy use the cap iron to loosen the chip breaker screw. I've seen far too many broken cap irons where that was the cause. Just because it fits doesn't make it the right tool for the job.
    I don't disagree with disassembling a plane and cleaning the excess oil off. If nothing else it gives the proud new owner a chance to learn how it all goes together. If ever I buy a new plane, I may do the same. I gravitate toward the old Stanleys and usually I have to disassemble them to clean the rust instead of oil off them. I have yet to find even one of my basket cases that was seriously out of flat on the sole. If you're buying the cheapest of the cheap then maybe you will need to flatten it. I wouldn't expect a high end manufacturer to let a plane that was out of flat leave the factory. I doubt the sole flattening step is really necessary.
    Rodney
    OMG! The FWW video didn't come through for me. If a person can not use the right tool for the job, they shouldn't be doing the job in the first place.

    Many of us have no problem taking apart a plane and putting it back together. Some folks have never had any experience with things mechanical and may have gotten into woodworking because it is a great way to make your own furniture or what have you.

    I have seen disasters from trying to thread a screw into a nut by those unfamiliar with what they were doing.

    I do not know if Veritas or Lie-Nielsen planes have 100% inspection. Even if they do, it is possible for a mistake to slip by at times. Their willingness to take care of their errors and even their non-errors puts them in a better category than most other tool makers.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  9. #39
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    I'm puzzled that folks can't view the video, since I can view it even when I'm logged out of FWW. While many FWW videos are subscriber only, I think the magazine companion videos are open because some folks buy the magazine at a store rather than by subscription.

    If you are interested, maybe try this: go to www.finewoodworking.com, scroll down about a page to a blue column on the right entitled "The Magazine". Click on "Video:Handplane How-to".

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Megowan View Post
    Here is the original FWW video:
    You should be able to see the original FWW Tommy MacDonald video even if you are not a FWW subscriber, I just tested this with a friend:

    Go to www.finewoodworking.com,

    Scroll down about a page to a pale blue area on the right entitled "The Magazine".

    As of this second, the second Online Extra is entitled "Video:Handplane How-to"--click on it.

    Play the video.

    --------------------

    Hope this helps

  11. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Megowan View Post
    You should be able to see the original FWW Tommy MacDonald video even if you are not a FWW subscriber, I just tested this with a friend:

    Go to www.finewoodworking.com,

    Scroll down about a page to a pale blue area on the right entitled "The Magazine".

    As of this second, the second Online Extra is entitled "Video:Handplane How-to"--click on it.

    Play the video.

    --------------------

    Hope this helps
    Pat,

    i am not a subscriber and was able to see it. I think it is likely an adobe flash issue where some may not have it installed or may be using a mac which tends not to play nice with adobe stuff.

    Josh

  12. #42
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    Thanks for the tech support Josh!

  13. #43
    So I finally decided to open this thread and see what's up. My first reaction reading the title, "Every Handplane Needs a Tuneup", was "Uh, no it doesn't." They must be running out of material, or something. I do hope people watching that video don't do any of that past taking it out of the bag and removing the oil from the sole.


  14. #44
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    Wow, I am so glad I'm not the only one that had an adverse reaction to that article/video.

    To me, the first dead giveaway that I shouldn't be reading was when it was stated a new plane needed tuning up. Uh, sorry, but I'm not going to be dropping $425 on a Lie-Nielsen jointer that's ground flat and square, or to within .0015" of flat just to run it over sandpaper clamped to my bench. Nor do I really think a Lie-Nielsen (or Lee Valley) for that matter has burrs running rampant.

    That said. . .sure, I'd tune up a new Stanley, or maybe even an old Stanley. Use a wood top? Nah, I'll take the 24" piece of floated glass I have, thanks.
    The Barefoot Woodworker.

    Fueled by leather, chrome, and thunder.

  15. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    Yes, thanks for the video Pat.

    One thing that slipped by me was the attaching the blade and chip breaker. Because of being a bit of a klutz and trying to do things in a safe manner, my practice of tightening the chip breaker has developed into setting the assembly on a piece of hardwood, at least as long as the blade, while turning the screw. When loosening the screw, the sharp end is to the left. When tightening the screw, the blade edge is to the right. To me this seems safer than trying to hold the blade in the air and it keeps the blade and breaker in alignment. Usually before tightening, the assembly's edge is lightly pressed with the blade of the screwdriver while it is setting on the block of wood or bench top.

    jtk
    I hold the chip breaker/blade assembly while I tighten/loosen. It's not particularly that hard to feel when the chip breaker starts to slip (or if it does slip). But I also use a foot-long screwdriver to tighten the thing down so that I can make sure the chip breaker is married to the tip of the blade to minimize chatter.

    I'm actually more worried about running the screwdriver through my hand than the blade of the plane mauling my hand, to be honest.
    The Barefoot Woodworker.

    Fueled by leather, chrome, and thunder.

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