Was wondering how many of you lift the plane when your pulling it back. I'll do it most of the time when I'm working an edge, but when I'm doing a larger surface like a table top I seem not to.
Thoughts?
[OP]
Member
Was wondering how many of you lift the plane when your pulling it back. I'll do it most of the time when I'm working an edge, but when I'm doing a larger surface like a table top I seem not to.
Thoughts?
Last edited by Judson Green; 01-27-2016 at 4:14 PM.
I got cash in my pocket. I got desire in my heart....
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Hogging off wood with a scrub plane there isn't a need to pick up the plane. It is faster to not lift the plane.
When working with something like a Stanley 45, it is sometimes best to lift the plane before the end of the stroke. This is due to the planing starting at one end and working back. The starting point gets to shape before the rest of the work. Lifting the plane toward the end of the stroke prevents over cutting the shape. I speculated that this might be why planes like the Stanley 45 have rounded toes.
If you look at a lot of old planes you will notice worn toes. My guess is workers would lift the back of the plane on the back stroke but drag the toe.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
I release the pressure on the return so there is a slight raising but, unless you were a hand tool user I don't know that you'd notice while watching me.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
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I lighten up, but don't lift up.
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What Tom said.
I lift up a little, but I don't inhale. Heh.
It really depends. On a flat surface I'm bad at lifting. I just relax on the pressure. On an edge the plane comes completely off. I am guessing I am subconsciously more aware of the precision on the edge, mostly because I'm jointing. Which ties back to the inhale quip above, even though it wasn't intended...
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I minimally lift the heel as Jim described.Originally Posted by Judson Green
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I don't put any pressure on the sole on the return stroke but I certainly don't pick the plane up.
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I doubt it makes much difference, and the lift is measurable in 32nds of an inch, but there's less friction if the plane's in the air.
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I do about like the average of the above comments. Certainly a lot less pressure.
It does seem to me that, since the plane iron edge is lower than the sole, dragging it backward would wear the back/bottom of the edge.
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I may be in the minority. But I sometimes find that by dragging the blade back across the work, I can hear/feel when the blade has gotten past the front edge of the workpiece... Such that, I have pulled the plane back far enough that the return stroke is over, and I can make another pass forward.
Member
Only with a smoothing plane when going for final finish. I totally lift plane off wood and do next stroke.
Bigger planes I just drag it back. I don't think it affects the blade much.
You'll see tilting the plane on return stroke advocated by many, but IME this can leave marks on wood.
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I lift the plane and remove the shaving.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
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Don't forget to measure it... :-)
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I don't lift up, but I don't press down either. When pulling back, I am not pressing down. Does that count as lifting? I am lifting pressure but not lifting the plane up.
In any case, I don't think it makes a difference.
From the workshop under the staircase, Clinton Township, MI
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+1 on all accounts.
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