How to plane.

[david charlesworth]

This passage comes from Robert Wearing's excellent book The Essential Woodworker, now published by Lost Arts Press.

Before trying to plane, settle the front of the plane on the job. This is vital. ------------- Now push forward steadily. Do not draw back the plane to take a swing at it. Do not disturb the 'settled' front A beginner or child will it helpful to to keep the right elbow well tucked in and to push using a body motion, as one would if trying to push the bench. When more skill has been developed, more of an arm movement may be employed. This method of planing with the arm tucked in will continue to useful for great accuracy and when the wood is unusually hard. It is particularly difficult to maintain the necessary downward pressure when the plane is at arms length.

Robert was taught by some of England's most notable craftsmen, just after WW2.

The clip on my You Tube channel was intended to show some of this technique.

David Charlesworth

[Jim Koepke]

A beginner or child will it helpful to to keep the right elbow well tucked in and to push using a body motion, as one would if trying to push the bench

This reminds me of my oldest grandson, now 14, on his first time using a hand plane. This is pretty much the form he took as he 'ran' along side the bench taking his first shaving with an LN #1. My recollection is at the time he was 6 years old.

jtk

[Phil Mueller]

David, like I said in a previous post, it works very well for me. No shoulder fatigue and much better results.

[Luke Dupont]

Hi David,

I'll start by saying that I do really like your structure and approach, but I think this discussion is missing a point that goes beyond structure.

I apologize if I keep bringing up Martial Arts, but I have seen countless debates on forums along the same lines as we're discussing here. Some people tend to focus on structure in a more static sense, whilst others focus on it in a more dynamic sense. Your structure and technique as you demonstrated show excellent body mechanics, and it obviously meets with good results for you and your students. However -- and, I am no expert when it comes to hand planing or woodworking in general -- quite the opposite, but I think you may be overlooking the dynamic side of things; ie, one can maintain very good structure whilst in motion, even when the arms become more extended in motion -- even though you do not want to remain in that extended position, because it's not good structure to do so! Hopefully I can show how this is not as contradicting as it seems on the surface.

In my primary art of study, Wing Chun, we adopt a structure very similar to how you plane, with elbows tucked in, the spine straight, and the force transmitted from the ground through the lower body. We have an imaginary connection between the hips and the elbow, and sink the shoulder in order to drive the elbow forward with the lower body, and not try to "push" it with the weight of the upper body. In my experience, this structure works very well for planing. However, I do believe that the arm can be allowed more movement than you show; you utilize a static structure, as we do also, and the position of your arms in that static position are, indeed, strong. Movement can be introduced, however; whilst you are in a position of compromised structure with the arms extended, and you certainly are with the arms collapsed (this is the only position which should never occur even during movement), extending is not a problem if done correctly. Correct extension is a dynamic motion, going from the ideal position, and shooting out forward in a relaxed manner; not leaning and breaking body structure, and not tensing or trying to over extend. Nor does it rear back and contract inwards starting from a collapsed position. The elbow simply shoots forward supported by the lower body, which remains structurally sound and supports the elbow via the ground. This results in a given momentum; a relaxed penetrating force, as opposed to a gradual pushing force, and can plow through more resistance with less effort expended. This is how we create penetrating force for a punch, for example, as opposed to pushing, and I believe is necessary for taking very heavy cuts in planing. It's the flip side of the technique that you demonstrate, which is also excellent, but I do not think encompasses the whole of planing. Both rely on the same structure, but utilize a different sort of power to suit the situation.

Here. This video demonstrates the structure that we generally use. You can see how the spine remains upright, the elbows remain close to and supported by the body and hips, and there is no loss of connection; ie, the joints are not allowed to collapse, and the arms do not lag behind the body. This video demonstrates a fairly static structure, whilst still being dynamic. Note, however, that power is delivered in a manner closer to "pushing" than "penetrating," as you're not looking to hurt your training partner, only to practice finding lines of attack and responding to your opponent whilst maintaining good structure and technique under pressure:


*Please see the following post for the contrasting video which demonstrates a "penetrating"/"throwing" force with which I mean to contrast this. I can only include one video per post, it seems.

[Luke Dupont]

...Continued:

Now, contrast this to the way energy is delivered, whilst still maintaining the same form, when you are attempting to "penetrate" a target:


An important note: what may look like "all arms" at times is very much being driven and supported by the lower body. Focusing only on what parts are moving gives a false impression. Many people plane, or indeed punch, with a lot of body movement, yet very little of it is going into supporting the hand at the end of the link. Think more in terms of "engaging" the body and "connecting" the joints may be a more productive way of thinking about things.

In application, both are valid, but are needed at different times. If you need to make space, or control, off balance, or defend, you may use a more static structure, and might (or might not) employ a gentler pushing type of energy. Alternatively, if the situation is such that you want to deliver a strike, a relaxed, penetrating "throwing" sort of power is used. The only wrong sort of power is one that is tense, mal-aligned, unsupported by the body, or breaks your body structure at its core.

And, I am sure that, just as there are many diverse opinions, methods, and particular systems for delivering power and utilizing good body mechanics in the Martial Arts, the same is likely true of planing. There are many ways to do things "well" and correct, just as there are many things to do things objectively wrong. I try to stay open to and explore all methods, and see what works for me -- my physique, my work, my psychology, my body structure, my height, my tools, my materials, and meshes with my past experience and understanding. What I find is required or "best" may not at all be necessary or ideal for someone else who has a very different range of needs and concerns. That's why I love to see so many different takes on things. It's just sad that, whilst there are many angles to objective "truth," we all have our own, narrow, and limited view of the whole scope of that objective truth, and that leads us to criticize others who don't see it from our particular angle.

So, my only point was to give some food for thought regarding a broader perspective, and trying to offer possible connections. Of course, all with the caveat that I might be completely off the mark here, as I'm quite new to the subject of planes and planing in comparison to most of you here, and I do not intend to say that planing and martial arts should be exactly the same; there are differences in what we are doing, obviously. However, the general principles we are discussing are the same, and whilst the range of motion or purpose and intend may be different, physics and body mechanics are universal.

The line that stands out to me is "When more skill has been developed, more of an arm movement may be employed."
As with anything, it's best to learn first from a static position, and then introduce more movement where and when it is necessary. I am curious to know what the extent and form of that movement might be as the author intends it, though.

[Phil Mueller]

Luke, interesting videos, thank you. In planing, particularly rough stock, you're going to hit highs and lows that either jolt you to a stop, or sends you into over extension. By tucking arms in to the body and moving along, it seems the risk of hurting yourself is minimized in the sudden starts and stops.

How, in martial arts, do they teach you to deal with either throwing a punch and the target moves closer than you expected, or the target dodges the punch altogether. In other words, control unexpected misses or more sooner impact than expected.

[Pat Barry]

Luke i don't see anything in those two videos that have anything to do with planing a board. None the less, if it works for you, by all means have at it.

[Derek Cohen]

This passage comes from Robert Wearing's excellent book The Essential Woodworker, now published by Lost Arts Press.Before trying to plane, settle the front of the plane on the job. This is vital. ------------- Now push forward steadily. Do not draw back the plane to take a swing at it. Do not disturb the 'settled' front A beginner or child will it helpful to to keep the right elbow well tucked in and to push using a body motion, as one would if trying to push the bench. When more skill has been developed, more of an arm movement may be employed. This method of planing with the arm tucked in will continue to useful for great accuracy and when the wood is unusually hard. It is particularly difficult to maintain the necessary downward pressure when the plane is at arms length.Robert was taught by some of England's most notable craftsmen, just after WW2.The clip on my You Tube channel was intended to show some of this technique.David Charlesworth

Hi David

Thanks for posting this quote. This is a fresh continuation of the thread "elbows", again with a focus on dynamics. It encourages me again to go into philosophical mode and describe my thoughts on planing. Two factors come to mind. One is a stationary position, and the other a fluid position.

A stationary position in planing is at the shooting board. We are required to stand behind the plane and push it forward, which at first may appear counter to the Wearing recommendation. What makes shooting workable is that the shooting board guides the plane. Yet it is still possible to unbalance the plane by pulling the arm back and thrusting the plane forward along the runway. The correct way to shoot is position the plane behind the work piece and just push forward. The relevance of this is that - while shooting is not the equivalent of using a jack or jointer - it demonstrates that the use of body dynamics are still required to channel power for control. The question then is 'What provides controlled power when planing'?

I am grateful for Luke's presentation on the art of Wing Chung. I studied Shotokan Karate for many years, and the dynamics are the same. They are also the same in many sports that combine balance and power: tennis, squash and surfing (your old sport), skiing (as described by Patrick), and other martial arts, such as Judo. Controlled power comes from balance, and balance comes from a lower centre of effort (a sailing term I have used on other occasions to describe the force vectors when using a plane with a low centre of gravity).

In physical terms, the power is supplied by the legs, hips and buttocks, and this is then transferred to the upper body and arms. (I am sure that we all have own own memories of the physical pain from efforts with unused muscles. My own is being back on the squash court after a lay off, exerting myself as if I had not, and ending up with a really painful posterior - because that is the part of the anatomy we use when we accelerate).

If all we do when planing is to use our arms - pushing forward - then the brunt of the effort transfers to the shoulders and arms. This will lead to excess fatigue ... and open the door to overuse injuries, such as tendonitis.

In karate one brings the hips into play by keeping the elboys close to the body and dropping the centre of effort. In skiing we hear the cry, "bend the knees". One does the same in tennis.

Another relevant concept is the Triangle of Power. This is the combination of Body Movement, Structure, and Range. It is the last item that is not clearly explained by Wearing or your video. It is no doubt present (the description,"pushing the bench" suggests that this is so), but just not obvious enough.

Keeping the elbows tucked in while planing should lower the centre of effort. The videos I viewed and reported on revealed that powerful planing comes from a low and horizontal forearm - not leaning over the plane. Walking along while smoothing or jointing should work as long as the centre of effort remain low - elbow tucked in and upright stance.

When planing from a stationary position one needs to retain control and power. Lunging forward brings shoulders into action. This is still ok if the movement is not too extended, however lunging too far forward without the hips overextends the range, and this then transfers effort to unwanted body parts, such as shoulders and arms alone. (Hence the out-of-control shooting board reference at the start).

What I would like to see is the other side of the planing bench - rather than watch your elbows when walking forward, I would want to watch your hips and legs. I think what one will find is a movement that links them to your upper torso, and how the power is generated, before being transferred via elbows to the upper torso and then the plane.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Kees Heiden]

Sometimes we walk, sometimes we run. Running is more fatigueing and more prone to inflict damage on our bodies, but it gets a lot more work done in shorter time.

The martial arts from Luke are a good demonstration of the other aspect of dynamic planing, you can put more force into your action. Say you are boxing and you are only pushing your oponent. At best you can push him away from you. But when you punch, you can knock him out. It s the same withplaning, when you only push you can't take as thick a shaving as when you plane dynamically. One thing is true in the Wearing quote, you put the plane down first, then you accelerate.

The boards I was planing had a bow along the length, about 0.5 cm deep. I remove material in the high area first. When I take a 0.3 mm (12 thou) thick jack plane shaving, then it takes me about 16 shavings to reach the depth. The board is of course wider then a shaving, say about 5 shavings wide so I need to take 5 x 16 = 80 shavings. If I would do the same work wth a smoothing plane, only pushing 0.07 mm (3 thou) shavings, it would take me 5 x 70 = 350 shavings! Slow ones at that! And that is only taking the hump out of the board.

Another point is the irregularities in the wood. I don't often work with nice, expensive, homogenous boards. Mine are always full of knots and grain reversals. That makes for a jarring ride. The speed of a more dynamic planing style builds momentum, which helps to power though these irregularities.

Now of course I need to work on the connection between arms and lower body, like it was so clear from my earlier videos. I feel that I made some significant progress this week. And what's more, as long as I don't exersise too long in a row, the work is hardly hurting my elbows anymore. (The first reason I got problems was doing way too much with too little training and not quiting when it started to hurt).

[Luke Dupont]

Luke, interesting videos, thank you. In planing, particularly rough stock, you're going to hit highs and lows that either jolt you to a stop, or sends you into over extension. By tucking arms in to the body and moving along, it seems the risk of hurting yourself is minimized in the sudden starts and stops.

How, in martial arts, do they teach you to deal with either throwing a punch and the target moves closer than you expected, or the target dodges the punch altogether. In other words, control unexpected misses or more sooner impact than expected.

As far as hitting sooner than expected, It's a bit of a feeling thing. Ie, you add the last bit of extra "oomph" as soon as/if you sense contact. This kind of helps over and undershooting. Missing/failing to make contact is not really a problem (aside from the fact that you need to recover quickly so your hands are in a position to defend) because you're not committing your balance into the action, and can quickly recover. And by remaining relaxed, you can avoid injury and instantly sense whether you've made contact with the opponent, missed, or were deflected. That "sensitivity" is something we rely on quite a bit; the brain processes sensory information almost instantly - far faster than your eyes can. So, we make it a point to learn to feel and flow with any pressure that we are given (if, say, an opponent intercepts our hand and presses or pushes in different directions. You learn to feel that and flow.)

I'm not sure exactly how well this relates to planing, but I do find that I have fewer problems when I stay relaxed. Basically, loss of control is more of an issue when you are tensed up and overcommitting your body/energy. A good example that might tie in well is what we refer to as "springy forward energy," if you will. Imagine if someone tries to push your arm out of the way to open up your defense. What is your natural response? Most likely, it is to resist their force in the opposite direction. We try not to do this, however, because both his force, and our force are going off to the side, and neither pose a threat. What that means is, I don't need to be there to stop his force unless his force is coming directly at me and posing a threat, and if I do resist, that does two things; it stiffens me up and gives him a "leaver" to affect my entire body, posture, and balance, and it directs my energy in the wrong direction, so if that force is suddenly released from my arm, my tension then carries my arm away from him and away from me, off of the centerline between us. What I want is for any force to be directed and returned always towards my opponent. That way, if temporary contact is made and then lost, my hand wants to feel that opening and shoot in towards my opponent, not away from him, and if something tries to push my arm off of the center, I will resist it only so long as it creates a threat; an opponent can push my arm sideways, and will succeed in doing so, but that is of no consequence to me because I did not need to fight his motion; better to let my hand collapse and stay on center where I have the line to attack and defend. Don't meet every action with an equal and opposite reaction, basically; as much as it is human nature to do so.

So, staying relaxed, and being mindful of where you place place your force and balance (<- this bit is surprisingly difficult, incidentally!) is always the answer for better control and sensitivity. I made a thread some time ago about not being able to saw straight, and having problems jointing square. Someone brought up the concept of staying relaxed. That's something which was constantly stressed in my martial arts training, so I decided to apply it to my woodworking, and both my sawing and jointing have improved dramatically. My sawing more so than my jointing, perhaps, but still! Unnecessary tension will always take you off the line, it seems. And, Wing Chun, like woodworking, is all about staying on the line

Luke i don't see anything in those two videos that have anything to do with planing a board. None the less, if it works for you, by all means have at it.

Hi Pat! I figured the relationship might not be all that obvious. Maybe I can record a video at some point showing how I think the two might relate, and how one might use such structure in the context of planing a board. The difficulty about this sort of thing is that a lot of it is subtle and can be "felt" more easily than "seen".

Another point is the irregularities in the wood. I don't often work with nice, expensive, homogenous boards. Mine are always full of knots and grain reversals. That makes for a jarring ride. The speed of a more dynamic planing style builds momentum, which helps to power though these irregularities.

I agree; that was my experience too, and why I advocate "throwing" the plane and using momentum, akin to throwing a relaxed punch. It's effortless and allows you to cut right through knots and difficult grain, where as you'd be stopped in your tracks going slow and trying to "muscle" your way through. With thin shavings, you may be able to go slow and not muscle at all, but as the need to take heavier shavings arises, you need that momentum to over come the added resistance without tensing up.

In terms of staying connected, this might help: be careful not to move the body before the arms. A lot of people, in trying to use their body, move the body first and then follow with the arms. What this does is collapse and stuff up their position; because if you move the body first and the arms lag behind, your arms are now collapsed too much into your body and it's very hard to get going; the connection is broken, and you're actually hindering rather than helping.

So, I would actually start without body movement, and focus on sinking into your stance and transfering power from your hips, into your elbows. Align the spine straight up and over the hips, sink into your stance, sink your shoulders, and imagine a connection from your elbows, to your hips, down to the ground, and let the ground support your action. Then, try to keep that connection when you add body movement, whilst not allowing your arms to collapse.

I do sometimes cheat and break structure a bit by leaning if I want to get the full length of a board, of course. But, I think it's generally better to avoid leaning too much and just work in short sections, moving along the board when taking heavy cuts. This is something that Paul Sellers describes (the working in sections bit). Interestingly enough, he starts at the far end of a board and works backwards.

[Phil Mueller]

Thank you Luke. I know you spent a lot of time on these responses. It is very interesting food for thought. Will have to take note during my next planing session. What I also note about the way Paul Sellers planes, is that it appears he uses very little downward pressure. His grasp on the front knob is very relaxed...just a guide really. All the force is applied to the rear tote forward. In fact in the one video posted, he doesn't even put a hand on the front of the plane.

Hopefully in all of this, there is a way I can keep my shoulders in tact for another 10-15 years! Some of the videos shown on other threads obviously work well, but would certainly cause me considerable discomfort and potential injury. I'm working on the right balance. Thanks again.