Hand plane with narrow blade?

[Mike Berti]

Was hoping to get opinions of the more experienced members:
Sometimes, when flattening a board with my Jack plane, I find narrow ridges that need to be planed down. Some even narrower than my 2" wide blade.
Was looking for planes with 1" iron but all I found were smaller models for rabbeting or bullnose. Nothing with the length and heft of a Jack plane. Were such hand planes ever manufactured?

[Luke Dupont]

You could make your own, or modify a specialized "scrub plane" which usually has a narrow blade.

There are hock blades that come in narrower widths.

Also, there is a Stanley Jack plane that has the width of a No. 3 plane -- not quite as small as you're looking for, but narrower still than what you're using. I don't remember the number though -- I think it's a 5 1/2? Someone can clarify.

I prefer narrow planes in general so I'm also curious about this question.

[Bill Houghton]

The Stanley "Junior Jack" is the 5-1/4; a touch shorter than a regular No. 5, with a 1-3/4" cutting iron.

The 5-1/2 goes in the other direction: longer than the 5, with a 2-3/8" (2-1/4" in the early years) iron.

I've seen, at estate sales, old jointer-length planes with fairly narrow irons. I recall one rosewood model with what looked to be a 1-1/2" iron, although I didn't measure it.

I'm curious: you talk about flattening the board. Are you working cross-grain, then diagonally, then along the grain? Or entirely along the grain? If the ridge is narrower than your iron, what's the problem with using the full width iron? Yes, you won't be using the full width, but better more iron than the wood than less.

[Nick Stokes]

I would look again at your process. It doesn't make sense what your asking.

[James Waldron]

I'm with Bill on the width of the iron. When flattening, I typically use a 5-1/2 with the wider blade to make sure that I span high spots (e.g. ridges) as completely as possible. Since the blade only cuts on the high spots, extra width is just waving in the breeze, so to speak, and does not represent a problem.

It is important to make sure the edge is parallel to the sole of the plane, whatever the width of the blade. If that constraint is honored, you won't see any problems flattening with a wide blade vs. a narrow blade (all other variables being constant, of course).

[Pat Barry]

Was hoping to get opinions of the more experienced members:
Sometimes, when flattening a board with my Jack plane, I find narrow ridges that need to be planed down. Some even narrower than my 2" wide blade.
Was looking for planes with 1" iron but all I found were smaller models for rabbeting or bullnose. Nothing with the length and heft of a Jack plane. Were such hand planes ever manufactured?

I don't think a narrow blade is what you need. I'm suspecting your blade is catching on the corners of the blade and leaving tracks. Check to make sure it is parallel with the bottom of the plane. Maybe add a bit of camber to the blade also.

[Bill Houghton]

Adding to Pat's comment, if you look at the classic literature, there's often discussion of camber on rough-work (jack, for instance) irons, and even gentle rounding of the corners of smoothing irons to avoid tracks.

[Mike Berti]

Thanks for the answers and suggestions.
1) My question is of theoretical nature. I've seen a thousand models including weird looking ones, and I thought if all these exist, why not a 12" long plane with a narrowish blade?
2) Yes, my process may be at fault. That's why I am asking the more experienced members. Probably, if I used a power jointer and planner the problem would solve itself. I checked Hock's website and there aren't any 1" wide blades offered, so I guess there is no such demand.
3) A smaller scrub plane may be the closest tool to what I am asking for...
4) I don't entirely agree that a 2 1/2" wide blade will cut just the high spots. It will probably wiggle to one side or another of the ridge since I can't really hold it level when cutting. In some instances it may worsen the problem if not held flat.
5) There seems to be many wooden body hand planes, including far eastern models. Maybe these include one that comes closer to what I'm asking.

[James Waldron]

Thanks for the answers and suggestions.
[snip]

4) I don't entirely agree that a 2 1/2" wide blade will cut just the high spots. It will probably wiggle to one side or another of the ridge since I can't really hold it level when cutting. In some instances it may worsen the problem if not held flat.

[snip]

The wider the sole (and the longer the sole), the more the structure of the tool itself works to keep the thing from tilting. The surface of the work becomes progressively more conformed to the sole of the plane as working the surface continues. (That doesn't mean square, of course, but it will be flattened. Squaring is a different issue from flattening, although both are often addressed in the same operation.) If you use your plane correctly, "tilting" of the plane relative to the surface is not done on purpose and should never occur.

If you really want a one inch wide plane, you could try a shoulder plane or rebate plane. I don't think you'll like trying to flatten boards with either, but they are narrow.

[John Schtrumpf]

...
4) I don't entirely agree that a 2 1/2" wide blade will cut just the high spots. It will probably wiggle to one side or another of the ridge since I can't really hold it level when cutting. In some instances it may worsen the problem if not held flat.

If you are talking about a ridge lengthwise on the face of a board. Skew your plane, this will give more lateral registration (and also narrow the cut).

[Jim Koepke]

I checked Hock's website and there aren't any 1" wide blades offered, so I guess there is no such demand.

The narrowest blade in a production bench plane would be the #1. The Stanley version has a 1-1/4" wide blade the Lie-Nielsen model has 1-3/16" listed. They are only 5-1/2" long.

The ridges from your jack plane are likely what others have already mentioned. If not there may be a chip in your blade.

If you want a smoother type surface from your jack plane, you will need to set it up like a smoother. There are a few ways to make it work depending on how you like to do things.

jtk