[OP]
Member
Do you practise hand planing? Stick a short length of 2X4 in the vise and hand plane it straight and square?
If not do it and report back here with your results. I do it from time to time, and invariably, I have to work at it
to make it happen. It seems like I have to learn all over again to plane straight and true.
Just wondering? I bet I'm not the only one.
Member
Practice? PRACTICE????? Every darned piece of wood I've ever planed was practice. Never found two pieces that would plane required a different touch. Imagine that!
Bill
On the other hand, I still have five fingers.
Contributor
To paraphrase Yoda: There is no practice, there is only do.
Contributor
Every time I refresh a handplane...
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Scrap 2x4 is outside, buried in the snow right now...
Contributor
Early on, I would practice but once I got the hang of it, I stopped practicing and focused on getting stuff done. I sold my power jointer a while back, so every edge is hand jointed and every board is hand flattened. You get better when it's the only option
I recently made some simple raised panels and I wish I would have practiced a bit first. I can clearly see which were first and last.
-- Dan Rode
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
Member
oOriginally Posted by Daniel Rode
Early on, I would practice but once I got the hang of it, I stopped practicing and focused on getting stuff done. I sold my power jointer a while back, so every edge is hand jointed and every board is hand flattened. You get better when it's the only option
I recently made some simple raised panels and I wish I would have practiced a bit first. I can clearly see which were first and last.
Pretty much how I do it, I do not own a powered joiner or planer so UI am pretty much the go to in my shop....!
Contributor
I just want to hear if Warren still practices.
Contributor
Every time one of my plane blades is sharpened it gets a bit of a workout when it is reset in the plane. Mostly this is to get the lateral adjuster set. Sometimes the shaving is measured just for the heck of it.
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To get the edge of a piece being worked square, it is good to be able to determine the thickness of shavings and the amount the piece is out of square by eye. From this it can be determined how many partial shavings are needed to get an out of square piece in to square. Then lift the plane off the low side of the work by a slight amount. If the plane is taking 0.002" shavings and the work piece looks to be out about 0.010", lift the plane enough to take a shaving about 1/5 the width of the work. Take the next shaving using this strip as the true surface. For me it is easier to do this with my front hand thumb pressing on the plane right in front of the mouth. After about 5 shavings your cut should be full width of the work. Check and repeat as needed.
It is possible to train or calibrate your eye. Here is a training exercise written during my time working in a repair shop. Instead of spacers one could do this with different wood shavings or a set of feeler gauges.
My other training piece was on screw threads and how they can be used somewhat like a caliper as a means of measurement.A Training Exercise
The Calibrated Eye
The purpose of this exercise is to train your eye to recognize small sizes for what they are.
To do this exercise one needs a lot of mixed spacing washers. The sizes found on our equipment
are .001, .005, .010, .016, .030 and .040 with occasionally some other odd sizes.
A dial or digital caliper is also needed. Small containers or pieces of paper to separate the
washers into different piles are also needed.
With all the washers mixed in a pile, start measuring with the caliper. Look at the edge of each
one during the measuring process. Separate the washers into piles of washers that measure the
same. After a short time, look at the washer before measuring it and see if you know what it
will measure before it is put in to the caliper. Keep doing this until you get good.
Congratulations you now have calibrated your eyes. Recalibration may be needed if not used
on a regular basis.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Member
+1 with Dan.
Contributor
Yoga is a hand puppet. I practice. I need the practice. When I get it perfect every time, I'll stop practicing.
Sharp solves all manner of problems.
Member
I do that all the time. I find it relaxing and helpful to keep my skills (inasmuch as I have any) up.Do you practise hand planing? Stick a short length of 2X4 in the vise and hand plane it straight and square?
If not do it and report back here with your results. I do it from time to time, and invariably, I have to work at it
to make it happen. It seems like I have to learn all over again to plane straight and true.
Just wondering? I bet I'm not the only one.
Contributor
Every time I sharpen or tune up a plane...
Part 2...chipbreaker issues, test runs after the tune up..
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Side one.
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Side 2. Checked with a square. One side was a bit too rough, so the BIG guys had to step in..
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I used the #5-1/2 instead of the #6c....
Contributor
Ok...a N0-7 by Ohio Tool Co.
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Followed up by the Stanley No.6c
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Followed by the Stanley Jumbo jack
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Followed by a Stanley No. 5 ( no camber)
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Followed by a Stanley No. 4..
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And a #3 sized plane..
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Sold as a Craftsman, made by Millers Falls.
Just making sure they all work...may need a bigger piece of pine?
Member
I will use mule stock to test a planes set after sharpening but no I don't practice. I do start with the underside not the show face in every case and this helps me understand the wood I am working. That's all the warm up I need, or anybody for that matter. I will warm up on some practice dovetails thought as I don't cut them every day. Do what works for you to get results.
Contributor
Everything I do is practice. I haven't had one thing come out perfect so far
Jim
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