After asking tons of questions here, and investing in a handful of Shaptons and other supporting cast members, and putting in many many hours of faithful back flatening and other trial and error frustrations, today I had an experience that felt like I just aced the final.
I was working on a very nice piece of 5/4 select Eastern pine. Straight grain and actually quite hard for pine. I needed to straighten the edge before ripping it to width on the table saw (7' long). Instead of tacking a straight edge to it to run against the fence, like I always used to do, I instead clamped it in my vise on edge and grabbed my old wooden Bailey 31 jointer plane that I have been working so hard on trying to get the iron to perform as I see others do here and on You Tube.
I knew I was getting close and the last test results were good but not great. But this board was completely different! After a couple passes that aligned the board edge with the sole of the plane, I started getting perfect shavings shooting straight up probably ten inches before falling over. I couldn't believe it. I just kept running off shavings shooting straight up in the air. Consistent every time. So much fun!
I post this simply to thank those who share their knowledge here and elsewhere.
This was a fun way to end the day. And a fun conclusion to believing in a system and following it through.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Jim Koepke
