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Thread: Flattening Plane Irons

  1. #46
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    Couple of interesting notes. To me, anyway.

    The Harbor Freight iron I flattened a few days back wasn't concave. It was S-shaped. Had two curves in it, across the iron. Nice work, Harbor Freight. That is a hard act to follow.

    Second thing: when I tried flattening the HF iron on the belt grinder, it seemed like there was some danger of abrading the sides more than the middle, just because belt grinders tend to do that. Yesterday I tried the belt grinder on a Stanley iron, and it seemed to work okay. I didn't push it, though. I went very slow, and I didn't have water beside me, so I didn't grind much.
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

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  2. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve H Graham View Post
    Couple of interesting notes. To me, anyway.

    The Harbor Freight iron I flattened a few days back wasn't concave. It was S-shaped. Had two curves in it, across the iron. Nice work, Harbor Freight. That is a hard act to follow.

    Second thing: when I tried flattening the HF iron on the belt grinder, it seemed like there was some danger of abrading the sides more than the middle, just because belt grinders tend to do that. Yesterday I tried the belt grinder on a Stanley iron, and it seemed to work okay. I didn't push it, though. I went very slow, and I didn't have water beside me, so I didn't grind much.
    I've also seen notably S-Curved or twisted plane irons from modern Stanley (a friend's plane iron that I volunteered to sharpen) and Qiangshang/WoodRiver. The QS/WR wasn't as bad as the Stanley.

    Flattening on power tools requires a steady and controlled hand. If you rock or shift pressure at all you'll tend to grind a convex profile as you describe. Don't practice on your "good" irons, etc.
    Last edited by Patrick Chase; 06-27-2017 at 7:06 PM.

  3. #48
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    Power tools work well, but I would use sandpaper on glass. Lay it flat on the bench with sandpaper up and hone away.
    When you get through, the surface will be evenly flat. I imagine 120 grit will do the job.

  4. #49
    Flattening plane irons or chisel backs, I don't mess around. I use 60 grit, and just move up through the progression after I get to flat.
    I don't own a grinder or belt sander, and I spent a lot of time with 120 grit doing this. My hands are less capable now, due to nerve damage and arthritis, so I don't fool with it. Lowest grit I can find to get to flat fastest.

  5. #50
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    Last night I put 60-grit on a diamond stone and worked my 151 iron while I watched Youtube. Barely accomplished anything! When you get close to being finished, you're cutting such a big area, it takes forever. You better believe I am going to start out with the hammer next time.
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

    I was socially distant before it was cool.

    A little authority corrupts a lot.

  6. #51
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    May God forgive me for not memorizing everything Paul Sellers says. The iron on my 151 is still not perfect. My new thing is to set a timer for 15 minutes, work on the iron, and then move on to something else. If I had known about the hammer trick, maybe this would not have been necessary.

    I don't think it should be called "the hammer trick." Apparently, it's just the right way to fix plane irons, and people call it a trick because they don't know about it.
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

    I was socially distant before it was cool.

    A little authority corrupts a lot.

  7. #52
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    Pretty sure he does that with a laminated iron, not a full steel iron.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  8. #53
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    I have....


    IF you keep at it until it finally is flat, it may be a LOT thinner than it already was.....

  9. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe View Post
    Pretty sure he does that with a laminated iron, not a full steel iron.
    I was wondering about that. Attempting Ura-Dashi on a single-piece hardened steel iron seems... risky to me.

  10. #55
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    Not really. BTDT.

  11. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe View Post
    Pretty sure he does that with a laminated iron, not a full steel iron.
    A reader suggested he would have a problem if he tried to flatten a laminated plane, and here is how Sellers responded:

    It is doubtful that anyone will actually come across a laminated Stanley blade though. I only came across one in my 50 years, so I doubt generally it is likely, but thanks for your input there.
    https://paulsellers.com/2015/10/plan...t-plane-irons/
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

    I was socially distant before it was cool.

    A little authority corrupts a lot.

  12. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve H Graham View Post
    A reader suggested he would have a problem if he tried to flatten a laminated plane, and here is how Sellers responded:

    https://paulsellers.com/2015/10/plan...t-plane-irons/
    It's the other way around. You can do that more easily with a laminated blade because the "body" of the blade is unhardened and fairly tough (though obviously you have to avoid doing things that put too much stress on the weld. I think Brian has an article on the topic on his page).

  13. #58
    It takes me a long time to prepare a plane iron for use, but I spend little time at it. The reason is I hardly ever do it. I use up a plane iron before moving on to the next. I have only ever owned five bench planes; only used nine irons. Amortized over the life of an iron, the time spent in preparation is trivial. The big waste of time is the constant desire to have a large fleet of planes with many irons.

    Two of my planes are Stanley planes; both currently use laminated irons. Of my previous irons for those planes, one was laminated , one not.

    Paul Sellers planes like someone without much experience. Might be more of a thickness planer and sandpaper kind of guy. I don't think he has learned to plane nearly as well as Brian Holcombe, who might be half his age, or David Weaver, who is a hobbyist.

  14. #59
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    I am confused by the photo that says 'laminated' on the iron. Is he doing this to full steel irons?

    Thanks Warren! I very much appreciate your comment!
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  15. #60
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    I had a plane iron and chip breaker that were really bent and using no hammer it took about five minutes to straighten them in a vice. Support the concave side with two parallels down each edge and put another down the centre of the blade on the convex side. Apply careful pressure along with guess work to the supports and the blade will come straight very quickly and no violence is needed. I used short pieces of 1/2" hexagon bar as the parallels for what it is worth. I tried Paul Sellers method and it didn't seem to get the results I wanted. If you have trouble positioning all the bits use a bit of hot glue to glue the supports to the blade or chip breaker.
    Chris

    Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening

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