Problem when starting the cut with plane

[Walt Blanding]

I seem to be having a problem when I start the cut on a piece of wood. I put the front of the plane down and hold it tight to the surface of the wood and then push the plane forward with downward presure. As I get the blade to the wood it seems to jump a bit and skips over about the first 1/4 to 1/2 inch and then starts the cut and cuts a nice shaving off. But i have a bump at the start now and I dont know what is causing this. Is there something on the plane that I need to tune or is there something wrong with the operator. Any help would be great as I am a new user of plans and this is a bit frustrating. The plane I am using is a #5 look alike that my father had it is a Sears Craftsman and I have worked the blade and breaker like Dave C video says and I have check the sole and it seems to be flat within .001 which I think is ok. There does seem to be a little dip on one side of the sole right net to the blade opening. Thanks again and have a great day.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Check that the blade is mating well with the frog. It sounds like you are getting chatter at the start of the cut, i.e. the blade is not well supported by the frog. Check the frog to see if there is a buildup of Japanning or a high spot on the frog. If so, you can file or lap the face of the frog flatter.

[Tim Leo]

Can you start the cut in the middle of the board and work to the end?

[Pedro Reyes]

Walt,

It could be several things or a combination. Check for the bedding of the blade as Robert pointed out.

I'm not sure where you are standing, but sometimes on long boards if the end of the board is next to you or even behind you, it makes it harder to "start", for me anyway. You could try to practice on just the beginning of the board and set your stance as if you only wanted to plane the first 12-18" or so. Practice then change your stance to take a full stroke. If that does not work, his is what I would do...


1.- Check the grain, maybe you are planing against the grain for those first few inches.
2.- Reduce depth of cut to nothing and make a pass, then increase little by little until you get a nice thin shaving (start this way and increase as you become better, it is amazing how your muscles really learn the technique)
3.- Skew the plane, heavily at the beginning of the board and straighten once you have good "contact"

hope it helps

/p

[Mark Roderick]

The problem you describe is very typical if your blade isn't sharp. In fact, it's a tell-tale sign of a dull blade that it doesn't "grab" into the wood at the beginning of the board.

[Barry Beech]

Make sure the blade is sharp. Then skew the plane

[lowell holmes]

Try retracting the iron to the absolute lightest cut you can get and skew the plane through the cut. If your iron is sharp, the shavings should be translucent.