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Thread: Hand Plane Advice

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Fort Worth, TX
    Posts
    1,389

    Hand Plane Advice

    I am basically new to hand planes and have some applications where I have boards wider than my jointer or planer can support, along with projects for laid out for them and prefer not to have to rip them down, joint&plane them and them re-glue them.

    Forgive my lack of experience on this, but any basic information (styles/model #'s for specific uses, etc) would be helpful, either in a post or if someone has a link to a good article.

    Thanks in advance.
    Grady - "Thelma, we found Dean's finger"
    Thelma - "Where is the rest of him?!"

  2. #2
    So you want to flatten and straighten then? If that is the case you are looking for a jointer or try plane. Get something long, in the 22" or longer range. If you are going from rough to finished, you may find that starting with a jack plane taking a thick shaving and then going to the try/jointer with a finer cut will be faster. However, if money is an issue and you can only get one plane, go for the longer one. I'm currently flattening 8"-12"+ wide by 8' long boards and the resulting 20"+ panels that they are being glued into. I use a jack to plane across the grain removing any cup and then a try plane diagonal and with the grain to finish the board/panel face to final flatness. Having the two planes set up to take different thickness shaving makes this fast and painless, albeit you will sweat .

    If money is an issue, look for transitional planes. They can be had much cheaper than the metal versions and their soles are much easier to flatten (just pass them over your jointer). They can be had in a lot more lengths than the metal versions as well, all the way up to 30", which is not too long.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Clinton Township, MI, United States
    Posts
    1,554
    If you are starting from rough sawn wood, then traditionally you will use 3 planes.
    A jack plane (stanley #5 or6) to take the wood flat and to thickness.
    Then a try plane (stanley #7 or 8) to make it level.
    Then a smoother (stanley #3 or 4) to make it smooth
    Thats the basics, there are a lot of details yet, and opinions on things like blade radii, etc.

    If you want to get a video, I would recommend Chris Schwarz' "Coarse, Medium,Fine"
    He also did an article by the same name, you could try googling it or his name.

    Mike
    Last edited by mike holden; 08-07-2008 at 2:22 PM. Reason: .
    From the workshop under the staircase, Clinton Township, MI
    Semper Audere!

  4. #4
    I also recommend Christopher's article...its right on the money--I've used the same method for years and it really works well. I've started sharpening my smooth plane blades with the new Veritas MK II jig, using the cambered wheel. Gives a very subtle curve to the blade--almost effortlessly--and now, no more little ridges in the final smoothing process.

  5. #5
    You can use your jointer..

    Joint 1/2 the board them remove fence and joint the other half.. Do not flip the board do start side first on each side..

    Just be very careful as you blade guard and fence is off so dont joint your knuckles!!!!!!!!

    Of buy a No5 and something to use as a straight edge and knock down the high spots for your power planer to finish up, this is another way..
    aka rarebear - Hand Planes 101 - RexMill - The Resource

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Albuquerque, NM
    Posts
    446
    Quote Originally Posted by alex grams View Post
    I am basically new to hand planes and have some applications where I have boards wider than my jointer or planer can support, along with projects for laid out for them and prefer not to have to rip them down, joint&plane them and them re-glue them.

    Forgive my lack of experience on this, but any basic information (styles/model #'s for specific uses, etc) would be helpful, either in a post or if someone has a link to a good article.

    Thanks in advance.
    Alex,

    Below is an article I put together a while back that may be of some use to you:
    _____

    STOCK DIMENSIONING USING HAND TOOLS:

    Hand planing (rough) lumber to dimension is not hard:

    Ideally, you need 5 planes: a scrub plane, a #5, a #7 or #8, a #4 or #4˝, and a low angle block plane, but you can get away with a #5 and a low angle block plane -- it's just a little harder. (Or you can use wooden equivalents.)

    You'll also need a good straight edge, an accurate try or combination square, a marking/panel gauge, and a pair of winding sticks (you can make these yourself). A card scraper (with holder, if desired) is also handy.

    Select a board face for the reference face. Use a pair of winding sticks and a straight edge to determine the high and low spots. Mark the high spots and use the scrub plane to reduce them to the approximate level of the rest of the board. Check for twist with the winding sticks. Correct with the scrub, as necessary. By this time, you should have a roughly flat (length and width) board with no twist and with a lot of troughs in it. Use the #5 to remove the troughs made by the scrub plane. (Planing diagonally or straight across the grain in both directions with the scrub plane and the #5 to remove the scrub troughs will significantly reduce tearout in most woods. Then follow up with the #5 by planing with the grain.) Once the troughs are mostly gone, use the #7 or #8 with the grain to plane the face flat. Once you get full length and full width shavings, your board is very, very close to FLAT. Check with the straight edge and winding sticks. Correct as necessary. Finish up with the smoothing plane (#4 or # 4˝). Use the scraper on gnarly grain that gives your smoother a hard time, but be careful not to scrape a dip into the wood. Part 1 of 6, complete.

    Mark this face as your reference face. All other measurements of square, etc., will come from this face.

    Select one long edge, and use the #5 to roughly flatten/smooth it, and then use the #7/#8 to make it straight and square to the reference face. To do this, use your straight edge to find any local high spots and trim those with the #5 first. Then use the jointer plane to flatten. Be careful to keep the edge square to the reference face. Mark this edge as your reference edge. Part 2 of 6, complete.

    Use the reference edge and the try/combination square to mark one of the short edges square. Use a crosscut saw to saw (on the waste side!) almost to the marked line, if necessary. You can use the #5 to rough plane it flat and square to both the reference face and edge -- if the short edge is 4 to 6 or more inches wide; if not, then start with the LA block plane. (Chamfering the edges down to your cutting line will reduce tear out on the corner edges; alternative methods are to clamp a sacrificial piece of wood to the edge and let it tear out instead of your board, or to plane in from each outside edge.) Use the LA block plane to clean it up. Mark the other short edge to the desired length (saw it to rough length, if necessary) and do the same thing to the other short edge. Parts 3 and 4 of 6, complete.

    Use your combination square or a marking/panel gauge to mark the other (unplaned) long edge to the desired finished width. Saw to rough width, if necessary. As you did for the reference long edge, use the #5 to roughly smooth it down almost to the cutting line, and then use the #7/#8 to make it straight and square to the reference face. Check for straight and square to the reference face and to the 2 short edges. All 4 edges should now be square to the reference face and square to each other. Part 5 of 6, complete.

    Use your marking gauge, basing off the reference face, to mark the thickness of your board around all 4 edges. Flip the board over to the unplaned face and use the scrub plane to plane down almost to the marked reference lines (The bottoms of the troughs should be about 1/16th to 1/8th inch above the cutting line). Use the #5, and the #7 or #8, as before on the reference face, to make this face flat and square. Finish up with the smoothing plane and, as necessary, the scraper. Part 6 of 6, complete.

    At this time, you should have a board with 2 flat, smooth, and parallel faces, 4 flat and square edges (long edges parallel to each other, as well as short edges parallel to each other, and all 4 edges square to the two faces and to each other), and of the required thickness, length, and width, ready for whatever needs to be done next.

    The first board you do by hand will take what seems like an inordinately long time, but with just a little bit of practice, it becomes nearly as fast as -- and often faster than -- putting a board through a jointer, thickness planer, and sanding sequence.

    If you have a shooting board, you can use it to assist with steps 2, 3, 4, and 5.

    A couple of things to keep in mind:

    Keep your plane irons SHARP!! Your iron is sharp enough if you are able to take fine shavings (not saw dust) from end grain pine – even with a jack plane or a jointer.

    If you have only a couple of planes, open the mouth up for the initial rougher planing, and close the mouth for the finer, finish planing.

    Let the plane do the work -- don't force it.

    Skewing the plane often helps to reduce tear out and makes planing easier.

    Take deliberate, slow-to-moderate speed planing strokes. This helps maintain the plane vertical to the surface/edge of the board, and gives you better control over the quality of the planing.

    To help keep the edges square to the reference face, keep the tote (rear handle) vertical (you can usually do this by feel); you can also help keep the edges square by hooking your thumb around the rear of the front knob and curling your fingers under the plane sole against the face of the board, using your fingers as a kind of fence (don’t do this if you’ll end up with a finger full of splinters).

    Try to keep the amount of wood removed from each face roughly equal; otherwise any internal stresses present may cause the board to warp or cup again, after you have put all that work and effort into making it flat.

    Expect to get a good upper body work out!

    The listed sequence is not the only sequence that this can be done in, but it works quite well. YMMV.

    Good luck, and have fun! There's nothing quite like the sense of accomplishment you get when you have taken a piece of rough-sawn timber and turned it into a nicely finished, dimensioned board, using only hand-powered tools.
    James

    "Uke is always right."
    (Attributed to Ueshiba Morihei)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Kanasas City, MO
    Posts
    1,787
    Alex,
    The others have ya covered on flattening a wide board. I won't second the practice of using a tailed jointer with no guard (see left pinky tip for why & that was with the guard on).
    My advice is.... at least start with at least one good quality new plane. A block plane, especially a low angle with an adjustable mouth is very useful, something like a 60 1/2. I won't start the new versus old arn arguement, but from my experience starting with a cheap plane put me off hand planes for about 4 years. I'd think for a first plane, an old Stanely etc would have been much the same, but that's just me. One from Maine or Canada will arrive nearly ready to go out of the box. My bane of sanding mentioned in another post gave me the nudge to give them another chance. Some readings of Krenov, Schwartz & Charlesworth (although I find him to be a tad long winded for me) helped as well.
    If you do get a plane or 3, get some decent sharpening stuff at the same time. The Vertias MKII will help with the honing-sharpening if you don't like the idea of free hand sharpening. I use a combo of scary sharp sandpaper & plate glass along with water stones.
    Once you are comfortable with the sharpening etc, you can decide if you want to go ahead with rust hunting or buying new.... 'cause once you take that first step the slope in this cave is as slippery as in the tailed world.
    One other thing you will need to consider is holding the work pieces for hand planing, but I have no clue what you have for a bench set up.
    I started with a 60, 60 1/2, #4 and a medium shoulder plane. A #5 & #6 have joined the fold... and one of the LV bevel up jointers is on the "Christmas" list. The bevel up jointer is great as with a couple different iron angles you have one versatile tool & the fence for edge jointing helps ya get the hang of that too.
    Sorry for the long post (seems to be a habit)... you can buy all the above planes & still come in way under what a drum sander will cost..... and yes, I am still being a bad influence.
    Let us know what you decide to do.

    Cheers.
    Greg

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