# how do you treat your plane?



## tombo (29 Aug 2007)

in between uses do you...

A) lay it on its side, to protect the blade

B) prop it up from the front on a little stick, to protect the blade

C) put it sole down on you bench, blade extended

I ask because i am in the 'C' camp and cant see how doing that could be any worse for the blade than actually using it.

Tom


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## DomValente (29 Aug 2007)

Uh Oh ! :shock:


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## dchenard (29 Aug 2007)

I do B mostly, C sometimes, never A.

DC


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## DomValente (29 Aug 2007)

Why never A ? DC

Dom


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## dchenard (29 Aug 2007)

DomValente":8xxulmdx said:


> Why never A ? DC
> 
> Dom



Because I usually have too much stuff on my bench, and I would stand more chance of nicking the iron if the plane were on its side...

Not saying that I'm right, I know that old-timers recommended (forcefully sometimes) using A, but in my case it's safer for me to go with B :wink: 

DC


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## DomValente (29 Aug 2007)

I see your reasoning DC, sometimes old timers  should listen.

Dom


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## Paul Chapman (29 Aug 2007)

Usually A - to protect the bench as well as the blade.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## ByronBlack (29 Aug 2007)

C - don't see any point in fussing over it too much, and I don't use plane socks either.


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## stevel (29 Aug 2007)

Usually C, but if I'm feeling really good and there's space A

Steve


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## Bean (29 Aug 2007)

Mostly A but if I am in a rush mostly C


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## Anonymous (29 Aug 2007)

tombo":2h4m7uo5 said:


> in between uses do you...
> 
> A) lay it on its side, to protect the blade
> 
> ...



C most of the time - I don't see it getting damaged on the wooden workbench if I put it down carefully (i've heard the arguments that a piece of grit might be exactly under the blade when one puts it down and damage the edge :roll: ).
Sometimes i go for B if a piece of wood isconveniently lying on the bench


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## woodbloke (29 Aug 2007)

Always, always......*always*.... B - Rob


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## PaulO (29 Aug 2007)

Always B for me also, but it might not be a stick, it might be a sheet of paper or a couple of shavings, as my blade is only ever protruding by a couple of thou at most

"A" risks upsetting the lateral adjustment, and C just upsets me :wink:


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## Sgian Dubh (29 Aug 2007)

Presumably the planes in question hanging around on top of a workbench are working tools, not decorative items arranged for display.

Also, I'd guess, as they're working tools they're on the bench to take shavings off wood, many of which end up on the bench top and scattered around the workpiece.

Dump the planes on the shavings any way you feel like. It works for me. Slainte.


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## Smudger (29 Aug 2007)

A

Beaten into me by my old woodwork teacher and never forgotten...


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## dunbarhamlin (29 Aug 2007)

B/C - on stick, cork or shavings. Never A - I'm too oafish - too likely to shave a knuckle.


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## Paul Chapman (29 Aug 2007)

Smudger":1v4oryci said:


> Beaten into me by my old woodwork teacher and never forgotten...



Ah, the good old days.....  

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## sparky (29 Aug 2007)

always A


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## cwroy (30 Aug 2007)

I use C. 

My planes 4 to 7 are stored in a wooden shelf, which I don't mind marring. 

My reasoning is if I would prop them up on battens the casting would become convex. whish is very unlikely yo happed! 

Anyways, I've tried the other methods and it doesn't work for me. 

Have a good day


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## WellsWood (30 Aug 2007)

Bench planes, usually A

Block planes, usually B

Stanley No.5 of Ebay, any old way, it couldn't get any worse :twisted:


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## Paul Kierstead (30 Aug 2007)

Isn't there a minimum number of posts before you can ask that question?

Does it make a difference if the plane is bevel up or bevel down?


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## Frank D. (30 Aug 2007)

Usually on shavings, otherwise A.


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## Philly (30 Aug 2007)

Guess this makes me C............ :lol: 





Philly


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## woodbloke (30 Aug 2007)

Smudger wrote:


> Beaten into me by my old woodwork teacher and never forgotten...


Been there, done it :shock: ........not any more tho'  - Rob


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## Anonymous (30 Aug 2007)

Several people including smudger and Woodbloke seem to think that placing the plane the plane on the bench will somehow blunt or damage the blade? Does it not cut wood every time it is used?

How exactly? 

All of mine are A2 steel and protrude only a few thousandths o an inch form the mouth.

The idea that the blade might get blunted seems to me (after 15 years or so of handplane use) an old wife's tale or urban myth - or the result of careless treatment.

I'm not saying that one shouldn't take care or course and if a piece of wood is lying around, I use it.


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## Paul Chapman (30 Aug 2007)

Tony":9w38sqpp said:


> Several people including smudger and Woodbloke seem to think that placing the plane the plane on the bench will somehow blunt or damage the blade?



There's also the issue of damaging the bench top, Tony, particularly if you use scrub-type planes which have the blade projecting a fair way.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## woodbloke (30 Aug 2007)

Tony - the reason I use the stick method is that I find planes much easier to pick up again if they're put down on a little stick. On their side I find it more difficult as you have to twist your hand to pick them up. I keep an old Treky mug on my bench:






like this with sorts of bits and pieces in it....sticks, pencils, thin Bic biro for dovetail marking, brushes, acrylic glue 'taker-offer' so it's now just routine to put a stick on the bench as soon as I pick up a plane or chisel. I never use the shavings method as my bench top is always clear when I work. Shavings get brushed onto the floor pretty much as soon as they're produced. I would never intentionally put a plane down on its sole either, for me, it's bad workshop practice and after shouting and bawling at youth for 20 odd years in workshops various around the country I'm hardly likely to do the same thing :wink: - Rob


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## bugbear (30 Aug 2007)

tombo":371jztz8 said:


> in between uses do you...
> 
> A) lay it on its side, to protect the blade
> 
> ...



B _and_ C (little stick, on the bench)

My storage shelf also has a lip, at the rear, to avoid condensation getting in between the shelf and the sole.

BugBear


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## Smudger (30 Aug 2007)

We weren't told not to do it (C) because of blunting the cutter, but because over time it might alter the setting.

Woodbloke - were you giving or receiving the beatings? I was once slippered for injuring myself on a lathe (forgot to take the chuck key out...).


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## woodbloke (30 Aug 2007)

Smudger wrote -


> Woodbloke - were you giving or receiving the beatings


These were verbal assaults on 'youff' eardrums. I never actually hit anyone tho' came close a few times...we were always advised to keep hands in the pockets of workshop coats. At the time I was teaching striking the opposition physically had all but died out and I suspect now-a-days even raising your voice a few db's at the little darlings would promote an adverse reaction - Rob


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## Mittlefehldt (30 Aug 2007)

For what it's worth I recall being at a woodshow at Rob Cosman's booth and him chuckling a bit to another woodworker about the fact that he routinely gets some grief from the old uns about putting his planes down flat on his bench, he does C.

I personally do C as well, as to damaging the workbench top, it isn't a dining room table, and while I do not set out to deliberately damage it I don't get overly concenred about the odd nick or scratch either. I doubt however that even a scrub plane would do much damage unless you actually pushed it along before picking it up.

I have seen a number of old benches and I would say the old guys were not that concerned with damaging their bench tops either if the current state is any indication.


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## tnimble (30 Aug 2007)

To me C, never bother to do B, A always found it to be stupid and even dangerous to do.

With A you don't nick your bench (unless you push in instead of picking it up). The blade can't get blunt, if that was true the blade would also be blunt even before you finish the first stroke while planing. The blade doesn't loose its setting over a long time unless maybe you leave it on your bench for a few a few decades. If it would move the blade even the slighest within at most the few hours it sets on the bench it would move even more when planing.

So with A you risk losing your knuckles and lateral adjustment setting, risk nicking the blade with another tool and risk knocking the plane over because its a lot less stable on its side.


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## Smudger (30 Aug 2007)

I think my planes are a lot MORE stable on their sides!

I was just working (lap jointing 2 small boards together to make a toolbox base) and I used a block plane, a bullnose and a 78 Rebater. At one point I looked at the bench and thought 'A' - all on their sides - completely unconscious reaction now. I can't see myself catching a cutter with my fingers, and if the cutter set can't be damaged by C, how come the lateral adjustment can?

This has the makings of a bigenders and littlenders war - where is Lemuel Gulliver when you need him?


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## newt (30 Aug 2007)

B most of the time


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## newt (30 Aug 2007)

While we are on the subject of Planes and their welfare, who lifts the plane at the end of each stroke and who just slides it back over the piece. I was told to lift the plane, remove shavings then return to start another cut. A certain video from a dovetail expert shows that he justs moves back and forth at high speed without lifting.


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## dchenard (30 Aug 2007)

newt":p7eboucf said:


> While we are on the subject of Planes and their welfare, who lifts the plane at the end of each stroke and who just slides it back over the piece. I was told to lift the plane, remove shavings then return to start another cut. A certain video from a dovetail expert shows that he justs moves back and forth at high speed without lifting.



I do both, oftentimes when going back and forth a shaving gets pulled back under the plane then it won't cut on the next stroke so I have to lift and clean anyway. I do lift at every stroke when doing the last finishing passes.

DC


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## tnimble (30 Aug 2007)

Smudger":3w2dva2s said:


> I think my planes are a lot MORE stable on their sides!
> 
> I was just working (lap jointing 2 small boards together to make a toolbox base) and I used a block plane, a bullnose and a 78 Rebater. At one point I looked at the bench and thought 'A' - all on their sides - completely unconscious reaction now. I can't see myself catching a cutter with my fingers.



Of cause there al always exceptions to the rule. There is no way no put a no 45, 50, 55, 78 etc stable on its sole. But most used planes are the bench planes and block planes. The most of them including a few with the same body profile as a bench plane like the no 10 are more stable set on their sole.



> , and if the cutter set can't be damaged by C, how come the lateral adjustment can?


Because the blade is securely fixed but the lever is only slightly hold is place by some friction. Esp on the bench planes the lever shifts with little effort. Unless your plane is not well maintained and the lever is stuck in rust and and other mug.


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## andy king (30 Aug 2007)

> How do you treat your plane?



Well, I usually take them to the zoo, followed by a MacDonald's or an ice cream :lol: 
Seriously though, I was taught both at school and college to put them on their sides, but I do also put them down on a block to keep the iron off the bench.
At school it was because the bench was full of nails and the iron was guaranteed to be damaged, although after we tried taking a few shavings off the bench top when the teacher wasn't looking,the iron was like a saw blade!

Andy


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## tnimble (30 Aug 2007)

newt":rr97kua0 said:


> While we are on the subject of Planes and their welfare, who lifts the plane at the end of each stroke and who just slides it back over the piece. I was told to lift the plane, remove shavings then return to start another cut. A certain video from a dovetail expert shows that he justs moves back and forth at high speed without lifting.



Both. it depends on the plane and the job.

For instance when attempting to flatten a board a stroke, pull up and do the next stroke. (If you need to pull out shavings you either did not go all the length of the board, have a problem with the chip breaker of a very difficult wood). Or for things as trimming a shoulder or cleaning up a dado with a router plane its mostly handier do go back and forth at high gaer.


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## engineer one (30 Aug 2007)

having re-learnt the skill recently i have also had to consider another thing, if i get cut it takes bloody ages to stop bleeding, and i seem to have developed the skill of just rubbing a knuckle or something along the blade without knowing it is there :? 

mind you i could do with making the bench less full of cr*p so i had more room, but somehow whenever i make things tools seem to accumulate just round the job and almost nowhere else?  

i would think the shavings part is best way to go.

paul :wink:


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## Paul Chapman (30 Aug 2007)

newt":31751li1 said:


> While we are on the subject of Planes and their welfare, who lifts the plane at the end of each stroke and who just slides it back over the piece. I was told to lift the plane, remove shavings then return to start another cut.



It depends. I nearly always lift the plane rather than sliding it back because I think sliding it back tends to dull the blade more quickly. However, as I do all my preparation work by hand, I'd be there all day if I removed the shavings by hand after each stroke :shock: But it depends on the plane and on the wood. With scrub-type planes with a wide mouth, shavings seldom get caught in the mouth. However, when doing finishing work and taking very fine shavings with the mouth closed up, or working on wood that is a bit "sticky", I'm quite fussy and remove the shavings - one caught half in and half out of the mouth can spoil the work by marking it and causing the plane to ride on the work out of square.

It depends on the plane as well. My Record #778 is about the worst for having somewhere for the shavings to get caught; but then it's not the best designed plane in the World. With bench planes, polishing the end of the cap iron with Solvol Autosol helps the shavings to glide through very nicely - it also shows up just how much gunge from the wood gets deposited on the cap iron during planing.

Interestingly, when working on a shooting board, shavings never seem to get caught in the mouth :? 

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## Corset (30 Aug 2007)

Mainly A with the odd occasion of B. I used to do C until i read this was wrong and now i feel guilty if its not A/B.
Owen


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## tnimble (30 Aug 2007)

Corset":7gkhmmxa said:


> Mainly A with the odd occasion of B. I used to do C until i read this was wrong and now i feel guilty if its not A/B.
> Owen


If you'd read that there was a teapot in orbit around the sun somewhere between Earth and Mars would you believe it? Even when they state that because the distance is so vast and the teapot is so small that it can be seen through no telescope?

Put a well tuned and setup plane on the bench leave it there for a few days, pick it up and try to make shavings. Did the plane make shavings as good as a few days back? Then its Ok to place it like method C.

Actually bo the tink of it I've never tried that meself. My planes sits only on the bench for short intervals in between setup, using, reusing and storing it again.


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## Matt_S (30 Aug 2007)

Always A my Grandad always told me to put them like that and it's just automatic. Never caught a knuckle....but I only have two planes

Another thing on the plane treatment, am I missing someting. A Lie Nielsen brush for planes....does it matter if you get some dust on your plane :shock:


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## Mirboo (31 Aug 2007)

Mostly A, sometimes B but never C. I think it's what my Dad taught me. It certainly didn't come from school. I never saw a handplane at school during the years I was doing woodwork.


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## ike (31 Aug 2007)

> A
> 
> Beaten into me by my old woodwork teacher and never forgotten...



Ditto, but my woodwork teacher didn't get physical!

Ike


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## tnimble (31 Aug 2007)

Matt_S":1x0pj6ly said:


> Another thing on the plane treatment, am I missing someting. A Lie Nielsen brush for planes....does it matter if you get some dust on your plane :shock:



Any nice brush will do for the occasional maintenance and cleaning of the plane as does a few rags or paper towels to now and then wipe the sole for cleaning. No need for 100% pure lmab wool hand shaven cleaned and woven cloths for that.

But having a Lie Nielsen brush to place it next to your small 40 pcs LN plane collection in nicely lit glass display cabinates to decorate your living is a must. :roll:


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