Advice on Planes

[AndyPandy]

Hello

I'm relatively new to woodworking but I have quite a few older (maybe 10 / 15 years) hand planes. Stanley Bailey, Record mainly that are either new and unused or have been used at most a handful of times. They trange from the 9 1/2 through to No. 7. I've read about flattening the soles if necessary and I want to get these planes to be the best they can be for everyday use.

Should I change the blades, or just sharpen them to the best they can be and wait until it's necessary to change them? What else can I do to improve them for general use?

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Andy

 

[engineer one]

be prepared for an avalanche of directions down the slope :lol: :twisted:

almost every body agrees about blade replacement, and also maybe
the cap iron, but do it slowly, try with one, and see what it does for you, then maybe as and when you can improve others.

the important thing is to see what works for you. if you are happy with
the type of handle, then you have only a couple of things to do,
(whoops three)
1 make sure the base is flat and square to the sides.
2 remove the frog, and check that it is flat, and level along its
length, and all the screws are in good condition.
3. sharpen, and fettle blade and cap iron, and make sure they
fit properly.

then learn to make fine shavings, and also enjoy. :lol:

finally much as we might all tempt you get used to re-using
planes before you slide down the slope. :twisted:

so first buy some decent sharpening kit that y ou are happy to use.
if your experience is with oil stones, go back to them, and get sharp
before you try the other options.

all the best

paul :wink:

 

[Philly]

HI Andy
Welcome to the forum!
As Paul has said, learning to sharpen your planes is an important skill. There is plenty of info on the forum- the search facility is your friend :wink:
Spend some time using your tools to get used to them-then you can start tweaking.
Cheers
Philly

 

[AndyPandy]

Thanks guys - I'll sped some time sharpening and adjusting and see how it all works out. I don't mind upgrading the blade(s), but they seem pretty decent planes at the moment and I'd like to see what they're capable of before changing parts.

 

[Philly]

Andy
Sounds like a good idea-let us know how you get on.
Best regards
Philly

 

[ByronBlack]

Andy

If you really interested in fettling planes and setting them up, I can highly recommened a course I went on about this time last year. His name is Bruce Luckhurst - you can find him on the web, and he does a range of courses in cabinet making, the first stage of the course is all about sharpening planes and chisels, and how to get them working to the best of their abiltiies.

I learnt how to sharpen by hand and fettle what looked like knackered planes, it was well worth the time and money doing it, espeically as I don't have to spend a lot of money on guides and sharpening Jigs..

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Andy

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Nick W]

... I can highly recommened ... Bruce Luckhurst ...

And I can highly recommend the sharp-meister himself, David Charlesworth. This is in no way a denigration of Bruce, just another option.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Andy, welcome

First of all, the soles only really need flattening on your small and medium planes (if they are not flat already). For larger planes say, #6 or #7 upwards, you would typically be looking at shavings of 4-6thou and taking the lumps off to flatten the wood and so the sole flatness need only be in the order of 4 thou or better. The plane will mainly be used to trip the bumps until they match the hollows.

For other planes, say #4 downwards, you want very flat soles as they typically take shavings in the order of a thou or two to get a very smooth finish and avoid the dreaded sandpaper.

For #5-#6, it depends on how you choose to use them. I sometimes use them as a sort of uber smoother (particularly my #5.5) and so have this with a very flat sole., if you use the #5 Jack in its more traditional role, you might want to really hog wood off and use it as the first plane ( a bit like a Scrub plane). For this, I would buy a better blade (Hock or LN) and chipbreaker (Clifton 2-piece) and open the mouth to allow very thick shavings (chippings) from a curved blade. Flatness of sole is not particularly important for this operation.

Hope this helps

 

[bugbear]

Hello

I'm relatively new to woodworking but I have quite a few older (maybe 10 / 15 years) hand planes. Stanley Bailey, Record mainly that are either new and unused or have been used at most a handful of times.

.
.
.

Should I change the blades, or just sharpen them to the best they can be and wait until it's necessary to change them? What else can I do to improve them for general use?

There's a whole world of things you *could* do.

Some repay the effort expended more than others.

I have some links here:

http://www.geocities.com/plybench/plane.html

You might well enjoy reading David Charlesworth's books in your local library - although most of his advice is towards the "fancy refinements" end of the spectrum, taking "clean and working" as a starting point.

BugBear

 

[Anonymous]

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[engineer one]

must say that i often think that jacob(mr grimsdale) is a little
neanderthal in his approach, ie only things over 100 years old
are any good.


but have to say that although his latest advice
is pithy, it is good sense.

we all need to actually plane, then fettle the planes to understand
what a well built, properly sharp plane is and should be.

so start slowly and build up skill and confidence, which you
can only do by using and learning to use.

paul :wink:

 

[bugbear]

Apply candlewax to the sole. Sharpen blades. Adjust mouth and cap iron. Use.

cheers
Jacob

And if the frog screws were a little loose?

BugBear

 

[Anonymous]

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[bugbear]

Apply candlewax to the sole. Sharpen blades. Adjust mouth and cap iron. Use.

cheers
Jacob

And if the frog screws were a little loose?

BugBear

Hmm, don't know the answer to that one! I guess you could try tightening them.

cheers
Jacob

My point is - it takes rather more knowledge than a beginner has to track down a chattering blade to slightly loose frog screws.

It's not tightening them that's hard, it's identifying loose frog screws as the cause of the trouble.

Hence... it's worth going through a detailed strip-check-clean-reassemble rather than just the bare-minumum procedure you suggested, which would leave any such issues untouched.

BugBear

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Blade adjustment and sharpness seem a reasonable starting point to me and I agree that with those two areas dealt with, the plane is likely to work.
Never have seen loose frog screws. Loose tote and knob screws yes!

 

[bugbear]

You have to assume a certain level of intelligence and practical common sense -

"common sense" is all too often a poor synonym for experience. I suspect this is the present case.

and that even a beginner is eventually going to find a loose screw and to tighten it up.

Not neccessarily. Frustration and the conclusion that "planes don't work" is another possible outcome.

I'd say a beginner would be well advised to try out a plane first and NOT to go down the cleaning, dismantling route too soon, or he may be upsetting a perfectly well adjusted plane (depending on who used it previously), and he may find it difficult to get it back into useable condition straightaway.
It's extremely unlikely the frog screws would be loose in any case or the previous owner would have had a problem.

I strongly disagree. Many planes that are sold s/h are in poor fettle. IN some cases it's the reason for sale.

Following clear instructions to disassemble, refinish, and re-assemble a plane is a most instructive AND beneficial task. Surely the same intelligence and common sense you assume can be applied to following simple instructions?

BugBear

 

[Colin C]

I am not trying to start any thing but I have to agree with BB on this one.

Mr_Grimsdale
I understand your thinking but some people dont find starting wood work easy as most dont have some one look over them to make sure they are getting it right or to tell them what is going wrong when some thing is not working.

I had this when I first started with one of my bosses, he was a great maker but not one of the best teachers as he would show me once and expect me to get it right away ( this is ok if you are a nateral and can do that ).

I would say that some simple checks on any plane is not a bad thing and would people understand they plane more but I do some times think some go a little over board with it

There is no one answer for this as no one is the same, that is what makes this forum so good.

I think that is needed is a simple check list of things to look for on any plane as some can be not so good ( new and old )

Colin