Hand Plane setup, sharpening & how to plane properly - in person course

[Cabinetman]

Hi Artie, it looks like you’re getting the hang of it! Well done. When planing an edge like that it’s sometimes helpful to use your left hand to support and hold down the front of the plane as normal but just with your thumb hanging over the edge by the front knob and you rub the side your fore finger along the side of the bit of wood you are planing, probably not very clear, but in essence your left hand is keeping the plane at the correct angle in relation to the side of the piece of wood you are planing. Ian
PS don’t forget to use a candle or similar to lube the sole of the plane, if you never have, be prepared for a revelation.

 

[Ttrees]

I'd bet your plane iron is salvageable, If there's a remaining kink from
something like that plane or another in the past had fallen and bent.
Could try and take a kink out on a makeshift anvil, like a sledgehammer or lump of flat metal, I think I would try a plastic head mallet first to hammer with.
Regarding any twist, I'd maybe try taking more pictures,
can you see light behind the cap, under the hump, when tightened very lightly.

Looks like you tried burnishing the high spots too.
Could try something like in Cosman's video, and clamp a cleat/stop in the vice if you have enough space.

 

[Jacob]

I'm going to bring this thread back down to earth now...

I've read the record guide to planing (many thanks to @mrpercysnodgrass ), watched some vidoes linked to here and read the posts. Enjoyed the Japanese film showing the effect of altering the cap iron on tareout - that was new information for me.
I've made some progress over the last couple of days. First of all my number 4 plane iron is buggered, the top section that extends beyond the frog is bent forwards which means it isn't flat and the left had side of the blade is very slightly twised up on one side. I'm going to buy a new blade and start again.
The 4.5 seems in good shape and just needs sharpening.

View attachment 125638

The 5-1/2 which I like the feel and weight of needed sharpening which I have done. I kept the iron as straight as possible in the honing guide and got a good edge that easily removes hairs from my arm. I also did what Paul Sellers suggested and used a pen to mark the sole prior to rubbing over sand plaper to get it flat, it is flat and smooth.

Pic of iron. Far from perfect, but notably better than I'd managed before.
(after doing a load of work, and it is still sharp).
View attachment 125636

I have had this peice of Sipo for a while, but not wanted to attempt to squre it up incase I got it wrong.
It had band saw marks on all 4 sides and 2 were not square. (Pic taken part way through the work)

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I was able to take very fine shaving with the 5.5 plane, it sounded very smooth as it was cutting too. Perhaps this is an easy wood to plane? I guess it is, more or less no tare out in either direction.

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View attachment 125641

I checked it with sqaures, a long ruler and on my very flat bench top (not pictured) mulitpule times. It is now as square all round as I can get it.

However I am having problems getting a square edge on some 18mm thick maple.
These 2 pictures sum the problem up, I can't get it flat, I keep swaping the the error from one side to the other.
Not sure what I am doing wrong, will keep practicing.

Should I use a smaller plane for this job? Or perhaps a shooting board?

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It's all about which bits to remove, taking control and not just letting the plane do its own thing.
e.g. take off a matching sloping bit from the higher half so that you have something like a shallow pitch roof then take that off by planing straight down the middle, if that makes sense.
If you scribble all over it with a pencil first then you can see where you've been, get to know how you are working and whats actually going on.

 

[user 29368]

Hi Artie, it looks like you’re getting the hang of it! Well done. When planing an edge like that it’s sometimes helpful to use your left hand to support and hold down the front of the plane as normal but just with your thumb hanging over the edge by the front knob and you rub the side your fore finger along the side of the bit of wood you are planing, probably not very clear, but in essence your left hand is keeping the plane at the correct angle in relation to the side of the piece of wood you are planing. Ian
PS don’t forget to use a candle or similar to lube the sole of the plane, if you never have, be prepared for a revelation.

Thanks, I'll get a candle, I can see how that would help, never done it before.

I'd bet your plane iron is salvageable.

I dare say it is. But for the sake of £15ish for one from ebay, i'll just have a nice flat one and start again. I spent a good while with some sand paper trying to flatten the back of the iron and gave up when the pen marks in the corner simply wouldn't go.

 

[Ttrees]

Worth a bash, might learn something by tapping it flat.
Think Sellers actually has good video about this.
I wouldn't be holding stuff in a vice at all for planing, unless it was a very narrow edge.
But thats your choice who's methods you go with.

 

[user 29368]

It's all about which bits to remove, taking control and not just letting the plane do its own thing.
e.g. take off a matching sloping bit from the higher half so that you have something like a shallow pitch roof then take that off by planing straight down the middle, if that makes sense.
If you scribble all over it with a pencil first then you can see where you've been, get to know how you are working and whats actually going on.

You mean like this.

I managed to do it once or twice - but instantly put a camber back.

Should I be using a smaller plane for this? The maple board is 600mm long. would a number 4 be more suitable?

 

[user 29368]

Worth a bash, might learn something by tapping it flat.
Think Sellers actually has good video about this.
I wouldn't be holding stuff in a vice at all for planing, unless it was a very narrow edge.
But thats your choice who's methods you go with.

How would you hold it? The maple I have is 600mm x 100mm x 18mm

 

[Jacob]

You mean like this.

View attachment 125653

I managed to do it once or twice - but instantly put a camber back

.Exactly! Then scribble pencil before you do the next shallow pass so you can see where you've been. It's a learning process.

Should I be using a smaller plane for this? The maple board is 600mm long. would a number 4 be more suitable?

5 is a nice compromise for a board edge. 5 1/2 a bit heavy, 4 a bit short. Definitely clamp it in the vice unless Ttrees has got a really good idea!

 

[user 29368]

Then scribble pencil before you do the next shallow pass so you can see where you've been. It's a learning process.

I didn't do the pencil line, will try again tomorrow.
will stick with the 51/2 as that's all I have that's working at the moment.

 

[Jacob]

I didn't do the pencil line, will try again tomorrow.
will stick with the 51/2 as that's all I have that's working at the moment.

soft pencil 2B or chalk on darker woods . etc.
candle wax - just a quick squiggle all down the length of the sole - people have been known to waste time "prepping" their planes with wax polish and all sorts!

 

[hennebury]

Set you plane for a very fine shaving, almost no shaving,
Don't take full length shavings, just short ones over the high spots.
The shaving should get longer and wider with each shaving until the high spot is gone.
Lay the plane on the wood gently, and start pushing the plane forward as you increase the downforce on the plane, gradually picking up a shaving that gets a little thicker the more you press down. Center the plane over the high side,, and take multiple super light shavings that get wider and longer.

I agree with bashing the iron to bring it back to flat, you can also lightly grind the back, The Japanese chisels are hollow ground on the flat side, as are the handplane blades and the supersurfacer blades. Makes it fast and easy to get flat and polished and get making shavings. No need wasting a load of time polishing all that real estate for nothing. I just use a little pencil grinder and lightly run over the back, not deep, not pretty but works. then you can easily lap the back to however fine you want. You may have to refresh the grinding from time to time as lapping it a few times will eventually remove it.

 

[Ttrees]

How would you hold it? The maple I have is 600mm x 100mm x 18mm

Something like this, If you have a cleat for simply butting the work against, and sitting freely.
The vice would be in the way otherwise.
A cleat on the end of the bench, and a board against it would be grand for a planing stop, if you still wanted use of the vice.

 

[user 29368]

I'll give the bent blade a seeing too...

Not ordered a new one yet.

 

[Cabinetman]

Artie, probably use the vice till you get a bit more experience, but it does teach you bad habits! You should plane up against a stop, which is often a piece of wood sticking up from the surface of the bench. If you can get hold of a copy of "Mike Siemsen workholding on a viceless bench" you will learn a huge amount, it’s normally free on YouTube but it looks like Lostpress are trying to make money on it now.
Having the wood able to wobble on the surface of the bench forces you to plane properly, left hand applying downward force till the blade starts to cut then the right hand can push the plane along the wood, ease off on the front pressure before you reach the end. When planing an edge any bad side to side pressure will tip the plank over, it will be second nature very soon. Promise Ian

 

[user 29368]

That makes a lot of sense.
Will look into it...
Cheers

 

[baldkev]

A simple pleasure to watch

Ahhhh, now i know where that crepe paper comes from!!!!
Thats a cool machine!

 

[Adam W.]

Artie, probably use the vice till you get a bit more experience, but it does teach you bad habits! You should plane up against a stop, which is often a piece of wood sticking up from the surface of the bench. If you can get hold of a copy of "Mike Siemsen workholding on a viceless bench" you will learn a huge amount, it’s normally free on YouTube but it looks like Lostpress are trying to make money on it now.
Having the wood able to wobble on the surface of the bench forces you to plane properly, left hand applying downward force till the blade starts to cut then the right hand can push the plane along the wood, ease off on the front pressure before you reach the end. When planing an edge any bad side to side pressure will tip the plank over, it will be second nature very soon. Promise Ian

Indeed, like learning to ride a bike without stabilisers.

Another one is if you're going to joint a few thin boards for a glue up, stack them thin edge on and if they all stand up straight, you're good to go.

 

[pe2dave]

Artie, probably use the vice till you get a bit more experience, but it does teach you bad habits! You should plane up against a stop

Any evidence to support this view? Seems an awful lot of people use a vice to hold wood for planing?

 

[Adam W.]

True, but if you plane wood on a bench without strapping it down, it speaks back and tells you what's wrong with it by skating around in a particular way.

 

[Cabinetman]

Any evidence to support this view? Seems an awful lot of people use a vice to hold wood for planing?

That’s true and if it was a half inch thick board and 8 inches high I probably would as well but mostly it’s quicker and easier against the planing stop, earlier I described how to change the downward pressure from hand to hand as you move along the board, you can only learn that against a stop. Most of the problems people have when planing is because they always put it a vice, they’re not getting the feedback.
If you get chance to watch Mike Siemsen he demonstrates this perfectly. Ian