Metal plane sole surfaces finishes.

[Cheshirechappie]

Personally, I don't think there's much point in measuring shavings. If a plane will make thin, whispy shavings, that's all the proof one needs that the plane sole is as flat as it needs to be. The actual thickness, given that the shaving has been distorted quite a bit in it's journey through the plane mouth, might not be exactly the same as the amount removed from the stock anyway. (If someone REALLY needs to know how much their plane is taking off, measure the workpiece, not the waste.) It so happens that I have micrometers that will measure to 0.0001", but I don't use them for woodworking - or measuring wood waste.

I'd agree that workpiece surface finish (or accuracy to required dimension) is more important. I'd also agree that there's an elementof one-upmanship in some quarters about shaving thickness, which might be fun for some, but doesn't really get stuff made. I do maintain that a plane that will take thin, whispy shavings is a well set up plane; you don't actually need a plane to do that all the time, but it's good to know that it will when it has to; it's a good indication that a plane sole is as flat as it needs to be. That's all.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

[/quote]We're working wood gentlemen, not uranium. Coming over from machines, hand tool woodworking ought to be liberating rather than even more constipating

My post was *mostly* aimed at the notion that the amount of candle wax squiggled onto a plane's sole would be a potential source of discrepancy in flatness that might matter.

I was just idly wondering, after all the wax leaves a lump that can easily be felt with my fingertip. If that lump was metal from uneven grinding I would consider it huge. . I think you confuse idle wondering with worrying. wondering this has never stopped me doing it or slowed me down, or caused me any stress, but it does have some relevance in a conversation about plane sole smoothness and waxing plane soles, admittedly not of interest to many people, hence I posted it on a hand tool forum in a discussion about plane sole smoothness rather than discuss it with my daughter or friends or even my workmates at the boat yard.
As far as it being constipating I eat a healthy diet full of fibre so no worries there
Weirdly, whilst I find my machines give me headaches from the noise and potentially lung trouble from the dust and definitely danger, I've never found them to interfere with my bowel movements. If anything the reverse, a few near misses have made me need the toilet

 

[worn thumbs]

I do not wish to mislead. My shavings are not full width and 12 feet long.

However, with good sharpening and a slightly cambered blade, it should not be difficult to get 1/2 thou shavings off a Sycamore edge.

We use this as a test for flatness in the vicinity of the throat.

best wishes,
David

I might have to try this test,never managed less than 3 thou myself.

 

[David C]

Failure to take thin shavings usually indicates presence of bumps behind the throat.

It is worth examining this area carefully as well as ensuring that frog holddown screws are not overtightened.

Best wishes,
David Charlesworth

 

[MusicMan]

Let's note that the plane sole and the wood are not two flat, matching surfaces. That can only be true with the geometry of the machine planer/jointer where the indeed table is lower than the outfield table by the thickness of the cut. Planes aren't made like that, and actually contact in a blob near the front, the blade, and a blob near the back; thus defining a cylinder not a plane surface. This is why longer planes give flatter surfaces. See Wearing, Essential Woodworker, p 27 for nice diagrams.

Keith