Plane Blade Squareness

[Chubber]

Forgive me stating the bloody obvious, but as has been pointed out that little wiggly lever thing on a metal plane is there to adjust the iron's squareness.

Not all plane irons are square. Wooden jack planes are traditionally sharpened with a slight curve, mine, (with a 1/4" thick iron) is almost 1/16" proud in the middle when the outer edges are flush. It whistles off the roughness on wide & uneven boards, and if I have the least doubt about how clean reclaimed wood is a few passes tell me. If you see one on sale, do have a go, 300 years of history can't be all wrong, and it's a sight lighter to use than my 18" Stanley No. 6.

My Stanley 4 1/2 is square, heavy and removes plenty in a controlled manner when set for a deep cut.
To lessen the tramline effect on wider stock I round the outer corners of the iron by about 1/32"-- 1/16" by trapping the corner between the top and bottom of an oilstone box and sliding it up and down a couple of times, as you would when re-edging a flat scraper.

I'm not going to offer unsolicited advice on how to sharpen things, but thought those two tips above seem to have fallen out of practice / common knowledge and may help someone new to the game.

PACE

 

[Jacob]

Forgive me stating the bloody obvious, but as has been pointed out that little wiggly lever thing on a metal plane is there to adjust the iron's squareness.

Not all plane irons are square. Wooden jack planes are traditionally sharpened with a slight curve, mine, (with a 1/4" thick iron) is almost 1/16" proud in the middle when the outer edges are flush. It whistles off the roughness on wide & uneven boards, and if I have the least doubt about how clean reclaimed wood is a few passes tell me. If you see one on sale, do have a go, 300 years of history can't be all wrong, and it's a sight lighter to use than my 18" Stanley No. 6.

My Stanley 4 1/2 is square, heavy and removes plenty in a controlled manner when set for a deep cut.
To lessen the tramline effect on wider stock I round the outer corners of the iron by about 1/32"-- 1/16" by trapping the corner between the top and bottom of an oilstone box and sliding it up and down a couple of times, as you would when re-edging a flat scraper.

I'm not going to offer unsolicited advice on how to sharpen things, but thought those two tips above seem to have fallen out of practice / common knowledge and may help someone new to the game.

PACE

I always have a fair bit of camber and don't get tramlines.

 

[deema]

If only Jacob would actually check the baloney he often trots out. Grinding wheels were used as far back as ancient Egypt. All that has changed is the method of powering them. From slaves / kids to treadle’s to motors. They have been part of woodworking since Adam was a lad.

 

[niall Y]

I distinctly remember the large electric floor standing grinding wheel in the woodwork room at school. It had a wheel about 2ft in diameter and was water cooled. These big old wheels were the norm in woodwork shops around the country By its very nature it would have left a hollow grind though this would have been barely perceptible given the diameter of the wheel.
No doubt all the plane irons would be reground at the beginning of each school year. given the inaptitude of many of those using the planes. I can't see that this would be a task that any one in their right mind would would choose to do on an oil stone.

 

[Jacob]

If only Jacob would actually check the baloney he often trots out. Grinding wheels were used as far back as ancient Egypt.

Not if you didn't have one close to where you were working e.g. on site, or in a typical one man workshop

All that has changed is the method of powering them. From slaves / kids to treadle’s to motors. They have been part of woodworking since Adam was a lad.

But they aren't particularly necessary for routine sharpening so it's not an issue.
What seems to have been forgotten is that all normal sharpening can achieved quite easily by rubbing your tool up and down a bit of stone, or something similar, without any gadgets or machines.

 

[JSW]

Dodged a bullet with the swear filter there @Jacob

achieved quite easily by rubbing your tool up and down a bit of stone, or something similar, without any gadgets or machines.

Anyway, all this talk of the pro's and cons of grinders vs. hand sharpening isn't addressing the OP's first post, clearly displaying his plane blade cutting edge being out of square

 

[worker]

Rather than this endless back and forth which makes the forum very tedious, I suggest simply ignoring anyone who has a habit of persistently derailing threads. Click on their profile name for that option.

The forum is much more pleasant that way.

Truth be told, I think certain members take some sort of weird pleasure in constant arguing and refuse to accept there are loads of ways to achieve the same outcome - what works for one will not work for another. If it works for you, all good.

 

[Adam W.]

If only Jacob would actually check the baloney he often trots out. Grinding wheels were used as far back as ancient Egypt. All that has changed is the method of powering them. From slaves / kids to treadle’s to motors. They have been part of woodworking since Adam was a lad.

I know I'm often seen as a bit of a grandad on site, I'm not THAT old!

 

[Jacob]

Dodged a bullet with the swear filter there @Jacob





Anyway, all this talk of the pro's and cons of grinders vs. hand sharpening isn't addressing the OP's first post, clearly displaying his plane blade cutting edge being out of square

I thought @AESamuel had it covered from the start with the second post!
My contribution to this extremely difficult problem was to suggest honing the blade with a bias towards correcting the error, in the old fashioned way, especially as the OP can't seem to manage it with a "Tormek" and a "Worksharp" (whatever they are, I've never had the pleasure).

 

[segovia]

Forgive me stating the bloody obvious, but as has been pointed out that little wiggly lever thing on a metal plane is there to adjust the iron's squareness.

Not all plane irons are square. Wooden jack planes are traditionally sharpened with a slight curve, mine, (with a 1/4" thick iron) is almost 1/16" proud in the middle when the outer edges are flush. It whistles off the roughness on wide & uneven boards, and if I have the least doubt about how clean reclaimed wood is a few passes tell me. If you see one on sale, do have a go, 300 years of history can't be all wrong, and it's a sight lighter to use than my 18" Stanley No. 6.

My Stanley 4 1/2 is square, heavy and removes plenty in a controlled manner when set for a deep cut.
To lessen the tramline effect on wider stock I round the outer corners of the iron by about 1/32"-- 1/16" by trapping the corner between the top and bottom of an oilstone box and sliding it up and down a couple of times, as you would when re-edging a flat scraper.

I'm not going to offer unsolicited advice on how to sharpen things, but thought those two tips above seem to have fallen out of practice / common knowledge and may help someone new to the game.

PACE

I have OCD, and I'm a picture straightener, if it supposed to be square, and it isn't I get anxiety

 

[pgrbff]

How square does a plane blade have to be?

I've spent hours on the Tormek and Worksharp with this blade and cant get it square

I prefer them square, like you it doesnt feel right if they're not and I can adjust equally left and right. I was having the same problem with my very old Tormek and it turned out the bearings had rusted and there was movement of the spindle allowing the stone to move off square.

 

[segovia]

The problem with me is the Tormek Jig, the feature that allows you to grind a camber can also work against you if you don't set it back square

 

[Jacob]

The problem with me is the Tormek Jig, the feature that allows you to grind a camber can also work against you if you don't set it back square

In other words, almost completely useless. Tormek does seem to get a bad press I don't know why people put up with them.

 

[pgrbff]

I have one but virtually never use it, I have a feeling my mother-in-law bought for me when they first came out, waterstones much more fun. Can't see that may people paying up to £800 just to put up with them.
Never really understood why they are are so expensive.

 

[Trafalgar]

Forgive me stating the bloody obvious, but as has been pointed out that little wiggly lever thing on a metal plane is there to adjust the iron's squareness.

Not all plane irons are square. Wooden jack planes are traditionally sharpened with a slight curve, mine, (with a 1/4" thick iron) is almost 1/16" proud in the middle when the outer edges are flush. It whistles off the roughness on wide & uneven boards, and if I have the least doubt about how clean reclaimed wood is a few passes tell me. If you see one on sale, do have a go, 300 years of history can't be all wrong, and it's a sight lighter to use than my 18" Stanley No. 6.

My Stanley 4 1/2 is square, heavy and removes plenty in a controlled manner when set for a deep cut.
To lessen the tramline effect on wider stock I round the outer corners of the iron by about 1/32"-- 1/16" by trapping the corner between the top and bottom of an oilstone box and sliding it up and down a couple of times, as you would when re-edging a flat scraper.

I'm not going to offer unsolicited advice on how to sharpen things, but thought those two tips above seem to have fallen out of practice / common knowledge and may help someone new to the game.

PACE

If the blade is out of square the lateral adjustment lever ends up needing to be swung way over to one side or the other. It also makes the mouth aperture vis-a-vis the blade uneven -- not necessarily a huge deal but has a bit of an amateurish air to it. Out of square blades, lever caps that are too tight, are the biggest reasons lateral adjustment levers get so loose they feel like they're about to fall off the plane.

A woodworker should be able to manage keeping blades and chisels square.

I have OCD, and I'm a picture straightener, if it supposed to be square, and it isn't I get anxiety

I have news for the intentionally obtuse.

Start with a square blade, then add the amount of curvature you desire or dub the corners, whatever. It's still "square" in the manner being discussed in this thread -- i.e. not so off that the lateral adjustment lever can barely (if it does at all) center the cutter in the mouth. This is week two stuff. Hard to believe there are people who don't get this. If you have to swing the lever hard left or right to get it barely centered, the cutter needs work, or the frog itself is not sitting square to the mouth.

If you can't shape a regular and smooth curve on the end, stop now, and find another hobby. There's little if any hope for this one.

 

[Jacob]

If the blade is out of square the lateral adjustment lever ends up needing to be swung way over to one side or the other. It also makes the mouth aperture vis-a-vis the blade uneven -- not necessarily a huge deal but has a bit of an amateurish air to it. Out of square blades, lever caps that are too tight, are the biggest reasons lateral adjustment levers get so loose they feel like they're about to fall off the plane.

A woodworker should be able to manage keeping blades and chisels square.

I have news for the intentionally obtuse.

Start with a square blade, then add the amount of curvature you desire. It's still "square" in the manner being discussed in this thread -- i.e. not so off that the lateral adjustment lever can barely (if it does at all) center the cutter in the mouth. This is week two stuff. Hard to believe there are people who don't get this.

If you can't shape a regular and smooth curve on the end, stop now, and find another hobby. There's little if any hope for this one.

Take control of the situation rather than relying on gadgets and devices

 

[Trafalgar]

Take control of the situation rather than relying on gadgets and devices

Plane irons are shaped on a coarse oilstone. If one desires a hollow grind you grind in behind the shape, but not all the way to a feather edge. but again just behind it. If you don't want to grind at all, you certainly don't have to - I agree with that -- everything can be finished up on the stones. This is why I love plain India stones so much for shaping and getting a working edge -- they cannot be 'hurt' or gouged. Tough as the back of a shooting gallery. A Washita or hard Arkansas finishes the process. Maybe a charged strop after that. I don't like to mix sharpening media. I know just how India and Arkansas stones are going to work whether it's a bench stone, gouge cone, carving slips, etc. I don't want to mix waterstones, ceramics, diamonds and other stuff into the mix. I really, really like familiarity of a kit of tools and this includes sharpening media. When I find something that works, I very much tend to stick with it, and move on down the road. I am not Thomas Chippendale reincarnated. For me, time spent doinking around with honing stones is wasted.

The minute you're worried about messing up some extremely expensive honing stone is the moment the tail is wagging the dog -- total bullshite in my opinion. Happy to leave all that rubbish to Japanese Zen master sharpeners. I don't have the patience for it. Edges are rarely holding somebody back, what usually holds somebody back is not knowing where to make the marks on the wood to saw, plane, and chisel to. All woodworking is, is the process of removing waste wood until the project appears as planned. It's as simple and as complicated as that. Being an expert on sharpening and tool steels frankly doesn't have all that much to do with it.

Keep it simple.

 

[Blackswanwood]

I love sharpening threads.

They’ve gone downhill. We used to get photographs taken under a microscope to demonstrate where we were going wrong.

 

[Trafalgar]

They’ve gone downhill. We used to get photographs taken under a microscope to demonstrate where we were going wrong.

Good one.

 

[Chubber]

If the blade is out of square the lateral adjustment lever ends up needing to be swung way over to one side or the other. It also makes the mouth aperture vis-a-vis the blade uneven -- not necessarily a huge deal but has a bit of an amateurish air to it. Out of square blades, lever caps that are too tight, are the biggest reasons lateral adjustment levers get so loose they feel like they're about to fall off the plane.

A woodworker should be able to manage keeping blades and chisels square.

I have news for the intentionally obtuse.

Start with a square blade, then add the amount of curvature you desire or dub the corners, whatever. It's still "square" in the manner being discussed in this thread -- i.e. not so off that the lateral adjustment lever can barely (if it does at all) center the cutter in the mouth. This is week two stuff. Hard to believe there are people who don't get this. If you have to swing the lever hard left or right to get it barely centered, the cutter needs work, or the frog itself is not sitting square to the mouth.

If you can't shape a regular and smooth curve on the end, stop now, and find another hobby. There's little if any hope for this one.