Plane sole flattening

[space.dandy]

I've just watched the Paul Sellers video 'Restoring the Bench Plane' and I have a couple of questions:

1. [09] when flattening the sole he puts a slight chamfer on the outside edges, which he says helps with uneven materials. Can someone please expand on that, as I didn't understand fully what he was trying to say.

2. [12] he rounds off the edges of the sole so they are not sharp 90 degree corners, which he says 'makes such a difference to the functionality of the plane', but he doesn't expand on that comment. Why is this beneficial?

Many thanks,
Chris

 

[galleywood]

For both points it is so that the 'sharp' corner of the plane does not cut into the workpiece.

 

[Ttrees]

That said advice seems like it will catch shavings to me

 

[DTR]

I've not seen the video, but I'll have a stab.... A slight chamfer or radius around the edge of the sole allows the plane to ride over bumps easier. Like how the leading tip of a ski / snowboard etc is curved.

I'll point out that I've never wanted or needed to do this to a plane. All of my planes have a radiused sole through natural wear.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Space.dandy - I've already done the toe and heel of yours. It lets the plane ride over knots and proud joints without tearing them.

I must admit I don't see much sense in doing the sides.

 

[bugbear]

I've not seen the video, but I'll have a stab.... A slight chamfer or radius around the edge of the sole allows the plane to ride over bumps easier. Like how the leading tip of a ski / snowboard etc is curved.

I'll point out that I've never wanted or needed to do this to a plane. All of my planes have a radiused sole through natural wear.

Having flattened the sole, I just soften the arris so I won't actually cut myself, no more than that. Coupla' strokes of 800 grit SiC does it.

BugBear

 

[space.dandy]

Space.dandy - I've already done the toe and heel of yours.

Thank you!

 

[D_W]

That said advice seems like it will catch shavings to me

They seem to go under a plane no matter what, though. It's better practice just to keep them off of a surface so that they don't interrupt a cut.

when I lap the bottom of a plane, the burrs that are left (that mark wood) always seem to be around the sides or around the mouth, so I usually soften all of them a little bit, but not an excessive amount (I don't see the difference between a little and a lot, and I think they look bad - the latter is entirely opinion, though).

 

[ED65]

1. [09] when flattening the sole he puts a slight chamfer on the outside edges, which he says helps with uneven materials. Can someone please expand on that, as I didn't understand fully what he was trying to say.

This is I think a case of someone not saying the actual reason for why they do something. Sometimes they're genuinely mistaken, other times it's that they have to give a reason and they come up with something that sounds right. A good soundbite if you will.

This was discussed here or on another forum a while back, I can't recall which, and what he's actually doing is relicating, in a freshly-prepared plane, the sole condition that he's now accustomed to in his primary user after its decades of wear.

Watch Paul plane in multiple videos and you'll see why his plane's sole will wear this way, and why this fettling step is not something that everyone should do because they don't handle the plane in the same way. FWIW when cleaning up old planes I've only seen one (of around 20) that had this sort of sole shape and it was very clearly a wear pattern from the accompanying scratches.

2. [12] he rounds off the edges of the sole so they are not sharp 90 degree corners, which he says 'makes such a difference to the functionality of the plane', but he doesn't expand on that comment. Why is this beneficial?

Although not everyone thinks this is a must-do this is standard fettling practice for a lot of people.

It's often done to a greater extent on the leading and trailing edges (and corners especially) than on the long arrises but in all cases it helps not to leave score marks on the wood if you inadvertently drag the plane across the wood between strokes.

 

[jnw010]

From watching him plane on various videos.
On a planning stroke if you don't run the plane off the end of the board, you lift the tail of the plane to get a smooth exit. I'd expect a crisp front edge to mark the wood. Similarly pulling the plane back across the board to take another shaving would do the same. Angling the plane on a stroke, again sharp sides would potentially jar or mark.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

On a planing stroke you don't run the plane off the end of the board, you lift the tail of the plane to get a smooth exit.

Not if you're trying to keep the work flat, you don't.

 

[custard]

sharp sides would potentially jar or mark.

That's the key thing, right there.

Furniture maker's slang for this is "workshop rash", the innumerable pock marks that a piece accumulates while it's being made, and many of them come from the plane itself. In terms of efficiency it's one of those small things with big implications. You often don't spot them until you've sanded and then you have to dampen the dent, cover it with a damp cloth, put a hot iron on it to steam out the dent, wait for it to dry, and then re-sand. It's all a time wasting faff.

On smaller bench planes, where the rear handle hangs over the back of the sole, there's usually a half moon shaped area on the rear of the casting. Best quality manufacturers relieved this part of the casting in recognition of the problem, most manufacturers don't, but that's in expectation that the user will do the job rather than evidence that the job's not needed.

Ease all arrises around the sole and get in the habit of smoothly engaging your plane with the workpiece.

 

[David C]

One thing. Imagine the front edge of a plane is square (and sharp).
If this is put down carelessly on the work, fibres may be cut, crossgrain.

Steaming will not repair this sort of damage, while soft hollow dings can be largely reinflated by the steam.

David Charlesworth