Scrub Plane Experiment

[Smudger]

On a recent thread I said that I had read that scrub planes were used, in the UK, for reducing the width of boards as an alternative to ripsawing, and their relative rarity was due to early availability of machine dimensioned timber. Of course, I had never actually tried it...

I was in m'shed today, doing a bit of sharpening and honing, as you do on a Sunday morning, and I espied a bit of scrap timber to try out the newly honed iron on. This was a 30" piece of French floorboard (10m board length for €7 in Bricomarché - the timber of choice for the Le Bodge™ range) with half of the groove cut off (don't ask why, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, either). After planing off the tongue side (lovely fluffy shavings, satisfying whoosh) I thought I would try out the scrub plane idea on the remaining half-groove, about ¼" x ¼".
I set the scrub to take a fairly coarse shaving:

and it did the job very well. It didn't take long to remove, and within 5 minutes (according to the time on the 2 photos) I had removed it and faced the board.

Was it worth it? Not if you have easy access to a machine. Probably easier for me than ripping it by hand, but then that's not a job I'm used to doing. If I did it every day I don't think there'd be much in it. It wasn't hard work, but I wasn't taking half an inch off a 10' x 1" board (or several).

Is the theory proven? Dunno, but it certainly works as an idea.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Hi Dick,

I often use my old Record #7 with a heavily cambered blade like that. By using a longer plane, it quickly reduces the width of the board and straightens the edge at the same time :wink:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Smudger]

It would make a lot of sense to use a bigger plane with a cambered iron. The scrub is a bit small for a wide board, I would imagine.
It's hard to see what a scrub was for, in the UK context, except for some specialist use.

 

[Paul Chapman]

It's hard to see what a scrub was for, in the UK context, except for some specialist use.

I think scrub-type planes do have their uses (particularly if you work mainly with hand tools). I have three planes set up like scrubs - one is about the size of a #3, a #5 1/2 and a #7. In practice, I find that the #7 gets the most use.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[SDF]

In one of Roy Underhill's shows online he promotes the use of the scrub plane as a tool for working green wood - wide mouth, deep cut, doesn't clog-up.

http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/video/2900/2906.html (about 10 mins in)

Seems to make sense to me.

Steve.

 

[Smudger]

I think there is also a use if you want an 'adzed' look, on beams for example.

 

[EdK]

I love my scrub plane. I've used it quite alot as I get off cuts from various people (not worth taking out the cup/warp commercially etc) - and I find that altering the cutting depth gives you quite a different beast.
At one end of the spectrum you get a really aggressive monster that will reduce board thickness down quickly (or edges) and then with a slight cut you can refine boards etc.
I don't have a thicknesser so eat alot of spinach and use the scrub.
(Veritas one)
Ed

 

[ac445ab]

Hi,
I use a lot the Stanley 40 scrub plane. It's very handily tool for small works.
For levelling rough boards I prefer a 17" jack plane I transformed in scrub, rounding the blade and opening the mouth.

Ciao,
Giuliano

 

[TobyB]

I don't have a planer or a thicknesser. Turning a 1 1/4" thick board into a 1 cms thick one I have found a scrub plane a useful bit of kit ... loads of thick splintery shavings and the gauge line is approached nice and quick. The No 5 1/2 then smooths it out - initially lots of clickity-click dust taking off the tops, but then proper shavings appear ...

As a hand-tool approach it's effective. Now I have a bandsaw I may well be using it a lot less ... but can still see it having a place with a badly cupped board for instance ... though if I had planer/thicknesser machines I can see it would gather a lot of dust on a high shelf ...

 

[bugbear]

On a recent thread I said that I had read that scrub planes were used, in the UK, for reducing the width of boards as an alternative to ripsawing, and their relative rarity was due to early availability of machine dimensioned timber. Of course, I had never actually tried it...

IIRC that was a moderately speculative idea by Chris Schwartz.

BugBear

 

[Pekka Huhta]

I happened to run across an old pictorial of scrubbing a plank to a proper surface.

I have access to all machinery, but as that is half an hour drive away and available only on weekdays, I always prepare my wood by hand, unless there are more than 3-4 planks to clean up and plane to dimension.

First, a piece of reclaimed wood, 8x2½ inches, a it over five foot long. Camera clock shows 0:00

One minute later, the first passes diagonally over the surface with a scrub plane set to approx 1/8" shavings (really). Camera clock 0:01

Another pass, clock still 0:01

Then a clean-up with a wider scrub, still sharpened to a generous camber, set to about 1 mm shaving. Clock 0:03.

Then smoothing the surface with a #5 and a few smoothers. End time 0:08.

So it took eight minutes to clean up the plank, three of them went to scrubbing. Without the knots it would have been probably 2-3 minutes shorter time.

I don't speculate when and how scrubbing has been invented, the most common way over here has been to use an axe or a two-man plane: two men were sitting on the plank, one used the front handles to pull and the other to push.

All in all, I think that using a scrub plane is one of the most basic skills in woodworking for me. I know that I have all the machinery available whenever I most need it, but then again I can most often do the whole job in the same amount of time it takes me to drive there and back. It's no big deal.

And to the original suggestion of using a scrub for reducing the width seems very awkward, as it's so much faster with an axe or a drawknife - followed by finishing the surface with a plane of course.

Pekka

P.S, before someone comments my 1/8" shavings, have a look:

http://puuvene.net/phuhta/puutyot/rouhintalastu1.jpg 8) :wink:

 

[bugbear]

P.S, before someone comments my 1/8" shavings, have a look:

http://puuvene.net/phuhta/puutyot/rouhintalastu1.jpg 8) :wink:

I've made some scrub shavings (chips?) too - mine were made at 45° to the board.

BugBear

 

[Paul Chapman]

Impressive work, Pekka 8)

Cheers :wink:

Paul