Scrub plane

[cwroy]

Hi,

I've just bought a ECE wooden scrub plane. It works wonderfuly, and right out of the box.

I haven't sharpened it, it's just ground from the factory. Plows through the wood as if it was butter.

So there is my question.... Should I sharpen it, and to what extent???

Thanks for your advice.

CW

 

[Karl]

Great little plane.

If it is working well for you, I wouldn't bother sharpening yet. Being a scrub it will get a lot of abuse, so it won't be long before you have to sharpen it properly anyway.

Cheers

Karl

 

[bugbear]

So there is my question.... Should I sharpen it, and to what extent???

Yes; in scary sharp terms, I'd go to around 1200-1500. This is overkill in terms of edge sharpness, but coarser edges tend to degrade more rapidly, due to fractures starting at the "notches" (on a small scale, of course).

IIRC Jeff Gorman used to have a citation to research in this area but his site's no longer up.

I would recommend a convex (or very narrow) wheeled jig for honing, and a final bevel of around 35 degrees for strength.

http://www.geocities.com/plybench/scrub.html#blade

Others will be along shortly to tell you to freehand it.

BugBear

 

[dunbarhamlin]

Others will be along shortly to tell you to freehand it.

Yep. Don't bother with a microbevel. Huge reference surface - a cinch to freehand. Just roll laterally through the stroke or do it sideways.

(My #43 is much more amenable now - thanks BB)

Cheers
Steve

 

[Paul Chapman]

If you like using honing guides, I find the Veritas Mk2 with cambered roller very good for honing scrub-type blades. You only need hone about two-thirds of the width of the blade as only the central portion of the blade tends to be projecting.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[bugbear]

If you like using honing guides, I find the Veritas Mk2 with cambered roller very good for honing scrub-type blades. You only need hone about two-thirds of the width of the blade as only the central portion of the blade tends to be projecting.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Although you do need to work the whole perimeter, otherwise you'll eventually lose your camber!

BugBear

 

[Paul Chapman]

If you like using honing guides, I find the Veritas Mk2 with cambered roller very good for honing scrub-type blades. You only need hone about two-thirds of the width of the blade as only the central portion of the blade tends to be projecting.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Although you do need to work the whole perimeter, otherwise you'll eventually lose your camber!

Yes, but that will take quite a while, by which time it's probably ready for a re-grind anyway.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[cwroy]

Thank you for the info.

CW