Hi.
I recently went from newbie (how do I plug a table saw…?) to beginner, finishing 2 greene and greene style coffee table.
I bought a no. 4 smoothing plane to finish off the table tops and I have never used this tool before.
I took it apart to look how it’s made, and I think I understand pretty much how to finely adjust it.
There’s only 1 question I have and I am sure that there is an obvious answer to it, but I don’t get it:
“Why are those plane design so you can adjust the frog forward and backward?”
I understand that you need to adjust the depth of cut according to the thickness of the material you want to remove, but what’s the point of moving the frog back and forth? Shouldn’t you leave the frog all the way back all the time to give maximum space for the shaving to evacuate? What’s the point of having the frog all the way forward?
Where should the frog be for a heavy cut: Forward or backward? What about light cuts? Maybe somebody will say that it makes no difference at all… I don’t know.
Like I said, I am sure there is an explanation and it is something I would probably have figured out after a dozen run with the tool, but I want to have an explanation to start off on the right note for my first “real” project.
Thanks!
DL
Replies
The answer is to change the size of the mouth (the opening the blade projects through. The sole immediately in front of the blade keeps the wood pressed down ahead of the blade - lessening the chance or severity of tearout. If you've ever tried a bullnose or chisel plane (effectively no sole ahead of the blade) you would quickly see the issue.
To add to what Samson said, you have a narrow opening for a light cut, a wider opening for a heavy one.
Jim
As explained already, a narrower throat opening limits tear out. In practice you should set the throat as narrow as will clear the chips for the type of work you do with the plane. Once you find the narrowest opening that works on a plane, it is generally never reset.
John White
Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998-2007
Remembering my own early disasters, I wouldn't put a plane anywhere near a finished table without some serious practice on something that doesn't matter much. Reminds me of the P.G.Wodehouse story about the businessman who wants to impress a girl by his prowess at golf. So he tells his secretary to clear his calendar for a week in June, and write in "win British Open." Then he sends her out for a book on how to play golf, a set of clubs, and a golf ball. Well, at least the book was a good idea. I eventually bought Garrett Hack's The Woodplane Book.
Jim
Thanks for you answers.
So:
1) Narrower opening helps prevent tearouts (make sense, when you think about it)
2) Set the frog to the smallest (roughly) opening to accomodate the shavings
3) Use orbit sander for my highly figured cherry tabletops until I can use handplanes properly...!!
Will do. Thanks again.
DL
Try a Lie Nielsen L-N 62 and your Cherry wood will look spectacular without the sanding orbital swirls.
Buy a cabinet scraper and a burnisher, all for less than $20.00, and then learn how to use them. A cabinet scraper is the simplest and best tool for cleaning up difficult wood and for doing final clean up on almost all projects.John White
Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998-2007
In the current Popular Woodworking, there is an excellent article about using bevel up smooth planes. I recommend it to you. Tom
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