Am diving into my box of planes, and tried tuning up the 60-1/2 Stanley block plane first. Took forever to lap the sole, but it’s pretty good now. Questions are regarding (a) block planes in general and (b) low-angle planes specifically.
General: How many block planes am I going to need? <insert surprised look> Seems like the angle of the blade, the angle of sharpening, and maybe even the secondary bevel will change depending on type of wood and the tasks at hand. I have two decent ones, a LA and a regular angle. Have a couple others that are pretty sad, but could probably be used.
Specific: For this 60-1/2 low angle plane, what are the tasks (which woods, for instance) it’s best suited for? What secondary bevel should I use??
Another ??: I’m having trouble making the edge of the blade perfectly straight and perpendicular to the sides. It doesn’t need to be ground, so I’m staying away from the wheel and trying to do it by hand. Tricks? Fixture or jig??
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
My irons weren't square on the ends, either so I used a small square and scribed a line with a small screwdriver at the short corner. I have the cheap, gray honing guide that can be bought from Rockler, WoodCraft, L-N or L-V for about $14. It made short work of making the ends square and if you want camber, you can do that, too. I also scribed where the edge of the guide needs to be for my primary angle. Since almost no material is being removed at any one time once it's square, it'll take a while until I need to mark that again. Also, when I have more than just a little metal to remove, I use sheets of 3M emery cloth that I buy in 3 packs. Once it's about where it needs to be, I go to 200, 400 or 600 and 1200 or 1500 grit silicon dioxide wet/dry paper and I do this wet. I have some 2000 and 4000 but don't like taking that much time to make it just a tiny bit shinier. They work fine with 1200 and 1500.
I have a Craftsman block plane from the late'50s or early '60s and while it's definitely not a very precise tool, it works well, even on hard maple end grain. If you want to use the better planes because they're inherently better tools, maybe having replacement irons, ground at different angles and marked to ID them, would be a decent solution.
As far as the angles, I think mine is at 30º now and it's working for me. I picked up a block plane iron yesterday (on sale- big time) and a piece of Pao Ferro, so along with the brass plate I just got this week, apparently I have decided to make a block plane. Low angle, this time.
Thanks for the tips, HF. I've been looking at various sharpening articles on the 'net, and am surprised that so far none of them even mention making sure the cutting edge is 90° to the sides before starting to work on the bevel and secondary bevel. Too funny.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Well, if the skew isn't too great, the affect on the angle won't be much, just a little less than what it being attempted. I bought the Leonard Lee book and it has a lot of good info. I also read a whole lot here in Knots and this has given me more than any other source. If I hadn't come here, there's no way I would have as many planes as I do, or remotely think about making one (or more) of my own. I also picked up a piece of quartersawn Mara that has some nice grain, which I think will make a nice jack plane, since I don't have one.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
fg, how can it possibly take forever to flatten a plane sole, especially one as small as a block plane? To flatten soles just get some 60 grit sanding belt, or perhaps 80 grit; cut a length off; stick it down on a flat surface with some Spray Mount or similar; and flatten away. It will probably take between 5 and ten minutes to do the job on a block plane, and perhaps twenty or thirty minutes if you're working on an extremely badly dished no. 7 or 8 plane.
Anything finer than 60, 80 or 120 grit abrasive that touches the sole of a plane I believe adds nothing to the plane's ability to do its job. It just makes the sole shinier and, perversely you may think, stickier. Coarse scratches are almost like a corrugated sole. They put less metal in contact with the wood and therefore less friction.
One (user) block plane is all I have, a Lie-Nielsen standard angle. This tool replaced my old Record one, which I still have about for bits of rough work. The standard bedding angle LN does all the jobs I need, with the grain, across the grain, and on end grain.
I sharpen the cutting edge freehand, but I'd guess it's usually about 25º- 28º.
There's really no need for a fleet of block planes that I can see, but if you want to indulge yourself for the enjoyment I'm sure there's no harm in it either. But I swear that in over thirty years of working wood for a living one decent block plane is all I've ever needed. Slainte.
Richard Jones Furniture
Edited 2/4/2007 1:50 pm by SgianDubh
Hi, Richard, thanks for pitching in here. The next plane will go much faster, no doubt about it. I didn't realize how much flattening was needed on this little dude, and tried to do it with 180 grit wet/dry paper. Not a good idea. Next time (a Bedrock 605 and a similar Craftsman) if they need flattening, it'll dfinitely be with coarse paper to start with. Might even recruit the stationary belt sander, whadya think?
Live and learn, starting with books and magazine articles, then you pitch in and tell me how much easier it can be, LOL. My freehand sharpening skills suck, but I'm sure that will improve also. The "how many" question was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but since I work in both hard and soft woods, there might be advantages to different set-ups.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
fg, I've used a stationery belt sander to get the job started-- just make sure the extraction system is disconnected, ha, ha. I've seen one or two fires started through people flattening plane soles and regrinding chisels and the like on these machines.
However, it's definitely the case that coarse grit paper will get you going on the flattening process. As you've found out, it's silly to start with stuff that's too fine, and it's not a job that needs to be made a meal of. Flattening plane soles really is a piece of cake if approached correctly.
If you have only a low angle block plane, you might consider getting two irons. Sharpen one at about 25º for end grain work, and one at about 33-35º for working with the grain. Without checking I think the low angle block planes are bedded at 12º, so these sharpening angles will give you an angle of incidence (angle of attack if you prefer) of 37º and ~ 45º- 47º respectively. The lower angle of attack- 37º- would be most people preference for end grain work, although I've never really found a need for this lower angle.
Sharpening skills just comes down to the three P's I'm afraid, ha, ha, or perhaps a good guide/jig. I find pretty much all sharpening guides a pain in the pants to use, so do my sharpening freehand but if you need one, use one. All that matters is that you get the job done as enjoyably as possible in your case as this is a hobby for you, if not for me. Slainte. Richard Jones Furniture
Howdy neighbor, I'm no expert on planes, but am learning quickly. So far my collection includes the basics, Stanley 60 1/2, Record #4, Stanley 220. Both the Stanleys were bought off of Ebay used. Not much to brag on here. I'll second what the previous post said about squaring up your plane iron. Using coarse abrasives (I use scary sharp method) and a good honing guide, checking often with a machinist square, you should be able to properly square up the end of your plane iron pretty quickly. Now, let me share what else I've learned about planes...Being an old machinist, I can sharpen steel that'll split atoms. All my buddies beg me to sharpen their hunting knives (and I do). In spite of my skills though, and in spite of my efforts at tuning, I wasn't having much luck with my planes. Then last year at the Puyallup WW show, in spite of my skepticism, I bought a HOCK plane iron for my Record #4. When I got it I noticed it was TWICE AS THICK as the plane iron that came stock with the Record. I touched it up (it was pretty sharp to begin with) and replace my stock plane iron and tested it out on some figured maple.The difference in how that Record plane worked with the HOCK blade was amazing. Truly amazing. Astounding. Incredible. I'm trying to make a point here. I could not believe the difference that change made. My planes had already been properly tuned, and their poor performance after the tuning was why I was dissapointed. The difference that thick plane iron made was so significant, I will be replacing all my plane irons with HOCK plane irons before I use them again. I'll go out on a limb here and claim that if you're planes are mechanically sound, and properly tuned, with a quality plane iron installed and properly sharpened, you should have a tool that will perform with distinction.Hope this helps...Jeff
I agree that aftermarket plane irons can make a huge difference but I can't agree completely that an OEM iron won't cut well. You and I bought our planes used but we can't know how they were treated before we got our grubby little hands on them. I recently flattened and smoothed a piece of curly hard maple with my British-made Bailey #4 (1930s) with original iron and #7 Bailey with a Lie-Nielsen iron. The L-N is A2 and did a great job, the #4 is just whatever the steel was on that one when it was made. I have no tear-out or grain lifting from either and the original iron on the #7 is laminated steel, which also works well. The #4 really holds its edge well, too. I guess some irons are dogs and some are great. I wonder if a previous owner sharpened them on a grinder and messed up the hardness. I have some cheap kitchen knives that hold an edge for a loooong time and a more expensive chef's knife that apparently gets dull from cutting air. Looks nice, though.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Hi, Jeff. Yep, the Hock blades have been recommended by a California friend, should I find a bladeless plane. I'll try the stock blades that came with the 605 (not a Stanley blade) and the slightly bigger Craftsman, see how they work (or don't).
I'm using Scary Sharp also, but the fright factor is considerably less than it should be. Practice makes perfect I guess. Hasn't been any need for coarse grit on the plane irons, just on the soles of the planes. The little 60-1/2 is in really good shape, and I can't even remember where/when I got it. Some auction somewhere.
Are there any good tool swaps around this area or Everett or Tacoma? My Calif. friend goes to two each year in the LA area and always finds good deals on planes and other stuff.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Yeah, they also have The Recycler in California. If you aren't getting the hang of setting the angle by hand, don't let anyone make you feel bad about it- you're trying for accuracy. Some can do it, some can't. I would rather be accurate so I use the guide I mentioned before. If you find that you can do it by hand eventually, the guide is only $14. If you want, I can post a photo of my irons with a square across the edge as a reference. You will be scared (insert scary sounds here).Back to the issue of non-square edges- I think it took a total of just a few minutes to square up my #4, #7 AND my block plane with the guide.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I'd love a pic, that'd be great. I use the original Veritas for honing the bevel, and have gotten a handle on it pretty well.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Metod, I'm not sure how it's a difficult answer. It's just my opinion.
Could you expand on that difficult bit for me? I'd be glad to try and clarify what's perhaps puzzling you. Slainte.
Richard Jones Furniture
Your low angle is going to get lonely and need a friend or two. ;-) The low angle is especially good for end grain. A standard angle is sometimes better in long grain situtations, especially in squirrelly grains. I regularly find LN's Rabbet Block to be very useful - it's unique abilities as a rabbet are obvious. Finally, it can be nice to have some different sizes. For example, LN's 102 is nice and compact snuggling right into your palm for one hand operation; a Stanley 18 or 65 or the one inch longer 19 can sometimes be guided with two hands for certain operations.
Are all these necessary? Nope. Nice to have? Definitely.
FG,
IME, you can generally get by quite nicely with two BPs: a LA and a standard angle. Adjustable mouth models tend to do a bit better with nastier grain, because you can close the mouth up tight. As others have stated, LA does end grain well, and the standard angle generally does better work on long grain.
My BP irons have the factory 25° +/- bevel. I generally don't bother with a secondary bevel.
Something that I was surprised to discover was that the sharpness of the iron probably has more to do with clean cutting ability than any other single factor. This may sound really off-the-wall, but to illustrate the point, my #8 jointer plane has taken nice thin shavings from pine end grain (admittedly, the iron was freshly honed); that was a huge surprise for me at the time.
As for honing, I do mine free hand. Try a "relaxed" locking of your arm joints -- wrist, elbow, and shoulder -- and moving back and forth from your legs (i.e., keep your arms "relaxed stiff" and move your belly button forward and backward a couple of inches); I find that this technique keeps the iron square and in constant, even, consistent-angle contact with the stone. (By "relaxed stiff," I mean that your arms shouldn't bend, but they shouldn't be "death-grip," white-knuckled, muscle-tension-shaking stiff either...)
Hope this helps a bit.
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Tschüß!
Mit freundlichen holzbearbeitungischen Grüßen aus dem Land der Rio Grande!!
James
Semper Paratus!
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