Hi all- I’m looking for a guide to the hand plane… Does one exist??… I’ll start off by saying I’m a novice hand plane user- by that I mean- I use them often for smoothing and flattening but I only get satisfactory results 1/2 the time. ( I opt for the jointer/planer power tools just as often).
I’m an avid hobbiest and I work with all sorts of wood types just for the fun. I will have good luck with curly maple and get confident.. then destroy a piece of figured bubinga.
Either the grain is too figured for me to handle or the board too twisted for me to tame. In any case- I try to improve every chance I get- I’ve planed many boards down to nothing just for the exercise of learning the idiosyncrasies of the wood/plane combinations. After years of use, I feel like a lot of my success is based on a fair amount of luck – not any sort of real understanding of which plane to use and when.
For example- Is there any sort of guide that would say… to flatten moderately figured wood- use a #6 baily with a blade honed to 25 degrees- set the chip breaker 1/16 in from the edge and start with aggressive cut???
I own a #3, #5, #7 old school Stanley baily model all sharpened and tuned
I enjoy using these tools more than any other I own- I just can’t help thinking there must be a little more science to it and a little less guess work.
If this post makes you chuckle- You probably have the info I lack- A book? website? sage advice passed down from the ages- I’ll take it all.
Dave
Replies
"The Handplane Book" by Garrett Hack is one possibility. Have a look at the Fine Wood Working store on this website. They also have several videos. Garret Hack's book and several others, as well as some other videos are available from Lie-Nielsen http://www.lienielsen.com
This link could help. I've had it book marked for a while and found it helpful.
http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Wood_How_To/INDEX_How_To.htm
Dave
It sounds as if you need a set of winding sticks. These are used in pairs to determine where the twist lies in a board so that you may flatten it more precisely.
Basically any two flat and evenly thicknessed boardswill surfice. Some prefer using aluminium section. Lee Valley sell such a set. I made my own.
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Rob Cosman made a good DVD "Rough to Ready". Worth getting. And here is a link to my review of the LV Scrub Plane, in which I basically provided a pictorial essay of the same: http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/dCohen/LVScrubPlane/index.asp
Regards from Perth
Derek
Edited 12/10/2006 12:22 am ET by derekcohen
"...If this post makes you chuckle- You probably have the info I lack- A book? website? sage advice passed down from the ages- I'll take it all."
Dave,
Don't be defensive, you're not alone. I was discussing this very subject with my business partner yesterday. Between us we have more than 60 years of professional experience and he, only once, worked with others who could and did actually four square stock. I never had that luxury. Machines or hand tools, people who actually start by accurately preparing stock seem pretty rare.
The Internet and publicatons out there aren't much help because the volume of noise is far greater than the amount of good information.
If you can handle curly hard maple, you're on the right track and probably ahead of most. My advise is to increase your honing angle to 30º for a more durable edge and keep going the way you are. Don't get lax with your sharpening, keep working on little improvements.
Larry,
I'm glad that you said that! I wonder which descriptions of four-squaring you recommend, as opposed to the "noise."I started woodworking last winter and immediately set a goal of preparing boards by handtools only. It helps that I find it to be an enjoyable, if not slow process. I find that one of the challenges is that many of the descriptions of planing techniques are actually secondary techniques, or clichées of techniques, described by people who also have the requisite power and machine tools in their shops, so if the going gets tough, they have the option switch to power. I wonder how many people out there are really using hand tools exclusively from start to finish in cabinetmaking projects.
-Andy
I'm just starting to use hand tools to prepare stock, it is an incredible satisfying feeling more therapeutic then anything i think. now the project isn't as important as the process. have a good one dan
Andy,
I think what buried by the noise is traditional trade practice. It applies to both machine and hand tool methods and is basically the same steps. One of the best books is out of print but can be found on eBay or through old book dealers. It is Charles Hayward's Carpentry for Beginners. Don't let the title put you off, it's a pretty complete guide to traditional trade practice. Amazon lists three old copies available.
Larry,
Thanks for the book tip -- I'm going to look for it. Perhaps I'll get one of those used copies on Amazon.
As far as traditional trade practices, I wonder how many variations of each process have actually gone extinct forever. Between magazines and internet, there is a lot of re-circulation of relatively unvaried information, and there seem to be a lot of professionals who are self-taught.
-Andy
P.S. update -- I found plenty of used copies of this book on Amazon -- it's on the way...
Edited 12/10/2006 7:23 pm ET by VTAndy
Thanks to all for words of wisdom and encouragement- I have to wait to see if any of the books recommended can answer my questions but I intend to read them both. I also really appreciate being pointed to helpful websites. The site mentioned by BONES is incredible! a wealth of good info. Thanks to Derek from Perth for the pictures and the website- I read with keen interest the review of the scrub plane- The paragraph titled "The experience of using a scrub plane" was exactly the type of thing I search for. A well written piece worth checking out by people of all skill levels. And to lwilliams for suggesting a change of bevel angle- to 30 degrees- I'll give it a try since sharpening is one thing I do feel comfortable with.Please feel free to send any other suggestions or references that you find useful- I appreciate the luxury of being able to ask a question that I have pondered for years and get answers in a matter of hours.Thank you,
Dave
Howdy!
In addition to Cian Perez's website, this one also has some very useful information on hand planing (and other woodworking techniques):
http://www.amgron.clara.net/
The section entitled "Planing Notes" is full of useful information that may help you.
These sites also have a lot of good information, but you have to dig a bit to find the exact info you're looking for:
http://www.handplane.com/
http://www.rexmill.com/
Good luck & have fun!
Beste Wünschen auf eine Fröhlichen Weihnachten und ein glückliches Neues Jahr!
Tschüß!
Mit freundlichen holzbearbeitungischen Grüßen aus dem Land der Rio Grande!!
James
Edited 12/15/2006 5:44 pm by pzgren
Edited 2/20/2007 1:12 pm by pzgren
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