Replies

1. 
   Lataxe | Aug 19, 2007 06:57pm | #1

   Side,

   I am fairly new to planes but have something of a herd now. The three I use most are:

   Low angle bevel-up smoothing plane (with one of three blades having an angle suited to the work).

   Normal angle block plane (for little jobs here and there).

   Large shoulder plane (for making-good tenons, rabbets and other joint-related surfaces.

   This plane sold by Lee Valley is a very versatile little chap and will perfectly complement your shoulder plane:

   http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=3&p=45864&cat=1,41182,41187&ap=1

   It can be used as a big block plane;

   or a small smoother;

   and for shooting.

   As it's bevel-up and you can buy blades to fit that are honed at three diferent angles, you have many, many planes in one. 

   Finally, it is made and performs true to the Veritas engineering and design standards - ie very well indeed.

   Lataxe

1. 
   sidecutter | Aug 22, 2007 12:05am | #3

   thank you so much for your reply.   you mention a smoother plane, is this what I would use for final finishing instead of sand paper.  I was hoping to plane right from the thickness planer without using much sandpaper.  am I an the right track?

   thank you

1. 
   Lataxe | Aug 22, 2007 09:54am | #5

   Side,

   Getting from rough plank to smooth tabletop (or other cabinet part) has many routes.

   For years I have used a planer/thicknesser to make rough planks flat, square, straight and evenly thick.  Happily I was persuaded to use a Scheppach planer/thicknesser (a German company) which has rubber feed rollers on the thicknesser (the part Americans call a planer, confusingly; the German planer is what you might call a jointer). 

   The rubber rollers and the very high rotation of the cutter block on the Scheppach combine to give an excellent finish that does not have ripple marks, as (I gather) many other metal-rollered planers impart. 

   However, as with all such machines, the blades get tiny nicks in them and this means the odd little ridge here and there.  Also, some tear-out is inevitable with difficult woods, even when very small final depths of cut are taken with the machine. 

   Once parts are dimensioned and assembled from these planed lpanks, further smoothing of joints and such is also needed.  So, some form of final smoothing is always required.

   [Of course, Neanderthals will dimension rough planks with scrub plane, try plane and so forth - I admire their vigour and patience]   :-)

   As a former power tools-only fellah, I used to employ a random orbit sander to achieve final smoothness.  This can take quite a while, if tear-out or the "ledges" where joints meet must be eliminated, as the sander must sand everything else down.  Also, until you get experienced with the RO sander (and unless you use a hard pad) it is not easy to keep a surface dead flat whilst sanding.

   Latterly I have been using a smoothing plane for final preparation, although I often give the work a very light scrape or hand-sand as the final step after planing.  A well set-up smoothing plane will produce a clean, flat surface much faster than an RO sander.  Once you have got the techniques, it is easier to keep flatness using a plane than it is with an RO sander.

   Some folk use a scraper as the final smoothing tool on difficult grain.  I do use one now and then, just for fun.  But a bevel up plane with a blade honed to a high angle (so that the total angle of plane bed and bevel is around 60 degrees instead of the normal 45 degrees) will deal with a lot of difficut grained-woods with little or no tear out.  (Using a very shallow cut and a very tight mouth).

   Being the lucky owner of a Marcou S15A smoother, I also have the advantage of the plane being extemely weighty and precise to set.  However, Veritas and Lie-Nielsen bevel-up smoothers using variable blade angles are reported to do nearly as well (as are various wooden-bodied planes such as Clarke & Williams or HNT Gordons). 

   So, its your choice. 

   ******* 

   Here is a summary:

   *  A planer/thicknesser ("jointer/planer" in American) of good quality and used well will dramatically reduce the quantity of final smoothing needed. As will properly-made and precise joints.

   * An RO sander is easy to use but hard to use well; and takes a long time if there is a lot of smoothing needed.

   * A good smoothing plane is quick and accurate, once the techniques are learnt.

   * A bevel-up plane allows blades with different angles to be used in the same plane to smooth woods of various grain characteristics.

   * A scaper or hand-sand as the final step can be used to take off any faint plane trackmarks or to take out any remaining tearout.  If the smoother is well set up and the grain not troublesome, even this step might be avoided.

   Lataxe

    

    

2. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Aug 20, 2007 04:19am | #2

   sidecutter,

   Along with Lataxe's suggestion, go with a flea make buy of an older fixer upper.

   Fettling an old user plane will provide you with a new experience.

   May I be the first to welcome you down the slippery slope.

   Regards,

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

    

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

3. 
   philip_r | Aug 22, 2007 12:58am | #4

   A very basic collection should include the following (just my opinion):

   • Block Plane - by far the most useful tool in the shop
   • Shoulder Plane - When you need one... you need one :0)
   • #4/#4 1/2 smoother... or you can sub in a Jointer plane - Great tools for removing machine marks and prep your surface...
4. 
   prosopis | Aug 23, 2007 10:06am | #6

   Sidecutter,

   Years back, when I had the wood bug real bad and was just starting to get some tools, I read a book by Alan Peters.  He said he used a Stanley joiner plane for all bench planing operations.  He has all the heavy power planers and joiners anyone could want, so he did not need to do much hand planing.  Nonetheless, he figured the joiner was heavy and long to make it accurate for anything he needed.  His idea sounded good to me, buying only one plane was a boon to my always limited budget.  I found a used one with a corrugated sole in good shape, it has gathered a lot of dust since then!  I have used it, but not as often as I'd like, but that is just because woodworking is a hobby for me and I spend too much time on my paying work.  Although I don't get to do as much woodworking as I'd like, I think Peters analysis is pretty correct.  Oh, I do have a block plane too.  Like most people, I use it more than any bench plane.

   As far as specialty planes in my collection, I made a 1 1/2" wide shoulder plane from maple and a blade that started life as a car leaf spring.  While I was hack sawing the tongue on the blade, I kept thinking about the plane being called a shoulder plane.  The steel was so tough, even after I had annealed it, that I thought my shoulder was going to fall off!  Made a sliding dovetail plane too.  Everything went well with making the body, the nicker, and the fence, but the blade cracked when I hardened it.  I quenched it in water instead of oil, Doh!  The blade works, none-the-less, it just doesn't look as perty as I'd hoped.  I have thought of someday making a scraper plane, yep, someday...

   I'd also like to get a couple more blade and chip-breaker sets for my joiner plane.  One set would be as a backup when the other gets dull, keep me working a bit longer between sharpening sessions.  The other extra blade, I would grind with a slight curve on it.  You don't here much about convex ground blade edges except for scrub planes, but before power tools, a try plane or a jack was used after the scrub and they also had a rounded blade.  It was much, much closer to straight than a scrub's blade, but it was definitely curved.  This let it hog off the big ridges left by the scrub.  The joiner came next, if I recall correctly.  It's blade was straight, but with a very slight rounding at the edges.  The rounding kept it from tearing the wood at the corners.  I wouldn't know any of this if I hadn't spent a bundle on woodworking books, hah, hah.  I remember a fellow being very suspicious of me when I mentioned the curved blades in a conversation one time.  I guess it is one of those things that has sorta died, kinda like buttonhole chisels.

   Well, I've rambled enough, but whatever plane(s) you get, have fun!  Some folks will tell you that it's all about the furniture or cabinets that you produce, but I'm with them who like being in the shop, even if I'm just sharpening a chisel.

    

   Sincerely,

   Randy

    

5. 
   Sean2112 | Aug 24, 2007 04:54am | #7

   Regardless of which plane you choose, it will need some "fettling" to perform at a high level. David Charlesworth is a terrific sourse of information on how to tune up and sharpen planes and chisels. He has written two books that I know of and has a website. Check it out.

   Regards, Sean

1. 
   sidecutter | Aug 25, 2007 05:27pm | #8

   I think I'm in trouble.    I just ordered  a low angle block plane and a low angle smother plane from lee valley.  to go with my sholder plane.  I hope this will satisfy my tool collecting habbit but I don't think it will.   I have 1000 /4000 grit waterstone. for sharpening.  one question .   Using a smother, do you skew the plane as you work or do you run straight?  I am assuming you take very light cuts, what about the sharp corners of the blade and the marks they leave.    I think I would like to know a little about technique. 

   I thank you all for your input.  I work alone with little experience with hand tools.  but I love not hearing the noise of machinery. 

1. 
   BG | Aug 25, 2007 06:57pm | #9

   Sidecutter,
   The recommendation is when sharpening a smoother, you take a couple of extra strokes on the outside edges, giving a slight convex shape to the blade.
   However, before you get too far along, I too am a home-alone self taught wood butcher and, until recently, really didn't have a clue about how to teach myself or what the outcome should look like. I want to share with you two things that have had an impact: First, I'm a visual learner with regard to woodworking. I love David Charlesworth's books but his video knocked my socks off....I just get so much more out of watching. Second, the best way to learn is from a teacher. Phil Lowe, who used to run the NBSS here in Boston, has a PDF file in the skills and techniques section here that describes how to prepare wood for finishing. I just finished a piece following his protocol...outstanding! I'd urge you to take a look at the article and force yourself just once to follow the teachers instructions. For me it helped put into perspective how the outcome is impacted by the step(planing, scraping, sanding)

1. 
   9619 | Aug 26, 2007 02:26am | #10

   BG,
   Is it possible to get a copy of the Phil Lowe pdf on preparing wood for finishing? Taking his course is out of the question for a while.
   Thanks,
   MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot. 

1. 
   BG | Aug 26, 2007 02:42am | #11

   Mel,
   This should be the article by Phil Lowe...
   http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=2747Personally, I found it difficult to sand after I had achieved a real nice surface with plane, cabinet scrape, hand scrape but the sanding insured everything was flat and, surprisingly, a touch of the hand scraper after sanding on the wood revealed a still perfect hard surface. Also, don't miss the part about cork on the sanding block under the paper...

2. 
   9619 | Aug 26, 2007 06:00am | #12

   BG,
   Thank you very much. I will print it out and give it a try.
   I am in your debt.
   Mel
   Measure your output in smiles per board foot.