a fixture for handplaning plates & sides with reasonable accuracy and precision

[Bob Hammond]

Did I mention that while you're talking/corresponding with someone or listening to the ball game, that you shouldn't forget to clear away the shavings? I don't miss the scream of the planer, router, or sander, and the rumble of the dust collector, plus finding space for them and the time to maintain them and buy the supplies.

I suppose that it would be different if I was building 20-150 or more per year, but that's not my level of activity.

[Bryan Bear]

Bob, the #5 is my favorite size (obviously it is the go to size for many folks) it just feels right to me. I used to shoot my plates with a smoother and it was fine but when I finally got a jack it was so much better for me (though now I use a 6 for that operation). I'm sure you will find may uses for yours. All this talk about hand planes makes me want to mention my newest acquisition,the new sweetheart 62. It arrived a couple days ago. I think I'll start a new thread with a review and my impressions so far.

[ernest kleinman]

For those who have or may be interested in using japanese planes to thickness , by hand there is an excellent video , no commentary by kiyoto tanaka on youtube who thicknesses backs, sides, tops on his elevated japanese planing bench .

[Bob Hammond]

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look.

[Todd Stock]

A2, CPM, and other newer alloys (in terms of usage for hand tool blades) sharpen as quickly as the old oil-hardened standards with diamond and ceramic waterstones. I've been using the 220/325 DuoSharp C-XC large combination stone from DMT and the 8000 Norton stone since they were introduced, and the earlier version of each going back to the late 1970's/early 1980's. While Scary Sharp or even oil stones work pretty well for O-1, neither cuts these tougher (not harder...just tougher) alloys with much efficiency. Both Shapton and Ohishi offer better stones than Norton is producing these days, but the Nortons are still the more reasonably priced stone that will get the job done.

The key to quick sharpening is rapid removal of the old edge with coarse abrasive and a quick-cutting, very fine abrasive to hone the new edge. No need for multiple bevels or overly complicated jigs or 'systems'; unless you need a back bevel on a standard plane (due to lack a high-angle frog or LABU blade for handling the 1% of stock that cannot be planed with a Common pitch tool); grind the blade to 25 degrees and hone at 30 degrees, and if you need a honing jig (they really are faster for normal shop use and avoids apprentices spending hours diddling around with getting stuff sharp), the $10 side-clamping Eclipse style work fine. If taking more than a minute to refresh an edge on a block plane, or 90 seconds on a bench plane, there is some intentionally dawdling going on.

For planing thin, long pieces of stock, push fixtures work fine right up until stiffness decreases enough to allow buckling, then it's side replacement time. Lubricating the sole of the plane and scraper works well to reduce buckling forces, as does a very sharp plane set to take .001 inch or less shavings - I use camellia oil from an oil wick on the bench, but a dab of paraffin wax works as well, and the residue is sanded or scraped off prior to finish in the normal course of leveling the sides. Better yet - just clamp one end of the side and plane away from the clamp, then finish with a card scraper.

For starting out, a decent pre-WWII Stanley #5 with a replacement blade is chip breaker will run about 1/3 of the cost of a decent LN bench or LV LABU plane. The down side to vintage Stanleys is that they are not cast from ductile, shock-resistant alloys, so a spill off the bench onto concrete is a career-ending event, and the blades and chip breakers were never really thick enough to prevent chatter and other bad behavior. Google 'Stanley's Blood and Gore' to get to Patrick Leach's discussion of all things Stanley, and particularly, the type descriptions for the standard (#1-#8) and Bedrock (#602-#608)...get one made from 1910-1941, which will be Type 11-Type 16 (see Bob Kuane's Type Study for details, or just google 'Stanley bench plane type study to get the identifying features to go well armed onto Ebay or to the local fleas).

For block planes, it's worth just buying LN's #60-1/2 low angle adjustable mouth block, even if you go cheap on everything else - nothing else comes close, although if you have huge mitts, the Lee Valley low angle adj mouth is good...just too wide for my taste.

[Clay Schaeffer]

"Either I make use of a ruined plane iron or I waste a bit of time."
Hi Bryan,
You might consider making a toothed plane blade using a dremel with a cut off wheel.

[Bob Hammond]

Clay, that's exactly what I plan to do with old blade. I think I'll make a little fixture to get a uniform depth

Incidentally, I saw a tip an old Popular Mechanics issue. The contributor tacked the stock directly on to a bench or backing board with brads driven below the surface in the four corners, and then he planed the stock down, and then drove the brads a bit further, etc. He claimed that he could plane down to 1/64" thickness. Hmm....

Re sharpening: I converted to the DMT DuoSharp about 6 months ago, and yes indeed they are good and work quickly, especially on the A2 blades. I bought the larger coarse/fine size with the DMT base that works pretty well too. If you can't afford the finer grit DuoSharp and water stones right away, you can get by with wet/dry silicon paper by putting the paper on the DuoSharp and then wetting down the paper with Windex- the paper will stay put on the DuoSharp stone. Then finish up with a leather strop and compound. I use the usual roller guide too, and at 25 & 30 degrees as Todd says.

As far as choice of planes, I'd say that a No.4 or 5, and 60-1/2 will do almost all work, but I find the L-N 102 very convenient in an apron pocket.

[Bob Hammond]

There is another way to plane a narrow strip such as the sides. Start with a piece of stock that is longer than is needed, and then just glue one end of the stock down to a stiff flat backing board, with the grain oriented for planing away from the glued end. After it's planed down to the desired thickness, then either cut the needed length off the glued end, or slip a hot knife under the stock to release it from the glue.