Thread: New acquisition: Jap style HA smoother

Tap at toe to lower, heel to raise. The secret is "Tap Gently".

Ta Termite.

And do you tap the wedge in too?

Originally Posted by rsser

Got this from Lee Valley.

Thought it would be a Muji but no, it's from Shun-Gee LG.

Finish is good; good heft; blade looks to be HSS. Took some nice fine shavings off hardwood out of the box.

Sole is a bit high at toe and heel so lapping is in order.

btw, where do you tap with the mallet to raise, and where to lower, the cutter?

I'm finding it odd to pull it. Is this a necessity?

I understand japanese planes are designed with a three point contact - toe, mouth and heel. They should not be lapped totally flat. I guess it would not hurt but it may not be a flaw.

Originally Posted by rsser

Ta Termite.

And do you tap the wedge in too?

Not during depth adjustment, only when you first insert the blade.
Best way is to have a dead flat bit of hardwood, put the plane on it and insert the blade and wedge, hold the blade edge flush on the hardwood and seat the wedge, then do your adjusting.

Goodo. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Pusser

I understand japanese planes are designed with a three point contact - toe, mouth and heel. They should not be lapped totally flat. I guess it would not hurt but it may not be a flaw.

Actually if it is a finish plane it only contacts at two points, the front and the mouth.

And the q. about pulling?

I'm sure I could get used to it with practice but ...

As far as I know, all planes are pushed or pulled depending on the user. Even my Stanley types are pulled if the grain demands it, so I'd say do whatever you are happy with.

(accepting that East is pull and West is push, it is not a 'rule'.)

As Groggy says, you can push or pull. I do both with my Japanese planes. When working on my workmate, pulling is much better when you are taking a lot of wood off. You can brace your foot against the workmate and pull and be fairly stable. Pushing on a workmate is a pain in the back, literally.

Give pulling a go and I think you will become quite comfortable with it. But you can push.

Rob

The story is that pulling gives you more control. I have a lot of Japanese planes and I don't think pulling makes much difference. What I do think is that because they worked using a beam as a workbench and also often just worked on the floor without using vices that is they held it with their feet, you can understand they had much more control pulling.

Tune the sole so you get just a tiny amount of clearance through the guts of the sole and keep just the toe and front of the mouth in contact.

Studley

Thanks guys.