Thread: The Lie Nielsen Face Joinery Float - Reviewed

The Rasp

I used an Auriou AU-8-250-6, which is close in grain size to a Nicholson #49. In other words, it is quite a coarse rasp.

The Auriou cut fast, leaving a marked but acceptable smooth face.




I like the rasp for use here, but I warn that use of one must be done with care. Its length makes it easy to tilt, and then it will create an off square face.




The performance of the rasp on soft Pine was very similar to that on hardwood.




The Block Plane

The handplane of choice for tuning tenon faces is the Stanley or LN #140, a skew block plane.

Here is my Stanley #140.






The #140 works equally well on hard- and softwood. It can remove a larger amount of waste quickly, which is, I believe, its advantage over the other tools here. It also produces the smoothest surface finish. However, like the rasp, care must be taken to keep the plane square.

Conclusions

When cutting tenons, I try to cut as close to the line as possible. Consequently, any tuning that needs to be done is usually a whisker here-or-there. A skew block plane gets the job done, but is sometimes like using a hammer to swat a fly. This is where the face float comes into its own. I liked the control it presented when removing waste. It could remove a little or a lot. The rasp is a possible alternative to the float, but it must be used with care. The bottom line is that a face float is a desirable tool for tuning tenons.




Derek Cohen
Perth, Australia
August 2007

Good one Derek was an interesting read that. I have skew planes for tuning tenons but as you say easy to get out of control with them.

Studley

Never seen one of those before. Interesting. Thankyou for all that.

I use my 140 at home. or a 289. whatevers sharp. at work I pinch the bosses 10, which can tear out a bit, but doesn't affect things much.

One concern with the float I'm having is the width. tenons are often wider than 1". plane blades are wider so the entire tenon width is reduced with one shaving....imagine you'd have to scrub a bit with the float. And I couldn't see why one would have to remove much from a tennon anyway. for me, normally I'm at most a mil oversize. That won't take long with a plane to creep a fit.

But I'd imagine there'd be a use for it eh. wonder if there's ever been a float version with teeth ascew to reduce tearout on the trailing edge of the pass. probably not. anyway. insteresting tool.

As always a fascinating review, Derek.

Not sure that it will replace my existing combo of #140 (I'm not as brave as you when cutting with the saw, so my tenons often need a bit of hogging with the skew plane) and wide rasp (Dad left me a 2 1/2" wide rasp that means that you can keep a very flat face on the tenon).

Your comment on future sharpening without the guidance of the black finish made me think that if it is an issue, you could paint the face of the float with marking blue first. Since buying one litre of marking blue from RS Components, I have found heaps of uses for it in addition to marking out - I use it to help with any flattening task - plane soles, chisel blades, plane cutters.

Hello Derek

Thank you for the review and the very informative pictures. It is not possible to draw a word picture which conveys nearly as well as the photographs the difference between the shavings and finish.

I do wonder however that for a simple tool like this, which retails at over $90, a maker lie Lie Nielsen with a good high-end reputation does not provide a tool which is sharp enough to cut properly right out of the box.

Regards

Hi Derek,

Yet another great review, as always. Thanks for posting.

Usually use a coarse file myself, with the same troublesome results you mention.

I actually saw at the car boot markets last year a set, (read several) of funny looking rasps on sale for next to nothing. I did not know the purpose of them so left them. Later learned that they were wooden plane makers tools. Oops ! What a find I let slip. Never mind.

Cheers
Pops