Making a box level?

**Driver** · 27th August 2006, 08:55 PM

As Craig says, you need to sharpen that blade.

There is a heap of advice on this website on sharpening techniques, so choose one that suits you. Once you've done that, you need to flatten the back of the blade (ie, the upper surface in your photo) and polish it until you can literally see your face in it. If you choose to use sandpaper and glass (the Scary Sharp method), you should work your way through the grits to 2000.

Then turn the blade over and sharpen the bevel. It will probably be set at an angle of 25 degrees. Again, work your way through the grits up to 2000. You should probably use a sharpening guide. The best one - in most people's opinion - is the Veritas Mk II. If you can't find one of those, most woodworking suppliers sell a basic sharpening guide that works quite well.

The chipbreaker needs to be flattened so that it maintains absolutely tight contact across the blade's width. This may mean it too will need to be flattened using your sharpening medium (sandpaper etc).

The reason you're finding shavings trapped between the blade and the chipbreaker (also called the cap iron) is because there is a gap there right now.

The two reasons why your plane will cut only in one direction are

a) the blade is blunt (this is the main reason).
b) even a sharp blade will cut less then evenly against the grain (ie, you'll get some tearout).

Post a pic of your plane. Judging by the blade and chipbreaker it may need some care and attention. Let's have a look and we'll give you some advice.

Lignum's advice on how to fix your immediate problem is a good idea. If the amount you need to remove is relatively small, that's a quick way to achieve a fix.

Once you've got your plane tuned and fettled properly, you'll get a lot of satisfactioon out of using it to do a helluva lot of different jobs.

Hope this helps. All the best.

Col

**AlexS** · 27th August 2006, 09:26 PM

Originally Posted by Driver

Once you've got your plane tuned and fettled properly, you'll get a lot of satisfactioon ....

Col

Still haven't quite lost the accent, M'sieur Driver.

**Driver** · 27th August 2006, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by AlexS

Still haven't quite lost the accent, M'sieur Driver.

I thoot I wid threw that one in thoor to koop you on your tees!

**yankg** · 27th August 2006, 10:36 PM

From the pic of your plane iron and chipper; they are in dire need of tuning up and shapening of the plane iron. One quick sharping idea is the scary sharpening system.

**JimboJ** · 28th August 2006, 12:51 AM

Abungate,
On your post with the picture of your plane:
To achieve results that are acceptable with a plane the blade must be razor sharp. I cannot stress this enough. The cutting edge of your blade must have a mirror edge on it. It should be sharpened up to 8000 grit stone. In fact any tool - especially hand tool - needs to be razor sharp.
Also when you first start planing, back the blade out all the way and take a few swipes. slowly creep in on it until your shavings are light and cottony - barely a few thousanths of an inch. I should not be a battle with your plane. Adjust accordingly from there.
Even though this will help, you are right in that sometimes you can not plane in both directions, but with the plane pictures that you posted, you will not be able to plane anything properly. So first I think you should spend some time learning to sharpen. It will make a huge difference. Hope this helps.
Jim

**abungate** · 2nd September 2006, 02:09 AM

Hi Guys,

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who's replied! Lots of good info there!

It seems that my plane is about as dull as a wet weekend. And the stupid thing is that I know how to sharpen things quite well. The blade feels quite sharp when I pull it out of the plane, but I guess it needs to be sharper. No problems..... it'll only take a little bit with a few stones I have here.

So, I think the plane is the best way to go. But I'll put a little work into the plane before I use it. Depending on a few things, I might find some time to have a go tomorrow (Saturday).

Again, thanks a lot for the help guys.

Cheers,
Andrew

Thread: Making a box level?

Thread Tools

Search Thread

Similar Threads

Brush Box Filing Cabinet

Box plans

In search of a box maker?

Making Box Joints

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions