Thread: Jointer Plane - What am I doing wrong???

Hi Luke

Others with more experience can comment better than myself, but in the interim what about knocking the high ends with the Jack plane (i.e. not even passing the plane over the middle of the board) before resuming with the Jointer.

It sounds like you had no troubles with the other planes, and Blackwood is pretty co-operative timber for planing.

A bit of candle wax on the sole of the plane should help.

How long is the slab

There is a whole new technique in keeping a plane flat if you have to step during your stroke. As you step forward you can tend to lift your front hand and put weight on your backhand. A number 8 will accentuate this with its length.

Is the slab bowed - a long straight edge is a lovely thought but you can get a very good indication with a cheap laser level set at 90 degrees to the surface

I use mine on an old velbon camera tripod

Neil

Coarse, medium , fine (Schwarz)
Use your coarsest plane , the jack to get close to flat.
medium in this case your 8
and then fine your smoother.

it may be that you are not flat enough yet to use the 8. Unless you are getting full width shavings.

also are you planing with your forearms or your whole body? Your forearms will tire before the rest of your larger muscle groups (but you already know this as a climber) using the heavy 8
You may need to weigh your bench down to stop movement. I am assuming you have had to modify your stroke to stop the bench moving.
reading this may help
http://www.inthewoodshop.com/furnitu...icknesser.html

Seems to me the problem the OP is asking about is why the #8 is so hard to push if he takes a respectable cut with it. The first thought that leaps to my mind is that it's not sharp. I am only man enough to use a #7, myself , but there shouldn't be all that much difference once you get it moving, you're only taking a shaving that's a bit wider.

Two things make a world of difference when using my #7. The absolute essential is a truly sharp blade. If I'm trying to take full-width shavings with my #7, it has to be super sharp to make life comfortable for me. On some woods, that means touching it up regularly, when I'm having a very heavy planing session. The difference between a sharp & not-so-sharp blade still amazes me after all these years...

And lubricate that sole! A swipe or three of paraffin wax, or candle wax as Rustynail suggested, is almost better than a sharp blade. I don't think beeswax is half as good, I used to use it years ago, but it can be sticky, & it builds up on things & doesn't have the lubricating power of paraffin wax, imo.

Blackwood can be a very variable wood. On average, it's good to excellent to work, but I've struck pieces that are more like Gidgee, to plane. But with good Blackwood, a sharp blade, and a lubricated sole, it ought to be a reasonably pleasant workout for a young, fit bloke, not the agony you describe!
Cheers,

Plus 1 for lubricating the sole as an easy thing to try, it really makes a huge difference.

Cheers Fellas.

The slab is 1.7m long or so.

I was able to brace the bench against a small retaining wall in my shop.

The candle wax trick is great. I will definitely be making that a standard practice in the future. It also gave the plane a nice vanilla aroma...

I think I've solved the problem for the most part. My low angle jack was working with an effective angle of 37deg (12deg frog +25deg bevel). I was getting an unacceptable amount of tearout when using it along the grain so I stopped. I had a second plane iron that I hadn't quite decided what to do with, so I ground it to 30deg and put a microbevel on it, making the effective planing angle 45deg. With this, I was able to use it along the grain without tearout. This allowed me to reference it to the 14" plane before moving to the 24" jointer plane. This was definitely the route to take. I guess this is kind of one of the trials and tribulations associated with being self-taught... In the future I will go with the 25deg cambered blade across/diagonal to the grain to flatten, then switch to the straight 30deg blade to reference along the grain, then the jointer, then the smoother for any boards longer than 28-30".

Thanks for all the help guys.

Cheers,
Luke

Another one here that uses candle wax, I rub the sole with the candle then with a soft cloth rub the excess off until a bit of a shine developes, keeps any build up to a minimum that way.


Pete

Originally Posted by Luke Maddux

Cheers Fellas.

The slab is 1.7m long or so.

I was able to brace the bench against a small retaining wall in my shop.

The candle wax trick is great. I will definitely be making that a standard practice in the future. It also gave the plane a nice vanilla aroma...

I think I've solved the problem for the most part. My low angle jack was working with an effective angle of 37deg (12deg frog +25deg bevel). I was getting an unacceptable amount of tearout when using it along the grain so I stopped. I had a second plane iron that I hadn't quite decided what to do with, so I ground it to 30deg and put a microbevel on it, making the effective planing angle 45deg. With this, I was able to use it along the grain without tearout. This allowed me to reference it to the 14" plane before moving to the 24" jointer plane. This was definitely the route to take. I guess this is kind of one of the trials and tribulations associated with being self-taught... In the future I will go with the 25deg cambered blade across/diagonal to the grain to flatten, then switch to the straight 30deg blade to reference along the grain, then the jointer, then the smoother for any boards longer than 28-30".

Thanks for all the help guys.

Cheers,
Luke

Hi Luke

A couple of suggestions.

A low angle jack (or any plane, for that matter) across the grain will not tear out. A low cutting angle is best as it will slice better. HOWEVER, this is a definite no-no when planing with the grain. An included angle of 42 degree (30 degree bevel plus 12 degree bed) is too low for most timber, and especially for anything that is hard and interlocked. Raise the bevel to about 40 degrees at least. Use a 40 degree micro secondary bevel on a 25 degree primary bevel if you plan to camber the blade.

Secondly, a #8 is a large plane, not just the length and weight, but it has the widest blade of all planes. This means that there will be a greater deal of effort in the pushing. Keep the sole waxed, and keep the blade sharp!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Hi Luke

A couple of suggestions.

A low angle jack (or any plane, for that matter) across the grain will not tear out. A low cutting angle is best as it will slice better. HOWEVER, this is a definite no-no when planing with the grain. An included angle of 42 degree (30 degree bevel plus 12 degree bed) is too low for most timber, and especially for anything that is hard and interlocked. Raise the bevel to about 40 degrees at least. Use a 40 degree micro secondary bevel on a 25 degree primary bevel if you plan to camber the blade.

Secondly, a #8 is a large plane, not just the length and weight, but it has the widest blade of all planes. This means that there will be a greater deal of effort in the pushing. Keep the sole waxed, and keep the blade sharp!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek,

your post was was a lifesaver. I had ground the iron to 30deg with a 3deg micro bevel. I did this to imitate the cutting angle of my bevel down planes. I was getting a ton of tearout. The critical oversight was that I did not account for the raised chip breaker behind the cutting edge. I will definitely be moving forward with your suggestion to grind the blade to a higher angle.

Cheers,
Luke