Thread: scraper plane

In addition to asking about scraper planes, my next question would be about tuning the sole of the smoothing plane. Is it right to say thta having two touch points would be for a roughing plane or a "rough" smoother? And that a jointer plane or a smoother for the final passes before finishing would have 3 touch points?

Hi David,

Welcome to the forum.

First, the advice you got reference scraping planes (dai naoshi kanna) is correct. The blade should protrude only enough to just contact the surface (wood is removed like dust) and not skip or chatter, indicating too much blade exposure.

The finish plane should only have two contact points (just in front of the mouth and at the front - nearest you as you pull the plane). The back should be very slightly relieved - enough only to pass a piece of paper under. The contact points, of course must be flat and parallel to the edge of the blade.

Steve

What Sheets said is correct. I just came back from a plane making seminar given by Harrelson and Inomoto san. It was the dogs!

They were running a video stream of it live at the time and I believe they will be editing it to air again (hopefully cutting out when I whacked my thumb and then dropping my hammer at another time....gah) I'm pretty sure they taped the tuning up part ( I was too busy sharpening at the time) but if not then I'd post the question over at Harrelson's site.

Hello, I have just today received a couple planes.. one of which is a scraper plane.. I noticed with another purchase some time ago that after acclimating to the dry Oklahoma, USA climate, the blade was a bit too loose.. so with my new purchases, I suppose I should let them sit for a while.. however.. when it does come time to adjust the scraper plane.. I am wondering what is the procedure for raising and lowering the blade. I am guessing that the typical tapping of "plane body ends" may not be right for a blade in the upright 90 degree position. True?

BTW- for now the blade is extremely tight.

ObairLaimhe,
I have a couple of old scraper planes which I bought second hand and they have marks on top of the dai just behind the blade where they have been hit to raise the blade.

Sheets,
Regarding the finishing plane. I defer to your greater knowledge, however I have read about having 3 points of contact on the sole. I'm pretty sure Toshio advises 3 points for a finishing plane in his book. Can you give some insight into this.

Regards,
Gadge

Hi Gadge,

I have Odate's book too, and he says for "roughing and smoothing", only two points (with the roughing plane having a greater degree of relief between contact points than the finish). For truing, there is the third point at the front of the dai (the end of the block behind the blade for Westerners who think in reverse). This is also what Hideo Sato says in his book on Japanese woodworking.

As well, Chris Hall has a number of posts on his blog about this subject (here is one of the series which illustrates the contour for the shiage kana - finish smoother: the Carpentry Way: Smile and Wave (III)).

And I'm sure that Des King has this well covered in his book: Amazon.com: Shoji and Kumiko Design: Book 1 The Basics (9780987258304): Desmond King: Books ( which I must buy someday ).

Steve

Sheets,

Thanks for the explanation and the link to Chris's page. My mistake regarding the 3 points. I was thinking of smoothing and truing as being the same thing.

On another note, I have always found the terminology surrounding the front and back of the dai very confusing. When I first read Odate's book, I thought he was confusing the issue maintaining that the end furthest away from you was the front. If something moves in a line, the part that goes first is usually referred to as the front. As far as I'm concerned, if a train is coming towards me, I still consider the guards van as the back.

Having said that, I wonder if this front/back thing is a direct translation of the Japanese terminology. If they call the part furthest away from you the front, I'd be happy to go along with them. If they don't, I think we should use a bit of common sense.

Regards,
Gadge

Originally Posted by Gadge

Sheets,

Thanks for the explanation and the link to Chris's page. My mistake regarding the 3 points. I was thinking of smoothing and truing as being the same thing.

On another note, I have always found the terminology surrounding the front and back of the dai very confusing. When I first read Odate's book, I thought he was confusing the issue maintaining that the end furthest away from you was the front. If something moves in a line, the part that goes first is usually referred to as the front. As far as I'm concerned, if a train is coming towards me, I still consider the guards van as the back.

Having said that, I wonder if this front/back thing is a direct translation of the Japanese terminology. If they call the part furthest away from you the front, I'd be happy to go along with them. If they don't, I think we should use a bit of common sense.

Regards,
Gadge

This probably won't help, but think of the kanna as a car going in reverse (careful of one with a Got Kurosawa? sticker on the back window!) as its pulled.

For what its worth, the Japanese terminology makes sense to them as back and front (ura and omote, or dai jiri and dai gashira - thanks Des), so essentially a direct translation. Hopefully people will be able to figure it out from the context when using English.

Steve

Originally Posted by Sheets

(careful of one with a Got Kurosawa? sticker on the back window!)

Steve

Oi! Just 'cuz I haven't been posting doesn't mean I'm not reading.

Sheets,

Thanks for the reversing car analogy for dai orientation, although the Got Kurosawa? reference was pretty obscure. I suppose you had to have been there.

When I said I found the orientation confusing, I didn't mean a couldn't understand it, it's just that when someone says "front" I have to take a moment to remember exactly what it means.

I've done a little research on what jiri and gashira means and the best I can come up with is tail and head. That being the case, it seems back and front is a pretty close translation. I'll just have to live with the slightly confusing orientation or as Des has said, learn to use the Japanese words dai jiri and dai gashira.

Regards,
Gadge

Thanks for the thoughts on the scraper! I was guessing that would be the answer .. yet tapping on the flat of the plane body somehow seemed in error.

as for front/back of kanna.. I just assumed it to be akin to my sense of self-position.. you know.. the front is facing away or outwardly.