Thread: Sharpening advice for planing wiggly Tuart

Originally Posted by skywarka

Thanks Derek, that is most generous of you. I guess I'll send a PM once I work out how. I won't bring the bench top it weighs 60+kg .

Bring a nice chardonnay when you go over. Planing and chardy go well together... Second thoughts you might need two bottles, that's some knarly wood

Originally Posted by The Spin Doctor

.......that's some knarly wood

Yes, I'm battling away but it might be down to a scraper or sanding soon. The wood is so variable that it can change in direction every few inches (in places) so I can pick a high spot get the direction, start planing whisps for a few inches and then chunk, tear out that wasn't there to start with. The thicknesser did a good job considering.

...and the crowd went wild. I've cracked it.

Derek Cohen with his excellent tools was able to mostly tame the Tuart but with my reasonable but lower quality ones I could not hence my previous post. I have been procrastinating over finishing the bench top not looking forward to hand scraping the top. A scraper plane was not in my cost justification range with my lower production / use rate. I certainly would like a nice smoothing plane but again (especially with the current exchange rates) $500+ is out of the question. I know its only a workbench but the tearout catches my eye and its the principle of the thing - I will not be defeated .

Derek Cohen knows the following as I saw a post of his on another forum re a micro bevel and a YT from Jonathon Katz-Moses "Testing a 90 degree bevel..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezL5ZAM90js blade from a few years ago gave me the following solution to my set of circumstances.

I have a more recent Stanley No, 62 LAJ plane which for $120 I paid new great value and works well (iron cap aside). Stanley do not supply additional blades but from Timbecon here I got a 50 degree LAJ blade from Melbourne Tool Company $50. I knew this would require some modification to fit. The Stanley blade is 1mm narrower and the adjuster small holes on the new blade is 1mm narrower. The new blade is also about 1.5mm thinner (this impacts the working of the iron cap)

The new blade was good hard steel so difficult to make narrower (180 grit belt sander slowly no hotter than my fingers could just touch) Took about an hour with about 5 mins of sanding to remove 0.5mm each side. The adjuster hole was more difficult even with cobalt bits in a drill press they wouldn't touch it. So had to resort to carefully slow reaming with a old cheapie tungsten 6mm router bit (all I had on hand). Ruined the bit of course but got the hole opened up enough and neatly. A washer on the iron cap retaining bolt fixed up the thinner blade issue. Real McGyver stuff .

Anyway got a good enough fix for the new blade to fit and hold. I then (belt sander again) put a 0.5 mm 90 degree bevel on the blade and removed the back burr. Put it in the LAJ and with this angle it turns it into a long scraper plane 102 degree angle of attack. It works like a dream - well not as nice a Derek's planes finish but no tear out at all. Yaaay.

I will make good the fettling on the new blade and do something better with the iron cap - might make a new one based on the more expensive versions out there. Of course none of this affects my normal shooting with the LAJ when I put its standard 25 degree blade in. Thanks as always Derek for your many posts there are gems hidden everywhere .

Hope this helps others - McGyvering at your own risk.

TTFN

Tony