Thread: Hand plane troubles

Originally Posted by groeneaj

I am now thinking that when I gave it a hone when I first got the iron, I didn't put enough of a camber on the edges hence the train marks?

I think you've just answered your own question. If they're more pronounced on one side, then making each pass overlap in the same direction should help a bit too.

Andy - the tracks are caused by insufficient camber, yes.

A useful way to check the blade is set straight in the mouth of the plane - prepare some narrow blocks of scrap timber, hold the plane upside down, and run one of the blocks across each side of the blade to check the shaving taken is roughly the same both sides (keep your fingers clear of the blade when doing this )

If you think the plane is taking too big a cut overall, wind the blade right back, then advance it gently bit by bit until the plane just starts to cut. If you have sufficient camber, the first very thin shaving should only come off the centre portion of the blade. When I do this, the first actual shaving I can take is only about 1" wide, and you can see through it.

Also, when you say 52°, is that the angle on the blade itself or the total cutting angle (blade + 12° bed angle)?? If the latter is the case, your effective cutting angle is 64°, which will be much harder to push than a traditional lower angle plane.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Also, when you say 52°, is that the angle on the blade itself or the total cutting angle (blade + 12° bed angle)?? If the latter is the case, your effective cutting angle is 64°, which will be much harder to push than a traditional lower angle plane.

Yes, 12 degree bed angle plus 38 degree iron with a 2 degree micro bevel.

I think I'll put more of a camber.

Andy

Hello Andy,
If the plane marks are only at the edges of the cut - ie caused by the corners of the blade - then simply taking the corners off by a quick rounding on the stone will do the trick. I do this with my smoothers to eliminate the marks that appear at the edge of the cut. It is a very old solution to this problem.
Cheers
SG

Originally Posted by groeneaj

Hi all,

I am having trouble hand planing at the moment. For example when I planing some qld maple before, I was finding it very hard to push the plane. I am also getting blade marks on the timber.

I thought I was maybe taking too deep of a cut, so I reduced the mouth so only a little bit of daylight was showing, as well as only a little bit of the blade exposed - It still happended. I even changed the grain direction.

It's a new blade (LV LA Jack, its got a 52 degree cutting angle and is A2 steel)

I am now thinking that when I gave it a hone when I first got the iron, I didn't put enough of a camber on the edges hence the train marks?

Any help would be much appreciated

Andy

To make the plane easy to push it pays to use a smear of lubricant on the sole of the plane.
One way is to have a lubricant pad handy, this can be made by rolling up a strip of felt socked in oil and placing it in a small tin container ( fish past or a small Purr cat food tin). Another way is to lightly comb your fingers through your hair and wipe the oily smeared fingers on the plane sole, this is enough to provide a lubricant smear ( a little like you will see some of the old schools pass a nail through their hair to lubricate the nail prior to hammering a nail home into hard wood).
Cheers ,
Mac

Lubricant is good .... just a couple of squiggles of candle wax works well.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Hi Andy
I think the plane track issue has been answered

the plane being hard to push will mostly be related to the cutting angle
the reason 45° is a "standard" is that, of the possible geometries, 45° with a 15° relief angle [45° - 25° (the typical bevel angle) = 15°] is around the lowest practicle cutting angle which equals the easiest to push
higher cutting angles are typically reserved for those woods where 45° results in too much tear out. If you have a second blade, try the LAJ with a 45° cutting angle (12° bed + 30° bevel).