Thread: Finding your inner square

Remember that movie 'The Karate Kid' who had to practice, practice, practice....well that's how its done.

I use hand planes to square and true all my wood. I admit not all or even most is exactly 90 degrees. But in the furniture etc I have made the small amounts have never made any difference. Thing is with timber it could be exactly 90degrees now and when the humidity changes in a days time not be.
Mike

Sent from my GT-P3110 using Tapatalk

I can't claim that skill with planing, but I've messed around with saws a fair bit and I'm getting better at cutting a 90^o by eye with a handsaw.
I suspect it might be one of those things that your 'body' learns over time just because it is so familiar with what the correct outcome should be.
Ie ... knowing when it 'looks right'.

My best guess.
Cheers,
Paul

Originally Posted by pmcgee

I suspect it might be one of those things that your 'body' learns over time just because it is so familiar with what the correct outcome should be.
Ie ... knowing when it 'looks right'.

Paul

Interesting concept but difficult to put your fingure on because these almost mystical powers of some journeymen and artisans are usually never explored or articulated, especially by the people who posses these abilities. I guess after a lifetime of doing the same processes millions of times there is an unconscious absorbtion of additional knowledge of how to do it better, taking the skill levels well beyond a learned competence and towards perfection. They just "know" and "do" it. Oblivious to their continually increasing levels of mastery. Maybe Lightwood or others of the artisan stripe can articulate it better.

matchplane or use a fence.

Originally Posted by Tiger

I'm reasonable at using a hand plane but by no means an expert. I read of people that can without jigs/aids put a bit of timber into a vice and hand plane the edge perfectly square. From what I can gather they do this by a special feel ie they can tell by using their fingers or some other way when the plane is at 90 degrees to a trued face edge. I can get pretty close to 90 degrees but am just a little out but whether it's a little or a lot it doesn't matter the edge needs to be perfectly square. There are some pretty skilful guys on this forum can anyone elaborate on what you do to get this perfect edge? I've already put in plenty of practice but wonder if there's some small but vital feature that I need to do. By the way, the plane blades are sharp and parallel to the sole, sole has been flattened on sandpaper so is true, I am purely talking about technique here.

I just use the force.....seems to work for me

"Be the wood"

Practise, apprenticeships lasted five years for a reason. I think it is Peter Sellers who tells a story of his apprenticeship, every Saturday morning they had to present an exercise to the tradesman and if he didn't like it you stayed there until it was right.

This may help

RWW 112 Square Edge Trick - YouTube

I bet Peter Sellers still has a square.

At one moment we laud the accuracy of the old craftsmen and at the next we applaud their taste for leaving plane marks or wonky dovetails in their work

I think if you can cut pretty square first time you're doing just fine and shouldn't lose too much hair over the marginal variability. Just call it character

Originally Posted by Tiger

I'm reasonable at using a hand plane but by no means an expert. I read of people that can without jigs/aids put a bit of timber into a vice and hand plane the edge perfectly square. From what I can gather they do this by a special feel ie they can tell by using their fingers or some other way when the plane is at 90 degrees to a trued face edge. I can get pretty close to 90 degrees but am just a little out but whether it's a little or a lot it doesn't matter the edge needs to be perfectly square. There are some pretty skilful guys on this forum can anyone elaborate on what you do to get this perfect edge? I've already put in plenty of practice but wonder if there's some small but vital feature that I need to do. By the way, the plane blades are sharp and parallel to the sole, sole has been flattened on sandpaper so is true, I am purely talking about technique here.

If you are using a jointer plane with the iron square across you need to be sure that it is taking an equal shaving all the way across the plane. Plane your edge straight, put a square on it and see how far out you are from square. Move the plane over to the high side of the edge with the edge of the plane at the low side flush with the face of the board. your plane will not cut all the way to the edge so you will only be lowering the high side by the thiickness of a shaving, continue until the edge is square, then make one pass the full width of the iron to clean things up.

Over a short distance its not too hard if you have had a lot of practice and you know your plane but over a long piece of timber ie jointing table tops etc its a different ball game. If your table is 2 or 3m long or more you have to walk the length pushing your plane, not getting caught on the vice handle or clamps etc. There is one trick I picked up from a book, can't remember which one but until you get the hang of it you can correct your natural lie by angling the blade on your plane just a whisker. I found this helped over a long board, you can slowly correct your natural lie and go back to a square blade. Otherwise grasshopper, practice some more. I still use a square.

I find that the best thing you can do is watch the shaving as it tells you what is coming off the board, nothing else does. You then adjust the planes attitude to the board and watch it again and you soon get the hang of it. Don't be afraid to place your finger under the plane against the timber as it to acts as a reference fence, most probably more than you think. Practise every day and you will soon get the hang of it.