Thread: Hand planing

This is what I do when I find one side sloping. Setup to take fine shavings as you already are going and put light pressure on the high spot. This give a shaving from the high spot. It will level out eventually.

If there is a dip or high spot in the middle I will plane where the high spot is.

The final passes I will do with full width shaving.

You are taking full width shavings but are they the same thickness edge to edge? Start in the middle of a board with your plane taking no shaving and advance the iron until you get s wisp of a shaving, is it coming from the center? If not use your lateral adjuster until it is, once your shaving is centerd and even all across you can advance the depth wheel to make a deeper cut.

Also you can mark all along with pencil or whatever and see where it is being removed.

Or if you identify a high spot, you can mark it and just remove material from that area before rechecking.

Is it basically flat along the length of the piece?
Do you need to try a longer plane?

Cheers,
Paul.

a 4 1/2 is a small jack or a heavy smoother, not a jointer. try a longer plane... I really like my #8.

Originally Posted by bridger

a 4 1/2 is a small jack or a heavy smoother, not a jointer. try a longer plane... I really like my #8.

A longer plane will help make straighter edges on long boards, but won't solve the side to side problem the OP is complaining of...

The suggestion to check blade setting by watching the shavings is good advice, IMO. Eyeballing the amount of blade exposure along the sole isn't as accurate as you may think. It only takes a fraction difference to add up over several passes. However, the most common cause of skewed edges is uneven pressure, and holding the plane slightly angled. I use the fingers of my left hand as a fence, which helps keep the angle constant - having the angle go first one way, then the other, along the board is very annoying! This gives consistency, but doesn't gaurantee that it's at right angles - you get that after a bit of practice. My advice is to concentrate first on getting the edge consistent from end to end (check at least 3 places with the try-square), then work on getting it to an exact 90 degrees.
Cheers,

I agree with Ian, the problem with a twist along the edge has to do with some kind of circular or pivoting motion while planing (even the pressure or propensity to create circular - ok lets call it a non-straight motion- although it may not be visible). Even if the iron is not set - which should be done by getting equal shavings from each side of the blade - if it were pushed straight and true you should see a consistent bevel along the edge. Get the action right and the rest follows...

There have been several suggestions here I would explore.

I'd also be looking at how the work piece itself is supported. Is it sitting flat? Can working on it cause it to move (e.g. the forces from planing)? Is the work support mechanism holding the workpiece square to your motion with the plane?

A few years ago I was working on an old bench preparing some boards for a glue up to make another bench top. I put each board in the vise and clamped the other end to the skirt, and went through my usual planing with the number 7. I glued and clamped the boards and ended up with a slight bow. The issue turned out to be that the skirt on the bench was no longer at right angles to the horizontal plane. It took me a while to work out!

Horaldic

Originally Posted by groeneaj

Hi all,
Just a question in regards to hand planning. I'm back home this week so I thought I'd go in the workshop for a bit. I was edge planning before with my 4 1/2 and I never seem to get a flat (not straight) surface. For example I'll put a straight edge to it and it has a high spot on the right and low on the left.
I'm puting even pressure on my plane, pushing it down with my thumb and making sure I balance it correctly.
What do you think my problem is? Could it be the iron is not flat? I'm pretty sure i've adjusted the iron correctly ie it's not skewed.
I seem to be taking full width shavings, so I'm unsure where I'm going wrong?

Cheers,
Andy

Hi Andy

The problem you experience is simply a result of the blade being skewed.

In part this is because you have not levelled it (with the levelling lever).

The solution is more than levelling the blade, however. You have sharpened a straight blade, and this is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to avoid one side catching and planing deeper. This shows up as a track.

With a smoother (as indeed with all planes) a camber on the blade will help prevent an edge digging in. I will also help you improve the plane's performance since a (very) fine curve will disguise any tendency for one side to be lower than the other.

I use my fingertips to feel the sides of a mouth for the amount of projection. Then adjust until they are even.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by groeneaj

Hi all,
Just a question in regards to hand planning. I'm back home this week so I thought I'd go in the workshop for a bit. I was edge planning before with my 4 1/2 and I never seem to get a flat (not straight) surface. For example I'll put a straight edge to it and it has a high spot on the right and low on the left.
I'm puting even pressure on my plane, pushing it down with my thumb and making sure I balance it correctly.
What do you think my problem is? Could it be the iron is not flat? I'm pretty sure i've adjusted the iron correctly ie it's not skewed.
I seem to be taking full width shavings, so I'm unsure where I'm going wrong?

Hi Andy

things to check / try
use a small block of wood to check shaving thickness either side of the blade

it sounds as though you might be rocking the plane slightly during the planing stroke

David Charlesworth swears by a slightly campered blade when jointing, in part to avoid or correct the problem you'e experiencing

hope this helps

Andy said he was planing an edge. Isn't a shooting board the answer?

Hi Andy, when I edge plane a board I use two no.5s or similliar, one will have a slight curve to the blade edge, the other will be straight, ususally the one with the curved blade (very slight)does most of the work, I check with a small square for high spots and mark these with a pencil every 300 or so (depends on length of board) using the plane (curve) I move the plane sideways (as I plane down the length on the board edge) in the direction of the high spots so I am removing a tapered shaving that will be thick on the high side and nothing on the low side, the amount of curve to the blade, the thickness of the board, blade projection and how far sideways you move the plane will determine the rate at which you bring the edge back to square, note that it is possible to over doit and take too much off the high side so you end up chasing a high spot that just seems to move from side to side, I then follow with the straight blade plane and recheck for square.
I hold the toe of the (curve) plane (finger and thumb) with a finger rubbing along the board face as a depth control for the sideways movement and the heel in a similliar method with a finger to control plane position on the edge.
As always a sharp blade, tuned plane and a waxed/polished sole make for nice planing and timber that behaves I fine tune the curved blades lateral position by using a small thin block of wood (a bit of camphour is nice) so I take equally fine shaving off each side of the blade which then should give a thicker shaving in the center, I can't do this well enough by sighting along the sole but I can see when I get a whisker off the block, be careful tho as the fingers are close to what should be a sharp blade if you do this by hand


Pete

Plane something in the vice, and plane a different piece on the bench between the dogs. If the piece on the bench is good then the problem is with the vice or bench front. Movement or flexing of the piece when pressure is applied is what I would look for, assuming you have already checked for square.

Toby

Originally Posted by tonyw

Andy said he was planing an edge. Isn't a shooting board the answer?

On short pieces that would do the job but not so good for long stuff. And that wouldn't help solve the problem. He wants to be able to use the plane and do a good job. Is it the user or the tool? And what is the actual error in the method or tool?

Toby

Hey Andy,
Is the problem only with the 4 1/2?

Toby