Plane selection and setup for Australian woods
So now that I have a proper workbench I've been enjoying using my hand planes a lot more. But I'm still really perplexed as to which plane to reach for at times.
My workbench is pine so I've been using my old Stanley #4 to tidy that up and got on okay (some issues but more plane setup than anything). But when I've worked with Jarrah I've had a hell of a time with tear out. Switched over to a Veritas low angle Jack and had the same problem just slightly minimised. Is this likely to be a setup issue with the plane or just the wrong plane for the job?
I tried my HNT Gordon A55 smoother this morning (bit gun shy with it to be honest, it's been in a box for a year) and was quite surprised at the finish it left. Is the higher blade angle more appropriate for Jarrah and other Australian hardwoods? Or is it very dependent on timber? I remember there being a big discussion around chip breaker setting vs bed angle a while back but can't find it now. Add in bevel up/down, toothed blades etc and you have one very confused man.
I feel like a lot of my problems could be to do with sharpness and plane setup but struggle to figure out where I'm going wrong. Considering doing the Perth Wood School courses on sharpening and hand planes but thought I'd ask here first.
Available tools are below, thought it might help to know what I'm working with.
* Stanley #4, #5, #6
* Veritas Low Angle Jack with PM-V11 and A2 blades
* Lie Nielsen Low Angle Block Plane
* HNT Gordon A55 Smoother with TS blade
The only one of those that I feel like I can setup easily is the A55, found that a joy to use so far but the others less so. At the point now where I feel like I need some instruction from someone who knows what they're doing. Alternatively if anyone has any good reading material around plane setup and use then I'm all ears. My sharpening is less of a problem, probably more laziness than anything.