Hand Plane setup, sharpening & how to plane properly - in person course

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I appreciate the endorsement for my book. Many thanks.

I find it heartening to see that since my earlier intervention rather bemoaning the bickering that developed in the earlier stages of this thread that it seems to have turned to a more positive tone with discussion and information I suspect ArtieFufkin has been able to employ in developing knowledge and skills in plane set up and use. Slainte.

Eventually, they all right themselves or stop due to indifference.
 
In regard to the rules that folks will want to apply about workholding, do what works when planing. There may be times that you're planing long sticking that's not perfectly flat, and it's useful to confine it between dogs - it's not the nicest thing in the world to work with wood like that, but if you're making guitars, you'll get fingerboards here and there that you're thicknessing and roughing and you're going to want those between dogs (cheap plastic dogs that can be planed short work great for that - when you plane them down they don't damage the tools and you won't feel like you spent much on them and can't modify them.

Sometimes between the time you resaw the fingerboard blank and the time you get to use the blank, things move - larger wood, not so much.

I don't know what they did for workholding by century, but you could find people willing to tie each other in knots about whether or not it's even OK to have a vise on a bench. They're re-enacting - you can take the best from each era instead.
 
Last day of the holiday and along with taking down the Christmas decorations I had time to work on the sole of my 5 1/2.
Used some 80 grit paper from a belt sander, that I never use, my noteched straight edge (for checking guitar necks) and table saw to monitor progress. I recokon it was an hour's work, maybe a bit longer, its removed more or less all of the pitting and marks too. Finished it on some 320, very happy with it now, looks lovely.

Before anyone panics, the vice was only just tight enough to hold the plane for the photo - I did the actual checking holding them both up to the light. (at no point was the vice actaully used in the process)

flat 1.jpg


flat 2.jpg


I practiced jointing with four rough bits of scrap timber, got all 6 edges pretty dam close, surprised myself with the tolerance I've achieved. I planed the faces flat and level too, there was a good 3 or 4mm diffence in thickness to start with.
Used a stop (12mm bit of ply) on my bench, I find this easier than using a vice. I'd never have tried that method prior to starting this thread.

flat 4.jpg
flat 3.jpg


Very pleased with how things have improved, lots more practice required though.
 
I was thinking that you might want to consider the position of that cramp which holds the batton to the bench, as you might end up crashing into it with the toe of your newly spruced up plane.
 
I was thinking that you might want to consider the position of that cramp which holds the batton to the bench, as you might end up crashing into it with the toe of your newly spruced up plane.

Noted, thanks
It was out of the way for the work I was doing.
But would be dangerous with smaller items.
I'm going to make a retractable stop of the end of my bench to remove the issue completely.
 
Noted, thanks
It was out of the way for the work I was doing.
But would be dangerous with smaller items.
I'm going to make a retractable stop of the end of my bench to remove the issue completely.
Somewhat OTT version here Install a Planing Stop
Mines the same but smaller and I've never added any metal work, nor missed it.
I use it a lot and it's highly effective. It's near bench end slightly to the left of the vice. The vice can be extended out as extra support for wider pieces. I have to move wider pieces as I go so that I'm planing towards the stop, or the board could spin off. Can add other stops to the bench top as necessary, but often isn't.
Make the stop long so that you can trim it as the top end gets battered, over the years.
 
Well, I too have a nifty solution to that issue.

Plane a board flat, say 12" x 8"x 1/4" and screw a piece of 2" on the underside at one end. Then stick it in your vice so that the board lays flat across the bench.

Job done and you can take it off and stash it under the bench when not needed.
 

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