How do you get square 90deg. edges with a handplane?

[MikeG.]

......The 'don't need a right angle' point you make has its adherents, and up to an extent it's valid. One problem with match planing as many call it is, as has been pointed out, is that the two pieces can become too wide to plane true comfortably. The second issue is that the complimentary angle of two otherwise suitably (or is it perfectly?) matched boards can result in unacceptable and uncontrollable slippage at glue up so that the surface of the two boards end up significantly out of line......

Absolutely true. The irony of the match planing method is that with a greater reference contact between plane and work it is actually much easier to plane to a right angle.

 

[MikeG.]

...... I had no concept of how difficult woodwork was, or how incompetent I was.......

........ has woodwork become way more difficult over the past 50 years?

There is a whole industry out there, and a whole lot of internet experts, who would try to make you think so.

 

[MattRoberts]

As a teenager, I would use my father's hand tools(and his timber) and just make things. Boxes for home made wireless sets, a playable electric guitar. I had no concept of how difficult woodwork was, or how incompetent I was.
Now, I have a router table, a bandsaw, a table saw of sorts, planes, chisels, a drill press, and I read these forums and spend hours watching YouTube tutorials, and I'm too scared to try and make anything more complicated than a door wedge. Have I become stupider, or has woodwork become way more difficult over the past 50 years?

You raise a really good point John, and this is a prime example of the repercussions of over-perfectionism on this forum.

Someone asks a simple question from a newcomer's view point, and it devolves into a tit-for-tat between multiple different people who all have the opinion that they've been doing it for 80 years and unless you have a perfectly flat sole with a cambered blade set at 26.3 degrees having been sharpened on a Japanese water stone harvested by a virgin from the slopes of Mount Fuji, with a closed mouth, a retracted frog and a cap iron that's no more than 0.4mm from the edge, it will never be right.

I get that a lot of you have developed a huge amount of experience with the use of hand tools, and I don't doubt that most of the techniques you suggest do help in various ways. But is it any wonder that new people are scared off by all of this? You're trying to make people experts on day one, instead of helping people with the basics, and then increasing their knowledge gradually.

 

[Tasky]

On the plus side, woodworkers don't need to wear zany plaid plus-fours etc.

We don't?
Oh..... that's not what the salesman told me......

Someone asks a simple question from a newcomer's view point, and it devolves into a tit-for-tat between multiple different people who all have the opinion that they've been doing it for 80 years and unless you have a perfectly flat sole with a cambered blade set at 26.3 degrees having been sharpened on a Japanese water stone harvested by a virgin from the slopes of Mount Fuji, with a closed mouth, a retracted frog and a cap iron that's no more than 0.4mm from the edge, it will never be right.

I was thinking about posting up a Newbie planing question, while fully expecting the thread to turn into what you describe above... I even have bets with myself on certain members posting particular comments!!

 

[AES]

I'm very keen to see your, QUOTE: a virgin from the slopes of Mount Fuji, with a closed mouth, a retracted frog and a cap UNQUOTE:

Could we see a pic please? ;-)

AES