Plane Iron

[Anonymous]

Wot Alf said - with the cambered iron, the iron only cuts in the middle (assuming an even camber, and a correct depth adjustment - in fact, the depth adjustment can be used to adjust the amount of the iron that cuts), not the whole width, so shifting the plane around is the way to do it.

Using a jointer fence is effectively shooting, isn't it, with the shooting board attached to the plane? So the caveat about not using a square iron unless shooting applies.

 

[Philly]

Realistically, what is the camber on a blade using DC's sharpening method? How much does a couple of extra drags along the stone remove from the outer edges of the blade?? Can you measure that? It is just about visible to eye (especially when seen next to a stright edge, i.e. the mouth of the plane).
Wood is a compressible material. I was having a long discussion with Mike from Clifton about this (and how flat should the sole be :shock: ) With the majority of timbers (excluding the really hard, brittle exotics) clamping pressure will make sure of a good contact between surfaces, and modern glues are very strong. (obviously I am talking about very small errors, not mm's......)
So-do we worry too much? Maybe. However you like to get a flat, square edge-if it works for you, its right! Some guys edge joint straight from the table saw (see my earlier comment on wood being compressible).
hope my mumblings make some sense,
Philly

 

[Frank D.]

Cheers Frank,

So, if I understood that right, you're using your left hand to raise the plane slightly on one side, so the whole sole & therefore iron aren't in contact with the wood?

shoot at will

Hmm, who's will, and what's he done to deserve shooting? :lol:

Esp

Not quite Esp, I use my left hand to guide the plane to the left or the right so one side of the blade only engages partially onto the edge. I don't make an effort to tip it one way or the other. I guess if I held it really square I wouldn't have to use the side of the plane but who knows what's happening at these tolerances, it just makes things easier for me, so I agree with Alf on this one ("what's a degree?", not on the rest of course :lol.
Oh, when I said shoot at will, that was a typo. I meant Phill.

 

[Chris Knight]

I think angels and pins come into this discussion somewhere! I also believe that there is very little difference between what one effectively does with a cambered iron or a straight one in terms of the way the iron meets the surface of the wood. I have tried a number of scaled drawings in CAD to make the point but I am not having much success so far other than to convince myself!

Anyway - yes Alf, one does shift the plane sideways and it has to be far enough to cut nothing on one side if you are not going to shave below the line on the side that is already at the line - unless you tilt the plane. But if your iron projection was set for a full width shaving, depending on the board thickness, you will have to partially retract the iron to accomplish this. No big deal but then neither is adjusting the iron laterally.

 

[bugbear]

Anyway - yes Alf, one does shift the plane sideways and it has to be far enough to cut nothing on one side if you are not going to shave below the line on the side that is already at the line

I have found that squaring up a board that already has one side "at the line" is extremely difficult.

I strongly recommend getting your board edge square "on the way" to getting it straight - performing both "corrections" simultaneously. In practice, once the board has a square edge, planing up the middle will pretty much keep it that way.

If you do this, a cambered iron needn't take zero thickness at its sides, as long as there is some tapering in the shaving.

Easier and quicker to do than describe.

BugBear

 

[Chris Knight]

Paul,
I do agree. Being in wind close to the line is like being out of control in an aircraft too close to the ground!

 

[Alf]

In a galaxy not far from here, someone already mentioned that... :roll:

 

[Chris Knight]

Darn these parallel universes - I can't keep up!

 

[Frank D.]

Not to mention parallel boards, like slapping them together and planing both edges at once!