Plane Question

[LFS19]

I've been getting to grips with the No 5 Stanly that Graham here on the forum sent me.
It cuts excellently, and for the first time since I started woodworking, I've actually managed to use one efficiently.
There are just a couple of issues that I'm running into, and I thought someone might be able to help.

When I'm planing the wood, I get it very close to square on all sides - but that's the point, very close.
I always have just a tiny, tiny dip on one end, or an ever so slight bit of twist or something, and I'm not really sure how to tackle the situations without making it worse.

Take for example, if the entire board is close to perfectly straight and square, but then at the end on one side, (when you have a straight edge on top) some light is showing through.
I'm not sure how to get the dexterity I need to tackle that.
Presumably, it would mean marking the area where the chink of light was and not going over that part, and planing the rest of the board to match the thickness of the low spot.
The problem with this, is its such a slight and precise cut that needs to be made across the board, I usually end up making it worse.
I'm not really sure, considering the point on the board I don't want to go over is so small, how to not got over it when I'm making a pass and bodge the whole thing.

It's the Same with twist, too.
I'll check for twist using my winding sticks, there might be some twist just ever so slightly.
When I've got to plane out this twist, Dispite using a very fine setting, I either make it worse or make not difference at all.

I think it has something to do with where I'm positioning the plane or the blade on the board.
I'm not sure how narrow or thick a shaving I need to take off to elliminate the twist.

Any tips would be much appriciated.

Thanks!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

To start with make sure you use the plane properly, your weight must be on the front knob when starting the cut and on the rear of the plane as you finish it otherwise the cut will dip at both ends. This MIGHT be part of your problem.

 

[Jacob]

Helps to mark up. If I'm using winding sticks I do a few marks to show where too high and in need of more planing.
It's not so much about plane technique as planing technique if you see what I mean!
Straight edges should be avoided except across width - ideally a steel sliding bevel rule which will leave a bit of a mark where the high points are, if you rub it about a bit.. You check straight length by looking down the board. Or if it's for joining two boards put one against the other.
It doesn't help to have the workpiece tightly held - best flat planed against a stop with no holding at all. Edge plane held in vice of course - if very long one end resting loosely on saw stool or similar.

But the main thing is - is it fit for purpose? Does that little dip or twist matter at all when the piece is joined/nailed/glued in situ? Probably not.

 

[Ttrees]

I gonna guess your bench is not flat .
If anything mark the high spots ,not the low spots ..you can do this by having another surface
or other part of your flat bench covered in crayon .
give your wood just a 2 second rub and presto you've got the high spots marked .
I cant say for certain how much camber your iron has ...
Use this to correct the non squareness ..an example on narrow stock ....
Pinch the plane with your thumb on top , between the knob and the mouth,
use your index finger as a stop so your plane wont drift off the parallel line you wish to plane .
sorta acting like a fence on a fillister plane .

I always aim to have each end of the timber square
....you could make a mark on both these ends and ,
Provided that theirs a hollow in the middle of the length ..your wood will sit steady on the bench ...not rock like a see-saw .
If youve got a banana you need to take out the middle of the stock and make sure the wood sits on the ends
If you plane the marks off the ends ,no more than 2 light cuts otherwise your introducing the banana back again
This can be extremely counterproductive .
Good luck
Tom

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Consider the purpose of the workpiece. Absolute perfection might not always be needed.

If it is - and it's a sign of good workmanship to do as well as you can - changing planes might help. Use a plane with a decent camber on the blade for the initial waste removal (jack plane), then change to a plane with a much less pronounced camber to refine the surface, both for accuracy and for surface finish (try plane).

The heavy-camber blade takes relatively narrow, thick shavings to shift a lot of wood fast, so one false stroke can take the workpiece past the marked line very locally. The shallow cambered one (or flat across with just the corners relieved) takes a thinner, wider shaving, making it easier to 'creep up' on the marked line whilst still producing a surface much nearer to flat.

A cheap way to have both a jack plane and a try plane is to have one plane, but two blades and cap-irons. The first pair is prepared with an aggressive camber, the other pair much nearer straight. Do all the 'jack' work, then swap the blade-and-cap-iron for the 'try' pair, reset for shallower depth of cut, and do the trying-up work.

Sometimes, a final finish pass or two with a smoothing plane set very fine can refine the surface even more - not always needed at the stock preparation stage, but sometimes handy for surfaces that will end up inside and thus virtually unfinishable once the job is glued up.

 

[BenCviolin]

The 5 1/2 is a great plane for flattening boards.
Unless you're preparing joints / surfaces for gluing then boards and edges don't need to be perfectly straight and flat.
Some of the charm in old cabinet making is the unflatness of stuff.
If your plane sole near enough flat then you should be able to tell by feel when the surface you are planing is flat.
A plane with a hump in the sole is better than one with a hollow or dip.

Practice

 

[deema]

If you have the stuff planed so that you only see light by holding up to the light, you've achieved as close to oerfect ion as required. Wood moves, and if you ever achieve absolute perfection.....which is almost impossible, wait a few hours and check again.....it will have moved slightly. When doing any joinery the joint will be in some way clamped and this will easily pull a gap that can only be seen by holding it up to the light tight.

With winding sticks, again if you have it virtually there to a similar level of accuracy, congratulate yourself, that a good job well done. The wood will move, if your nit completing the joints and leaving it over night clamp it to something flat and sturdy like the top of your bench, it can twist dramatically as the moisture content adjusts to the fresh faces if not.

For most joinery in the 'olden days' only the show surfaces were planed. The rest were crudely scrubbed to be 'close enough' to what was required. This method reduced the labour required and did not waste energy unnecessarily.

 

[LFS19]

To start with make sure you use the plane properly, your weight must be on the front knob when starting the cut and on the rear of the plane as you finish it otherwise the cut will dip at both ends. This MIGHT be part of your problem.

It could well be; I haven't really been paying attention to where I put my weight, thanks for the tips.

 

[LFS19]

Helps to mark up. If I'm using winding sticks I do a few marks to show where too high and in need of more planing.
It's not so much about plane technique as planing technique if you see what I mean!
Straight edges should be avoided except across width - ideally a steel sliding bevel rule which will leave a bit of a mark where the high points are, if you rub it about a bit.. You check straight length by looking down the board. Or if it's for joining two boards put one against the other.
It doesn't help to have the workpiece tightly held - best flat planed against a stop with no holding at all. Edge plane held in vice of course - if very long one end resting loosely on saw stool or similar.

But the main thing is - is it fit for purpose? Does that little dip or twist matter at all when the piece is joined/nailed/glued in situ? Probably not.

Thanks for the tips.
So how do you check length straightness by sighting down the board? I can't really tell.

And the fit for perpose point is a good one - I guess I've been a little OCD about it.
Right now the boards I'm planing aren't for any particular project, but just so I can learn how to properly plane.

 

[LFS19]

I gonna guess your bench is not flat .
If anything mark the high spots ,not the low spots ..you can do this by having another surface
or other part of your flat bench covered in crayon .
give your wood just a 2 second rub and presto you've got the high spots marked .
I cant say for certain how much camber your iron has ...
Use this to correct the non squareness ..an example on narrow stock ....
Pinch the plane with your thumb on top , between the knob and the mouth,
use your index finger as a stop so your plane wont drift off the parallel line you wish to plane .
sorta acting like a fence on a fillister plane .

I always aim to have each end of the timber square
....you could make a mark on both these ends and ,
Provided that theirs a hollow in the middle of the length ..your wood will sit steady on the bench ...not rock like a see-saw .
If youve got a banana you need to take out the middle of the stock and make sure the wood sits on the ends
If you plane the marks off the ends ,no more than 2 light cuts otherwise your introducing the banana back again
This can be extremely counterproductive .
Good luck
Tom

That's a good point actually, I didn't really think of that. Maybe my bench isn't completely straight.
Thanks for the tips, what you've said makes allot of sense, I haven't really learnt those techniques.

 

[LFS19]

Consider the purpose of the workpiece. Absolute perfection might not always be needed.

If it is - and it's a sign of good workmanship to do as well as you can - changing planes might help. Use a plane with a decent camber on the blade for the initial waste removal (jack plane), then change to a plane with a much less pronounced camber to refine the surface, both for accuracy and for surface finish (try plane).

The heavy-camber blade takes relatively narrow, thick shavings to shift a lot of wood fast, so one false stroke can take the workpiece past the marked line very locally. The shallow cambered one (or flat across with just the corners relieved) takes a thinner, wider shaving, making it easier to 'creep up' on the marked line whilst still producing a surface much nearer to flat.

A cheap way to have both a jack plane and a try plane is to have one plane, but two blades and cap-irons. The first pair is prepared with an aggressive camber, the other pair much nearer straight. Do all the 'jack' work, then swap the blade-and-cap-iron for the 'try' pair, reset for shallower depth of cut, and do the trying-up work.

Sometimes, a final finish pass or two with a smoothing plane set very fine can refine the surface even more - not always needed at the stock preparation stage, but sometimes handy for surfaces that will end up inside and thus virtually unfinishable once the job is glued up.

Didn't think of that, thanks you.
I haven't really heard of a try plane before so I'll look into that,

 

[LFS19]

The 5 1/2 is a great plane for flattening boards.
Unless you're preparing joints / surfaces for gluing then boards and edges don't need to be perfectly straight and flat.
Some of the charm in old cabinet making is the unflatness of stuff.
If your plane sole near enough flat then you should be able to tell by feel when the surface you are planing is flat.
A plane with a hump in the sole is better than one with a hollow or dip.

Practice

That makes sense, thank you for your response,
Practice I shall.

 

[Jacob]

.
So how do you check length straightness by sighting down the board? I can't really tell.....

If it looks straight it's straight enough, for you at least!
If it's got to fit something else (e.g. another board) then you check it against that.

Bench flatness doesn't matter too much (within reason) as most timber is bent already and won't sit flat on the bench. You can plane a flat surface even though the underside is all warped and not sitting tight. If necessary you could wedge it a bit to stop it rocking.

 

[LFS19]

If you have the stuff planed so that you only see light by holding up to the light, you've achieved as close to oerfect ion as required. Wood moves, and if you ever achieve absolute perfection.....which is almost impossible, wait a few hours and check again.....it will have moved slightly. When doing any joinery the joint will be in some way clamped and this will easily pull a gap that can only be seen by holding it up to the light tight.

With winding sticks, again if you have it virtually there to a similar level of accuracy, congratulate yourself, that a good job well done. The wood will move, if your nit completing the joints and leaving it over night clamp it to something flat and sturdy like the top of your bench, it can twist dramatically as the moisture content adjusts to the fresh faces if not.

For most joinery in the 'olden days' only the show surfaces were planed. The rest were crudely scrubbed to be 'close enough' to what was required. This method reduced the labour required and did not waste energy unnecessarily.

Very good point, I hadn't really been taking the fact that the wood does move into consideration.
That makes me feel better about my planing!
Thanks for your input