Planing?

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wizer

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A couple of the mortice/tenon joints on my laundry basket have 'lipped' slightly after glueing up. Is this something that can be solved with a plane?

If so, can someone give me some advice on what plane to use? I have never used a plane before so maybe some technique advice too?
 
Oh yes!
This is an area where hand tools rule-take a hand plane and gently plane the surfaces flush. Very fine shavings, please. :wink:
Cheers
Philly :D
 
right i am considering buying a hand plane to do the job in time for the compo.

Any suggestions on a plane? Can I just buy one from B&Q?
 
Hi Wizer

It's at this point I'll move this so that the hand tool johnies and johnesses can help you out.

Good luck and put a pair of stout shoes on before you venture over there. :roll:

Cheers
Neil
 
If a reasonably cheap option like B&Q is out of the question then never mind I will wait til next week's WW Class.

Shouldn't rush the job i guess. I just hoped to get in time for the compo
 
WiZeR":1i4l6ml1 said:
If a reasonably cheap option like B&Q is out of the question then never mind I will wait til next week's WW Class.

Shouldn't rush the job i guess. I just hoped to get in time for the compo

No problem, when you take the photograph, you just turn it around so that the not so good bits are at the back. :wink:
 
WiZeR":2sx2tb86 said:
right i am considering buying a hand plane to do the job in time for the compo.

Any suggestions on a plane? Can I just buy one from B&Q?
Depends.

D'you need a door stop in order to complete the project? :-k :wink:

Cheers, Alf

P.S. Clairvoyance is one of the many skills I don't possess; idea of budget is always helpful with these sorts of questions - for future reference.
 
sorry alf. I guess I can find up to £30-40

Tho I have no idea if this is reasonable or not
 
No worries, WiZeR, just a plea to everyone really. :D

Like Shady, I'm having a little trouble visualizing exactly what the problem is, which makes it a bit tricky for me to suggest a suitable plane and therefore if your budget could get you a reasonable one for the task. Any chance of a pic so I can go "D'oh! That's what you meant"? :oops:

Cheers, Alf
 
No need for a picture to diagnose you. If you work with wood, you need some hand planes. Once you get one nice one, you'll be hooked.

Take your thirty pounds and run to eBay. The good folks on this board can tell you what to look for. For fourty, you could get a nice block plane and a bench plane. I would look for a low angle block plane and a number 4 stanley smoother.
 
Yup, Wizer - we need some help to help you: 'lipping'?? In a normal M & T, any bits that I might want to plane are hidden once assembled: are you talking about the ends of through tenons standing proud of the housing piece they run through? Or is it some part of assembly/fitting you need to adjust?

Standing by!! :)
 
ok, appologies for my newbie woodworking terms.. :oops:

This is what I mean by Lipping:

lipping1.jpg

lipping2.jpg


Can't get to the digicam atm. The sketch shows it to be a lot more harsh than it is.

My original intention with this thread was to see if I could get something local (DIY Shop) that could solve the problem in time to enter my project for the compo. Having looked at the offending joint I think I am happy to settle with it as my first ever project.

So my question is altered a little.... For the beginner, on a budget, which planes are good to get started and is it best to buy 2nd hand?
 
Aha! Understood. Well, there are 2 practical alternatives for planing that:

A 'bench plane' of some sort - a number 4, 5, or 6.

If it's all assembled and difficult to 'get at', a block plane is essentially a smaller, handier version of any of the above - the larger ones are easier to keep 'square and straight' if you're new to planing by hand.

Having said all that:

Buying a budget plane is a gamble: with luck, it can be made to work pretty darn well if (a) it's not fundamentally 'unreparable' (eg a badly bowed sole), and (b) you are happy with what you're doing.

Given your questions, without being rude in any way, I doubt that you feel confident enough to identify situation (a), or get stuck in a la (b)...

In addition, you are faced in this particular situation with the issue of planing with the grain of one piece, over cross grain on another - which is ok, but not what I'd want to attack as my 'intro' on a piece I'd made: risk of tearing up the cross piece.

My personal advice would be to go with your decision on the project: another solution, much as some may deride me, is a random orbit sander, which will not mess up grain, but can be a long slow process.

However, in answer to your final question: you should start with 2 planes:

A good block plane. I'd buy this one:


http://www.brimarc.com/home.php3?page=products&pc=C_106_22_2

Yes - I know it's more than you wanted to spend... (like twice... :cry: ), but, trust me, if you look after it, this plane will last your life time, and you will never fault its performance.

And a good bench plane. Opinions differ, but I'd look at a number 4, or 5, either from Clifton, or again from Veritas. Again, I do appreciate that this is more than you wanted/have to spend, but - and I'm sure others will agree (some, anyway :roll: ) these are 'mid-price' but 'top-drawer' tools. They are made by people who know what they're doing and value your custom. If you get a dud (unlikely, but should it happen...) both firms will bend over backwards to replace it, and these tools will do what you want without compromise.

Having said all of that, they're useless tools if you can't sharpen. If you get them, you're gonna need to learn how - not difficult, but people seem mystified by it. Ask for advice here.

I hope this doesn't come across as some 'pie in the sky' fantasist: there are tools costing stupid amounts out there, but these are actually, in my opinion, good value: they are properly made, with decent blades and fine adjustability. If you buy cheaper, you may, with experience, overcome the inherent limitations, but you're more likely to find it's a false economy in the long run - ask relatives for an early birthday present!!
 
I second Shady's opinion that you look at Veritas for whatever you need. Rather than simply copying old Stanley designs, they have engineered significant advances into their products.

Rather then call them mid-price, for me they're definitely expensive, but worth it, I would say that you're paying for top-notch engineering and you're getting top-notch engineering. What you're not getting is heirloom-quality asthetics. Personally, I'd never use a plane that I'd term "beautiful." Veritas designs will never leave you wanting for more capability.

Don't take the chance and buy planes from Anant or some other Indian manufacturer. I tried a few "cheap" planes and wish I could get my money back. The only thing I use them now for is cleaning up glue lines and trimming plywood. You can go that route, but you will spend a lot of time tuning the tool and the blade won't hold an edge -- not good for everyday use.
 
The new, quality tools are always going to give you better "out of the box" results that secondhand or modern dross, if you can afford it. For maximum flexibility though, if you can afford to go that way, forget the traditional bevel down planes like the 4 or 5 and embrace the modern wonders of the bevel up planes. Otherwise older Stanleys and Records give excellent value for money - if you're prepared to put a little work into them. For block planes I think I'd always go for quality new - they're just not cheap enough secondhand in this country for anything worth having. FWIW.

Cheers, Alf
 
Nice not to be abused for the advice!

I take the comment about 'mid-price' vs expensive: what I was trying to say was that they are not cheap, but they're cheaper than the only realistic alternative out there, which is the Lie-Neilsen offering:


http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=20380&recno=27

Both planes will do whatever you want: as hinted at, the L-N is a more 'classic' aesthetic look - but just like ydb1md, I don't pay a premium for looks when buying a working tool - and the veritas is actually more finely adjustable, with set screws to move the blade laterally in the mouth...
 
Having said all of the above, you can see what fun this all is. Put it this way: I have an old Stanley block plane which is nothing special - but it's been tuned to do the job. If you're getting confused by all this 'nonsense', pm me, and I'll send you it for a beer token or something. It won't fulfil your wildest fantasies, but it'll show you what a tuned plane with a properly sharpened blade should do...
 

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