ploughing frustrations

[thetyreman]

I've been trying to plough a groove today, it's proving to be really frustating, I'm not really sure what I'm doing wrong,

the plough doesn't cut smoothly at all, it literally digs into the wood and bashes it, I am trying to plough into some very hard american white oak, for a sliding lid box and am also planing with the grain...

I have tried resharpening the blade, and got it to 35 degrees, which improved it slightly but it's still not working how I expected. I've also realised just how useful a holdfast would be in this situation!

regards,

Ben.

 

[El Barto]

Have you seen this video by the user who used to post here called Alf? I found it very useful!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK284m0wJME

 

[marcros]

are you starting from the end of the groove and working backwards, ie the first pass is over the last few inches of the groove, the next pass starting a few inches further towards you.

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etc

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

^^^

This and it sounds as though you have too much blade protruding.

Are you using a Record 044?

Mike.

 

[Racers]

+1 on to much blade, and try clamping a sash cramp in your vice and then you can clamp your wood sideways.

Pete

 

[katellwood]

You also have to keep the blade plumb, not so important at the start of the cut however as you get deeper if you force the cut out of plumb then the blade will tear the sides of the groove which makes it harder to push and produces ugly thin shavings which ruin the sharp corner where the groove meets the face

If appropriate extend the fence downward with an additional piece of timber (there are usually screw holes in fences to facilitate this) which makes it easier to keep the cut true to the groove (this often depends whether your groove is in the face-side or face-edge).

 

[AndyT]

It could be too much iron and uncooperative grain.
Try and see if you can get decent results on an offcut of something easier, then go back to the oak. Grain direction does make a difference, though it rarely matters how smooth the bottom of a groove is.

 

[thetyreman]

I think the main problem was trying to plane too much off at once, it works better with taking a bit at a time, especially on the initial cuts, to get a cleaner line, the wood was a bit difficult as well, having a bigger fence did help as well, I think I need to practice a bit more before I get the hang of it, but I got there in the end, the grooves aren't perfect but next time they'll be a lot better.

 

[woodbrains]

I think the main problem was trying to plane too much off at once, it works better with taking a bit at a time, especially on the initial cuts, to get a cleaner line, the wood was a bit difficult as well, having a bigger fence did help as well, I think I need to practice a bit more before I get the hang of it, but I got there in the end, the grooves aren't perfect but next time they'll be a lot better.

Hello,

The other thing is to not push down too much. When you plane with a bench plane, there is a certain amount of downward pressure needed, but it is not quite the same with a plough. For a start, the blade is a fraction of the width, so a similar downward force of a bench plane acting on a much narrower blade will just stick it into the wood and make it hard to push. Lightly does it, just concentrate on forward effort and put more pressure onto the fence, to keep that in contact with the side of the wood. It is almost all to do with keeping the fence pushed against the work and everything else becomes easy. It is more like sawing than planing, in a way; starting a saw cut requires no downward force, just concentrate on the direction of cut and the forward motion and the saw looks after the cutting. Find a bit of compliant scrap to practice on, it will come with a bit of practice. And some wood is nasty and just won't plough at all well, that is just a fact if life. You have to pick the stock that you know you have to plough or rebate etc. from the straight stuff. You can't expect to plough neatly through knotty wood or grain with severely undulating grain. If possible try to plan ahead so the grain direction is optimal for the direction you will be rebating from, because you can only go in one direction with a plough and from one side.

Mike.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

1. Sharp blade .. obviously
2. Preferably plane with the grain.
3. Start at the far end and work back - this ensures that you are playing downhill as much as possible.
4. Light cuts until the groove is established.
5. If planing into the grain, score the lines of the groove deeply (use a cutting gauge and then go over this with a knife).
6. Wax the fence and skate.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Did you ever say what plane you were using ? If the skates snd fence are not parallel it will always be a struggle, so worth turning it over and having a squint down them.