Real need / necessity for a block plane

[AJB Temple]

I use my Veritas block plane a lot. Its super handy for little trimming and chamfering jobs. BPs need to be really sharp and properly adjusted. If yours is digging in then adjustment may also be an issue.

 

[Bm101]

Sorry fella didn't mean to teach the sucking of eggs. Sometimes it's hard to gauge online. Was well meant as I'm sure you know. Missed the fact you already owned one!
Best
Chris

 

[bp122]

Sorry fella didn't mean to teach the sucking of eggs. Sometimes it's hard to gauge online. Was well meant as I'm sure you know. Missed the fact you already owned one!
Best
Chris

Oh not at all, mate. I actually agree with you 100%. At least now I know I was beating a dead horse to run with that plane. (homer)
Not being able to afford all the fancy tools right off the bat is the best thing for a newbie like me. Otherwise my garage will not have an inch to set my foot in or work :lol:

 

[ED65]

For BP or anyone else who might want to give their block plane a bit of attention, here are the tuning resources I mentioned previously.

• Tuning up a block plane from Woodsmith (PDF).
  
• Michael Pekovich demonstrating fairly straightforward fettling of a block plane on this Fine Woodworking video: How to Tune Up a Block Plane.
  
• A much more comprehensive overhaul of a cheaper block plane by Young Je: Tuning cheap adjust block plane( $ 15 )
  His channel is well worth checking out for his other woodworking and toolmaking content if you don't know it.
  
• And if you want to go totally over the top flattening the sole, there's a YouTube video for that too. This was posted by a luthier some years back: Restoration/Tuning of a block or hand plane to highest accuracy w. files, scrapers, edge & plate

Obviously you'll pick and choose what you want from these. I don't agree with all of this (I very rarely lap the soles of planes for one, because I've found it's seldom necessary) but many planes, old and new, benefit from the basic fettling steps. And don't dismiss the more involved steps out of hand, you can make a solid user from basically a paperweight; when I was restoring my vintage Stanley block plane I had to in order to make it anyway useable for me.

 

[woodbloke66]

Some good advice here. I'll echo most of it - yes, a block plane is nice to have but (as with many tools) you can manage without one. Things might be a bit more difficult or take a bit longer.

I like a block plane if I am working on anything small and fiddly. It's easier to see what is happening to the wood if there's not a great big lump of iron in the way of it. My preferred one is an old one; I suspect that a new one from Screwfix is probably a bit crudely made and might need work before it gave good results. That's not to say that all old planes are good - there always were lots of options so as to cover all possible price points and cheaply made planes that look superficially similar to the best ones are nothing new.

I've not watched the particular Rex Kruger vid that ED65 mentioned, but the ones I have watched I rather like - he does seem to be sensible and good at explaining things, not selling things.

Sharpness really does matter, but let's not make this another sharpening thread!

Agreed, there are many tools that you don't actually need, but are 'nice' to have none the less. However, a block plane is one you do (IMO) actually need, not only for the small jobs, but the bigger jobs as well where a big plane is just too unwieldy; thinking here about squaring up say, the bottom of a 50mm square table leg. Very difficult to do with a No.5 but using a small block plane makes much lighter work of it. Andy and others are quite correct; sharpness is crucial, especially on end grain material.
If you're after a recommendation for a good block plane, the 'Luban' variety from WH are pretty good. I recently tried the very expensive Clifton block plane and hated it! Not only was the machining out of kilter, but I found it far too heavy to use with one hand which for me is a prerequisite - Rob

 

[Yojevol]

As part of my Furniture Making course 20 odd years ago, we spent a day at John Makepeace's school. His one piece of advice that I can remember is that the BP was the most used plane and he recommended that it should be sharpened at the start of each day in the workshop. I use my Lee Neilsen rebate low angle BP a lot although it only gets sharpened when I feel it's needed. It's the only LN item I've got and my Stanley, which it superseded, resides in the cupboard unloved.
Brian

 

[That would work]

There's a stack of theory re the blades angle and the fact that there is no back iron. The bevel is purported to act like a back iron and the low angle of attack suits the cutting of end grain. One of mine has the adjustable mouth which I can't honestly say I have ever used to particular effect.
Basically, (my most hated word) its small and easy for small stuff.

 

[MikeG.]

...... the low angle of attack suits the cutting of end grain.......

The blade of a block plane actually enters the wood at a higher angle than with a normal bevel down bench plane assuming both are sharpened to 25 degrees, so this theory about block planes and end grain has always amused me.

 

[woodbloke66]

...... the low angle of attack suits the cutting of end grain.......

The blade of a block plane actually enters the wood at a higher angle than with a normal bevel down bench plane assuming both are sharpened to 25 degrees, so this theory about block planes and end grain has always amused me.

Indeed Mike! When you do the sums if the blade is honed to 30deg and it's got a 12.5deg bed, the ef (effective pitch) of the blade is 42.5deg - Rob

 

[That would work]

A smoothing plane has a frog set at 45 degrees? Minimum.

 

[Doug B]

Wouldn’t be without a block plan it doesn’t do the most work of my planes but I’d say it was picked up the most, it’s also the only plane I have that I feel confident planing one handed with whilst holding small components in my other hand.
As with all tools though they are only worth owning if you are going to use them & which you own depends on the type of woodwork you are going to do.

 

[MikeG.]

A smoothing plane has a frog set at 45 degrees? Minimum.

Correct. A block plane like the standard Stanleys and Records had a bed angle of 25 degrees, and add on the 25 degrees of the cutting edge, that's an angle of attack of 50 degrees...........5 degrees higher than a smoothing plane. 10 degrees higher if you hone to 30 degrees (which those who use a secondary bevel usually do, apparently). You would need a bed angle of 15 degrees to equal the angle of attack of a normal smoothing plane.......so I say again, block planes being best for end grain is a myth.

 

[profchris]

To go back to the original post, one of his problems is that his end grain chopping boards have ridges, and his bench plane feels as if it is skipping across those ridges.

I have a similar issue planing down plates for guitars and ukuleles to under 2mm thickness, even though I'm not dealing with end grain (but I often use figured woods, which present similar problems). Towards the final stages there is sometimes enough unevenness that my bench plane won't really register properly across the board.

I often deal with this using a block plane - identify the high spots, and use the block plane to work them down. I'll plane in multiple directions, which is what I'd do for end grain as well. A bench plane doesn't work well for this because it's longer than the spot I want to work on. Once the high spots are down, I can feel with the bench plane where the (now much broader) hills and hollows are, and so flatten them satisfactorily.

For end grain planing, sharpness is clearly essential. But also, fineness of cut. If I try to plane more than the finest of shavings from end grain my plane skips or jams. So the original poster might try resharpening and then setting the plane so it only just skims off some wood. And until it's flat, you get what looks like dust rather than shavings from end grain - this can mislead you into increasing the depth of the cut, whereas what is needed is just perseverance!

 

[AndyT]

A smoothing plane has a frog set at 45 degrees? Minimum.

Correct. A block plane like the standard Stanleys and Records had a bed angle of 25 degrees, and add on the 25 degrees of the cutting edge, that's an angle of attack of 50 degrees...........5 degrees higher than a smoothing plane. 10 degrees higher if you hone to 30 degrees (which those who use a secondary bevel usually do, apparently). You would need a bed angle of 15 degrees to equal the angle of attack of a normal smoothing plane.......so I say again, block planes being best for end grain is a myth.

But Mike - can't you see where this is heading? - not all block planes are alike - you're going to have to buy another one! ;-)

 

[MikeG.]

.........you're going to have to buy another one! ;-)

I haven't bought one yet! One was a skip find, and I think the other one was left in the garage of a house I bought decades ago.

 

[That would work]

A smoothing plane has a frog set at 45 degrees? Minimum.

Correct. A block plane like the standard Stanleys and Records had a bed angle of 25 degrees, and add on the 25 degrees of the cutting edge, that's an angle of attack of 50 degrees...........5 degrees higher than a smoothing plane. 10 degrees higher if you hone to 30 degrees (which those who use a secondary bevel usually do, apparently). You would need a bed angle of 15 degrees to equal the angle of attack of a normal smoothing plane.......so I say again, block planes being best for end grain is a myth.

Some are 25 degrees, mine is 12 degrees.

 

[AndyT]

.........you're going to have to buy another one! ;-)

I haven't bought one yet! One was a skip find, and I think the other one was left in the garage of a house I bought decades ago.

I think that response fits better in ED65's list of excuses in the discussion about hoarding - "we have to buy this house darling, there's an old block plane in the garage"

 

[MikeG.]

.......Some are 25 degrees, mine is 12 degrees.

Most are 25 degrees, given the pre-imminence of Record and Stanley in the plane market. Even at 12 degrees you are only 3 degrees lower in attack angle that a two handed plane, and I hardly think that justifies the claim that block planes are better for end grain. I'm not saying you made that claim, by the way, but you did seek to justify it. I'm simply pointing out that this is one of many hand-me-down pieces of wisdom in woodworking which actually aren't as wise as some people think.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I find the responses here interesting. Basically, they illustrate that there is not one answer, and those who do so with so much vehemence simply demonstrate much rigidity.

Speaking for myself, I find block planes very useful. I have several, the most commonly used ones being a LN 60 1/2, a Veritas NX60, and a Veritas Pocket Plane. The first two are full sized low angle block planes and the latter is a tiny plane, ideal for very fine detail work.

Sometimes these are used on end grain, sometimes for trimming edges and chamfering, and sometimes for planing isolated areas. Just very useful tools in the furniture I build.

I would add to these three planes a HNT Gordon mini smoother, which is a high angle block plane-sized smoother. I use one a lot in confined spaces.

I like shoulder planes as well and own three: 1/2", 3/4" and 1 1/4". The large one gets little use. The two smaller one get used often on rebates - generally not tenon shoulders. They are wonderful for squaring rebates, even making them, or planing into corners. There is a block plane that I occasionally use for corners as well (saved my bacon with drawer cases that were out-of-square), and this is the LN Rabbet Block Plane. Occasionally, the tenon shoulders do benefit from a shoulder plane, but only when the finest shaving is needed (otherwise I trim them with a chisel).

There are so many tools and so many ways of working. What works for one may not be the preferred way for another. This is just an opportunity to learn. Never dismiss.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[AndyT]

Indeed. Carpentry, joinery, cabinet making. Three different trades with enough overlap for conversations to veer off at cross purposes, though in this thread I see reports of personal experience rather than disagreement.