Scrub plane magic

[Paul Chapman]

I've been working, on and off, on an oak table for what seems like months (probably because it has been months :roll: ). It's going to be quite big, at 3ft diameter, and to keep the cost down I've been using sawn oak. Planing this has been hard work, so just before Phil's Big Bash I PM'd him and asked whether he had a scrub plane (silly question :lol: ) I could try.

Well, I duly tried out his nice Veritas scrub and it was like magic in the way it quickly brought a rough piece of wood to a presentable size and shape, ready for the #7. That did it, I had to have one, except I couldn't really afford a nice, new Veritas scrub at the moment

Then a piece of luck. I read this on Alf's blog (always a good read :wink: ) http://cornishworkshop.blogspot.com/200 ... scrap.html I made Alf an offer and a couple of days later I was the proud owner of a scrub plane

Well, today I got out the oak again and attacked it with the scrub. Wow, what a performer :shock: :shock: Just as good as Phil's posh Veritas :lol:

This plane has turned a job that, frankly, was becoming a bit tedious into a really enjoyable piece of woodworking. The table will probably still take months (too many stops for a coffee and fag) but at least I am enjoying it now

Thanks Alf :wink:

Paul

 

[woodbloke]

Paul - unless I'm mistaken (and stand to be corrected by a far more knowledgable person than moi :wink: ) a scrub plane traditionally only had one iron (no cap iron) and had a deeply cambered blade so that it removed a very deep, fairly narrow shaving, ideal in fact for cleaning off say, a painted or varnished surface to get back to clean timber before the surface could be prepared with a jack.
That said, a old fashioned wooden jack (cheap as chips 2nd hand) will take a hell of a shaving (if its sharp and correctly set up) and would probably have been ideal for preparing your oak for the table before using your No7. I have always had a 2" wooden jack and its the first plane I reach for if I've got a lot of timber to remove by hand - Rob

 

[Alf]

Ah Rob, you need an earlier Blog entry here. :wink: The "#2" is indeed a single iron and the camber is based on my Stanley #40 1/2 - works very well. Depending on how muscular Paul is feeling, he might want to open up the mouth a bit, but quite substantial chips can currently fly about with no impediment.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Paul Chapman]

Yes, Rob, you are right. I've read quite a lot about scrub planes on different woodworking forums recently and it seems that some people favour the modified wooden plane and others use the metal Veritas or old Stanley type. Others use both (needless to say Phil had the Veritas and an old wooden jack :roll: )

I'm not sure that one is any better than the other but I tried Phil's Veritas and wooden jack with cambered blade and I felt more comfortable with the Veritas. But then my hands are not that big, so maybe the feel of the tool in the hands has much to do with it. The plane I bought from Alf is quite small (it's marked #2) but it does the job very well.

However, with bench planes, I tend to favour larger sizes - my favourites are my Cliftons #7, #6 & #4.5.

Either way, a scrub plane with heavily cambered single iron certainly works :wink:

Paul

 

[Paul Chapman]

Depending on how muscular Paul is feeling, he might want to open up the mouth a bit, but quite substantial chips can currently fly about with no impediment.

Might do that at some future time, Alf, but at the moment it's working just fine :wink:

Paul

 

[Philly]

The scrub is a real fun plane-seeing those huge chips flying out of the mouth and the wonderful textured surface is so exciting. The added bonus is the speed you can level out a rough board-great \/
Whether you buy a scrub, adapt a bench plane or use a traditional "jack" matters not-it is the first plane used to roughly(and quickly) bring a surface to shape. It saves a lot of time, even if you have a power planer, and gives a lot of satisfaction.
Cheers
Philly

 

[JesseM]

I have a question. I have the veritas scrub myself and it works but it is not as easy as I have seen other scrubs. There is a very fine amount of adjustment I have before it either takes too little or starts digging in. It has the factory camber on it, and when sharpening it I usually try and keep that way. Also the bevel is at 35 degrees. So I was wondering if changing the camber or bevel might help out some.

Thanks,
Jesse

 

[Philly]

Jesse
It's all down to the adjustment-as the blade is heavily cambered a heavier cut means a much wider cut.
I loosen the tensioning nut so the blade can move but is still held fairly tightly. Then gently tap the iron whilst looking down the sole. When you reach a happy depth of cut tight the nut and test.
Don't forget to sharpen your scrub-it makes a difference :wink:
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[JesseM]

Jesse
It's all down to the adjustment-as the blade is heavily cambered a heavier cut means a much wider cut.
I loosen the tensioning nut so the blade can move but is still held fairly tightly. Then gently tap the iron whilst looking down the sole. When you reach a happy depth of cut tight the nut and test.
Don't forget to sharpen your scrub-it makes a difference :wink:
Hope this helps
Philly

Its just fiddly. I can make micro adjustments that make it stop dead in the wood. I was just thinking if I flattened out the radius a bit or changed the bevel then it might be a bit more tweakable (I couldn't think of a suitable word).

 

[Paul Chapman]

Hi Jesse,

Sounds to me as though you are doing something wrong, because you shouldn't be having so much trouble :? How far do you have the blade projecting from the bottom of the plane? Are you planing the wood diagonally or with the grain? If you can give a bit more information it might be possible to work out what the problem is :wink:

Paul

 

[JesseM]

Hi Jesse,

Sounds to me as though you are doing something wrong, because you shouldn't be having so much trouble :? How far do you have the blade projecting from the bottom of the plane? Are you planing the wood diagonally or with the grain? If you can give a bit more information it might be possible to work out what the problem is :wink:
Paul

I usually adjust the blade by feel. Then slowly adjust it from there. I have been planing diagonally. The one place I really have probs is the edge. Because the projection is so small its hard to keep it on the edge, so it runs off. Its hard to do that diagonally as well. Its probably the wrong tool for the job, but its seems like the fastest way to knock off a 1/4" or 1/2".

 

[bugbear]

The one place I really have probs is the edge. Because the projection is so small its hard to keep it on the edge, so it runs off. Its hard to do that diagonally as well. Its probably the wrong tool for the job, but its seems like the fastest way to knock off a 1/4" or 1/2".

I don't know what wood you're planing - that makes a difference too.

Scrubs (as you've found) don't like edges.

I would recommend a more usual bench plane; if you really want to reduce an edge, you could use a drawknife.

But reducing an edge is pretty light work - A heavy set jack works well enough.

BugBear

 

[bugbear]

Yes, Rob, you are right. I've read quite a lot about scrub planes on different woodworking forums recently and it seems that some people favour the modified wooden plane and others use the metal Veritas or old Stanley type. Others use both (needless to say Phil had the Veritas and an old wooden jack :roll: )

I think most people choose based on convenience, not neccessarily a preference in use.

In truth, as long as the blade is well seated and well cambered, not much can really go wrong.

Just to add to Alice's blog, here's my converted jack. My starting point was chosen carefulloy enough that the distinction between the resulting tool and a "true" scrub (whatever that is) starts to becomne academic.

http://www.geocities.com/plybench/scrub.html

There's some information people may find helpful about sharpening cambered blades too.

BugBear

 

[Paul Chapman]

I was just thinking if I flattened out the radius a bit or changed the bevel then it might be a bit more tweakable (I couldn't think of a suitable word).

Hi again Jesse,

I'm still not entirely clear what the problem is :? but, even thought I've only had very limited experience of scrub planes, I think flattening out the radius would be a mistake and would probably make the situation worse. The flatter you make the edge of the blade, the harder it will be to push through the wood. The best bet might be to find someone who is using one successfully and compare what they are doing with what you are doing and see what the differences are. Once you get it working well, I'm sure you will find it a joy to use :wink:

Paul

 

[JesseM]

I was just thinking if I flattened out the radius a bit or changed the bevel then it might be a bit more tweakable (I couldn't think of a suitable word).

Hi again Jesse,

I'm still not entirely clear what the problem is :? but, even thought I've only had very limited experience of scrub planes, I think flattening out the radius would be a mistake and would probably make the situation worse. The flatter you make the edge of the blade, the harder it will be to push through the wood. The best bet might be to find someone who is using one successfully and compare what they are doing with what you are doing and see what the differences are. Once you get it working well, I'm sure you will find it a joy to use :wink:

Paul

Thanks to you and BB for the tips. I may try lowering the camber a tad to see what happens. I can always put it back if it turns out badly.