Stock Reduction and Straightening with a Jack Plane?

[J_SAMa]

Hi all,
I recently got my first and only two planes, the Record 04 smoothing plane and 05 jack (thanks to GazPal, who very kindly gave it to me ).
Well you've probably already sensed that I've never touched a plane before... So I'm kinda in need for a lot of help here...

I don't have any problems with the 04. It's a joy to use. The 05 was also fine... That was until I tried to take off large shavings with it...
I want to reduce the width of some 44x94 mm stock (just think of it as 2 by 4) because it came with all its edges pre-rounded :evil: I don't get why the hell that was done, but I wanted to laminate some stocks and these rounded edges are certainly unwanted. The only way to get rid of this that i can think of is reducing the stock's size.
Anyways, I adjusted the depth of cut on the 05 jack plane and went ahead to take large shavings off of the stock with it. I moved the plane at a 30 degree angle to the length of the stock. It planed smoothly but I couldn't maintain a consistent width either across the width or along the length... There was an 8 mm difference in thickness over about 1.5 m of stock, and that was after I straightened it (trust me, it was that bad). For across the width (94 mm), there was sort of a bevel of about 8 degrees. I know... It's terrible right... But I guess this is what you get when there's no one to teach you in person.
It's obvious there something very wrong in my technique... so could someone help me find a video or book that thoroughly explains how to resize and straighten stocks with a jack plane? Or you can just give me a few tips and I'll try'em out.

Thanks

Sam

 

[Richard T]

Hi Sam,

I seem to be posting this link a lot recently but here it is again: http://video.pbs.org/video/2172600556

From what you say I'm not exactly sure what is going wrong for you ... but maybe a shallower cut and more strokes might help?

 

[matthewwh]

Hi Sam,

Sounds like you've got a piece of PAR (planed all round or planed and ready - I can never remember) anyway, it is usually used for building stud walls etc, the rounded corners reduce the chance of splinters and make it safer and more pleasant to work with in its intended function.

If I were removing enough material to get rid of the roundy bit I would use a saw or a power plane, the handplane alternative would probably be a scrub although these are typically used diagonally or laterally across a wide board. Scrub planes are shaping tools, they take a big bite and leave a crude but workably level surface. in a pinch you could get a thick iron for your jack and grind a big scoopy radius on the edge.

The amount of twist / cupping etc that you would remove with a jack plane is typically a couple or three mm at most. Again these are usually used diagonally, then you work along the grain with a long try (truing) plane, nipping off the crests and lowering the surface down to dead flat. The smoother is used to produce the final surface, its short sole allows it to hug any low spots that the try plane couldn't reach resulting in a consistent smooth surface.

 

[Jacob]

Yes sounds like CLS stud whatever it's called. Rubbish wood difficult to plane.
Basically just keep having a go and keep adjusting your plane until you get the hang of it. If it won't take off 'large shavings' then go for 'small shavings' instead. There isn't always an answer to how to do it - you just have to keep at it.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

CLS - Canadian lumber something - it's crud on a stick. Don't use it for anything you expect any sort of accuracy from.

 

[GazPal]

You're more than welcome Sam. Both planes will serve you well. ;-)

Allow the #05's length work for you by keeping the plane in line with cut direction and it's longer sole will help reduce high spots as it rides across them. Skewing the #05 tends to shorten the amount of sole on the material being planed and can lead to problems such as the ones you're having. If trying for heavier shavings you can adjust the cap iron away from the blade edge slightly and should find yourself able to take heavier shavings. Shaving thickness is directly influenced by the amount of cutting iron exposed ahead of the cap iron. ;-)

If control of cut is a problem, your best bet is to reduce shaving thickness so you regain control. Adjust the iron until it stops cutting and then advance it until you're taking a decent shaving without losing control of the cut. Always ensure you advance the the adjuster wheel (Effectively pushing the blade forward) and you'll effectively neutralise the risk of back lash. Back lash is where a plane iron inexplicably slips back during use because the adjustment wheel hasn't been set forward and is similar to potential problems when tuning a stringed instrument (e.g. Where it always pays to tune a string up to the desired note and never down, because the string will tend slip on the tuner peg/capstan if tuned down to a note.)

An alternative for reducing stock quickly (CLS round-overs are approx 3.2mm and no need for sawing or investing in a thicker blade) is to invest in a spare 2" wide blade for your #05, but camber it's edge to a radius of approx 10". You'll be pleasantly surprised at the speed with which you can reduce stock prior to jointing and smoothing, but another thing to bear in mind is that you need to strictly work to a face side and face edge. Form both faces and you can accurately gauge dimensions (Finish stock thickness and width)from that point. :wink:

Also check for wind (Pronounce wined) in your stock, as you'll need to remove twists in order to obtain accuracy. :wink:

One final tip for this evening is RELAX.

 

[Fromey]

+1 for getting a scrub plane. I have one of these, and it's the bees knees. Then again, I do so much stock preparation by hand, I'm seriously considering getting a power planer as my only power tool, just to save me the hack work.

 

[GazPal]

Inexpensive "British Made" #2's convert very nicely into shorter soled scrub planes. :wink:

 

[baldpate]

Inexpensive "British Made" #2's convert very nicely into shorter soled scrub planes. :wink:

Right on!

This is a Dronfield No. 2 with a short cut-off from a thickish Herring iron, converted as a scrub. (I'm not sure what else these planes are good for?)

 

[J_SAMa]

Hi all,
Well, I'm short on money now so getting another plane for rough work isn't possible... not for now (if I had any money I'd buy a 07 or 08 jointer plane first. They seem much more useful than scrub planes).
I am most likely going to get myself a cambered blade and chipbreaker, as buying another set of blade and chipbreaker isn't gonna cost a lot. So what kind of blade would you recommend? I heard Hock makes some quality blades and chipbreakers.
How should I reshape the blade to have a camber? Is a jig of some sort necessary? I would like to do it free-hand if possible. I don't have a grinder and the coarsest sharpening abrasive I have is some 180 grit sandpaper. Should I camber both the blade and the chipbreaker or just the blade (yeah, I know, this is such a newbie question...)?

Of course, I will try again tomorrow and see if I can get better results.

Also how is CLS wood different from other wood? Except for weird sizes and rounded corners (seriously, I wonder what the saw mill was thinking about when they made it 44x94 instead of just 50x100...)?

Sam

 

[GazPal]

Hi Sam,

CLS tends to be used as studwork for dry/internally stoothed walling and is sized to fit between sheets of plasterboard to form walls of a given thickness e.g. 90mm thick or 100mm thick, etc.. It tends to have radial edges as a means of avoiding creases sharp edges could create if (Typically when) the timber is warped lengthwise. Due to it's intended (Concealed) use CLS isn't the best looking or best milled timber and although fairly uniform - dimensionally - it tends to be warped and twisted in all directions unless carefully sifted through when choosing stock.

The best grade for you to practise on would IMHO be PAR (Planed All Round) square edged timber

The Dronfield plane BP posted pics of (I have and use a couple of "British Made" "#2"'s) would typically set you back £3 - £10 depending on bidding and while they're crap for typical smoothing work, they make great scrub/roughing planes. :wink:

If you find the plane iron is shifting slightly during use, simply tighten the lever cap iron screw until lever tension offers a little more resistance when the lever cap is fitted.

------

Making a cambered blade

The simplest method is to set a mark 1/32" back from each corner of the edge and draw a smooth arc between both points and with the centre of the line intersecting with the centre of the edge. A Sharpie or draughtsman's pen would be my preference, but use whatever you have at hand that will mark the steel.

Second method - using a 2"/50mm wide x 10" /250mm long slip of card/paper - find it's longitudinal centre and mark a line from end to end. Using a rule, compass or piece of string you can mark the radius, then cut the arc to create a template. Lay the template upon your bare plane iron and mark the circumference of the arc.

The resulting curve can be ground on a grinder (Careful not to overheat the edge), or via a course sharpening stone/diamond plate. Use whichever method best suits your budget. :wink:

 

[Jacob]

Or just eyeball a freehand curve/radius. Dimensions not critical. If unsure you could match it to a suitably curved object - paint tin, plate, whatever.
Shape it first - perpendicular to the grindstone. Then back off a bevel. Trying to shape and bevel together is less easy.

 

[GazPal]

Or just eyeball a freehand curve/radius. Dimensions not critical. If unsure you could match it to a suitably curved object - paint tin, plate, whatever.
Shape it first - perpendicular to the grindstone. Then back off a bevel. Trying to shape and bevel together is less easy.

Very true Jacob ;-) I think my providing numbers was a side effect resulting from being consistently asked for empirical measurements in descriptions, as I normally eyeball radii and non-crucial angles as a matter of course.

--------

Once the cambered radius is established it seldom needs resetting.

Although a true camber is a bullnosed radius, it's far easier to swing a single curve than one involving three striking points and linking three intersecting radii.

 

[bugbear]

I think my providing numbers was a side effect resulting from being consistently asked for empirical measurements in descriptions, as I normally eyeball radii and non-crucial angles as a matter of course.

Yes - but in a written forum, you have to describe things somehow; in the case of a master teaching an apprentice in person, (s)he just holds up a cambered blade and says "like this one".

BugBear

 

[bugbear]

I am most likely going to get myself a cambered blade and chipbreaker, as buying another set of blade and chipbreaker isn't gonna cost a lot. So what kind of blade would you recommend? I heard Hock makes some quality blades and chipbreakers.

For scrub use, almost anything that isn't actually as soft as Edam cheese will be fine.

If you were in England, with access to a shop that stocked them, I would recommend a Ray Iles D2 blade, but in your position I think the overhead of acquisition would spoil the cost/benefit ratio.

Oops.

Ignore the D2.

I was just going to post a link, and I have learned that the cost of the D2 blade has gone up (100%!!) since I last looked.

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

I think my providing numbers was a side effect resulting from being consistently asked for empirical measurements in descriptions, as I normally eyeball radii and non-crucial angles as a matter of course.

Yes - but in a written forum, you have to describe things somehow; in the case of a master teaching an apprentice in person, (s)he just holds up a cambered blade and says "like this one".

BugBear

Just posting up an image and saying "like this one" would be good enough?
As we all know the trouble with numbers is they can be the start of a slippery slope which leads to gibbering meaninglessly about microns. It's important not to be seduced by them.

New blades - as a rule it's cheaper to buy an old plane complete with blade.

 

[Dovetaildave]

Hi Sam welcome to your new life, full of hurdles and obstacles.

You'll never be stuck when asked "what do you want for Christmas" ever again.

Youtube is an invaluable, visual answer to most of the questions I have and also you'll often see alternative ways of overcoming problems,using a variety of tools that you may or may not own. Look at quite a few options before choosing as there are some out there who seem to be doing it wrong, if you know what I mean.

I think I have watched every DVD by the big boys and have fettled and tweaked to the nth degree,and made a lot of positive improvement to my planes.

Something that often gets overlooked or skimmed by in a single sentence is, how the wood is held or supported whilst being planed.

If ; between bench dogs using wedges or end vice, against one stop, held in a sashcramp, skew nailed/screwed to the bench (through endgrain), held in a bench vice, engineers vice........

All of the above will exert forces (compressive, torsion etc) on the wood and when you've produced your first silky smooth edge (stroked it more than your cat) and laid the straight edge in it, wiggling a Rizla paper/feeler gauge under it, the winding sticks sight/line up perfectly and feeling great about it.

Then you release it from the vise/clamp and lay it on the bench surface, suddenly the straight edge isn't showing flat, winding sticks must have suddenly warped and the plank is rocking around every time you touch it. (hammer) (knew i'd get to use this one one day!)

If you have a flat bench top surface or even just the front edge, (demoed in David C's DVD), if bench is to far gone/non existant, few layers of manmade sheet material, Ply or MDF will give a flt surface to lay plank on.
Use a stop (Simple screw(s) works surprising well) at the far end of the plank to prevent the wood sliding off the bench as you plane.

If you have to use the front mounted benchvice use some MDF/Plywood for pads to assist in flattening the two mating surfaces.

From there on, its all technique and plane quality/tuning, youtube/DVD yourself to death, then re-read all the posts in a new light and have another go.


Gotta dash......Have fun and remember YOUTUBE

PS The wife hasn't asked what I want for Christmas yet.....4 chip breakers =P~

 

[morfa]

I seem to be posting this link a lot recently but here it is again: http://video.pbs.org/video/2172600556

From what you say I'm not exactly sure what is going wrong for you ... but maybe a shallower cut and more strokes might help?

As Richard notes, worship at the altar of St Roy. Also Paul Sellers has a great selection of videos:

http://paulsellers.com/

 

[bugbear]

Here's another video - but there's lots of you-tube

http://www.renaissancewoodworker.com/th ... k-by-hand/

BugBear

 

[GazPal]

Sam,

Drop me a line via email and I can help resolve any issues or specific questions you might have. If needed I can prepare a set of step by step photographs covering both plane set up and use.