Ideas and Methods for Handplaning

The planes you’ll use essentially the most are bench planes: a #3 or #4 smoothing airplane, a #5 jack, and a #7 or #8 jointer. How you utilize them relies upon rather a lot on what you make, nevertheless it’s positive to contain the fundamental methods of slicing true edges or jointing surfaces for such work as edge-gluing boards, smoothing slim surfaces, trimming elements to actual width and size, and becoming elements collectively. From there, it isn’t a lot of a leap to utilizing joinery, molding, or different specialised planes. One of the best place to begin is with an easy-to-handle and versatile #4. Put it to work and get a really feel for the way in which it cuts. It’s time to make some shavings.

For environment friendly planing you want a sturdy bench on the proper top. Planing takes effort, and you’ll work up an sincere sweat some days; a bench simply makes it simpler by transferring your vitality to the work (and holding it for you). If you’ll airplane rather a lot, you’ll desire a decrease bench to get the burden of your higher physique over the airplane. There isn’t a single appropriate physique place, nevertheless it ought to really feel pure and comfy. Unfold your ft for stability. Take into consideration shifting your physique together with the airplane (when jointing a board, for instance), whereas preserving it balanced and slicing evenly. All of this may really feel awkward at first, however in time it’ll turn into second nature.

Jointing

Trimming a drawer face to width, slicing a bevel on the underside of a drawer backside, capturing the sides of two boards to be glued collectively or the 4 sides of a tapered leg are all variations of typical on a regular basis jointing. Consider it as a form of smoothing, slicing a floor (often narrower than the width of the iron) flat and true in order that two such edges might be joined collectively seamlessly. Smoothing bigger surfaces is completely different and coated later.

For essentially the most correct jointing, use the longest airplane sensible. The longer the airplane, the higher the flexibility to experience over the hollows and airplane off the excessive spots. (A shorter airplane would fall into the hollows and would have extra bother planing the floor straight.) An extended airplane additionally has extra mass, which helps energy the software by the reduce. This stated, for slicing a beveled drawer backside or tapered leg, the place excellent flatness finish to finish isn’t very important, a #4 bench airplane can be much less tiring to make use of.

Clamp your board on edge in a facet vise, on the highest of the bench, or no matter approach retains it regular and nicely supported. Place the airplane on the sting with the iron about to begin slicing. The entrance of the only real guides the reduce at first, so maintain stress on it and merely help the remainder of the airplane along with your hand on the rear deal with. As you start slicing, shift some weight towards your rear hand.

Finishing the reduce is the other, with the stress shifting to the world of the only real behind the iron. When you put stress on the heel of the airplane initially of a stroke and on the toe on the finish, you’ll regularly reduce a convex floor. It doesn’t matter what airplane you might be utilizing, maintain the stress centered over the a part of the only real involved with the wooden.

There are a variety of issues to focus on unexpectedly whereas jointing: You’ve acquired to stability the airplane, maintain your weight over the proper space of the only real, and apply some downward stress as nicely. A heavy airplane helps, as does the ahead slant of traditional airplane handles. Steadiness comes with time. To joint an edge true, begin by making it barely hole, since that is a neater situation to flatten than a convex one. (Even a protracted jointer airplane will observe a convex floor, however it’ll reduce the ends of a hole till the floor is flat.) To do that, take just a few cuts from the middle solely and sight down the sting to see how you might be doing. Whether it is barely hole, reduce finish to finish, and if you reduce a full-length shaving, cease. Do the identical factor on one other edge, and with a bit of luck, the 2 boards will match collectively seamlessly. When I’m jointing two boards, I often take an additional shaving from the center to hollow-joint the sides for a stronger joint.

A way that helps with slim boards is to joint them on the similar time (see the picture). Fold them collectively, inside to inside, clamp them as one board, and joint them the identical approach. The thicker edge provides the airplane higher help, and any slight bevel shall be canceled out. A capturing board is a jig that additionally helps shoot true edges, particularly for jointing skinny veneers (see the drawing and picture).

Taking pictures Boards

When all of it comes collectively, you’ll be capable of joint two edges for a glue joint superior to something produced by machine. For one factor, a plane-cut floor is completely easy and freed from machine marks; it’s flat and true, with fibers cleanly severed for good glue absorption. And for lengthy boards which might be at all times awkward to machine, bringing a airplane to the work is way simpler.

Planing finish grain

Slicing finish grain has its personal challenges, though the fundamental planing method is similar as for jointing lengthy grain. Bench planes, with their high-pitched irons, reduce finish grain nicely—in some conditions a #5 is my most popular software—however usually planes particularly designed for working finish grain are quick and have low-pitched irons. Finish grain is hard; a low slicing angle is good for slicing the fibers like a knife. Tearout is way much less of a priority, as a result of the shavings are so fragile they break up, so there isn’t a want for a slim throat or a cap iron. And since a low pitch orients the slicing forces in keeping with the cutter (fairly than partially in opposition to it as in a higher-pitched iron), chatter is much less of an issue.

Trimming the top of a drawer face, slicing the shoulder of a tenon, and truing a mitered nook are all typical end-grain duties. A block airplane is the perfect software for any such work. The decrease the slicing angle, the simpler it’ll work and the smoother the floor shall be. Hone a bevel shut to twenty°, and discover a airplane with a 12° mattress angle for the bottom general slicing angle. For planing longer end-grain surfaces reminiscent of a tabletop, Stanley made a low-angle jack airplane and smoothing airplane, principally simply elongated block planes with bench-plane handles. Though it takes slightly extra effort, a typical jack airplane works virtually as nicely.

Block planes are terrific instruments, however they’re ineffective for working right into a nook, when trimming a tenon shoulder, for instance. That is if you want a airplane with a rabbet mouth, the place the iron extends all the way in which to the facet of the airplane. Rabbet planes are available in an assortment of sizes and shapes, though shoulder planes with heavy our bodies and exactly floor sides and soles are the most effective for working end-grain shoulders. They’re low angle and are tuned within the regular approach, besides that the iron needs to be positioned ever so barely past the sting of the airplane. This is similar with all rabbet planes. There’s often little house for shifting the iron laterally, so that you’ll must maintain the sting honed sq. to do that.

It doesn’t matter what airplane you utilize, it’s simple to separate away the top grain fibers by overshooting an edge. The best option to overcome that is to chamfer the sting barely. Clamping a block in opposition to the sting does the identical factor; the block splits out however not the workpiece (see the picture). A capturing board or bench hook is helpful for planing finish grain as a result of it holds the work and backs up the fibers. A lightweight reduce, skewing to slice the fibers for the least quantity of stress in opposition to them, additionally works. Working from either side towards the center avoids the issue solely.

A shoulder airplane and block airplane are two fundamental planes that needs to be in any well-equipped store. For actual versatility, search for a Stanley #90, #92, #93, or #94; all of them break aside into helpful chisel planes, and may reduce tenon shoulders and small rabbets. Block planes suit your hand excellent for a lot of trimming duties, not all of them finish grain. In addition they make nice little smoothing planes with solely minor changes.

Smoothing surfaces

Machines have taken over most of the mundane duties of working wooden as soon as performed by planes—fairly fortunately. They do their work nicely, too. However no machine can match the floor reduce by a smoothing airplane. The flat airplane and cleanly sliced fibers reduce by a pointy iron have a readability and brilliance that’s unsurpassed. If this weren’t justification sufficient to begin utilizing planes to complete surfaces, take into account how environment friendly they’re. It takes simply minutes to airplane the entire elements for a modest cupboard door or a small tabletop to a completed polish.

Stanley #3 and #4 bench planes are thought of smoothing planes and they’re going to easy some woods, however the most effective smoothing planes are designed and tuned particularly for this demanding work. You desire a airplane with numerous mass to offer the iron rock-solid help. The thicker the iron, the extra secure it’s, particularly in opposition to the intense slicing pressures of figured hardwoods. An extended airplane isn’t crucial, since you’re not making an attempt to degree the floor (though you do considerably) however easy it to a polish.

My favourite smoothing planes are the beautiful planes made by a person named Stewart Spiers in Ayr, Scotland, earlier than 1900. Lots of his designs had been continued by the better-known Thomas Norris. All of those planes mix a metal physique dovetailed along with rosewood infill for the deal with, entrance knob, and iron mattress, which provides mass to the software. With irons two or 3 times as thick as an ordinary Stanley iron, they’re completely suited to their process.

Tuning a airplane for smoothing is so particular that you must consider using a devoted airplane only for this process. Purchase the most effective airplane you possibly can afford; in case you are like me, you’ll use it lots to make it value the price. Wooden-bodied smoothers, usually made of lovely tropical or fruit woods with thick irons, make nice smoothing planes. Flatten the only real with one other airplane and inlay a throat plate into the only real to slim the opening as a lot as attainable. Equally, modify the throat on a cast-iron smoother as slim as attainable and maintain the cap iron near the leading edge. Discover the thickest iron that may slot in your airplane. Hone it with the slightest camber or around the corners to feather the smoothing strokes seamlessly collectively.

In all woodworking there are surfaces to easy. Use the identical fundamental planing method as for jointing with just a few minor adjustments. Take a really high quality reduce and airplane parallel with the grain as a lot as attainable. Skewing the airplane usually leaves a greater floor and is a bonus round areas of adverse grain. Begin slicing at one edge and airplane to the other edge in a single stroke; stops and begins depart noticeable marks. Overlap strokes as you progress throughout the width of the floor in order that they mix collectively. If you must begin or cease mid-stroke, glide in or out slowly. If issues are working proper, you’ll be sending up billowy mild shavings and leaving a floor that you could virtually see your reflection in.

Smoothing stunning surfaces—or any planing actually—is definitely essentially the most satisfying a part of working wooden, however not essentially the most simply mastered. Solely expertise can train you easy methods to learn the grain or which software to decide on for a selected state of affairs. There isn’t a higher option to study planes or achieve extra confidence utilizing them than by choosing one up, tuning it, and making some shavings.

Excerpted from Basic Hand Instruments (The Taunton Press, 1999) by Garrett Hack.

Obtainable at Amazon.com.