Current Work

So I have some work lined up that I will be using my traditional hand tools to finish. One is a sill for a window. Should turn out nice. I will be using the jointer on that project. Also, I have some pictures I have to put on here of another sill I did last summer with my planes. Turned out well. The other project is a stair running board. I will be copying the original profile of the original running board, and recreating the profile with my 45. Should be real fun, I can not wait.
That is all for now. Planing away.

Cheers,

Season NO 30 of the Woodwrights Shop

Here is the link to the current season of the Woodwrights Shop, this is NOT on PBS website. Enjoy, spread the word.

http://video.unctv.org/program/1421129721/

Cheers,

PS, I received my Record Plane in the mail the other day, cuts pretty sweet.

Millers Falls Smoothing Plane

So I just spent an hour cleaning up my "new" Millers Falls smoother. OMG what a difference. I spent 40 bucks I think on that plane, and 3 others. They all have a little bit of rust and what not. Man oh man, after I spent the hour, this plane looks amazing. I used mineral spirits and a brillo pad, 0000 steel wool, some degreaser, and some johnsons paste wax. I will post pictures of it soon, when I get back from out of town. Everything cleaned up real nice. Only 3 more to go!!!

Jack Plane Parts

Here is a list of the parts of a Jack Plane

1. Cutter, or bit, or blade, or plane-iron.

2. Cap, or plane-iron cap, or curling iron.

3. Cutter screw, or plane-iron Screw.

4. Clamp, or lever cap, or wedge.

5. Clamp screw, or cap screw.

6. Frog.

7. Y Adjustment.

8. Brass set screw, or brass adjusting nut.

9. Lever (for lateral adjustment).

10. Frog screw.

11. Handle.

12. Knob.

13. Handle bolt and nut.

14. Knob screw, or Knob bolt and nut.

15. Handle screw.

16. Bottom, or sole.

17. Toe.

18. Heel.

19. Throat.

20. Thumb piece, or clamp lever, or cam.

Cheers,

Hand Plane

The plane is a modified chisel. The chief difference in action between a chisel and a plane in paring is this: the back of the chisel lies close down on the surface of the wood that is cut, and acts as a guide; whereas, in the plane, the cutter is elevated at an angle away from the surface of the wood, and only its cutting edge touches the wood, and it is held and guided mechanically by the plane mechanism. In other words, a plane is a chisel firmly held in a device which raises the cutter at an angle from the work, regulates the depth of the cut, and favors the cutting rather than the splitting action. The plane has developed as follows: it was first a chisel held in a block of wood. This is all that oriental planes are now, simply a sharpened wedge driven into a block of wood. When the hole works too loose, the Japanese carpenter inserts a piece of paper to tighten it, or he makes a new block. The first improvement was the addition of a wooden wedge to hold in place the "plane-iron", as the cutter was formerly called. In this form, the cutter or plane-iron, tho still wedge-shaped, was reversed, being made heavier at the cutting edge in order to facilitate fastening it in the wooden plane-stock by means of the wooden wedge. Then a handle was added for convenience. Then came the cap, the object of which is to break back the shaving and thus weaken it as soon as possible after it is cut.

Cheers,

Hand Plane 101

The depth of cut is set by turning the knurled knob found behind the blade, try for fine thin shavings, making several light cuts.

To avoid tearout plane in the direction that the grain rises.

Fasten the material in a vise or use a Workmate because you need both hands to use the plane.

Types of Planes

Smoothing Plane

These are 8" to 9" long and 1 3/4" to 2" wide, Stanley # 3 and 4 fit into this category. Their short length makes them ideal for trouble spots where a board may have grain that changes direction and has to be planed in different directions along its length. These planes cut a very fine shaving giving less chance of tearout.



Jack Planes

These are similar looking to smoothing planes but have a longer base, ranging from 12" to 15" in length, they are used for rough shaping of boards so are made to remove large quantities of wood quickly. A Stanley # 5 is the basic jack plane.

Block Planes

Block planes are designed to shear off end grain as the blade is mounted at a very low angle making them very useful in trimming and fitting. Stanley # 9 1/2, 60 and 65 are examples of these planes.


Jointers

Jointers are very long planes used to flatten and joint the faces of boards, they range from 18" up to 30" or more. Stanley # 6, 7 and 8 are examples.


Stanley #45

This versatile tool was sold from 1884 until 1962, it was advertised as seven planes in one.. Most old timers will tell you they spent more time setting them up than using them. Different blades were used to cut profiles and at the time it was a way of getting the job done. They have been mostly replaced by the router and are now generally collectors items, unless you are like me :)

Wooden Smooth Plane

The tactile feel and light weight make wood planes irresistible to lovers of hand tools. Wedged wooden plane blades are easy to adjust by tapping the metal button at the rear, or the wedge and blade with a wooden mallet.

Cheers,

Types of hand planes

Here is a general list of bench planes.


#1 - #8 are bench planes--what most people think of as planes #1 is the smallest, #8 is the largest, and the sequence is by size. In addition, in this range there are fractional numbers for inbetween sizes. #4-1/2 and #5-1/2 are larger than normal #4 and #5, respectively. #5-1/4 is smaller than normal #5. #1 through #4 are smooth planes. #5 is a jack plane. #6 is a try, or fore plane. #7 and #8 are jointer planes.