I bought a new Stanley #4 hand plane a couple weekends ago that I am going to be using to plane my workbench top. I read through the instructions for setting it up but they were clear as mud.
I know there are a few experts on here, can you tell me what exactly it is I need to do to be ready for use? The best I can tell from the instructions is that the blade is ground at 25 degrees and I need to add an extra 5 degree bevel to that, and maybe round the corners slightly. Any direction here is appreciated.
New Hand Plane
Moderator: admin
-
BuckeyeDennis
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 3813
- Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2012 10:03 pm
- Location: Central Ohio
I will not even attempt to advise, as I am myself just starting to learn about handplanes. My attempts to use them in the past were mostly exercises in frustration. But they are wonderful tools in the hands of expert users.frank81 wrote:I bought a new Stanley #4 hand plane a couple weekends ago that I am going to be using to plane my workbench top. I read through the instructions for setting it up but they were clear as mud.
I know there are a few experts on here, can you tell me what exactly it is I need to do to be ready for use? The best I can tell from the instructions is that the blade is ground at 25 degrees and I need to add an extra 5 degree bevel to that, and maybe round the corners slightly. Any direction here is appreciated.
I'm currently about 2/3 of the way through this book: http://www.amazon.com/Handplane-Bk-Garr ... plane+book.
Highly recommended. Now I know many reasons why I was getting such lousy results in the past.
First thing is to flatten the back then SHARPEN it.
SS 500(09/1980), DC3300, jointer, bandsaw, belt sander, Strip Sander, drum sanders,molder, dado, biscuit joiner, universal lathe tool rest, Oneway talon chuck, router bits & chucks and a De Walt 735 planer,a #5,#6, block planes. ALL in a 100 square foot shop.
.
.
Bob
.
.
Bob
-
joshh
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 723
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:53 pm
- Location: Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas
Search for Paul Sellers online. He does woodworking without power tools and its amazing stuff. He has many videos and blog entries on planes and how to use them and prepare them for use. The guy almost makes me want to sell my shopsmith 
- 1986 Mark V 500 Mini
- 1985 Mark V 510 with reversible motor, bandsaw, jointer, and double-tilt.
I offer quality motor reversal, rebuilding, and rewiring. Contact me at HarbourTools@live.com
- 1985 Mark V 510 with reversible motor, bandsaw, jointer, and double-tilt.
I offer quality motor reversal, rebuilding, and rewiring. Contact me at HarbourTools@live.com
The first thing you do would be to set the angle with a honing guide. You can determine the angle with a protractor if needed. Then, the key is to be able to reset the guide at exactly the same angle to be able to hone it over and over again. My advice would be to first set the initial angle with 350 grit and work your way up to stones at about 750 to 1000 grit. YOu can set a back bevel but mine consists of 3 drags of the blade across the back of the blade at about 5 degrees but its not scientific. The key is to remove the wire edge. Take the time to hone the back of the blade flat on stones. The first real sharpening takes some time, but the goings after are much easier.
I have set up a sharpening board with stops for every angle commonly used. I bump the blade against the stop, bump the honing guide against the edge of the board and secure. The blade is set the same every time after that.
Some guys turn sharpening into an art all itself. They spend hours sharpening and less time woodworking. You just need to get the blade sharp to do the work. Some guys go all the way up to 3000 grit. Not me. I go to 750 to 1000 and then, if it will cut paper or stick just so into my fingernail I'm good to go.
I have set up a sharpening board with stops for every angle commonly used. I bump the blade against the stop, bump the honing guide against the edge of the board and secure. The blade is set the same every time after that.
Some guys turn sharpening into an art all itself. They spend hours sharpening and less time woodworking. You just need to get the blade sharp to do the work. Some guys go all the way up to 3000 grit. Not me. I go to 750 to 1000 and then, if it will cut paper or stick just so into my fingernail I'm good to go.
-
derekdarling
- Gold Member
- Posts: 318
- Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 2:53 pm
- Location: Surrey, BC
There are a number of steps to take... by the way, did you know that tuning up a plane is called 'fettling'? So, if you are in 'fine fettle', you are sharp and ready to rhumba, so to speak.
Back to the plane. First, take it completely apart and remove any obvious rust and other accumulated gunk. Then, flatten the sole of the plane, and hone it. Best is to use a flat plate with lapping compound. Whatever you do, make sure the sole of the plane is either absolutely flat, or at least flat between the back, around the blade area and the front. If it is a little hollow between these areas it will not appreciably affect the operation of the plane.
Another area to check is the area where you affix the blade, the angled area. Make sure that is as flat as you can make it. A good trick is to take some blueing (blue oily paint) or other such marking, paint the angled area and lay the blade on it. Areas where the blue has rubbed off need to be addressed. Google 'scraping' to find out what to do.
Next, the blade and cap iron. Flatten and home the back of the blade. Then hone the primary bevel, and check the secondary bevel. Again, google is your friend here. Some people use the 'ruler' trick, after the bevels are honed, turn the blade over and put a steel ruler on the edge of the stone, then placing the back of the blade on the ruler, gently polish the front 1/16" of the back of the blade VERY SLIGHTLY. You are only stropping at this point.
Establishing a 'rounded' profile on the blade means that when you are honing the secondary bevel, place a little more pressure at the front corners for about 6 pulls on the final honing stone (8000 grit) on each corner. This only takes a very small amount of metal off.
Don't neglect the chip breaker, make sure the edge of the chip breaker is touching the blade at every point. Again, do lots of research. Lee Valley publishes a sharpening guide, very good book.
Back to the plane. First, take it completely apart and remove any obvious rust and other accumulated gunk. Then, flatten the sole of the plane, and hone it. Best is to use a flat plate with lapping compound. Whatever you do, make sure the sole of the plane is either absolutely flat, or at least flat between the back, around the blade area and the front. If it is a little hollow between these areas it will not appreciably affect the operation of the plane.
Another area to check is the area where you affix the blade, the angled area. Make sure that is as flat as you can make it. A good trick is to take some blueing (blue oily paint) or other such marking, paint the angled area and lay the blade on it. Areas where the blue has rubbed off need to be addressed. Google 'scraping' to find out what to do.
Next, the blade and cap iron. Flatten and home the back of the blade. Then hone the primary bevel, and check the secondary bevel. Again, google is your friend here. Some people use the 'ruler' trick, after the bevels are honed, turn the blade over and put a steel ruler on the edge of the stone, then placing the back of the blade on the ruler, gently polish the front 1/16" of the back of the blade VERY SLIGHTLY. You are only stropping at this point.
Establishing a 'rounded' profile on the blade means that when you are honing the secondary bevel, place a little more pressure at the front corners for about 6 pulls on the final honing stone (8000 grit) on each corner. This only takes a very small amount of metal off.
Don't neglect the chip breaker, make sure the edge of the chip breaker is touching the blade at every point. Again, do lots of research. Lee Valley publishes a sharpening guide, very good book.
Derek Darling
Surrey, B.C. Canada
10ERs, other stuff, you know.
Surrey, B.C. Canada
10ERs, other stuff, you know.
I totally agree.... I have four books on handplanes including "The Hand Plane Book"BuckeyeDennis wrote:I will not even attempt to advise, as I am myself just starting to learn about handplanes. My attempts to use them in the past were mostly exercises in frustration. But they are wonderful tools in the hands of expert users.
I'm currently about 2/3 of the way through this book: http://www.amazon.com/Handplane-Bk-Garr ... plane+book.
Highly recommended. Now I know many reasons why I was getting such lousy results in the past.
It has an entire chapter devoted to each of the following
[list]Plane Mechanics the physics of the plane[/list]
[list]Tuning a Plane[/list]
[list]How to Plane[/list]
These chapters total a bit over 60 pages.
You can usually pick up a copy of "The Hand Plane Book" On eBay for under 20 bucks.
Here is a link to that search
Here is a video by Christopher Schwarz on setting up a #4 plane.
Here is another plane tuning video.
I have never done the job before but it's something I've been thinking about I know it's in my future.
If I was gonna plane a work bench today I would start with a scrub plane if it was really rough to start with.
Then a fore plane because I have one.. a jack plane would work ok to. Then the jointer plane
would get most of the elbow grease. Then lightly go over it with orbital sander and last a cabinet scraper.
Here is a video of someone using a jointer plane followed by a smoothing plane
Bruce
I didn't know what a Shopsmith was...
Three days later I owned one...
One week later I was rebuilding one...
Four months later I owned two....
Ok Ok, I'm up to four now...
I didn't know what a Shopsmith was...
Three days later I owned one...
One week later I was rebuilding one...
Four months later I owned two....
Ok Ok, I'm up to four now...
-
terrydowning
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 1678
- Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 3:26 pm
- Location: Windsor, CO
Mine is the cheapy "English Honing Guide" available lots of places, I think I got mine from SS but I also sharpen curved and skewed edges by hand. Build a jig as holsgo described to keep the guess work out of it.
I don't shape or maintain secondary bevels, I don't think they are necessary. Too much effort for not enough return. Paul Sellers mentioned above has a great sharpening video that takes a lot of the mystery out of sharpening.
Be advised sharpening is very subjective and personal. There are as many ways to shape and sharpen edges as there are people that do wood working. Find a method that works for you practice it and stick with it. I learned my basic sharpening skills as a boy, I have tried different methods over the years but keep coming back to the original manner I was taught (Not necessarily the "Best" according to some but I'm comfortable with it, it's quick and provides good enough edges). The method I was taught is very similar to how Paul Sellers does it. In general I use the same process for all edge sharpening, the only differences being the angles and how much polish the edge gets.
I don't shape or maintain secondary bevels, I don't think they are necessary. Too much effort for not enough return. Paul Sellers mentioned above has a great sharpening video that takes a lot of the mystery out of sharpening.
Be advised sharpening is very subjective and personal. There are as many ways to shape and sharpen edges as there are people that do wood working. Find a method that works for you practice it and stick with it. I learned my basic sharpening skills as a boy, I have tried different methods over the years but keep coming back to the original manner I was taught (Not necessarily the "Best" according to some but I'm comfortable with it, it's quick and provides good enough edges). The method I was taught is very similar to how Paul Sellers does it. In general I use the same process for all edge sharpening, the only differences being the angles and how much polish the edge gets.
--
Terry
Copy and paste the URLs into your browser if you want to see the photos.
1955 Shopsmith Mark 5 S/N 296860 Workshop and Tools
https://1drv.ms/i/s!AmpX5k8IhN7ahFCo9VvTDsCpoV_g
Public Photos of Projects
http://sdrv.ms/MaXNLX
Terry
Copy and paste the URLs into your browser if you want to see the photos.
1955 Shopsmith Mark 5 S/N 296860 Workshop and Tools
https://1drv.ms/i/s!AmpX5k8IhN7ahFCo9VvTDsCpoV_g
Public Photos of Projects
http://sdrv.ms/MaXNLX
Terry had some very wise words, "sharpening is very subjective and personal".
A good friend uses a technique that I could never do adequatly, let alone well. He also has a Tormak that he uses very little because he prefers the results he gets by hand.
I also have the cheap English guide I bought for $9 on sale, 2 glass plates, one with 350, 800, 1000 and 1200 grit wet dry glued on and one with diamond backed Mylar at 15, 5 and .3 microns. It works fine and I can get repeatable bevels, and I think as was stated above, that is the key.
Personally I have a secondary bevel on my planes except for the block plane, where I have a back bevel.
When I was beginning to learn (and I'm still learning a lot), I bought some old rusty Stanley planes on EBay, dirt cheap with the idea that at an initial investment of $10 each, I could ruin all of them while I was learning and not feel bad. As it turns out, the old planes clean up and fix up quite well.
Though you have your new plane I might suggest you check out a couple yard / garage sales to see if you can find one or two "experiment while you learn" samples. Then you can use your newly learned expertise on that fancy new one.
Just my 2 cents.
Ben
A good friend uses a technique that I could never do adequatly, let alone well. He also has a Tormak that he uses very little because he prefers the results he gets by hand.
I also have the cheap English guide I bought for $9 on sale, 2 glass plates, one with 350, 800, 1000 and 1200 grit wet dry glued on and one with diamond backed Mylar at 15, 5 and .3 microns. It works fine and I can get repeatable bevels, and I think as was stated above, that is the key.
Personally I have a secondary bevel on my planes except for the block plane, where I have a back bevel.
When I was beginning to learn (and I'm still learning a lot), I bought some old rusty Stanley planes on EBay, dirt cheap with the idea that at an initial investment of $10 each, I could ruin all of them while I was learning and not feel bad. As it turns out, the old planes clean up and fix up quite well.
Though you have your new plane I might suggest you check out a couple yard / garage sales to see if you can find one or two "experiment while you learn" samples. Then you can use your newly learned expertise on that fancy new one.
Just my 2 cents.
Ben