Shopsmith Forums

I have a hand plane with a sole that is not fully smoothed. I am wondering if I could use the conical sanding disc to do the smoothing. Would it be possible to build a jig (using a miter gauge bar) to hold the plane on its side as it passes over the conical sanding disc? Is this a good (and safe) idea? I would welcome advice on this. Hank

Please clarify what you mean by 'smoothing'.

Generally speaking, I would not recommend this.

Touch up by passing over a flat surface that has sandpaper attached yes, but conical sanding disk, no.

If we were talking about something other than your hand plane, I would say that what you propose is absolutely doable and would most probably give you good results. All you are attempting to do is sand a surface smooth and true.

The same would go for your hand plane except that when you put that power tool to work and you "slip a little" you do more than damage a piece of wood. You probably screw up a good hand plane.

I would do as has been recommended. A piece of appropriate grit sand paper attached to a piece of shatter proof glass (smooth surface) makes a perfect surface on which to face your hand plane. If the plane is in bad shape, this may take awhile but if it is otherwise a good plane it is worth the time and effort.

NO NO NO to the conical disc or any other power device. Dusty has the response that makes the most sense. A piece of MDF that has not been altered from the factory also has a very flat surface. You may want to blacken the sole of the plane with a marker before starting so you can see the low spots
Bill V

Thanks, everyone, for the responses above. I will not use the conical disc sander. I was hoping to save some elbow grease, but sandpaper on a flat surface it is. Hank

Two things a hand plane needs to provide.

A flat surface that rests on the workpiece.

A bottom that is 90 degrees from the sides(if used in a 'shooting board' type application).

The only need for 'local' perfect flat is in the mouth area. dips in other locations are not critical.

Now removal of dings that create high spots should definitely be removed.

I have found the standard Flat 12" sanding disk, if run at a slow speed, to be helpful in plane-flattening jobs. I'll lay the plane on its side, and try to have it ride on some wax paper, back and forth across the disk. With the Power Pro, I'll use something in the 200-400 RPM range for this. As a sanity check I'll set the plane on my Jointer bed for flatness checking. A well-lapped plane will almost suck itself against the jointer bed.

Chris