Hand planing cherry stiles and rails
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improved the sole on sandpaper (layed on thick plate glass). Improved the “smoothness” of the cap iron with 1200 grit sandpaper. Shavings come out better now. I am able to set the cap iron nearer the blade edge – ~ 1.5 mm – without clogging and with less tear out.
I start to realize that one have to know quite well each hand plane he owns.
Looks better! Do you get more of the clogging and accordion-like shaving if you plane a wide face rather than a narrower edge? Notice that the edge and shaving width in the photo are narrower than the opening in the wedge. If things look worse when you take a wider shaving, one that goes across the whole mouth, that may be a hint that the tips of the wedge are involved in catching and folding the shaving. Also, can you take a thinner, lighter shaving? I not, that likely means you need to be a bit sharper. Only being able to take a heavier shaving often is an indication of sharpness. (Of course, when doing actual work, we often want heavier shavings!)
I have trimmed a little the tips of the wedge, and shavings come out more easily now.
I think sharpening is one of those skills I need to improve. I have made quite a leap forward when I bought eze-lap diamond stones. But definitly I think my blades are not so sharp, better than before, but not yet “sharp”. I often get accordion style shavings, and plane have to be “bulldozed” some times.
Things are looking much better! If you can set and take a light shaving, especially with the cap iron pushed forward, I wonder if you can plane that problem area on your cherry and remove the tear out now? Whenever I see an accordion, folded shaving, I suspect that the shaving is jamming in the mouth. That jamming isn’t likely to cause the tear out, I’d guess, and may even improve it, but if a plane doesn’t eject shavings, it is a pain to use. The recessed patch is a likely culprit for causing the tear out. Don’t forget to lubricate the sole with oil or wax.
After taking care of the sole it seems I can control the shaving thickness much better, and tear out happens much less now. Still have to improve sharpening and grain reading. Since the start of this post things have improved at a steady pace, thanks to all for the tips.