how to use and maintain wooden planes woodworking
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- This topic has 11 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 1 month ago by Michael Petre.
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Hi Paul, I would like you to realize watching a project on wood plane, as they are used and how they fit, classes, sharp, few are needed to work the old tradiccion, I see you have a lot of plans in your workshop especially moldings, as these brushes are tapered. etc. do you like the idea?
Hi Aitor,
I would also like to see Paul using just his woodies for one of the next projects 🙂
There is not a big difference in usage between the stanley-type cast iron planes (there used to be a semi-wooden stanley at some time, too) and the traditional wooden planes. The blade is held in place by a wedge instead of the cap iron and the blade is advanced by either tapping on the front of the body or the upper end of the blade and retracted by tapping on the back, all preferably with a wooden mallet although it feels a bit more direct to adjust it with an iron mallet. Lateral adjustment is achieved by hitting the blade (always on the upper end) from the left to advance it on the right side and vice versa – a bit like riding a horse. Light taps are all you need for adjusting the shorter planes, it might sometimes take a more decided blow to loosen the wedge of a jointer. There are also modern versions of wooden planes that feature a screw adjustment similar to the stanley-types which is not necessary because although it might sound complicated in the beginning you find out pretty soon where to tap with how much energy with your mallet to achieve a very fine adjustment.
Sharpening is identical, truing the sole is identical, removing the sharp edges – all the same.
Your hands will like them 😉
Florian
I agree but the planes for the manufacture of moldings and other trim is very practical and interesting addition as these brushes are tapered on the other hand I hope Paul makes a piece of furniture, that is a great woodworking project, doors, windows, etc. , more serious things, do you think about it, who does not like to make a door or window. what you think, Paul is very good work but I believe you need to do some big project.
New design here this morning 😉
I am sure we will have a project with doors and windows but probably more in form of cabinet doors. I think this was part of a discussion in the early stage when people were brainstorming which projects could be interesting. My idea at that time was to have a furniture stream and a “things around the house” stream covering doors, windows, etc.
I could be wrong but I don’t think that Paul is going to use molding planes excessively for his demonstrations because it would not correspond to his teaching philosophy just because he doesn’t want to exclude people that do not have access to those rather specialized tools. On the other hand I am sure that he will make moldings but using a scraper cut to fit or a gouge or something like that. That would be more Paul Seller’s teaching-style 🙂
hello I think to be a good jonery must be before a good carpenter, if you know making windows and doors, stairs everything a carpenter makes furniture can start making a high knowledge as basically one side of a cabinet is a door in small, a glass front with a window recess and without being a good carpenter is hard to be a good furniture maker. I think so.
Is there really that big of a difference between a wood plane and a metal plane?
From what I have seen and from the wood planes i have used it’s just a little harder to adjust a wood plane. But once you know how to adjust them they work just as well as any metal plane. I think it’s this aspect that makes some choose to start with metal planes as it’s easier for a beginner?
Paul mentioned at the woodworking show that it took Stanley/Bailey  50 years to make their metal planes more popular that the wood planes.  That they had to create the transitional’s as an alternative to metal planes to get people to see the benefits of the metal plane adjustments.
That’s what the initial post seemed to be about.Tools.
I liked the idea to discuss wooden (bench) planes because people might believe that they need to buy a stanley no 4 or similar just because Paul uses them for his lessons although they live in countries where wooden planes are mainly used and available used for a tenth of the price you would pay for a no 4 at the moment.
I recently met someone who apprentices as a joiner in germany and bought a Lie Nielsen for 400 Euro and you know why? Not because he loves the heavy body and brass parts and all the stuff that could be fine reasons – no -, because “it leaves such a shiny surface that you cannot get with a wooden plane”. (…)
It’s great to have manufacturers like Phil Edwards etc but those planes aren’t for the “buying good tools cheap” list for a beginner that struggles to afford a minimalist set of tools.
Bottom line: use whatever plane you feel most comfortable with and don’t mind if it’s made of wood…
🙂
Great points Florian,
I totally agree to use your local tools if you can.
I also like that there are a lot more regional differences in wood planes, where almost every metal plane follows the bailey design. As a history nut, it always makes me wounder how the diffident designs traveled from region to region and what changes to the local design was made when people from different regions meet and shared ideas.
19 March 2013 at 4:13 pm #9611[quote quote=9591] I liked the idea to discuss wooden (bench) planes because people might believe that they need to buy a stanley no 4 or similar just because Paul uses them for his lessons although they live in countries where wooden planes are mainly used and available used for a tenth of the price you would pay for a no 4 at the moment.
<img src=’https://woodworkingmasterclasses.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif’ alt=’:-)’ class=’wp-smiley’ />[/quote]This summer I bought a box of antique wooden tools  (a scorp, try, jack, smoother, plow, shoulder and complex moulding planes)  on a French flea market for the nice round sum of 20 euro.  It was the third box of wooden planes I bought for pocket change over the last few years.
Wooden planes are a joy to use and to renovate. User-modification for specific tasks are pretty trivial compared to metal planes, lapping the soles is also less work (and enjoyable to a woodworker). Once you get the hang of the various taps required to adjust the blade, you’re good to go.
For the maintenance, I dust them if they haven’t been used in a while. I give them a fresh coat of BLO once a year if they feel dry, otherwise a light coat of beeswax/turpentine mix. I lubricate the soles with a dab of the  same mix on a lint-free cloth to keep them gliding effortlessly. I do know that sheep tallow would be the traditional lubricant, but the wax gives me good results for less smell.
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