Plane won't take shavings well
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I have a No.3 plane that I have been sharpening on a DMT Duosharp Fine/Extra Fine then finishing with a leather strop, and for what it’s worth, I have been using Rob Cosman’s method of sharpening with a microbevel (minus the ruler trick). When I first got the diamond plate about a month ago, I sharpened up a few irons and chisels, and got good results from all. Now I have my blade sharp enough to shave hair, but for the life of me I cannot get it to take good, consistent shavings. For instance, everytime I try to take a thin shaving, (especially out of red cedar) the plane just skirts along the top of the wood surface, not biting into it. There is enough exposure on the iron that it should take a shaving but it just won’t. By the time I adjust it to where it finally takes a shaving, it is far too deep and tears out wood like nobody’s business. Any help is appreciated
Couple questions:
1. What is the bevel angle on your iron? If it’s too steep, the plane will ride on the bevel.
2. Is the sole of the plane flat?
3. Does the iron sit firmly on the face of the frog?
4. Where is the edge of the chipbreaker relative to the iron?
5. How wide is the mouth opening?
Photos would help.
Think answer #1 may be the culprit.
1. Approx. 40 degrees. In process of regrinding to 30 on diamond plate.
2. Yes, within a few thou.
3. Yes
4. Have tried variations including but not limited to 1/16, 1/32, and 3/32. Currently using 1/32.
5. 5/16. This is a cheaper Sears brand plane, with a non-adjustable mouth. “Dancing with the one that brought me” here, as they say.
Re: 5
I’m wondering how useful an adjustable-frog really is on regular Smoothing Planes. The Chapman/Acorn/Sears planes work just as well without a frog-adjustment-screw. Frogs seem to be set to Standard, then left alone. Paul too says he never really changes his, and no-one in online videos seems to alter theirs for a given wood, grain direction, or depth of cut.I have 5 #4 planes and they all behave a little differently–a couple are a little more temperamental on hardwoods and skirt like you say. I have concluded that it is most likely the bevel angle (and it sounds like that made a big difference for you).
Yes, if you’re having trouble with a skirting effect, I’d highly suggest lowering the bevel angle to around 30 degrees. It’s worked wonders for my planes. I still believe that Rob Cosman’s microbevel technique makes a lot of sense for longevity of an iron (I was just grinding the bevel far too steep), although I have some planes ground to Paul’s recommendation of 30 degrees.
The standard factory bevel angle for a Stanley bevel-down plane (or any plane with a 45 degree frog) is 25 degrees and that’s what I sharpen all of my plane irons to, but I use a microbevel as well so my cutting edge ends up at about 28 degrees. If you’ve been sharpening in the 40 degree range with your primary bevel, you’re really close to the point where the heel of the cutting iron begins interfering with the cutting edge. Try 30 degrees or less and I think you’ll see a world of difference.
Harry
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