Planing Oak

Ken, thanks for sharing your feelings.

Related to this, I have a block of reclaimed wood, I think it’s oak, very old and seasoned (I think perhaps it takes more one hundred years since it was cutting of), with very tight grain and really very hard and heavy.

The issue is the hand plane slicks over it like if I try to plane a piece of glass. Hardly I can take some shavings. My iron is sharp (using the wonderful Mr. Paul Sellers technique) and cuts beatyful curling shavings on pine. The bevel angle is 25 degrees aproximately (no micro bevels, only the slim curved bevel).

Can anybody help me with this issue?

Thanks

PD. I apologize for my poor English

–Òscar

Ken different kettle of fish hardwoods. They give bit more satisfaction especially when planned from sawn to reveal beauty.
I love the smell of the tanning of Oak.
Dose come up like glass.
The hardness will have an effect on your plane iron may have to hone more frequently to touch the edge up. Saws also be affected.

Wax the sole of your plane to help it glide more smoothly. Oak planes very nicely if the blade is sharp but you will find out very quickly if you are planing against the grain.

You mentioned that your bevel angle is 25 degrees but what is your frog angle? If you are using a bench plane then you should be fine. If it is a bevel-up plane, then you need a higher angle on your blade, perhaps 35 degrees or so.

Oak is not a difficult wood to plane so you should not need a 50 degree or 55 degree pitch as if you are planing birds eye maple or a tough exotic that tears out easily.

Hope this helps.

P.S. Ease the edges- oak splinters are painful!

@Ken: Thanks for your kind indulgence with my English

@richardleon: Thanks for your help. My plane is a regular bench Stanley 4 1/2 bevel-down iron with a 45 degree froe, I think. The wax sole tip helps me a litle. Thanks for the splinter warning.