Planing Square
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28 January 2014 at 5:45 pm #26746
I have searched through the topics and can find similar but not quiet the same question as this one!
I really struggle to plane square!!!!
I have lots of (now very thin) pieces where I have been practicing but I still find this the biggest challenge to my woodworking. I can eventually get square but most often it is long after I have passed my intended size!*!
I have learnt some things with my practice the main one being to keep checking the set up of the plane so the blade is actually lined up (this does seem to go out of line pretty easily).
I am pretty sure that my problem is my technique which I am very happy to continue to practice and provide shavings to light my log burner during this cold weather but I would love to be able to take my plane make a few assured sweeps and have a square, straight and ready to use piece of stock for my work.Does anyone have any tips or can point me to a place where I can get some tips to try to hone my skill as I am practicing with out much success.
A good friend once told me that “practice makes perfect” is WRONG. You can get very good at doing things badly. This is where I am at the moment.
Perfect (or correct) practice is what makes perfect; this is basically where I am going with this post.Sorry to always ask and never give on the forum but as a beginner I have little experience to be able to help.
Mick
It’s hard to really know what your doing wrong without being able to see what your doing. I assume you’ve seen Paul Sellers planing tips video. This is another video by Christopher Tripe that I found usefull.
I think pracice can make perfect evan if your not doing i correctly. So long as you know that your no doing it correctly.
What kind of plane do your have? I shouldn’t come loose?
Mick, there is a book called the essential woodworker by Robert wearing (I think he’s the author) lee valley sells it. I think it’s an excellent book because it basically shows a whole lot of technique on planing, squaring, joints, construction tips etc. He also shows a bunch of different planing excercises for you to practice.
28 January 2014 at 8:16 pm #26751You are not the only one with planing troubles!
As Dave said, the Robert Wearing book is very good. I find it to be closely related to Paul’s methods.(I actually want to do the coffee table project and incorporate Wearing’s book on it.) He does have some valuable tips on planning. He talks about using a cambered jack plane iron to fix out of square. I find that easier to do corrections than the straight iron of the number 4.
I think my next project I will rely more on the cambered iron of the jack plane and see how I fare. I actually thought about picking up another #4 at the flea market and putting a cambered iron like the jack plane.
28 January 2014 at 8:55 pm #26756Thank you everyone I shall follow all hints and tips up. My planes are stanley no 4 and 51/2.
Sorry to sound dull but not looked at any links yet but what is a cambered iron?28 January 2014 at 9:48 pm #26764I like this Roy Underhill and Chris Schwarz video about planes. They explain a cambered iron.
http://video.pbs.org/video/2172600556/Mick, aside from the videos and the book essential woodworker. Coming into this a year and a bit ago, I knew nothing about hand planes or squaring up boards. I think everyone faces the same issues, I know I still do to some degree but I can tell when something’s going wrong now. Turn enough boards into bananas and shavings like I did and a persons bound to get a feeling for it. The best thing I can say is to keep your planes sharp and ease up on the plane. I got into the habit of really leaning in on the plane but after watching Paul’s videos and seeing him work the plane the way he does I let up and things started to work easier. Start the plane at the front and about 1/2 way through the stroke let go of the front, take your hand off the plane, continue pushing the plane flat and forward with your back hand till you finish. This really works, it takes practice and you really have to concentrate on that back hand moving forward otherwise the plane tends to jump up out of the cut. I have a real bad tendency to rock the plane with my back hand and this causes it to jump out of the cut or make a boards edge out of square. Taking my hand off the front really exaggerates this and let’s me correct it. Hope this helps.
29 January 2014 at 12:04 am #26769Mick I think it is important to know in which direction you are having the problem. Is the issue along the length or across the width? All good information and links listed here so far. A light touch can make a huge difference. Simply squeezing the rear tote too hard can cause you problems.
By the way, never hesitate to ask questions. The whole point of the forum is to help, encourage and share.
29 January 2014 at 1:47 am #26772The one thing that helped me more than anything else was getting my index finger out of the handle and point it straight, resting it on the side of the blade. The other thing that helps me, especially when I am out of square on the edge of a board, is to mentally apply more pressure to the high side, and continue to keep the entire plane sole in contact with the board. Make frequent checks with a square so you don’t get too far out of square to begin with.
Take your time and stick with it, it will be very rewarding.
[quote quote=26746]have learnt some things with my practice the main one being to keep checking the set up of the plane so the blade is actually lined up (this does seem to go out of line pretty easily).[/quote]
Mick you got a lot of good advice. I like Wearing’s book too. But this comment had me wondering what you mean. Do you mean your blade is moving around on you while planing and you have to keep resetting it? If so then you need to tighten the lever cap screw so that the lever cap snaps down a little more firmly. Not too much either, but a little more will keep your setting from changing while planing.
This can still be a challenge for me, too, but it does get better. There two ways I know of to keep in mind.
1. If you use a cambered (radiused) blade, then each stroke taken off center changes squareness. The more you plane, the worse things get unless you think about what each stroke does. David Charlesworth describes this technique beautifully in his video. I found this method easy to change the squareness, but hard to keep squareness (which is frequent when working on surfaced lumber). This is *not* how Paul teaches.
2. If you use a straight edged blade, and if you do as Paul shows to make sure it is parallel to the sole and takes equal shavings on both sides of the plane, then each pass should preserve the squareness (or out of squareness) of the edge. If you are bulldogging or putting pressure on the plane, then it will change squareness. Get your plane, make sure the blade is parallel as Paul shows, and then hold it by the *sole* with fingertips at heel and toe, one hand on the left, one on the right. You’re not holding the tote or knob. Just gently push the plane along and see if you can get shavings. You’ll see that the edge squareness does not change and you can feel a lot about the edge. Now see if you can hold tote and knob, relax, and have the same feeling of relaxing and moving without twisting or bearing down. Again you should preserve the edge. Now try what Steve described and “will” more pressure on one side. Help your “will” by bearing down firmly with your thumb at the knob on one side. You’ll find that lowers that side and corrects squareness. Then, try bearing down on the other side to see you can correct in the other direction. This is a collection of things that Paul showed us in class at one time or another to be very sensitive to the plane (holding by just sole, not tote), or to change squareness (thumb pressure). Hope it helps. I’m better at it now, but I still get in trouble more than I want.
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