Sharpening plane iron: several newbie questions
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27 November 2016 at 10:23 am #142738
I’m glad you got some nice shavings now. That moment when you realize you finally learned how to plane is fantastic. I guess that’s why we are all so eager to help people that are struggling. We want to share that joy.
As for making a new bench, just go out there and buy some wood. Once started, your confidence will grow. And it doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s a workbench, not a piece of furniture. For wood species, I can recommend Douglas fir (also called Oregon). It is only slightly more expensive than spruce (Picea abies) but better quality. Don’t buy it in a hardware store (“tool shop”), but go to a lumberyard instead for a good price.
cheers,
Stijn27 November 2016 at 11:58 am #142739Dear Boris,
Actually, some of the difficulties may be from your wood not having the most forgiving grain, and that can pose a challenge to anyone, including those who can sharpen to perfection.
Going by your first attached photo and the ‘bevel_after_sharpening’ attachment, the grain seems to go from right to left for some 4 out of 5 of the width, while at the same time rising up through the thickness of the board. My attached ‘Wild_Grain’ shows one of too many depressing outcomes when trying to smooth a board of similar grain. After having relegated the smoothing plane, I tried two scraper planes and a cabinet scraper, before turning to a simple scraper blade. This, the least expensive of them, was the one least bothered by the grain.
For whatever it’s worth, here are two links to two well reputed Net-retailers of tools. Both deliver to France
https://www.fine-tools.com/https://www.classichandtools.com/index.html
and this should be the recognised French Dealer of Veritas Tools (the great helper to all of us who struggle with sharp, straight, and square) http://www.bordet.fr/index.cfm
Best
Sven-Olof
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You must be logged in to view attached files.27 November 2016 at 8:55 pm #142745Yes, Sven-Olof makes a good point too. Not all wood can be planed.
I also found that polishing compound I was talking about at the link he provided:
https://www.fine-tools.com/flexcut-accessories.html
You might have to order some other stuff since delivery is not that cheap to France.Thanks Stijn! I think I will start making my workbench this Spring. I already have projects planned for up to April… So many gifts to make for Christmas, and then a rocking chair for my mother’s retirement!! 😉
Sven-Olof, thank you for your recommendations. I did not know this French site! It’s a bit expensive but seems a nice place to order things. I have ordered a Veritas cabinet scraper and also a card scraper. Indeed, the grain was going in multiple directions… When I tried to plane the board I had made a (quick) topographical map of the grain direction in order to figure out how to plane it. It did not work at all 🙂
Today I made two dovetails boxes with oak. It worked so nice! I cannot believe how easy it seemed to plane them (even end grain) with a correctly sharpened plane. I even managed to do plane the rim (top/bottom parts, I am not sure I understand the word correctly when Paul says it) perfectly. My previous attempt (on pine!) had been a total disaster! I attached a picture of the two boxes (don’t mind the workbench top, it is all but flat!).
Interestingly, I noticed that one piece of oak I used for the second box was very soft. My chisel seemed to cut very easily in it. Is there any way to figure out how soft a piece of oak will be before trying to plane/cut it?
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You must be logged in to view attached files.28 November 2016 at 3:20 pm #142758A few things, sorry if they have been discussed. There are many ways to sharpen. Find what works for you and your tools. I tried Paul’s method for about a year then changed to hollow grinding. I use oil stones and just never could get it it work. I did have someone show me how to hollow grind and this method works better for me. Yes, plain leather will work as a strop. I took a sharpening class and plain leather was recommended. If you put denatured alcohol on the end grain it plains easier and does not affect the wood or tools. Regardez a la maison de l’outil et de la pensée ouvrière. http://mopo3.com/fullscreen/accueil/ Bonne chance.
29 November 2016 at 3:42 pm #142770If you use 2x4s for the top you can do a lot of planning before you wear a hole in the bench top..just build it and learn as you go..way better than waiting only you will know the mistakes and it will be your secret..
Thanks for the advices @dperrott & @deanbecker!!
I received my card scraper and cabinet scraper yesterday. I tried them and they indeed worked much better than the plane for the cutting board. Still, I had trouble between the main body and the end parts of the board. It is quite difficult to plane a transition between two perpendicular pieces!!!
I need to progress with practice I think! -
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