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19 March 2017 at 2:01 pm #310305
Bit of a thread bump but as sharpening seems to come up as an issue so frequently I thought I’d chip in.
I’ve been using the Ultex stones for 3-4 months now and getting excellent results. This has surely got to be to do with my improvement in sharpening technique but goes to show what can be achieved.
I managed to pick them up for £9.99 each from its.co.uk when on sale. A bit of thick hardwood plywood and half an hour with a router got me a sharpening station that works really well. I’m using a leather strop from Axminster which is a bit pricey for what it is seeing as it’s easy to make, plus Veritas honing compound from the same source.
11 January 2017 at 4:05 pm #144127[quote quote=143653]I’m finding the same, though the biggest slow part for me is all the unexpected tasks.
My experience is limited to a short woodworking course, where we were provided with squared stock and sharp tools, so all the focus was on measuring/sawing/joinery, which went at a reasonable speed.
As soon as I tried a project at home, I ended up finding out about all the other stuff that also needed to be taken care off.
E.g. my process so far for one of Paul’s simpler projects has included:
* Research place to source wood
* Buy/transport wood
* Notice that wood is slightly cupped
* Research how to true cupped wood (watching videos etc.)
* Start planing wood
* Notice that plane isn’t very sharp
* Research on how to sharpen plane property
* Sharpen plane
* Notice that small piece of wood keeps slipping during planing
* Research how to hold down small pieces of wood
* Buy additional clamp and scrap wood
* Finally prepare stock ready for joinery…and so on ? I’m guessing it will get easier/faster with more experience!
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Dave C- it does get quicker! Just the other day I noticed how my sensitivity to grain direction had grown, and with it ability to plane wood accurately and without making costly mistakes.
Another key thing I’ve learnt is to keep building, but rather than making ten joints in a project with four duff ones, take time to practise, but in a meaningful way to the project. I.e. Don’t just make a bunch of mortise and tenons for the sake of it, make a project with mortise and tenons but use the practise joints to ensure you build skill that you then IMMEDIATELY put to use. The project turns out well and you end up cutting more joints and therefore learning more. Hopefully the mistakes stay in the test pieces! I’m doing this at the moment. I have an off cut from a piece of timber for the bed leg- I’m practising joints and layout on the off cut first, which has also answered some questions regarding mortise depths and sizing.
Good luck, I’ve been doing this less than a year, and progress has been slow with restoring planes, learning to sharpen, making a sharpening plate holder, learning to camber irons etc… the list goes on and on, but in time you get to a point where the fundamentals are in place and progress quickens.
- This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by James Lawford. Reason: Quoted twice!
4 September 2016 at 9:05 pm #139911Update:
Since my questions, and watching the videos and pondering more about the mechanics of planing, the situation is much better.
I picked up a rusty Stanley No. 3 for £9.99 on eBay and had a great time cleaning it. I thought it was a No. 4 as there was no description at all, but I’m really enjoying the smaller size even though I’m 6ft tall.
Worked on my sharpening, then last week picked up some inexpensive diamond plates (Ultex) which came recommended on another forum. Turns out my sharp wasn’t that sharp after all before.
Worked on my camber and edge round off, and the
plane is now working brilliantly. Small track line, so I reset the lateral adjustments, and I’ve now just replaned the whole of my workbench top with no defects.Foolishly I was also working on some hard maple when I had my issues, one piece got messed up, but I’ve got rid of all the marks apart from some tear out where the grain goes bonkers, and which was present before my plane revelation.
Thanks again for all the advice! Silverline No. 4 is going to become a scrub plane I think and I’ll pick up a No. 4 1/2 for smoothing to complement the No. 3 on smaller pieces and edges. Does that sound reasonable?
2 August 2016 at 10:59 am #138999I can attest to Sykes being friendly; and they have a showroom you can browse at your leisure to check out all their different species of wood. They also have a barn with a lot of off-cuts, but in reality these includes some very useful smaller pieces that you could get while projects out of.
As a general timber yard I have used Great Barr Sawmills in north Birmingham a few times. They are friendly but mostly let you get on with browsing and picking through timber, in case anyone feels intimidated by these kind of places. Just walk in. They have good quality redwood pine in lots of different sizes, plus a decent selection of hardwoods in long boards of various widths and thicknesses. There’s also a useful general builders/DIY shop next door owned by the same company.
Major bonus point: they will cut and thickness to size for no extra charge! For my workbench I just selected some 3×3, handed the worker a cutting list and it all came back spot on.
1 August 2016 at 11:27 pm #138991Thanks for the videos. I’ve seen them before but never really had real life issues to apply to them and gain a real understanding of what’s going on here.
After watching and learning, I think my cap iron is too far off the cutting edge, I need to get a bit more of a smooth camber to the blade as the corners look a bit suspect, and take more care with my lateral adjustment setting.
Furthermore, although I have already done some work to the cap iron contact point, it’s still not square so it may be time to break out a more aggressive stone and sort that issue out to give even pressure over the whole width of the blade.
I can see the advantages of used planes where everything is much more bedded in. But with some work there really is no reason why the Silverline shouldn’t be a great plane.
Thanks again all! Back to the bench (which is nearly finished, and planing the top is how I discovered these issues on a much wider board than I’ve worked over before).
30 July 2016 at 8:13 pm #138958Thanks. The depth wheel is smooth and works well, but it seems to be insufficient travel. Like the iron sits in the wrong place relative to the wheel. It goes back with a bit of playing.
I’m sure it’s not a debris issue with the gouging. Maybe some more care with latarel adjustment.
How rounded should I be aiming for with my cutting iron corners?
Thanks again.
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