Anant 52

[Holz Liebhaber]

Hello,

I acquired an Anant 52 plane (http://www.anant-tools.com/plough_plane_b.html). It is my first metal plane, and my first plough plane. I only have experience with the simpler european planes which consist of nothing but a wooden body and an iron.

Now, I guess I figured out the function of most of the "moving parts" of the 52. But I'm sure there are some hidden secrets to use it to the fullest. Unfortunately, there does not seem to exist any documentation for it, at least it came without a manual and there is none on the manufacturers website, either. I sent them a mail but did not receive an answer yet.

Can anyone point me to a resource where the tool is explained in detail? Even if it's only a hint on which angle works best for the blade, etc.

Thanks in advance!

[harry strasil]

its similar to a stanley 45 or 50, stanley 45 maual here, http://traditionaltools.us/cms/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=90

[Michael Faurot]

Here's several links that should come in handy with regard to actually using the plow plane:



How I use a Plow (http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/How+I+Use+A+Plow+Plane.aspx) by Christopher Schwarz
Plow Planes: Metal vs. Wood (http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/Plow+Planes+Metal+Vs+Wood.aspx) by Christopher Schwarz
Combi Plane Central (http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/combinationplanes.html) at the Cornish Workshop
Using Plow Planes (http://www.leevalley.com/newsletters/Woodworking/2/4/article2.htm) at Lee Valley

That should keep you busy for awhile. :)

With regard to the Anant No.52. I hope the one you got is better than the one I bought. Check that when you hold the fence to the side of a board that the plane/skate stays upright at 90°. The fence on mine is several degrees out of line. I was able to work around the problem by putting a bevel on the wooden fence runner. This works well enough, but if you find yours to be similarly out of alignment, you should see about returning it.

[Bill Houghton]

I'm intrigued by how much lighter the plane is when you're thinking in metric than in Imperial measures - at 1.5 grams, you'll never get tired using that plane!

I did the conversion - they slipped a decimal or two, since three pounds is 1,362 grams - I think they must have meant kilograms.

[Holz Liebhaber]

Thanks for all the answers so far.

I'll try that 35° angle found somewhere in those links, and the technique of "beginning at the end" to avoid problems. My eyes went glossy when I saw that verrrry long http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/combihow.html ... I'll plow may way throught that one on another day. :eek:

A general question on the Anant: is Anant actually building their stuff themselves, or is that just a re-labelede import or whatever? I'm asking because I find lots of mentions of other brands, manuals etc. all around, just nothing even mentioning Anant at all. Hmm!

[Michael Faurot]

... the technique of "beginning at the end" to avoid problems. My eyes went glossy when I saw that verrrry long http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/combihow.html ... I'll plow may way throught that one on another day. :eek:


The main point of that is when you start on the far end, you do that to establish the groove right away. This way, when you start to take full length shavings the blade is all ready locked into the groove. If you instead started from the other end, like you would using a regular bench type plane, there's the chance you'd lose control and veer off to one side as you hit the end. Once the groove is established, for the full length of the piece, it's pretty easy to just keep plowing away until the depth stop kicks in. Christopher Schwarz[1], explains it a bit better:

Begin at the End
You can use a plow plane like a bench plane and make full strokes that run from the near end to the far end. But I have found this to be sometimes troublesome. Sometimes the cutter will follow the grain in the board and the tool's fence will drift away from the work. The results are ugly.

Instead, I start at the far end of the board and make short cuts. Each succeeding cut gets a little longer until I am making full-length cuts. The advantage to this is that if your plane wanders, it will only be for a short distance and the next cut will correct the error.

After you are making full-length cuts there's little danger of the tool wandering.



A general question on the Anant: is Anant actually building their stuff themselves, or is that just a re-labelede import or whatever? I'm asking because I find lots of mentions of other brands, manuals etc. all around, just nothing even mentioning Anant at all. Hmm!As far as I'm aware Anant is their own manufacturer.

[1]: How I Use a Plow (http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/How+I+Use+A+Plow+Plane.aspx)

[Holz Liebhaber]

Alright, I sat down and spent a bit more time with the tool. The little flyer contained in the box said to use a sharpening angle of 25-28°, I used a bit more (30° as a starting point) - the links up there mention 35° several times.

The fence on my modell is quite warped, as mentioned in other places. :(

Aside from that, I did not get it to smoothly run across my test board (birch) at all. It seems to immediately bite into the wood and then get quite stuck. Only with great force can I get it to run further, which of course makes getting an exact result impossible.

I'll experiment with other angles for the blade; is that "biting" a known issue with (plow) planes, generally? Is there a standard solution? (As mentioned, I don't have much experience with them).

EDIT: Yeah, planes bite when you go against the grain, but... hard to switch direction with a plow plane, isn't it? ;)

[Michael Faurot]

Alright, I sat down and spent a bit more time with the tool. The little flyer contained in the box said to use a sharpening angle of 25-28°, I used a bit more (30° as a starting point) - the links up there mention 35° several times.


The blades for this plane are meant to be used bevel-down. So the actual angle you sharpen them to is not that critical because it's the angle they're bedded in the plane that is what really comes into play. So I wouldn't worry much with trying to change the bevel on the blades--use them as they are and just get them sharp.



The fence on my modell is quite warped, as mentioned in other places. :(
You can work around that, somewhat, by attaching a piece of wood to the fence and then beveling the wood to compensate for the fence.



Aside from that, I did not get it to smoothly run across my test board (birch) at all. It seems to immediately bite into the wood and then get quite stuck. Only with great force can I get it to run further, which of course makes getting an exact result impossible.
Sounds like you've got the blade extended too far. Back that off. Also check that the skate is flat. If not, joint it with a file.



is that "biting" a known issue with (plow) planes, generally?
No.



EDIT: Yeah, planes bite when you go against the grain, but... hard to switch direction with a plow plane, isn't it? ;)While this plane does have a cross grain nicker, you should ignore that (for the moment). Learn to use the plane with the grain and without that nicker. Get some experience and confidence using it with the grain first. When you get that down, then see about using it cross grain.

Also, to get a feel for how the plane works, try using it on a soft, clear (no knots) and staright grained wood like Pine or Poplar. Once you know how to use the plane and make all the various adjustments, then look at using it on wood that has more challenging grain patterns. Also, stick with the 1/4" blade to learn with--the larger blades can make the plane harder to push.

[george wilson]

I think the Anants are made in India.

[Richard Dooling]

Highland Woodworking sell Anants:
"Anant planes offer excellent value for the money. Made in India since 1949, these planes are a bargain for beginning woodworkers & hand tool enthusiasts looking for affordable quality. Of course right out of the box, as with most Stanley/Bailey style planes (exceptions being the Lie-Nielsen and Clifton brands), you'll need to tune and tweak your new plane and hone the iron so it will perform satisfactorily."

I have a #8 that I bought used from someone who had tuned it. It works pretty well but I have no idea how much time was spent getting it right. I have also heard that quality is inconsistent with some pieces being pretty good and others awful. I doubt I would buy one new that I couldn't inspect.

.

[Jim Koepke]

Alright, I sat down and spent a bit more time with the tool. The little flyer contained in the box said to use a sharpening angle of 25-28°, I used a bit more (30° as a starting point) - the links up there mention 35° several times.

The fence on my modell is quite warped, as mentioned in other places. :(

Aside from that, I did not get it to smoothly run across my test board (birch) at all. It seems to immediately bite into the wood and then get quite stuck. Only with great force can I get it to run further, which of course makes getting an exact result impossible.

I'll experiment with other angles for the blade; is that "biting" a known issue with (plow) planes, generally? Is there a standard solution? (As mentioned, I don't have much experience with them).

EDIT: Yeah, planes bite when you go against the grain, but... hard to switch direction with a plow plane, isn't it? ;)

Michael has good advice on this.

My main suggestion is to take as light of a cut as possible. Doing this with a sharp blade will help a little if going against the grain. If possible, setting the plane for left handed use could also help. If one has to go against the grain or has difficult grain to tackle, scoring lines along the edge of the cut can help. That is what the knickers are supposed to do in theory, but I have found it is easier to score with a sharp knife first.

One thing I have learned to do with plow and other specialty planes is to think about each pass before starting and as the plane is moving. Make sure everything is aligned before pushing the plane. If the plane rocks from side to side, it will cut a very sloppy grove. If the plane is not held perfectly vertical on each pass, it may get stuck in the groove. This is one place, of many, in the craft where one must pay extra attention to the details.

It is also helpful to have a piece of scrap to make test cuts. Once the plane is set up for the placement of a groove, I will have the blade backed off. The plane is set on a piece of scrap and while the plane is very slowly moved on the scrap, the blade is slowly lowered until it just starts to take a shaving. The blade is then locked and a few more test cuts are taken for evaluation. One of the things with my Stanley 45s is it seems tightening the blade lock seats the blade a little more and causes the cut to be a hair deeper. After a while, one gets used to the different characteristics of their own particular planes.

After doing this a few times, it will be fairly easy to set a straight blade without the need for using a piece of scrap.

Plow planes look fairly simple, but there are quite a few more things taking place than with a bench or block plane.

jim

[Jim Koepke]

I have a #8 that I bought used from someone who had tuned it. It works pretty well but I have no idea how much time was spent getting it right. I have also heard that quality is inconsistent with some pieces being pretty good and others awful. I doubt I would buy one new that I couldn't inspect.

.

Highland has the #8 at $109.99, that is more than twice what was paid for my Stanley #8. About an hour and a half of clean up and mostly enjoying its parts and it was taking great shavings. It is not hard to see the appeal of spending extra for an LN or LV to use right out of the box if one does not want to fettle, but it is hard to see spending extra when all you get for it is a bit of bright and shiny.

My curiosity sometimes runs wild when a magazine runs a product test/evaluation. How did the come across the items being tested? My preference would be for a totally blind method and evaluating a few of the same item from different lots. Anyone can build one good product. What really matters is can they build consistently good product. Even the most conscientious of tool makers can have a lemon sneak through the system. It is how the mistakes are handled that marks the difference between the great business men and women and those who simply want to get the money out of your wallet and into theirs.

jim