what causes track marks from handplane?

[Tom Hassad]

This is a basic question but I need to start somewhere - if someone can recommend a good place to read up on this I would appreciate it but I have a Lee Valley 5.25 bench plane and I have tried this only on softer wood but I get track marks where it appears to be gouging out narrow slices of wood rather than getting shavings that are the same size as the blade.

What causes this?

I noticed that besides raising and lowering the blade I can also twist the blade from the axis of travel by pulling the lever in the back from side to side and I was wondering if the track marks is because I cannot get the blade dead centered. I doubt that may be the problem because although there is nothint to note dead center I use my sight to get it as close to center as I can. I am also thinking it may in need of sharpening but I need to find out what is wrong before trying any fixes- thanks, Tom.

[Mark Smith, too]

If what you call track marks are coming from just part of the blade, then it is blade alignment (that lever thing corrects that).

If the marks are at the outside of both edges of the blade, that is normal and putting a slight camber on each edge of the blade while sharpening fixes that.

LV supplies their tools pretty much ready for cutting, so if it is new it's pretty sharp. To get real fine shavings it will need a little bit of fine lapping.

There is a Neanderthal section here on Sawmill Creek where the folks who'd rather plane a tree down by hand rather than use a watt of power hang out. ;) If you don't get enough help here, check down there.

[Brian Greb]

So you wanna fix your track marks. Assuming that you have the blade set to the proper cutting depth and you are getting the gouge marks to the extremities of the blade then you should sharpen the blade with a slight camber on the edges. To do this you apply more pressure to either edge of the blade while sharpening on a quality "flat" water or oil stone. This will remove more material on the "corners" and give the blade a slight crown... but don't over do it. Now if the track marks come from only one side of the iron then adjust the lateral on the plane "the lever thingy". If the tracks are coming from the middle some ware then, in this case you have a nicked blade, you'll need to re-grind the blade and resharpen. Also to take fine shaving with your plane choke down the thought opening, and put you chip breaker(also called the cap iron) within 1/8" of the cutting edge. This should salve your problem. If not try the neanderthal heaven forum.

cheers
-Brian_

[paul cottingham]

try rounding off the edges with a file.

Wow, that was terse, even for me.

[doug faist]

Tom - I would be very careful about "rounding the edges" of a plane iron with a file. "Rounding" in this case is a misnomer. The corners of the plane's iron can be SLIGHTLY cambered, not rounded, with as little as two or three strokes on a very fine stone. Simple apply a little more pressure to one side, then the other, as you do your normal sharpening. The "rounding" is measured in 0.001's of an inch or less and probably won't be visible to the naked eye.

Take a look at the edge of your iron with a 10X glass and you can see any little nicks or dings and also the results of your sharpening. It's an education, believe me. ;)

As has been mentioned, Neanderthal Haven will give you a tremendous amount of information, but remember to return to the light after your visit.

Have fun with your project.

Doug

[Rick Markham]

Definitely don't use the file!:eek: Definitely put a camber on the blade, definitely go to Neanderthal haven! Oh and once ya get it figured out, your pretty much gonna love it, and end up with a bunch of them. :D

Oh and there is nothing wrong with embracing power tools and handtools. Sometimes we go overboard in either direction, they both serve a purpose, and if used together there are endless possibilities!

[paul cottingham]

Wow, I learn something new every day. I camber with my sharpening jig, but have rouded with a file. But no more. Care to share why it is bad?

[Rick Markham]

Paul, assuming you are really super careful and meticulous it probably isn't horrible or life threatening, however over the long run even being really meticulous you are most likely still removing far more of your iron than you need too. granted, it might take ya awhile, but your using your iron up faster than ya need to ;)

[Stephen Cherry]

Too thick of a cut?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Lp5FzwxbU

Plus, sharpening is an integral part of plane use. If you think that you need to do it, you have probably waited too long. Plus, with a little practice, it is just a couple of minutes. I would watch all of the lie nielson videos. As far as rounding goes, I would focus on making a even, extremely thin shaving first.

Also this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv1zo9CAxt4&NR=1&feature=fvwp

[lowell holmes]

If you camber a bevel down plane, the edges of the iron will be lifted some from the wood and the tracks will not appear. Cambering a bevel up plane is not straight forward and rounding the edges of the iron will lift the corners of the iron enough to elminate the tracks. I camber my bevel down planes and round the edges of my bevel up planes.

A problem with the iron being square with the plane sole can leave tracks. I use a LN trick of using a 1/4" wide block of wood. By planing with the block on the center of the iron and comparing the shavings with shavings taken from the left side and the right side of the iron will show when the iron is square with the sole.

The shavings should be thin to the point of being translucent.

[Randy Bonella]

Tom,
One other thing not mentioned is that you could be getting tear-out by planing against the grain. all boards have a grain direction, you should be planing with the grain not against it. try planing the other direction. it is a very noticeable difference.

And what the others have said about sharpening.

This is a fast and very slippery slope. The first time you get that plane to sing you'll be hooked:)

It takes a bit of practice but well worth it!

Good Luck. Oh... ya....and go below to where the neanderthals hang out. Lots of amazing information available.

Randy...

[Tom Hassad]

Than you all for the great advice and links - I have some homework - I agree that I need to first get finer shavings and then look into this issue some more - Tom.

[David Cefai]

I got here late but one more thing you can (should) look at is the throat opening, ie the distance between the blade and the front of the slot it sits in. Too wide and you'll get gouging because the shaving will start to break too late.

You adjust this by removing the blade, loosening the two screws holding down the frog and then turning the screw at the back of the frog, the one that the tote prevents you from reaching properly :)

Note: too tight and the plane will choke, shavings will jam in the slot.