Multiple 4 1/2 planes

[Jerome Hanby]

While cleaning/rearranging the shop I came across a box of hand planes that I picked up various places with the notion of cleaning and tuning them up one of these days. Didn't see any markings that really stood out telling me exactly what they are, but I have several that are about the size of my Record 4 1/2. Are there different setups for this size plane that would make good use of having several planes each setup a particular way? Or is my best bet to set them all up identically and always have a freshly sharpened one to grab?

[Matt Radtke]

Are there different setups for this size plane that would make good use of having several planes each setup a particular way? Or is my best bet to set them all up identically and always have a freshly sharpened one to grab?

Yup, one of those two. ;)

How do you use use your smoothers? What kind of wood do you use? If you're working a lot of the same, I'd set them all roughly the same. If you're working exotic hardwoods on Monday, Birds Eye Maple on Tuesday, Walnut on Wednesday, and Poplar on Tuesday, I'd come up 4 different setups to match those woods.

[David Weaver]

Put one at 45 degrees, tune the chipbreaker well.

Put another one at 55 degrees (or 60) - by using a back bevel - and set it for a light cut and make the mouth tight. Anything more than a light cut at 60 feels like bulldozing. 55 degrees is a nicer effective pitch to use than 60 if it works.

Use the second one only when you can't get a good finish with the first one. The second one will be harder to push and require more frequent sharpening and leave a less nice surface on agreeable wood. You probably know all of that already.

Ditch the rest of them if you're not a collector and use them to fund a tool you'd like to use.

My opinion.

[Jerome Hanby]

I definitely didn't know any of that already. I'm mostly a power tool guy, but I've been working on getting hand planes into the mix. My main goal for this size would be to avoid sanding. The material I work with the most ... is usually whatever is on sale at the hardwood store. I have a stack of Ambrosia maple and some Walnut ear marked for a new kitchen table and probably more of the same for some matching chairs.

The better plane (my Record) I'd definitely keep. These others I'm not sure what they would be worth to anyone. Thinking I'll just give myself the pleasure of restoring them and keeping them around the shop as users or gifting them down the line if I run into someone that needs one.

On setting the different angles, would I do that by changing the frog?

Thanks for the info!

[David Weaver]

I wouldn't change frogs or modify frogs. Just use a jig of some sort (self made if you'd like, cheap is good) to put an effective bevel of 10-15 degrees on the back of the iron. It can (and should) be tiny in size or thickness, there is no performance gain to making a big fat bevel on the side of the iron opposite the main bevel. So small that it's almost invisible works just as well as one 1/16th in width, and allows you to maintain the back-side bevel only with a polishing stone.

If a hardwood can't be planed smooth by:
* increasing the angle to 55 degrees
* sharpening the iron precisely to very sharp
* closing the mouth of the plane so that it's not wide open

It probably shouldn't be planed.

I haven't sanded or rounded over something that I like (i.e., something I wanted to make, not something I was asked to make) in a long time (except for saw and plane handles, I have sanded those).

[Zach England]

I have two--one Record with a standard 45 degree from and one Lie-Nielsen with a 55-degree from.

[Jim Koepke]

I have one, I am sure I would find a reason to have another if it happened.

If I did have another, I would likely set up the one I have now to have a cambered or radiused blade for the times I want to go across the grain.

If I had any spare cash on hand, I would offer to buy one.

jtk

[Jerome Hanby]

I'll try to take some pictures in the next week or so and post them. If I can't see a useful reason to keep them all as users, I'll be glad to pass them along for the cost of shipping. If nothing else, I've got the stuff to try japanning, so they may make good test subjects!

[Terry Beadle]

On the subject of back bevels: I was watching a video by David Charlesworth on setting up a 5 1/2 which has a standard bed of 45 degrees with a 25 degree back bevel, which makes the effective pitch 70 degrees. You only use such a blade set up for hard tightly interlocked grain such as birds eye maple or babinga. You only take a 1 to 1 1/2 thou shaving. You can leave the mouth open say to 1/8th of an inch as the mouth opening and chip breaker do not play a role in making the shaving in this set up. The 25 degree back bevel is only 1/64 or so wide and is straight across the blade edge. The chip breaker was set to about 1/8th of an inch from the cutting edge. The bevel side was set to a 23 degree primary bevel, a 33 degree second bevel with a gentle curve, and a final micro bevel matching the curve at 35 degrees.

For less challenging hardwoods, like American Cherry, a 60 degree effective pitch as recommended above, will probably be easier to push but since the slice is still under 1 1/2 thou pushing is not a problem.