Weight of a plane and it's effect on performance

[Matthew N. Masail]

I guess this could be an open discussion, since some will prefer a lighter plane for some tasks and a heavier one for others. so I'll
say that I'm not trying to start a general discussion right now, although I think it would be a great topic for another thread.
I want to produce a plane the works with authority and planes smoothly rather than having to be powered through the cut.

Weighing my planes I notice that my wooden jointer weighs 2.1kg, only 100grams more than my woodriver no. 3. and the rest of my wooden
planes (all shop made) are very light. since my jointer has the most smoothness during the cut I'm thinking that I prefer a heavier plane.

so to the current point, I'm making a Jack plane, for now it will have a Lee Valley blade for wooden planes, 2 1/8" wide, the center piece is seplle (the heaviest wood I have) with a 1/4" solid ebony sole and is 3 inches tall at the moment (a reeze planed). It will be my first try at abutments, Laminated Derek style. I plane to use it as a general purpose plane with a straight iron, maybe after a scrub.

I was thinking maybe laminating it to solid brass side plates instead of wood (adding brass screws), maybe 5mm thick to add some heft. would this be a bad idea? I'm looking to produce a balanced comfortable user more than anything else, so I'm a little worried about the extra weight being at the sides not the center.

What do you guys think?

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Where the weight is in the balance might also effect things.

For me, if I'm spending a long time surfacing rough stock by hand, I want something that doesn't fatigue me lifting it up from the end of the board at the end of the day. If I'm making lots of short choppy strokes with a jack plane, traversing the stock, a lighter plane in particular is nice there.

I got to try some of of Konrad Sauer's planes at a Lie Nielsen tool event, and really liked the feel the extra weight gave it working in harder woods; I feel like for a smoother it might be nice. It certainly seemed to overcome some of the stickyness you get on a finished surface. I'm not sold it actually makes a difference though - plenty of woodworkers have made great pieces using traditional wooden planes of both the eastern and western variety. Neither a coffin smoother or a kanna weigh that much. Certainly, sharpness is the most important.

It may also depend on the height of your work surface. If you work on a lower bench where you're both over and behind the plane, it's not so difficult to put a little downward pressure on the thing if you need it - if you're working on a higher bench, or a kitchen countertop (I know a lot about working on kitchen countertops as workbenches, unfortunately) it can be difficult to do so - you're more behind the plane than over it. A more upright handle is nice here, and a little extra weight might be helpful as well.

Me, I think I like something kind of in the middle, maybe a little on the light side for my jack and jointer ( I actually find myself wishing the Lie Nielsens where lighter) and a little on the heavier side for the smoother. (My Stanley number 4 feels like it could benefit from a little more heft - it almost gets a little squirrelly at the end of a long cut at times if I don't move my stance, where I can get away with a heavier plane not moving my feet)

[Adam Neat]

You could experiment by adding some weights to your current planes and see if you like the change. Even something as simple as stick on wheel weights added here and there could tell you a lot. If you want something more permanent boring a hole and adding lead shot, fishing weights or whatever..... with a little epoxy mixed in would do it. Add a plug to the top and it would be pretty tough to detect it was even there

[Matthew N. Masail]

Thanks for the advice! I thought of addeing lead shot, but just don't want to. I think I'll make it out of wood only... If I find it too light I'll make it a jack and get a very heavy wood to make a panle plane. thanks again.

[Casey Gooding]

I believe the most important aspects be that the plane is well made and has a very sharp iron. My homemade Krenov style planes work every bit as well as my iron planes and weigh far less.

[Matthew N. Masail]

I believe the most important aspects be that the plane is well made and has a very sharp iron. My homemade Krenov style planes work every bit as well as my iron planes and weigh far less.

I know my planes are well made, but I defiantly have a lot to learn about sharpening, but I only have a 25$ combination 800/4000 stone to get tools sharp, it does, but not very sharp. stropping with diamond paste doesn't seem to work too well for me, I want to make a setup to try get more out of it, but haven't had the time yet.

What blades did you use in your Kervons?

[Casey Gooding]

I typically use Hock irons made for Krenov style planes.
With practice you should be able to get good results with your combination stone. I would ultimately add an 8000 stone. Most of the time that's as far as I'll take my irons. Practice is the best way to learn sharpening. Just do it over and over and over and your skills will progress with time.

[Matthew N. Masail]

I typically use Hock irons made for Krenov style planes.
With practice you should be able to get good results with your combination stone. I would ultimately add an 8000 stone. Most of the time that's as far as I'll take my irons. Practice is the best way to learn sharpening. Just do it over and over and over and your skills will progress with time.

Thanks Man, I plan on getting a set of sigma power stones, since I have some HSS blades and just want a good set. I'll defiantly try the Hock irons, when I can afford them, for now I'm looking at a couple Japanese blades.

[Juan Hovey]

I'm only beginning to learn about these things, but I believe that mass is important in a plane, particularly when you're working difficult woods. So is the center of gravity; in a fine plane, it should be directly behind the iron and as low as possible. I've been riveting steel frogs into the planes I've been making in recent months measuring half an inch high and two inches long, on the theory that this will add mass to the whole of the plane and bring the center of gravity as close to the iron as possible. I may experiment on the next plane with a frog three-quarters of an inch high, to see whether it makes a difference.