Tuning a wooden plane

[Ron Patrick]

Have really gotten into the hand plane business in the last few months. Picked up a Stanley No. 7 and No. 3 from ebay and already
had a No. 5 and No. 6 which need to be restored. Years ago I picked up an ECE Primus improved smoother (a very long time ago, only paid $80 for it, new). After tuning up the No. 3 an No. 7 (per Schwarz Super Tuning video) they are cutting very well, so I thought 'Why not check out the Primus. Well, using the straight edge, I found that the sole was no where near flat. This was especially true of the part that adjusts the throat opening. this piece was 4 thou lower than the rest of the sole, so off to the glass plate with sandpaper. I mean how hard could it be compared to the Stanley No. 7, it's only wood. Well, to make a long story short, it took 45 minutes on 80 grit paper to make it flat, only took about 30 for the No. 7. For all who would ask "Is a wooden plane as durable as metal?" I would have to say Yes, if that plan has a lignum vitae sole. That is one touch wood. After the flattening, I could get a .5 thou shaving, and I know that the blade needs sharpening.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Good info - let us know how you like that jointer after you get to using it a bit. I've got a couple of their rabbet planes that I still need to tune in; I keep thinking of places I'd use 'em if I only had 'em dialed in. I'm always curious about their planes. . .

I've never worked with lignum vitae; but if it's anything like some of the rosewood I've worked, keeping the paper clear is going to be key in sanding efficiency.

If I had already tuned my number 7 (or even a decent length jack plane) I would have used that to flatten the primus, but if you aren't quite comfortable yet, the sandpaper can be a little more comforting method.

A well tuned jointer or other longer plane is a pleasure to use; it's nice to not have to concentrate so hard on flat and let the plane do some of the work for you. Tweaking my jointer was always on the back of my mind, but I bit on a Clifton for a bargain price on the 'bay - hopefully it's a good'un.

[Casey Gooding]

I agree with Joshua. If you're comfortable with it, a few swipes of the #7 would have taken care of the flatness issue. Then, use card scrapers to make fine adjustments.

[Zach Dillinger]

That is one of the biggest benefits of tuning a wooden plane, planing the sole instead of lapping. Glad you got it working!

[Mike Holbrook]

I built four Purple Heart planes from the last of Steve Knights plane kit supplies, also tough wood. I bought the roll sandpaper with a sticky back from Highland Woodworking. I stick pieces to the top of my table saw top which provides a larger working area than a glass or stone sharpening devise. It works well to flatten bottoms, sides..whatever. Which may be about all my table saw gets used for since I rebuilt a Miller Falls Langdon miter box and a nice supply of old hand saws and back saws. My Laguna 14 SUV bandsaw will handle the big rips. Iwasaki files/rasps come in a myriad of sizes and shapes which are very handy for working other areas of wooden planes, a frugal mans float maybe.

[Terry Beadle]

On my woodies that have a lignum vietae sole, I use a freshly sharpened card scraper for major adjustments Works more quickly than sand paper and you can learn to control the cut to very lite wisps until you are happy with it. I only go to 220 sand paper at the very last. Marking the sole with black marking pen or #2 pencil gives you a good idea of where to work. Just a few passes on the sand paper, then use the card scraper, then once very close to flat, the sand paper only.

Just my 2 cents !

[Ron Patrick]

Thanks for the input guys. As I said, pretty new to the hand tool scene, so I just went with what I know best. I used a 24" sanding belt glued to 1/2" glass and, yes, I did have to clean the paper quite often. At this point I don't think that I would have been confident enough with the No. 7 to use it anyway, but the scraper idea would have been really attractive, could have saved me a lot of time. I did find a video on youtube by Phil at Philly Planes where he used sandpaper and a granite plate to flatten a wooden planes, but that was just to tweak the sole. The next time it needs work, I will definitely be looking at these options.