Hand Plane friction question

[Brian AdamsMS]

Hello all,

Been reading through all the great experience on this site for a little while. This will be my first post, so I will explain briefly my woodworking background. My dad got me hooked on woodworking when I was in my teens, mostly constructing utility type items (a shed, workbench, pick-nick tables etc.) and a few 'fine' keepsake items (chess board and children's toys mostly). Most of my experience with my dad was with power tools, now that I'm getting older and woodworking is more of a stress relief, I have found a new love for the 'old-ways'. I started collecting old tools first, then slowly started using them. The more I have used hand tools, the more I appreciate the subtle things that can be accomplished with hand tools. So with that said, my hat goes off to all the fine craftsmen out their that have made things by hand that could never be reproduced by mere machines.

Now on to my question:
As I have been learning to use hand planes, my skill in sharpening has improved but still have a ways to go before I fully get the knack of it (bought my first water stones about two months ago!). When using my #4 to clean up some cypress, I notice the sole is getting hot (slightly warm to the touch). The heat seams to be focused around the mouth area and not necessarily directly on blade as far as I can tell. My experience with power tools would tell me the blade is getting dull or my feed rate is fast/slow.

Is this normal for a hand tool?
Is my technique lacking?
Is my plane not adjusted correctly?
Is this a sign of the blade getting dull?

[Sam Takeuchi]

It's normal. There is no "feed rate" in hand tool. When you get into it, you can get the plane sole really hot in very short time. How that heat affects the tool or blade, I don't know. I doubt you can build enough heat to do anything, but they can get hot to the touch. If it bothers you, let it rest for a moment, it'll cool down quickly. You can rub some wax onto the sole of the plane, that will reduce friction significantly and keeps heat down.

[Jim Neeley]

The wax also makes it a lot easier to push.. especially if there's enough friction to generate that kind of heat.

[Winton Applegate]

Are you planing so fast you scorch the wood?
Just kidding.
I can recommend using candle wax or down hill ski wax rather than bee's wax which is gummy and sticky until it gets warm and thin.
Another thing to try, especially if you are in the shop planing every day and you want the fastest easiest application check this out :
Take some cotton cloth and fold it into a strap roughly an inch or so wide.
Roll it up like a cinnamon roll.
Drill a hole in a block of wood the right size to put the role into laying on it's side. Only bore so deep so role still protrudes above the block five millimeters or so.
Get some canolla oil from one of the tool suppliers and sparingly soak the cloth with it.
Put the block on your bench when you plain. When you need a touch of oil just glide your plane across the cloth.
Personally i find my self using this stuff because i have it around but kind of pricy to buy to put on your plane sole. It works super well though and easier/quicker to apply than rubbing a candle on your plane.
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/renaissancewax.aspx

[Dave Parkis]

Next time your at Wal-Mart or any grocery store, get yourself a box of canning wax. You'll get about 6 pieces the size of a bar of soap. That will last about 200 years and cost you about $2. If it takes you more than 2 seconds to apply it every 10 minutes or so, you're being too careful. You'll be amazed at how much it helps and its paraffin, so it won't stain anything.

[Chris Fournier]

Heat is generated from the sole rubbing on the wood and at the cutting edge (the entire plane acts a a heatsink to dissipate this heat). If the sole is not dead flat but proud at the mouth then the most friction is generated here and the heat is evidence of this. Short and sweet - planing generates heat. Feel the cutter head on a jointer after a jointing session.

[Winton Applegate]

PS:
If you make the cotton roll oiler pull your plane backward across the oil pad so you don't cut into it.

[Brian AdamsMS]

Thanks for the tips, just seemed odd to generate that much heat from a hand tool.
I will definetly give the cotton roll a try, I have some cheese cloth that I use for applying shellac that should do nicely for this. The Canolla oil is not the same type you cook with I take it?

[Steve Beadle]

I think it's camellia oil, not "canolla" oil.

[Jacob Nothstine]

+1 canning wax

#4 to clean up some cypress
If your trying to take a lot of wood away you might want to switch to a number #5 you can remove a lot of wood fast, not very nice looking surface but the #4 after will make it look nice.
I fine the #4 better for making a nice smooth surface only taking paper thin shavings

[Brian AdamsMS]

My current bench plane collection consists of a #3 that needs a new blade and a lot of cleaning, 2 #4's one of which I have done the most to clean up and put a new blade on, one #4 1/2 and a #5 which is rusty and needs a tote. So until I get around to cleaning the #3 and #5, My #4 is the default bench plane I go to.

Just curious, if a #5 is longer than a #4, why would it be used to take out more material? I would think the longer sole would be used to get closer to a final, flatter surface. Also the previous owner of my #3 put a radius on the blade which made me think I found a scrub plane the first time I saw it.

[David Weaver]

+1 canning wax

If your trying to take a lot of wood away you might want to switch to a number #5 you can remove a lot of wood fast, not very nice looking surface but the #4 after will make it look nice.
I fine the #4 better for making a nice smooth surface only taking paper thin shavings




Yeah, gulf wax/canning wax/paraffin, better than all of the others for the purpose. Quick, cheap (really cheap, like $3 for enough to plane for a decade)....

The blade always gets warm when you plane at a steady pace, heat is one of the things that has been studied in regard to wear resistance. But if there is heat on an appreciable part of the sole, wax, and when you're working, make a conscious effort to push the plane forward and use only as much downward pressure as you need to.

Leaning on a plane when you bear down just makes you do a lot of extra physical work, and the softer the wood, the harder it makes you work when you do that.

[David Weaver]

My current bench plane collection consists of a #3 that needs a new blade and a lot of cleaning, 2 #4's one of which I have done the most to clean up and put a new blade on, one #4 1/2 and a #5 which is rusty and needs a tote. So until I get around to cleaning the #3 and #5, My #4 is the default bench plane I go to.

Just curious, if a #5 is longer than a #4, why would it be used to take out more material? I would think the longer sole would be used to get closer to a final, flatter surface. Also the previous owner of my #3 put a radius on the blade which made me think I found a scrub plane the first time I saw it.

The #4 is a plane you use after the surface is already flat. You're missing a jointer in your equation.

Roughing planes can be anything from short to fairly long, but not as long as a jointer (partly because a roughing plane shouldn't be heavy)

So, use a roughing plane (or more than one depending on what you're doing and how much, usually one though), something to make the surface flat and then a smoothing plane.

[Jacob Nothstine]

#3 put a radius on the blade the radius help keep the #3 plane from leaving marks on your wood on the outside edges of the blade. Should be a small radius compared to a scrub plane.

The longer #5 lets you get more power behind it. The mouth of the plane is larger for taking larger shaving the #3 should have very small mouth for thinner shaving.

[Jim Koepke]

Brian,

Welcome to the Creek.

Some good advise has been shared above.

The heat build up is normal. It surprised me at first, but friction and work in general produces heat.


Just curious, if a #5 is longer than a #4, why would it be used to take out more material? I would think the longer sole would be used to get closer to a final, flatter surface. Also the previous owner of my #3 put a radius on the blade which made me think I found a scrub plane the first time I saw it.

The mass of a larger plane helps it with momentum in use.

A short plane will tend to follow the hills and valleys of a board. A longer plane will tend to stay on top of the hills until they are trimmed down to meet the valleys. The longer plane will usually be set for a thicker shaving to trim the hills down quickly.

An old adage in planing wood is to watch your shavings. The shavings can tell a worker a lot. When starting on a rough board there will be spots where there are no shavings or voids. As work progresses the no shaving spots and voids will be reduced. Once a complete shaving from end to end is produced the piece is ready for the next step which might be a few more passes if the board is being dimensioned or adjustment to the blade or change of plane to remove any tear out.

When removing a lot of material with a plane one may notice the sound of the work being done sounds a bit different. A thin shaving will make a soft ffffft noise. Taking a thick shaving may make more of a bzzzzzzzt noise. Inspection of the thick shaving may also reveal lines across the shaving. As long as it isn't producing tear out it is okay.

jtk

[Rodney Walker]

Good advice from everyone. Metal on wood or wood on wood both have far higher friction than wax or oil on wood. Even with waxing or oiling your sole, some heat will still be generated from cutting the wood. It's nothing to worry about.
I tend to overheat far quicker than the plane though.
Rodney

[Bill Houghton]

Furniture (not automotive) paste wax. Rub it on, wipe it down; it'll last quite a while. Just keep a firm grip on the plane - you'll think you've turned into The Flash the first time you use it.

[Adam Cruea]

An old adage in planing wood is to watch your shavings. The shavings can tell a worker a lot. When starting on a rough board there will be spots where there are no shavings or voids. As work progresses the no shaving spots and voids will be reduced. Once a complete shaving from end to end is produced the piece is ready for the next step which might be a few more passes if the board is being dimensioned or adjustment to the blade or change of plane to remove any tear out.

When removing a lot of material with a plane one may notice the sound of the work being done sounds a bit different. A thin shaving will make a soft ffffft noise. Taking a thick shaving may make more of a bzzzzzzzt noise. Inspection of the thick shaving may also reveal lines across the shaving. As long as it isn't producing tear out it is okay.

jtk

*snicker snicker*

I don't know why I find that funny. Maybe because I *do* listen to the sound the plane makes as well as look at the shaving, and when I hear the "fffffft" noise, I get goose-bumps from happiness.

Brian -

I notice the heat mostly on my smaller planes, but occasionally on my larger planes. Any time I notice the plane getting hot, I slap on some paraffin canning wax and continue.

Welcome to the dark side. In addition to cool tools to do all sorts of neat stuff, we have cookies, too. Or at least beautifully thin shavings from planes that look like cinnamon rolls. :)

[Winton Applegate]

YES ! Camillia.
Thanks.
Sorry, it has been a long aced week. Been so long since I discussed this oil I forgot the name. Odly enough Jim Kingshott , who i first saw use this oiler, used linseed oil. Seems like that would turn into a sticky mess or worse spontaineously combust and catch fire. But there it is.
Steve, thanks again for the help there.

[Mike Holbrook]

Since the OP mentions metal plane #'s I am assuming he is using metal planes. I have used a can of the Renaissance Wax from Highland Woodworking for many years. Yes it is expensive. The value added is it is far harder and lasts far longer than anything else. Only a very small amount is needed and it want rub off on your work. It resists chemicals....It is often used to prevent wear on machine tables and parts too.

It might be that our poster would enjoy the long post on this forum about the wood planes posters have made. Making wood planes is a great woodworking project that may refine ones skills at producing exact work with fine hand tools. I used parts I got from a guy who use to sell kits and was getting out of the business, Steve Knight. I made 4 planes: two smoothers (high and regular angle) 7 1/2" (like 4- 4 1/2), a Jack (15 1/2") (#5) and a big 26" Jointer.

Wooden planes may produce less friction, even without waxing. The Japanese made wooden plane bodies, in their case actually just a holder for the blade, seem very simple blocks of wood but are actually very precisely hand made to fit specific blades... . As I understand it, the bottom of their Kanna (plane bodies) are ever so slightly concave so the mouth and surrounding area only touch the wood when pressure is applied, if they actually contact the wood at all. Some of the videos on YouTube taken at Japanese planing contests demonstrate how precisely very "simple" hand tools can work wood.