How far do you folks go with lapping a plane?

[Joe Tilson]

I am trying to lap a couple of #4's. One is a type 13 sweet heart and the other is a handyman companion made in Canada. I was just wondering how far some of you like to go.

[mike holden]

Front, back, and just before the mouth need to be flat and in one plane. After that its personal desire. Note that some say a plane should only touch at those three places, but that is another discussion entirely.

As a practical thing, try out the plane on a piece of wood, if it works, it works. Call it good and start building things.
Mike

[David Weaver]

If it doesn't have a lot of wear, it should take very little to bring the bottom of a #4 in plane. You're likely going to end up with something that its slightly convex, but that's a plane a craftsman can work with - easily. A concave bottom is a curse.

Less is more, though, for several reasons, but even a selfish one - how much work it takes. Mike's advice to test it is a good one. Take a thin shaving and a thick shaving off of a surface that was made by a plane known to be flat and if you don't have to screw around to do both of those, you won't have to screw around when you're using it for work.

[Jim Matthews]

I mark out the full bottom with a Sharpie, in a cross hatch pattern.

With the blade tensioned, but retracted, I lap it until the marks are gone in the places Mike Holden listed.
I then repeat the process.

I take one further step, knocking off all the corners and feather the protruding portion beneath the rear tote on smaller planes.

I think it's more important to have a plane that describes an actual plane at three points than to have one that's perfectly smooth.
Properly tuned, it does the hard work of getting things aligned without to much higher brain work, which I exhausted years ago.

At this stage of the game, my cranium is mainly for ballast to keep me moving forward as I stumble through my daily tasks.
(I mean to say, you can over-think this - the appeal of a handplane is it's simplicity. Keep that simple.)

[Jim Koepke]

I was just wondering how far some of you like to go.(with plane sole lapping)

For me there has to be a reason to even consider lapping. Many planes are rounded at the toe. This may be to a lot of use where the original owner didn't completely pick the plane up on the back stroke. That isn't a reason to lap the sole.

Most of my lapping is to get rid of rust. Some of my planes have minor pitting to a few big rust craters on the sole. It doesn't effect the use as much as would removing enough metal to get rid of the pits.

With a sharp blade your #4 smoother should be able to take a shaving in the range of 0.001". It should also be able to take a thick shaving anywhere in the 0.010 to 0.020". Maybe if you are more muscular than me you could go a bit thicker. Thicker shavings tend to be more prone to tear out or chatter lines.

If a plane is working well, trying to fix it is not advised. Only try and fix the problems that are evident.

To comment on what David said about a convex versus a concave sole... A concave sole will take a lot of blade adjustment to work, and then it will dig in as the blade hits the work. Or if you are applying downward pressure near the mouth it will take shavings until the pressure is removed. Even though these are made of cast iron, there is some flexing over the full length.

It is easy to mess up the sole of a plane with unnecessary lapping.

jtk

[Joe Tilson]

The companion plane was very concave so I have worked it down with just a small patch behind the mouth. The casting on this one is pretty thick. The sweetheart is pretty flat, so I'll just clean it up good. It also has some pitting which is not going to hurt anything. As always this is a learning process. Thanks for the input.

[Michael Hammers]

It is easy to mess up the sole of a plane with unnecessary lapping

He aint lying....I think it is easy to get lost in the weeds with all the info out there.
I screwed one up that need not have been and ended up sending it away to a fellow who does plane lapping and re-surfacing for flatness.
Had I just left it alone and concentrated more on the blade efforts I would have saved both a wallet and headache.

I just think of all the artisans of ages past who made marvels with a fraction of the tools and widgets available to modern wood makers. It's not metal working so those insane tolerances are really a roadblock for a lot of folks sticking their collective toes in the hand-plane pool.


HTH

M

[Roy Lindberry]

I am trying to lap a couple of #4's. One is a type 13 sweet heart and the other is a handyman companion made in Canada. I was just wondering how far some of you like to go.

Until it works. I really only care about functionality. I don't lap if the plane works.

[Jim Matthews]

For me there has to be a reason to even consider lapping.
If a plane is working well, trying to fix it is not advised. Only try and fix the problems that are evident.

It is easy to mess up the sole of a plane with unnecessary lapping.

jtk

+1 on don't fix what ain't broken.

I picked up a Millers Falls smoother that was a uniform rust color.
Using basic sandpaper and wire brush cleaning, it was bright beneath the years of disuse
and still straight. Heavier handling would have just taken longer, without making things better.

[Joe Tilson]

Just to let you know the companion works a lot better. It has nowhere the drag it had, and the blade does a better job as well. Larger shavings came out in chips, but finer shavings came out in sheets. The blade is getting dull. Thanks for all of your help. I'll be asking more questions. "Joe"

[Jacob Nothstine]

+1
Until it works. I really only care about functionality. I don't lap if the plane works.

Not sure if you have used it yet but Paraffin wax on the bottom of a plane does wonderful things.

[Joe Tilson]

Jacob, that's what I did. Thanks, Joe

[Kim Malmberg]

Most has already been said by the wise men of this forum. Less is much more. But one thing which might need ubderlining is that even if you do not lap the sole you do need to make sure the sole is smooth. We all know a plane will work so much better once waxed, oiled or othereise lubricated. But it is equally important that the surface is not generating unneccesary friction.
Which is why I always polish my soles with very fine sandpaper or steel wool and Autosol paste.

[Joe Tilson]

Kim, This plane shines like a newly minted silver coin. My problem now is sharpening the blade to make it work better. I only go to 4000 grits with the stone I have at this time. My wife says going to hand tools is costing more than motorized tools did. So, I am going to sell a lot of motorized tools very soon. Hand tools make much less noise plus they are healthier for us.

[Jim Koepke]

My wife says going to hand tools is costing more than motorized tools did.

You need to make a few projects just for her.

It is hard for the wife to complain about your hobby when she is enjoying cabinets or furniture you have made for the house.

Just be careful she doesn't get the idea you will make things free for her friends. If your tools can bring in a little money then she will likely start asking what fancy tool you want for your birthday or Christmas.

jtk

[Joe Tilson]

Jim, I have made this lady a lot of little fancy play pretties and practical items as well. I married a very frugal German woman from E. TN. I am a spendaholic of N. England, Scotland, and Ireland descent who happened to be from TN.