Proper tool for small chamfers?

[Jay Maiers]

What's the best tool choice for 1/8" chamfers, running both with the grain and across the end grain?

I've got several small blocks to chamfer on all edges. The blocks are about 1.5" x 1.5" x 2" and are made from maple, walnut, and mahogany. I was planning on trying my standard angle block with a DIY fence / angle guide. I'm sure this will be great with the grain, however I've got serious doubts about the ends of the blocks. Also note that my skills with a hand plane are not the best, and I'm having trouble getting a consistent angles and depths with these chamfers (hence the fence idea).

I've got electrons, and I'm not afraid to use 'em, but I'd rather take this opportunity instead of passing it by. If electrons are the best choice in this situation, well, that's fine too.

Thanks!

[Andrae Covington]

What's the best tool choice for 1/8" chamfers, running both with the grain and across the end grain?

I've got several small blocks to chamfer on all edges. The blocks are about 1.5" x 1.5" x 2" and are made from maple, walnut, and mahogany. I was planning on trying my standard angle block with a DIY fence / angle guide. I'm sure this will be great with the grain, however I've got serious doubts about the ends of the blocks. Also note that my skills with a hand plane are not the best, and I'm having trouble getting a consistent angles and depths with these chamfers (hence the fence idea).

I've got electrons, and I'm not afraid to use 'em, but I'd rather take this opportunity instead of passing it by. If electrons are the best choice in this situation, well, that's fine too.

Thanks!

For workpieces that small, it's difficult to get a block plane guide to register well enough to really be effective. I have the LV chamfer guide for their low-angle block plane, and it works well for long chamfers, but not so well for short ones. Also, when I've use it on end grain, I come in halfway from each side to avoid spelching, but if I'm not careful I end up with chamfers that are wider at the ends than at the middle. Really, this is the same registration problem. All in all, small chamfers on small blocks, I think your best bet is a sharp chisel and some pencil guidelines if you need them.

[Bill Houghton]

If you have enough to justify spending the time on a holding device of some kind, and if you need/want consistency, I'd go ahead and make yourself a fixture.

For something that small, I'd consider a file or even (WARNING: blasphemy ahead) a sanding block. And, when you do the end grain, don't do it across the grain; plane/file/sand long grain but at 45 degrees to the face of the block. Kind of like the tool is diving off the end of the block. You'll get less roughness that way.

[William Adams]

I use a ``Corner Plane By Peachtree Woodworking PW3242'' --- works fine so long as one minds grain direction.

[Edward Mitton]

I've had good results using a small (2" long) trim plane.

[Jim Matthews]

If the blocks are uniform, build a clamping jig to hold them in place.

Build a "ramp" to guide either a low angle block plane, or my choice - a very sharp chisel.
I would build something like Chris Knight's version of the Wearing design - with a fixture to clamp pieces down.

272549

Note the more traditional "Donkey's ear" drawing at the bottom of this page (http://www.amgron.clara.net/donkeysear69.html), with simple wedges as holding fixtures.
I like wedges - nothing to get on about...

[Derek Cohen]

I built this chamfer plane several years ago. For general chamfering I simply eyeball it with a block plane, however if the chamfer is on show and needs to be exact, this plane does the job.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/My%20planes/Chamferplane-1.jpg

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/A%20Pair%20of%20End%20Tables_html_m61f0e1b4.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Ritter]

Nice chamfer plane you made Derek, I like it.
Jim

[Max Withers]

Drawknife.

Not for the faint of heart!

[Jim Koepke]

If you need to have consistency a modified donkey ear shooting board may be the best route, like Jim Matthews suggests.

Trim the end grain first. If you have one, use a low angle bevel up plane.

jtk

[Jay Maiers]

Thanks everyone. I'm stuck with standard angle planes for now, aside from a low angle block that's giving me fits. I'll try to set this up on the shooting board this weekend. If not having a low angle plane proves to be serious trouble, I'll attempt a DIY chamfer plane (nice work Derek!).

Hopefully, one of the two of those solutions will get me where I need to go...

[Jim Matthews]

Drawknife.Not for the faint of heart!

I vaguely recall someone attaching stair gauges (http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/JL-405/Johnson-Level-Stair-Square-Gauge-Thumbscrews/?gclid=CKKN0O6ojboCFcud4AodYDEA-g&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=JL-405&ef_id=UcyPxQAAAfPe5yYI:20131010223050:s) meant for framing squares to limit the
drawknife blade's side travel? I'm not clear on how well a drawknife cuts endgrain...

If the blade in your block plane is plenty sharp, you should manage.
Just ensure that the mouth is so tight as possible, and take a fine shaving.

A little at a time will get you down to a steady bevel that requires no further finishing.

[Bill McDermott]

Jay, For those tiny pieces with tiny chamfers, I'd lay a sheet of 150 grit on the bench and pass the blocks back and forth. It'll be quick work. I find it easier and safer to move the piece over the tool when it gets small like that. A couple peeks en route and you'll have it where you need it to be in no time. Out of curiosity, what are all these tiny blocks for? Baby blocks with letters and numbers? Bill

[Kent A Bathurst]

I had to address the same issue some time ago - square chamfered ebony pegs.

The first few, I scribed layout lines around the ends and sides, and used a sharp block plane. Pretty soon, I had the hang of it, and just plowed ahead.

It really is easy, and very fast, with the block plane - you can always do some trial runs on scrap pieces.

[Max Withers]

Jim, chamfer guides for drawknives do indeed look like stair gauges for framing squares, and might even be interchangeable. I'm pretty new to drawknives, but I'd rather use a sharp one on end grain than any plane I own! (My only BU planes are a Stanley 220 and LN 140 I'm still figuring out, so maybe BU bench planes work better).

[Jim Matthews]

Max, do you have a broad chisel - on the order of 1" wide?

That would be my first choice, if you can get it sharp.
A paring (swivel) motion is difficult to manage with a plane.

[Jay Maiers]

Jay, For those tiny pieces with tiny chamfers, I'd lay a sheet of 150 grit on the bench and pass the blocks back and forth. It'll be quick work. I find it easier and safer to move the piece over the tool when it gets small like that. A couple peeks en route and you'll have it where you need it to be in no time. Out of curiosity, what are all these tiny blocks for? Baby blocks with letters and numbers? Bill
No kids here, and not nearly that many blocks :)
I'm messing around with a few designs for modular-ish storage and organizational pieces for the house and maybe my office. The blocks can serve as risers, decoration, or receptacles (when drilled with the proper holes/ hole patterns). It's a pretty ho-hum series of pieces, but I thought it would be a good skill builder, and it fits in with the scraps and small chunks of wood I have on hand.



I had to address the same issue some time ago - square chamfered ebony pegs.

The first few, I scribed layout lines around the ends and sides, and used a sharp block plane. Pretty soon, I had the hang of it, and just plowed ahead.

It really is easy, and very fast, with the block plane - you can always do some trial runs on scrap pieces.

So far my cleanest cuts have come from my chisels, but the best bevel consistency has come from the block plane. I tried out a few different methods this weekend, and all fell short in one way or another. It was a good learning experience, and has given me a couple more ideas to try as soon as I get the time.

My sharpening skills, while never great to begin with, were exceptionally poor this weekend. After somehow putting a nick into the block plane blade, I stopped to regrind and tune everything else back up. I blued the blade and ground it way out of square at the same time, so I decided to leave off until my patience returns...