How do You Joint the Edges of a Board With a Plane?

[Steve H Graham]

I was fooling around with the Stanley #4 plane I fixed, and I decided to smooth out a push stick I made from scrap. I was very surprised at how nice the wood turned out to be. It seems like there is something about hand tools that brings out the beauty of wood. Or maybe I'm just really bad at using power tools.

The plane seems to be okay. It made chips that were clear, and they were as wide as the blade.

Anyway, I am wondering: what is the secret to getting the edges of a piece of wood square? Is there a jig or trick, or is it just skill?


315668

[bridger berdel]

You can jig it several ways, use a fence or a shooting board, or lay the board flat on a known true surface spaced up a bit and run the plane on it's side. If the board is very big it is easier for me to clamp it on edge and run the plane sole down. I'll either use a fence or keep a small square at hand and check frequently.

I definitely prefer a longer plane for jointing.

[Tom M King]

Longer plane, and good eye.

[Pedro Reyes]

If I am jointing an edge to glue a panel, then I joint them ganged up in pairs, that way the angle does not matter as the angles will be supplementary (add to 180), yet I still want to keep it close to 90. On boards that will be edges, I use the methods described above.

/p

[Jim Matthews]

I can do it with a #4 as you've shown, but it's slow going.

Use a 4 foot level and light to show if there are gaps.

It's easier to 'match plane (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld4qlSzkIsg)' or use a jig as Terry Gordon demonstrates below:


https://youtu.be/RbkdWMIBhNc

[Edward Miller]

Anyway, I am wondering: what is the secret to getting the edges of a piece of wood square? Is there a jig or trick, or is it just skill?




You can use shooting boards or similar tools to achieve squareness, but I generally don't unless the piece I'm working with is very thin. Instead, I check to see how the board is out of square, and then shift my plane toward the high side of the edge I am jointing. This only works if your plane blade is cambered--i.e. the cutting edge of the blade is slightly curved, so that the plane takes a slightly thicker shaving in the middle of the blade than on the edges. If it does that, then by shifting the plane toward the high side of the edge, you will make the plane take a bigger bite off the high side than the low side, which will bring the edge closer to being square.

[Brian Holcombe]

This is what I do for thin stuff;

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/ADB80E7C-2F0F-4BFA-BD3E-9F96D3E79538_zpsm2lac2ye.jpg

[Jim Koepke]

Anyway, I am wondering: what is the secret to getting the edges of a piece of wood square? Is there a jig or trick, or is it just skill?


There are a lot of different answers to this question depending on what is being squared.

For end grain a shooting board is not essential, but it sure is a big help.

For edge grain to facilitate joining to boards into a panel then there are a lot of tricks or jigs as described above by others.

For short pieces in the 2' or less, then one can do the work with a #4 or 5 plane. Some will argue the possibility of joining longer boards with these, but it isn't the easiest way to go.

For the question of getting the edges of a piece of wood square, a method which works for me is to check the piece for square once any saw marks are other roughness is removed. The piece is checked at various points along the length. If it is angled to one side, my plane is tilted toward the high side to take a narrow shaving from the high side. The width of the shaving depends on how out of square the edge in combination with how thick a shaving the blade is set to remove. After the first pass there is a narrow edge the plane can ride on to make a slightly wider shaving. This is repeated until the shaving is the full width of the work piece and then it is rechecked and the procedure is repeated as needed.

After doing this a few times my planing got much better and it isn't done as much. That is one way to build ones skill.

The clamping of two boards together to make a mating edge has one drawback for people just starting with hand planes. There is a tendency to end up with bowed boards. The edge angles may be complimentary, yet if the two pieces are convex or concave they will present a problem when it is time to glue them together.

In the long run, every method has its merits and problems. It is a matter of finding what works best for your own needs and then perfecting your skills.

jtk

[Brian Holcombe]

I find for some pieces it's good to have a wide reference area of your bench. Over and above have the requisite straight edges and winding sticks I find this important as a quick check for accurate work of small and medium sized pieces.

The end 'breadboard' of my bench is 4" x 4" x 40" and it is flat and square, so it's checked regularly and then I use this as a quick check for taking the twist out of parts and checking them for flatness.

[Steve H Graham]

Thanks for the help. Sounds like it's okay to cheat.

[David Ragan]

Thanks for the help. Sounds like it's okay to cheat.

Steve, this comment struck me as odd

I don't see any cheating-anywhere in WW..... real cheating is when I tried to use epoxy, and the joint failed:eek:

It was a small frame joint-2 frames, 8 joints, I redesigned it (in total about 4 times), and got it to work.

Some folks like Hand, some power tools; IMO, all are 'hand made'

The purists out there would eschew the use of screws, I'm sure-but I use them, and then plug.

Hey-I know the error of my ways, and am thinking about giving them up except for jigs, etc.

As for your question, Hand tools are simply a beautiful experience. I normally use a power jointer:rolleyes:

[Steve H Graham]

Steve, this comment struck me as odd

I get that a lot.

[Jim Matthews]

I get that a lot.

You're in South Florida.
Who would notice?

(Full disclosure, three years in Boynton Beach.)

[Steve H Graham]

From here, Boynton looks normal.

[Steve H Graham]

Another question: can I expect plane shavings to stop up my shop-vac? I have been sweeping them up with a broom, which is brutal work.

[Brian Holcombe]

I would think that making the shavings is worse... :p

[Jim Koepke]

My shop vac can handle most shavings. It has a larger hose than some shop vacs.

A big wad of shavings can make it choke, but usually wiggling the hose gets them down.

jtk

[Steve H Graham]

Okay, thanks. I didn't want to spend tomorrow morning rooting shavings out with an opened coat hanger. That broom is murder. It almost made me perspire.

[Allan Speers]

If I am jointing an edge to glue a panel, then I joint them ganged up in pairs, that way the angle does not matter as the angles will be supplementary (add to 180), yet I still want to keep it close to 90. On boards that will be edges, I use the methods described above.

/p


THIS !!! Of course you still want to be careful and not plane-off too much.

For edges, you can't beat a shooting board. This is something every galoot should own. Heck, I think it's one of the very few hand tools that even power tool guys should own.

[Pat Barry]

Okay, thanks. I didn't want to spend tomorrow morning rooting shavings out with an opened coat hanger. That broom is murder. It almost made me perspire.
You have to be careful man, perspiring like that can lead right to dehydration and a nice hospital stay.

[steven c newman]

I can use about any plane to joint an edge. That said, there is a different grip used for this sort of thing. The hand that would normally grab the front knob? Only my thumb gets hooked over the edge of the plane's side. Usually it is in the area near the front knob, though. The index finger curls back, so that the area betwen the knuckles rubs along the board, acting as a fence, of sorts. The rest of the fingers either try to stay out of the way, or ride along the face side of the board. Helps keeping the plane level. They will also tell me if the plane tilts any. Takes a few tries to get used to that grip.....now it seems like that it is automatic for me to use on edges.

Have a small shooting board for end grain, sometimes it even gets used.

[Prashun Patel]

Practice, practice, practice. I have a fence on my jointer plane, but just like dovetails, the more you practice, the less you need training wheels. I tend to overthink techniques, and to look for silver bullets. More times than not, though, it's just a matter of practice. Well, sharpness, then practice.

Get a trustworthy square and straight edge to check yourself.

While it's trickier to joint a flat edge with a #4 than a longer plane, it's very good practice. You'll be forced to examine your edge often and to plane sections of the edge consciously. With a longer plane, the tool does a lot of that work. Learning to feel and see a square/flat surface is an acquired skill. If I can do it, I am sure you can.

I've gotten in the habit (read, addiction) of digging pieces out of the scrap bin and squaring/prepping an edge every day. Just like playing an instrument, daily practice like this has been invaluable.

[steven c newman]

Have a rather old #5 Jack plane someone added a fence to
315738
To the point they were counter sunk for screws. I guess it might work, depending on how long the fence was. Or, should I say crutch. No. 5 Stanley, type 6 with two holes through the sole...what a waste...
Might have set it up the work on door edges?

[Tom Vanzant]

Steven, I use that method to square edges. Just make sure you have clamped the workpiece high enough for your left hand not to run into anything. I mounted a board too low once, and my lead hand ran into the face vise and stopped, but the plane continued on...nice flat on the tip of my index finger from the freshly honed iron. Much workpiece clean-up needed after first aid rendered.

[Patrick Harper]

The best piece of advice I can give you is to get out in the shop and experiment. Here's a video I did of jointing the wide edges for the planks of my Roubo benchtop: Jointing Wide Edges by Hand (http://wp.me/p5P6LK-5h)

Your typical narrow edges are much easier. It just takes practice.

[Brian Holcombe]

Patrick,

Nice video. I hope you dont mind my comment, but one thing to watch out for is that you can be making a long curve if you start every pass on the end. I've done this, of course, and so now after I get a full length pass I return to the board for another pass starting after the edge and ending prior to the opposing edge. What that creates is a hollow, then the follow up full length pass will be flat. I do this as often as needed while processing to ensure I'm maintaining a straight line.

Another thing to keep in mind, and this has driven me a little nutty in the past, if you are referencing square to a side of the board that has not been worked yet, you're likely creating a twist rather than removing one. So the first jointed edge should be done with winding sticks or on a dead flat reference, after which it can be used as a reference to the edges 90 degree to it.

-If there is twist in the board I'll start on the high corner and end on the opposing high corner.

-If the board is bellied it's important to work that out before you take full length passes.

-If the board is bellied and twisted then you mind the twist and remove the belly but the belly comes first.

-If it's cupped, then life is easy, remove the twist first.

[Robert Engel]

Brian shows a good technique, especially for long boards.

But it can be done with practice your feel will come. Just keep checking for square every 5 or 6 shavings.
If its out of square you can plane with the side of the square flush with the low side of board. The little metal to the side of the blade will cause it to take more off the other side. DO NOT change your lateral adjuster for this you will regret it!!

Its alto good to learn how to make a spring joint, even if you're going to clamp the whole thing.

Don't try to shop vac plane shavings it will clog. What's so brutal about sweeping them up?

[Pat Barry]

... but one thing to watch out for is that you can be making a long curve if you start every pass on the end. I've done this, of course, and so now after I get a full length pass I return to the board for another pass starting after the edge and ending prior to the opposing edge. What that creates is a hollow, then the follow up full length pass will be flat.
Brian, This is an interesting point. It isn't apparent that the result would be as you state it but after thinking it through I see that if you have a hollow in the edge, then you really only can take off any material at the front and trailing edges (thin shavings, not heavy stock removal), because your jointer will ride on the front and back ends of the plane sole over the hollow and the blade area will be not in contact with the wood. Is that what you are getting at?

[Brian Holcombe]

Your plane has a front and rear reference during the middle of the cut, it only has one reference at the ends of the cut. So, even during normal planing your cut is heavier during the times when it only has one reference point. So if you always make full length passes you will eventually cut a large arc rather than a flat surface. To combat this I will take cuts that are not full length, but as described, intermittently during the process of flattening a board.

If the board is shorter than the plane, then you will create a hollow that is the depth of one shaving, if it's a longer board then you can create a pretty good hollow but that is not the goal.

The goal of this additional step is that the piece can go from a hollow to a flat surface within about one-two cuts. One to remove the edges and one final full length pass to remove any steps which are still there.

[Patrick Harper]

Patrick,

Nice video. I hope you dont mind my comment, but one thing to watch out for is that you can be making a long curve if you start every pass on the end. I've done this, of course, and so now after I get a full length pass I return to the board for another pass starting after the edge and ending prior to the opposing edge. What that creates is a hollow, then the follow up full length pass will be flat. I do this as often as needed while processing to ensure I'm maintaining a straight line.


I agree. I thought I had mentioned it in the video, but I always work to create a very slight hollow in the length of the board by taking stopped shavings (ala Charlesworth).

[Allan Speers]

This is what I do for thin stuff....


Brian, that's the largest shooting board I've ever seen !


(clever.)

[Brian Holcombe]

I agree. I thought I had mentioned it in the video, but I always work to create a very slight hollow in the length of the board by taking stopped shavings (ala Charlesworth).

Apologies if I missed it. I didn't want to seem like I'm standing at the ready to point out a detail, but I thought it worth a mention.


Brian, that's the largest shooting board I've ever seen !


(clever.)

Thanks Allan! This is a slight modification on an actual shooting board that Terry Gordon built and Jim Matthews posted up a while back.

I use a variation on this idea using my front vise when face jointing box frames as well. Clamping the box frame into the vise and keeping the edge proud of the surface enough to align it with the center of the plane (or close to center). Much easier than trying to remain square on 3/8" thick material.

[Steve H Graham]

You have to be careful man, perspiring like that can lead right to dehydration and a nice hospital stay.

Fortunately I'm very prudent about that.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Another question: can I expect plane shavings to stop up my shop-vac? I have been sweeping them up with a broom, which is brutal work.

Shavings, probably not. Fine dust will clog up the filter; well, more accurately, it will reduce the suction.

I use the Oneida Dust Deputy with my shop vac and it helps. There is, of course, suction reduction. You can also build your own as you see fit. Just something to keep in mind if you find that your filters are plugging up.

When I joint a board using a hand plane, I generally use the longest plane I can and I (1) use a straight edge to see how I am doing and (2) I use a small square to make sure that I am perpendicular to the surface. If I intend to join two boards together, then I try to plane them at the same time so that any slight angle will still allow the boards to go together well (you need to position the boards appropriately for this to work). When you identify where the problem areas are, you can mark them with a pencil (or similar) and then work on those areas.