The Convex Conundrum - The Three Principles of Using Japanese Finish Planes

[Stanley Covington]

As we enter Autumn, the falling leaves seem to have clogged the course of Sawmill Creek a bit, so I am floating a log downstream in the hope that it will liven things up.

Like most non-Japanese, I taught myself how to use Japanese planes. Later, I was given the opportunity to learn from highly skilled Japanese professionals in Japan, but found the experience discouraging at first when I discovered I had to unlearn bad habits.

By the way, none of the old boys I learned from had written a book or magazine article, or starred in a DVD on how to use a plane. None of them sold tools, or taught classes, or shilled for tool retailers. For that matter, none of them had ever even read an article or book, or attended a workshop, on using tools, but had woodworking skills literally pounded into them by foot and fist when they were just smooth-faced boys right out of middle school. They were no-nonsense, 12-hour-a-day craftsmen.

One thing I had to learn very quickly was the importance of using a plane to make surfaces as flat and smooth as possible right off the blade, and when that was not possible, to make them at least appear flat and smooth. Sandpaper was never, ever an option. It's not rocket surgery, but these techniques contradict what most if not all the scribblers in the modern English-speaking woodworking press advocate. The three principles I had to learn are as follows.

The first principle is that only a straight blade can make a truly flat surface. It is of course self evident that a convex blade can only produced a concave or scalloped surface, one that is more likely to be out of square in limited areas, and to induce problems when joining pieces together as in a door or window. This means that the effective width of the blade of a plane used to finish plane a surface should, whenever possible, be at least as wide as the surface being planed, otherwise the blade will create "steps" or ridges in the wood's surface. This point is of course applicable when planing joinery pieces as in frames for doors and windows and architectural trim, much of which is less than 72mm in width.

The second principle is that, in the case where the available plane blade is too narrow to plane a surface in a single pass, so that multiple passes are necessary, the final finish cuts should be made with a blade sharpened ever-so slightly convex, especially at the right and left corners, or "ears," of the blade, so that the blade's corners disappear smoothly into the mouth of the plane without any exposed corners that would otherwise cut ridges or tracks into the wood's surface. This technique is applicable in the case of panels and beams wider than, for instance, 72mm which is the effective cutting width of the standard finish plane. It is also one that I believe is well understood by Western woodworkers nowadays.

To maximize the width of a workpiece that can be planed dead flat in a single stroke, there are standard planes in Japan with blades wider than 72mm, such as 80mm, but a 72mm wide "sunpachi" is as wide as most people can handily use. However, there have always been craftsmen in Japan that wanted the perceived efficiency and notoriety of being able to finish plane an architectural column dead flat in a single pass. For this purpose, blacksmiths occasionally forge blades 300mm and wider. If you have seen the online videos of the Kezuroukai, then you may have seen guys using these extremely wide planes. Not so hard to sharpen, I am told, but very difficult to setup and maintain.

The third principle is derivative of the first two and dictates that a craftsman have at least two finish planes in his toolbox: One with a blade sharpened dead straight, and another with a slightly convex blade dedicated to finish planing panels and wider surfaces. I have found this arrangement to be very efficient and to yield excellent results, especially when prepping multiple pieces to be joined together. But few if any of the modern Western gurus seem to teach what is SOP here in Japan.

If you use a convex blade in your planes for all finish planing situations, have you experienced any difficulty planing pieces flat and square, and creating tight joints?

Is it important for the surfaces you produce to be flat and smooth right off the finish plane blade?

Do you typically sand and finish pieces with some product after joining, or do you leave the bare wood exposed?

Please share your experiences.

Stan

[Frederick Skelly]

Stan,
I use only Western planes at this juncture. I very seldom use sandpaper since I discovered finish planes and how to sharpen them. I do feather the corners sliightly, though I doubt I have a uniformly convex edge. I usually go from the finish plane to shellac or paste wax. The panels I make are smooth but certainly not perfectly glass-like, as real Masters like you work with routinely produce. But I get a little better every time.

As always, I enjoyed reading your post. l especially enjoyed your artistic opening paragraph. You're learning that from your Japanese colleagues too, aren't you?

Fred

[Brian Holcombe]

Stan,

As I progress with Japanese planes I have also found that having two standard sized planes to be my approach. I do find flattening furniture components which can be planed in a single stroke to be best completed with a flat blade.

In addition to what you have stated above I have a 48~mm blade that I use for assembled cabinets, I set this to a extremely fine cut and use it to brighten up assembled cabinets. It makes small scallops, but then I return to cut the ridges down and the finally result is very smooth to the touch.

Sandpaper does not touch my cabinet work with very, very few exceptions. Most often I am finished with structural components the moment they are dimensioned since my final passes are with a finish plane, with exception to if I am cutting joinery into them then I will take a pass or two after that is complete. The less often one needs to work a dimensioned piece, the better, as once they are cut to size then the only thing left to do is to make them undersized.

I have a 7 jointer also setup with a flat edge and I use it to finish components or edges save for one or two strokes by my flat blade smooth plane. This was the 'zamboni' plane for our NYC Kez, where a few cleanup passes were taken between rounds to give the next person a fair shake. The same approach applies to components, cutting them truly flat leaves only a pas or two left for the finish plane. It has the added benefit of needing to wear out the finish plane much less than otherwise required.

I typically do the majority of my work up until that point with a cambered blade.

[Stewie Simpson]

I follow the 1st and 2nd principal as outlined.

Stewie;

[Phil Mueller]

Stanley, thanks for starting this post...I'm looking forward to the discussion.

A somewhat novice perspective. I've transitioned to David Charlesworth's cambered iron method (I'm using a #5) for flattening and squaring both edges and faces. I finish with a straight edge smoothing plane with slightly cambered corners. Depending on the result, I do a final sand on about 75% of the work at the moment.

Reversing or difficult grain remains my prime "learning opportunity", as I am still challenged to read the grain direction and manage it without tear out. At this stage, I typically get difficult wood as flat as possible, short of any major tear out, and finish with sandpaper.

My goal is to minimize the sanding...I'll get there sooner or later.

[Patrick Chase]

I basically follow all 3 principles these days. I always have at least one smoother set up with a flat blade for edge work etc, and the others have subtly rounded corners.

I would note that the rounding doesn't have to carry all the way into the mouth of the plane, though. It need only be enough to accommodate the worst-case depth difference between adjacent strokes. If you're capable of planing adjacent strokes to within 1 mil in depth (which can be achieved), then you only need a little bit more than 1 mil of relief/rounding to ensure that no corner will have contacted the final finished surface.

[Stanley Covington]

Fred:

Glad you enjoyed the post. It is pleasant to occasionally write something light that does not deal with money, schedule problems, or quality defects in construction projects.

You are right about the opening address. It is traditional in Japan to begin a personal letter or friendly communication with some mention of the seasons and/or the current weather. I find myself unthinkingly adapting it in admittedly strange ways in my English communications too. :p

One of the key things to creating smooth panels with a finish plane is to set the cut depth extremely shallow. The shavings produced when finish planing light-colored woods should be translucent when possible, to the extent that you can read newspaper print through the shaving. This is not difficult to accomplish with a good, sharp, properly setup plane be it a Japanese hiraganna, a Bailey pattern steel plane, a horned German plane, or a Hong Kong side-handle plane. This is the starting point, BTW, for the Kezuroukai. Brian has an interesting report on his blog you might find interesting if you haven't read it yet. I suppose that the Kezuroukai is to woodworking what NASCAR is to moonshine delivery.

In any case, if the plane has a sharp blade and is setup and adjusted properly to take a very thin shaving, tearout is greatly reduced even when planing against the grain. This is the real purpose of the finish plane in the Japanese tradition. In the Western tradition, the term finish plane seems to refer more to a specific length plane rather than the actual function of the plane.

Good luck in your efforts.

Stan

[James Pallas]

Stanley, Thank you for writing this post. I find these things very interesting. Methods of work for different cultures can be very enlightening. I had a question about Japanese methods. From watching videos it seems that the Japanese workers go for the finish right away as opposed to saving the final prep for finish after the piece is assembled. If this is so how do they go about protecting the work in progress.
Jim

[Stanley Covington]

Stanley, Thank you for writing this post. I find these things very interesting. Methods of work for different cultures can be very enlightening. I had a question about Japanese methods. From watching videos it seems that the Japanese workers go for the finish right away as opposed to saving the final prep for finish after the piece is assembled. If this is so how do they go about protecting the work in progress.
Jim

Jim:

It depends on whether or not the piece will be given an applied finish or be left bare wood.

Sandpaper, or an equivalent, has been used historically for prep before applying a finish such as urushi lacquer, but the job of the carpenter or cabinetmaker or joiner is to make the surface perfect, raw wood when he is done. Where such a finish is applied, of course, temporary protection is not as necessary as it is for pieces that will not receive a finish.

For bare wood (aka "shiraki" 白木 or ""white wood") the surface left by the finish plane is the final finish, so it must be perfect. There are two ways to achieve this. In the case of doors, shoji, tansu chests and other projects where the finish plane can work all sides and all surfaces unobstructed, a final pass with the finish plane will restore the finish to perfection. Remember, the finish plane is removing only a very, very thin shaving of wood with each pass, not enough to mess up dimensions significantly. This is the ideal.

In the case where a final pass of the finish plane is not possible, the freshly planed wood is wrapped in paper (and foam cushioning nowadays) before and after assembly to protect it.

Japan has an abundance of excellent softwoods. Not as many huge trees as there once was, but still lots of volume. The cedar varieties such as Yoshino shugi and Akita sugi smell wonderful when freshly planed. There is nothing like it in the US. Yoshino sugi, and to a lesser degree Akita sugi, develop a beautiful shine when finished properly. Hinoki (cryptomeria) is another excellent wood that planes leaving a beautiful surface and a wonderful smell. A hinoki bathtub is wonderful thing to experience. Hinoki is similar to Port Orford Cedar, but smells better IMO. It planes and works similar to Alaskan Cedar but does not have the same mediciney smell.

Hinoki is a great wood in all respects. Naturally rot resistant like many cedars, it is highly unusual in that it develops maximum strength in bending, tension, and compression approximately 300 years after the tree has been cut down. Most varieties of wood begin losing strength gradually soon after the wood has dried to equilibrium. This is one reason why Japan's shrines, built almost entirely of unfinished hinoki, have survived so long.

Another interesting thing is that, regardless of the variety, wood that that has been properly planed and left unfinished prior to exposure to sunlight and moisture is much more durable than the same wood that has been sanded and treated with a varnish or paint. This is because the cleanly cut fibers (which are are mostly tubes) do not allow as much water to penetrate into the wood (due to hydrogen tension), while the fuzzy surface left by sanding tends to pull much more rot-inducing water into the wood quickly and deeply. Also, the fuzz is quickly oxidized by UV rays further promoting cellular degradation.

Surface finishes such as varnish and paint, always fail after UV exposure. Water then penetrates into the wood where the remaining varnish or paint traps the water. Unless the varnish or paint is religiously maintained, it does not tend to make exposed wood last longer, especially when applied on top of a sanded surface.

The point of all this meandering is that the woodworkers of the Japanese islands have always had wood that responds well to planing, and when properly planed, develop a beautiful, fragrant, extremely durable surface that ages gracefully. The Japanese have a deep, genetic love of cleanly planed, bare wood, and the finish plane is an important tool in maximizing these traits.

Stan

[James Pallas]

Thank you again Stanley. The paper or padding makes perfect sense. It brings more questions. Are card scrapers or similar part of a Japanese workers kit? In what cases is end grain left exposed? Is air dried material more typically used for fine work. I know, I know, too many questions but you have piqued my interest.
Jim

[Patrick Chase]

Another interesting thing is that, regardless of the variety, wood that that has been properly planed and left unfinished prior to exposure to sunlight and moisture is much more durable than the same wood that has been sanded and treated with a varnish or paint. This is because the cleanly cut fibers (which are are mostly tubes) do not allow as much water to penetrate into the wood (due to hydrogen tension), while the fuzzy surface left by sanding tends to pull much more rot-inducing water into the wood quickly and deeply. Also, the fuzz is quickly oxidized by UV rays further promoting cellular degradation.

I'd always wondered if this is the case. It makes intuitive sense - A cleanly cut surface exposes fewer fibers, which reduces wicking (which is what I think you're referring to as "hydrogen tension"?). Less exposed fibers means less surface area, and therefore less oxidation.



Surface finishes such as varnish and paint, always fail after UV exposure. Water then penetrates into the wood where the remaining varnish or paint traps the water. Unless the varnish or paint is religiously maintained, it does not tend to make exposed wood last longer, especially when applied on top of a sanded surface.

Indeed. A film finish doesn't do much over the long term unless you periodically replace it.

EDIT: Added "fewer" as that was what I was trying to say.

[Derek Cohen]

One of the key things to creating smooth panels with a finish plane is to set the cut depth extremely shallow. The shavings produced when finish planing light-colored woods should be translucent when possible, to the extent that you can read newspaper print through the shaving

Thanks Stan. Intriguing.

Your comments take us full circle back about 4 years, when fine shavings began to be displaced by the thicker shavings under a chipbreakered smoother. Very fine, translucent - read through - shavings have long been the hallmark of a well set up handplane. However, in recent years they were seen to be unnecessary if planing could be done without tearout, and indeed fine shavings were considered slow and cumbersome in terms of speed and efficiency. Of course, a tearout-free surface is not necessarily a finely finished surface. One factor that promotes faster as better, in Western woodwork, is that a finish is nearly always applied. Most, if not all, finishes will obscure differences between planed and sanded surfaces.

Posts like yours - where information provided adds a fresh understanding why we do something, rather than just what we do - can influence a lot of people to work better, with more confidence in what they do. There is so much apparently contradictory advice on the 'Net that I am sure that many fail to understand that methods are not black and white.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Stanley Covington]

Thank you again Stanley. The paper or padding makes perfect sense. It brings more questions. Are card scrapers or similar part of a Japanese workers kit? In what cases is end grain left exposed? Is air dried material more typically used for fine work. I know, I know, too many questions but you have piqued my interest.
Jim

Jim

Card scrapers are not traditional tools, but are seeing some use nowadays,especially for truing plane soles. Not sure where you would go to buy one in Japan, though.....

Exposed end grain is OK for architectural and structural applications, but is considered unrefined in cabinet, casework, and joinery. Of course, hiding endgrain entirely can be expensive, as in the hidden dovetail mitre at casework corners, so large pinned fingerjoints with exposed endgrain are common too for less expensive work.

I am not aware of any use for green wood other than for crafts and baskets and sich. The best wood is air dried, of course, because it has abetter color and scent, but kilns are used too. I have no idea what the ratio of air-dried to kiln-dried might be.

Stan

[Stanley Covington]

I'd always wondered if this is the case. It makes intuitive sense - A cleanly cut surface exposes fibers, which reduces wicking (which is what I think you're referring to as "hydrogen tension"?). Less exposed fibers means less surface area, and therefore less oxidation.

Indeed. A film finish doesn't do much over the long term unless you periodically replace it.

Patrick:

Indeed, there has been a lot of heavy-duty research on the reasons that the old wooden structures have survived so long, and the strong consensus is the advantage of a smooth surface with cleanly-severed fibers, and a lack of a UV susceptible surface finish.

You will occasionally see an old temple that has members replaced, and where those members have been varnished. Looks like hell for about 15 years until the varnish all peels off and the exposed surface begins to oxidize evenly. You will also occasioanlly see new structures in hinoki that have been finished with varnish that look pitiful and have a leperous appearance. I think these varnished examples are specified by modern architects, or silly priests, that know very little about wooden structures. The carpenter/construction company does the shop drawings, so he has the opportunity to correct the fool's errors in big things, but the architect or silly priest will have his way on the finish. There is no medicinal cure for foolishness.

Thanks for the correction. I meant to write "hydrogen bonding" which is the correct name for the phenomenon that creates "surface tension" which prevents the water from being wicked into the wood.

Stan

[Phil Mueller]

Well, I'll be Stanley. I did not realize there was the option of leaving bare wood. I guess I've been exposed to so much about finishes, I just assumed it was "required". Wouldn't bare wood be highly subject to moisture, sweating drinks, spilled food, dents, etc? Or is bare wood only left for low use furniture?

[Stanley Covington]

One of the key things to creating smooth panels with a finish plane is to set the cut depth extremely shallow. The shavings produced when finish planing light-colored woods should be translucent when possible, to the extent that you can read newspaper print through the shaving

Thanks Stan. Intriguing.

Your comments take us full circle back about 4 years, when fine shavings began to be displaced by the thicker shavings under a chipbreakered smoother. Very fine, translucent - read through - shavings have long been the hallmark of a well set up handplane. However, in recent years they were seen to be unnecessary if planing could be done without tearout, and indeed fine shavings were considered slow and cumbersome in terms of speed and efficiency. Of course, a tearout-free surface is not necessarily a finely finished surface. One factor that promotes faster as better, in Western woodwork, is that a finish is nearly always applied. Most, if not all, finishes will obscure differences between planed and sanded surfaces.

Posts like yours - where information provided adds a fresh understanding why we do something, rather than just what we do - can influence a lot of people to work better, with more confidence in what they do. There is so much apparently contradictory advice on the 'Net that I am sure that many fail to understand that methods are not black and white.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek:

Thanks for your insight. Sharp as always.

I don't follow the chipbreaker thing from 4 years ago. Chipbreaker debate threads on SC are always so silly, it seems to me, kind of like arguing whether it is better to travel to the moon by balloon or rocket, that I simply skip them.

Unlike the Kezuroukai, thin shavings, in my experience, are not the objective in making a fine cut, but are a by-product of producing a smooth, apparently flat surface with a handplane. One can of course achieve a smooth finish while cutting relatively thicker shavings, but thicker shavings mean larger changes in dimensions, and a higher likelihood of tearout, and bigger, more easily discernible ridges when using a convex blade for multiple parallel passes on wider members.

So it is most efficient to have a couple of dedicated finish planes on hand, one with a straight blade, and one with a fine convex blade, both setup specifically for taking very fine shavings. Planes setup for thicker shavings are used for dimensioning, truing, and flattening as quickly as possible. These planes will need to be sharpened more frequently, and their soles will wear and get out of wack quicker than the finish planes. The finish plane is used much less so it stays sharper longer, and the blade's setting (which take some effort to get just right, as I'm sure you know) and the fettle of the sole are ready to rock-n-roll longer. Since the shavings it takes are so thin that the first few passes won't produce full-width shaving as it smooths down ridges and cleans up tearout. But when the finish plane's work is done, the surface will be as close to perfect as a hand-powered tool can manage.

I'm certain you already know this, Derek, so sorry for preaching to the choir, but for those who find what I am writing strange, please realize that the effectiveness of taking translucently thin shavings on the last few strokes is especially clear when using the convex-blade finish plane on wide panels. Since the plane's blade cannot plane the full width of the board in one pass, steps or ridges are unavoidably generated regardless of the shape of the blade. Of course, the sharply defined corners of the straight blade will produce sharply defined ridges, while a convex blade will create less-apparent ridges where plane passes meet. But when using a convex blade for multiple passes, so long as the radius of the convex curve (or radius just at the blade's corners, if you prefer) is very large (a very shallow radius), and the shavings taken are very thin, most people in most circumstances are unable to see or feel the ridges.

Where the convex blade is not an issue, thinner shavings are simply weaker than thicker shavings and have less leverage to induce tearout, producing a smoother finish.

I hope this makes sense.

Stan

[Derek Cohen]

Of course, the sharply defined corners of the straight blade will produce sharply defined ridges, while a convex blade will create less-apparent ridges where plane passes meet. But when using a convex blade for multiple passes, so long as the radius of the convex curve (or radius just at the blade's corners, if you prefer) is very large (a very shallow radius), and the shavings taken are very thin, most people in most circumstances are unable to see or feel the ridges.

A corollary of this is the way a smoother blade is cambered: too little camber and one creates tracks; too much camber (such as when only the centre third of the blade produces a shaving), then it will be difficult to avoid a sculpted surface. The aim is to take as near full width as possible.

Stan, do you have a method you can share?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Stanley Covington]

QUOTE=Phil Mueller;2611833]Well, I'll be Stanley. I did not realize there was the option of leaving bare wood. I guess I've been exposed to so much about finishes, I just assumed it was "required". Wouldn't bare wood be highly subject to moisture, sweating drinks, spilled food, dents, etc? Or is bare wood only left for low use furniture?[/QUOTE]

Yes, bare wood is indeed an option. If you have been to Japan you have seen it. Even if you have not visited Japan, you have no doubt seen photos of high-end wooden interiors with exposed wooden beams and columns, trim, and ceilings. These are bare wood, as are the shoji and wooden doors and window frames. A planed finish has the wonderful smell, and great feel of natural wood, and ages gracefully. That does not mean it won't get dirty and doesn't need to be maintained.

The better sushiya restaurants frequently have thick counters for clients to sit at made from bare hinoki. These are of course stained daily with food and beer and sake and soy sauce, but are absolutely immaculate, and kept that why by daily cleaning with a damp cloth and a bit of baking soda as an abrasive.

Notice the adzed column in the pic below. Very old and black with stains and smoke, but still beautiful IMO.

This link shows a couple of other ways of using bare wood. One is the adzed finish. The other is the yariganna, or "spear plane" finish. More rustic, but still very cool IMO. http://www.konarahouse.jp/blog/archives/date/2011/09/page/4

A few pics. The temple with all the carvings is Taishakuten located here in Tokyo, and one of my favorites. Established in 1692, the carvings are bare keyaki (zelkova) and have been exposed to the elements (under eaves) for a long time.

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[Stanley Covington]

A corollary of this is the way a smoother blade is cambered: too little camber and one creates tracks; too much camber (such as when only the centre third of the blade produces a shaving), then it will be difficult to avoid a sculpted surface. The aim is to take as near full width as possible.

Stan, do you have a method you can share?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Allow me to add one more point to your corollary. It is neither time efficient nor cost effective to spend time and money on a quality blade of any width if the entire width of the blade cannot be used for planing wood. Therefore, in the case of a finish plane, the radius or curvature of a convex blade's cutting edge needs to be very shallow indeed.

The way I was taught to make this curvature is to first begin with a sharp, straight blade on a truly flat medium-grit stone. None of this hollowed-out stone or profiled steel plate nonsense, at least not for a finish plane. Then the blade is rested half on and half off the medium grit stone's edge, and pushed forward while at the same time sliding the blade sideways until just a few millimeters of the blade are supported on the stone. Both right and left sides of the blade must be worked to the same degree of force and number of strokes. The point is that the center of the blade spends very little time on the stone. Only a few strokes are necessary. It takes practice to train the muscles.

This process is repeated on the finish stone.

Finally, center the blade on the finish stone and make multiple strokes with the entire width of the blade on the stone, while shifting pressure across the blade's cutting edge. This will help to smooth things out. Once the blade is shaped this way, it will not need to be repeated until it dulls enough to warrant time on the medium stone.

The blade should project from the dai's mouth full-width, and apparently straight (but actually slightly curved) until it curves up into the mouth. Once again, this is the case of a finish plane intended to cut translucent shavings, not arashiko or nagadai planes for dimensioning and smoothing.

Stan

[Patrick Chase]

Well, I'll be Stanley. I did not realize there was the option of leaving bare wood. I guess I've been exposed to so much about finishes, I just assumed it was "required". Wouldn't bare wood be highly subject to moisture, sweating drinks, spilled food, dents, etc? Or is bare wood only left for low use furniture?

I think Stanley is mostly referring to exterior use here. Wood is indeed susceptible to all of the things you list, but it's also amazingly resilient as long as the exposure isn't continuous.

Stanley, it occurs to me that even with a perfectly planed surface grain will be slightly raised upon first exposure to water, and that will compromise that nice smooth surface. Do you explicitly deal with that somehow, for example by wetting the wood, allowing it to dry, and then taking a *very* light smoothing pass?

[Stanley Covington]

I think Stanley is mostly referring to exterior use here. Wood is indeed susceptible to all of the things you list, but it's also amazingly resilient as long as the exposure isn't continuous.

Stanley, it occurs to me that even with a perfectly planed surface grain will be slightly raised upon first exposure to water, and that will compromise that nice smooth surface. Do you explicitly deal with that somehow, for example by wetting the wood, allowing it to dry, and then taking a *very* light smoothing pass?

No, quite definitely interior use as well.

Indeed, a bit of moisture will take the sheen off the wood, but there is no fuzz to rise up if the wood is carefully planed. One does not typically wet the wood and then take another pass as is common when trying to create a smooth surface sans fuzz when sanding wood. If tearout is a problem, wetting the surface will help a lot, but the final finish planing needs to be a dry surface.

Stan

[Stewie Simpson]

No comment.

[Stanley Covington]

No comment.

A wise decision.

[Mike Holbrook]

I believe my work may reflect some of the principals Stan is referring to as well. Most of my plane blades have less camber over the entire edge, with the exception of the corners, lately. I plan to try the sharpening technique mentioned above to better manage the camber on both sides of my blades.

On the other hand, I am interested in rougher curved surfaces. Chair legs, rungs, chair spindles, carved chair seats may not have "flat" surfaces. We may make a cylindrical surface flat along its surface, but it may be challenging to do this with a straight blade in a traditional plane. A straight blade set at an angle within a wood cylinder may accomplish this task, like the Lee Valley tenon cutters and tapered tenon cutters. I wonder how a Japanese woodworker approaches curved surfaces?

I am interested in the adze and spear plane shown above, but maybe this moves off topic?

[James Pallas]

Stanley, All very interesting. im sure planing is just part of it. Wood selection, how surfaces are prepared to shed water, grain orientation, all play a part in longevity. I hope this conversation can continue without the interjection of east vs west or the need for speed. How a plane is prepared for a very particular use was the opening post so in that vein. How many planes of the same type and size with different blade preparation are used? I'm seeing several planes with different blades and possibly the plane body prepared differently. Is this the case?
Jim

[Stanley Covington]

I believe my work may reflect some of the principals Stan is referring to as well. Most of my plane blades have less camber over the entire edge, with the exception of the corners, lately. I plan to try the sharpening technique mentioned above to better manage the camber on both sides of my blades.

On the other hand, I am interested in rougher curved surfaces. Chair legs, rungs, chair spindles, carved chair seats may not have "flat" surfaces. We may make a cylindrical surface flat along its surface, but it may be challenging to do this with a straight blade in a traditional plane. A straight blade set at an angle within a wood cylinder may accomplish this task, like the Lee Valley tenon cutters and tapered tenon cutters. I wonder how a Japanese woodworker approaches curved surfaces?

I am interested in the adze and spear plane shown above, but maybe this moves off topic?

I have little experience doing what they call "round work" in Japan. As I understand it, the lathe is the most common tool nowadays. The traditional tool is the wooden-bodied plane curved in various ways and a corresponding blade made to fit the required curvature. I have these planes and have used them for architectural work, and furniture moldings, but not to make chairs.

An adze is an adze. A useful tool, but one that requires real skill and trained muscles to produce a top notch decorative finish. I suggest you sharpen it well and use it a lot.

Yariganna, or spear plane, is a very interesting tool and fun to use if you are working on the right kind of wood. They are not easy to find.

Stan

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[Stanley Covington]

Stanley, All very interesting. im sure planing is just part of it. Wood selection, how surfaces are prepared to shed water, grain orientation, all play a part in longevity. I hope this conversation can continue without the interjection of east vs west or the need for speed. How a plane is prepared for a very particular use was the opening post so in that vein. How many planes of the same type and size with different blade preparation are used? I'm seeing several planes with different blades and possibly the plane body prepared differently. Is this the case?
Jim

I hope someone will give me a million bucks, but I won't hold my breathe.

If you don't think like the interjection of East vs West, I suspect you are the minority. If you don't like to hear about speed, then you should avoid all of my posts, because working speedily and efficiently is a very important aspect of true craftsmanship to me.

I don't think I follow your questions. I mentioned two planes in the original post, both finish planes. The only significant difference between them is the shape of the blade's cutting edge. The dai of both are setup identically as finish planes.

Working efficiently and speedily are important to me, so I try to always have a backup plane ready to go. The total number of planes and their width and types and setup details will depend on the work one is undertaking.

Stan

[Pat Barry]

I appreciate your posting Stan and I think they are spot on from both practical and technical perspectives. Everything about the degree of camber on the finish blade and the process of achieving a true and finished surface is correct and well explained. I do however find the lack of finish on interior woodwork, for example: cabinets, tables, chairs, etc to be very puzzling. While I'm sure there are examples to be found that are right off the plane, it is hard to accept that finishes are not applied to improve both the surface durability and beauty. Surfaces that are touched or handled by human beings will become tainted over time due to everyday contact with sweaty / oily fingertips for example and these will stain. A fine surface such as a dining room table would be ruined without at least a wax protection. Would you agree?

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks again, Stanley. The adze and spear textured work is very appealing to me. Gives me some great ideas for a rustic piece I have in mind. May see if a similar look could be achieved with wooden rounds/hollows and/or a custom shoulder plane blade. Perhaps just a gouge. Something to play with over the upcoming winter.

[Mike Holbrook]

Thanks for the info. and pictures Stan.

The spear plane is interesting. I suspect it may require a refined skill set similar to or greater than the Adze. Like you mention the adze requires practice for good results. I have a small, for single hand use, and larger one, for use with both hands, with curved outside bevels. Used for the major stock removal in chair seats, bowls, serving dishes...I am still working on the handles and various methods for getting the most from them. The curved heads need to strike surfaces at just the right angle, which often translates into: more curved complicated handles, ways to grip those handles and ways to hold the work steady. The handle on the spear plane appears to require a handle on the opposite side of the complexity scale.

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[Stanley Covington]

I appreciate your posting Stan and I think they are spot on from both practical and technical perspectives. Everything about the degree of camber on the finish blade and the process of achieving a true and finished surface is correct and well explained. I do however find the lack of finish on interior woodwork, for example: cabinets, tables, chairs, etc to be very puzzling. While I'm sure there are examples to be found that are right off the plane, it is hard to accept that finishes are not applied to improve both the surface durability and beauty. Surfaces that are touched or handled by human beings will become tainted over time due to everyday contact with sweaty / oily fingertips for example and these will stain. A fine surface such as a dining room table would be ruined without at least a wax protection. Would you agree?

Pat:

You are very astute. The bare wood finish is most common for architectural work, both interior and exterior, including joinery.

For example, the house I am currently renting is about 25 years old, and has wooden pantry doors in the kitchen. Side by side doors on bottom and top, a total of 8 feet high, and made of Akita sugi cedar, a slightly reddish brown softwood commonly used as construction lumber. The boards are full of knots, but have not warped due to multiple cross battens on the inside secured with glue and staple. I did not make these, and they are not especially well made. They were not finished with a handplane, but are right off the thickness planer. But the point I want to make is that they were not sanded, and no chemical finish of any kind was applied. The wood around the knobs is scratched by fingernails and has some oil stains. My wife has never cleaned these doors in the nearly 5 years we have lived in this house.

These defects do not bother me or my wife. I know that if the doors had been sanded and painted a pretty white when new, they would look a lot worse and be a lot dirtier about now than the unfinished wood does. I like the bare wood, and while I would not have tolerated dings and scratches and stains when they were new and smelled wonderful, the defects do not make the doors ugly or seem dirty in our eyes.

But, if we wanted to clean them, a damp rag and some elbow grease would make them look spiffy. Not so if the wood had been sanded.

If push comes to shove, I could always plane these doors to refresh them, but I won't.

I point is that everything made of wood we use daily gets dirty and dinged over time, and that bare wood holds up pretty well in many, but certainly not all, circumstances.

In the case of furniture and countertops and light fixtures, bare wood is still an option, but for the reasons you mentioned, most people prefer a chemical finish. High-build film finishes are not all that popular in Japan, I think. People still want to feel the grain. My dining room table is made of solid nara, very similar to white oak, and has a urethane finish soaked into the grain with no apparent film on top. It is a good finish with nothing to chip or scratch off and has endured a tremendous amount of abuse from my careless wife. But eventually she will burn it, and then I will plane it to freshen the surface. Maybe I will leave it bare. I will not sand it.

Stan

[Stanley Covington]

Thanks again, Stanley. The adze and spear textured work is very appealing to me. Gives me some great ideas for a rustic piece I have in mind. May see if a similar look could be achieved with wooden rounds/hollows and/or a custom shoulder plane blade. Perhaps just a gouge. Something to play with over the upcoming winter.

If you are working in softwoods, you should definitely give a yariganna a try. They are a lot of fun and create a unique surface. Not sure if you could imitate it with a drawknife...

[Stanley Covington]

Thanks for the info. and pictures Stan.

The spear plane is interesting. I suspect it may require a refined skill set similar to or greater than the Adze. Like you mention the adze requires practice for good results. I have a small, for single hand use, and larger one, for use with both hands, with curved outside bevels. Used for the major stock removal in chair seats, bowls, serving dishes...I am still working on the handles and various methods for getting the most from them. The curved heads need to strike surfaces at just the right angle, which often translates into: more curved complicated handles, ways to grip those handles and ways to hold the work steady. The handle on the spear plane appears to require a handle on the opposite side of the complexity scale.

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Mike:

Very cool adzes! I had never thought to use an adze for making raised panels! :p

Using an adze for finish work is quite a skill. BTW, Makita makes an electric planer that cuts a surface that imitates adze work.

Here is a link to a video of a guy using a yariganna. Worth a peek.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZarAYS0ZlM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74yLuBUNGPQ

Stan

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[Stewie Simpson]

Pat; do a google search on Shou Sugi Ban.

Stewie;

[Mike Holbrook]

Shees Stan, you don't know how to make raised panels with an adze??? Ohhk I may have been too lazy to move my work off my bench for the picture. Trying to re-build some calluses and toughen up the skin on my hands gradually by planing panels regularly.

The yariganna video was great! It looks like one of those could do precise detailed work compared to most of the tools I use now. Kind of a plane/chisel/gouge. I Believe I have lots of textured surfaces in my future. As soon as I get one I will post pictures of how to make raised panels with one.

[James Pallas]

Stanley, At times I have trouble expressing what I mean to say. I just want to know how the tool works, how it is prepared. It is a different tool than a western plane. I really don't need to know that someone can take bigger shavings with a bailey style plane and a chip breaker. That's just for myself of course, The things like taking thin shavings makes the wood behave different makes sense to me and that is something I did not know until now. Please keep going, I'm sure to learn more.
Jim

[Stanley Covington]

Stanley, At times I have trouble expressing what I mean to say. I just want to know how the tool works, how it is prepared. It is a different tool than a western plane. I really don't need to know that someone can take bigger shavings with a bailey style plane and a chip breaker. That's just for myself of course, The things like taking thin shavings makes the wood behave different makes sense to me and that is something I did not know until now. Please keep going, I'm sure to learn more.
Jim

Jim:

I am not sure how to answer.

The post is about Japanese planes, but nearly everything applies to any other style of finish plane. I am not suggesting a Japanese plane is what must be used. I'm not encouraging anyone to take that red pill until they are really ready.

How the tool works is a difficult subject, but I will try to summarize the critical points.

We have already talked about the two types of shapes of the blade's cutting edge. Even a simple straight cutting edge is something most guys really never learn to do. The curved cutting edge is not something most guys can accomplish right away, but takes time, and practice, and hit and miss experimentation. It is worth learning. I enjoyed learning it.

The angle of the blade in the plane, and the angle to which the blade is sharpened, need to work well with both your plane and the wood you will be planing. There is no one-size-does-it-all when it comes to finish planing. That said, the range that will work for most woods is wide.

The blade has to be pretty sharp with no major defects at the cutting edge. A 6,000 - 8,000 grit finish stone is adequate for most practical applications. Nothing wrong at all with going finer, I certainly do when working in the shop, but returns diminish rapidly after 8,000.

If it is a Western steel-bodied plane, the sole needs to be very flat and without wind. You need planar contact immediately in front of the mouth right up to the opening. This is absolutely critical.

If it is a Japanese plane, you need planar contact at the front, and especially full and even contact immediately in front of the mouth right up to the opening. This is absolutely critical. Some people like contact at the rear of the sole too, for a total of 3 contact points, but this is counter-productive in a finish plane.

How to achieve these contact points and how to fettle a wooden-bodied plane is more than I can get into here. I suggest you see Brian Holcomb's blog for more details.

Unless you are using excellent wood, and really want to go exotic and try out a single blade plane, then you absolutely must get the chipbreaker, or subblade, fitted correctly and polished.

Lastly, you must adjust the blade so it projects from the mouth evenly and just the right amount. For really thin shavings, it is closer to something you feel than something you can clearly see. This too takes time and practice. It can be frustrating, especially with a Bailey style plane with the slop in the mechanical adjusters, but with effort, the techniques can and should be learned.

I hope this helps.

Stan

[Stanley Covington]

Shees Stan, you don't know how to make raised panels with an adze??? Ohhk I may have been too lazy to move my work off my bench for the picture. Trying to re-build some calluses and toughen up the skin on my hands gradually by planing panels regularly.

The yariganna video was great! It looks like one of those could do precise detailed work compared to most of the tools I use now. Kind of a plane/chisel/gouge. I Believe I have lots of textured surfaces in my future. As soon as I get one I will post pictures of how to make raised panels with one.

I have much to learn from you about using an adze for cabinetwork! :D

A yariganna is not really a precise tool. The archaeologists over here say that, until the plane came over from China via the Korean peninsula, the yariganna was used to smooth out and finish the wood right after the adze work was done. I assume they did some pretty precise work with the adze. Also, realize that the yariganna was used back before most lumber was sawed, but rather riven, and the grain was very cooperative. It can be a difficult tool when the grain is curly.

Good luck!

[Brian Holcombe]

I'll second that, the yariganna are a lot of fun. I had the chance to try one out at NYC KEZ and it was really enjoyable to use.

[Patrick Chase]

I suppose that the Kezuroukai is to woodworking what NASCAR is to moonshine delivery.

Nah, the planes used for Kezuroukai can also be used for woodworking. Bootleggers needed to make right turns after all.

[Stanley Covington]

Nah, the planes used for Kezuroukai can also be used for woodworking. Bootleggers needed to make right turns after all.

Pat:

2 points!

Help me think of a better analogy. The idea is that the purpose of a finish plane in the real world is to create a smooth surface on wood, with shavings created as a by-product, while the purpose of the kezuroukai plane is to make ultra-thin shavings, with the wood's smooth surface created as a by-product.

There must be something similar.

Stan

[Brian Holcombe]

All I'm going to say is Watkins Glen. :D

[Pat Barry]

All I'm going to say is Watkins Glen. :D


And Sonoma!

[Patrick Chase]

And Sonoma!

Exceptions that prove the rule.