Plane chatter

[richard b miller]

i own an MF #75 block plane. i haven't sharpened it yet, but i've been trying it out and as i
run it across the wood, i get a chatter and very few shavings.

is it because the blade is dull?

thanks
rich

[Lonnie Gallaher]

Most likely the blade needs sharpening, but there are other adjustments that can cause a plane to chatter.

[William Fretwell]

Check the seating of the blade, the tightness of the blade. Is the edge sharp or blunt? Perhaps protruding too far.
Strip it down, clean it & re-assemble.

[John C Cox]

Sharp and well set is the way to go on block planes.

Millers Falls planes are generally very good.... As far as users go - I prefer them to Stanley when I can get ahold of one...

[richard b miller]

i know it needs to be sharpened. high on my to-do list. bought a veritas honing guide which will make it easier.
i've watched numerous videos about the basics, but anyone have any favorites i should watch.

thanks
rich

[steven c newman]

Had one for a while..started to chatter..turned out a bit of crud got underneath the iron right in the center....cleaned the bed to bare, shiny metal...iron was already sharp, ended the chatter.

[Patrick Chase]

i own an MF #75 block plane. i haven't sharpened it yet, but i've been trying it out and as i
run it across the wood, i get a chatter and very few shavings.

is it because the blade is dull?


I've been waiting for Jim to post and say "sharp fixes most things", but I guess I'll do the honors: Sharp fixes most things. It can certainly fix chatter and lack of shavings.

Seriously, just focus on getting it sharp for now. I wouldn't even think about messing with bedding or anything else until you're sure that you've got a good edge on the iron. You won't be able to tell if anything else helps, because if the blade is dull then *nothing* will work.

[Jim Koepke]

I've been waiting for Jim to post and say "sharp fixes most things", but I guess I'll do the honors: Sharp fixes most things. It can certainly fix chatter and lack of shavings.

Distractions like dinner and wife kept me from answering earlier. The distractions started with looking into what a Millers Falls #75 might be. My Millers Falls knowledge is zilch.

If the blade is seated properly with the leaver cap snug, not over tight, then sharp is most likely the way to better performance. Check the blade seating without the lever cap. It should be somewhat solid.

Block planes are not made to take a shaving like a scrub plane or jointer. Start with a thin shaving and work your way up.

One of my planes would chatter due to a concave sole from heel to toe.

Here is an old post of mine on Stanley Low Angle Block Planes:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?123401-Fettle-to-the-Metal-With-LA-Blocks&p=1246005#post1246005

The plane described as the $1 block plane in that post is the one with the concave sole. Before lapping it would dig in and let go then dig in again as the sole flexed under pressure. Also notice how the blade barely extends out of the mouth. This seems to be another problem with the action of that plane. Filing the mouth back a bit helped, but it was never a top notch block plane.

jtk

[david charlesworth]

I am horrified that anyone should even think of using a plane without sharpening the blade!!

David Charlesworth

[Bill Orbine]

You shoot before you asked..... :D

Sharpen and tune the plane....then shoot!

[Todd Stock]

Planes chattering? No. Maybe some quiet discussion, sotto voce, late at night when they think I'm not within ear-shot, but never chattering.

[Pat Barry]

I am horrified that anyone should even think of using a plane without sharpening the blade!!

David Charlesworth

I did when I got my LV BUS with PMV11 and right out of the wrapper it was very usable. Of course, a little bit of honing did improve the edge and cut quality but I was surprised because I had heard that typically planes were unusable out of the box. Before that all my planes were restorations.

[david charlesworth]

Manufacturers versions of sharpening are very variable.

David

[steven c newman]

The 75 I had, would scream in use..for a while, that is. When I removed the iron, there WAS a tiny little piece of Walnut on the bed....right in the center of the iron, just barely enough to raise the iron up....but was enough. Cleaned it off, re-installed the iron.....plane no longer was chattering....instead of the edge being played like a Mouth Harp.....

Might clean the OP's plane a bit....sometimes little bits of wood, or other junk can slide under the iron......just enough to raise the iron up to where it would screech/chatter

BTDT

[Todd Stock]

Once past the 'ground after hardening' price point that Patrick and others have mentioned, I tend to look more towards the user than manufacturer with regard to inconsistency of standards. How else to explain - in tool reviews or discussions - how one user finds an edge to be delivered 'razor sharp' and ready to go, while another reports 30 minutes of flattening and polishing the blade and honing of the bevel to use the same model of tool from the same manufacturer? I see a little bit of variation in the blades that come in the door in student tool kits, but none - whether small shop or factory made - are in immediately usable condition.

[steven c newman]

So....what did you find out?

[Patrick Chase]

Once past the 'ground after hardening' price point that Patrick and others have mentioned, I tend to look more towards the user than manufacturer with regard to inconsistency of standards. How else to explain - in tool reviews or discussions - how one user finds an edge to be delivered 'razor sharp' and ready to go, while another reports 30 minutes of flattening and polishing the blade and honing of the bevel to use the same model of tool from the same manufacturer? I see a little bit of variation in the blades that come in the door in student tool kits, but none - whether small shop or factory made - are in immediately usable condition.

I've only ever seen one tool with an edge in what I consider usable condition, and that was a Tsunesaburo chamfer plane that required plenty of other work (while flattening the sole of a wooden plane body is usually quite easy, that is not the case when it friction-fits into a surrounding shell).

I have a LOT of LV planes, and I don't think any of them came with a truly sharp edge. They were all geometrically correct and took very minimal work, though (as in: straight to the polishing stone).

[richard b miller]

haven't had time to sharpened it yet. i work 50+ hrs with one job and lowes 20 hrs over weekends