Humbled I am...........

[Greg Parrish]

Last night after work was my first time trying a project with just hand tools. Recently sold my Felder saw, Laguna lathe and other items to simplify my Small shop and open up floor space but I still have a workable solution with jointer/planer, bandsaw, CNC, etc. so working with just hand tools is not necessity in my case and is just something I wanted to try my hand at. After the first 2 hours I am totally humbled. :)

Everything from how to hold the wood in place, to how to setup my number 7 plane was a big learning curve. I’ve really only used my block plane on occasion thus far. For a first project I picked a simple shelf that I needed to make. Spent my first hour trying to joint flat a piece of mahagony with the #7 followed by a lot of smoothing with the #4. Broke out into a pure dripping sweaty mess and I have an air conditioned shop. Just didn’t expect how much effort would be expended.

Anyway I stopped with only the initial work on this one board. Have the faces pretty flat but it has a diagonal twist across its length. Not sure how I’ll get rid of the twist yet but I’m fairly certain that I’ll go back to using the J/P machine to joint a big board like this. LOL

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[Jim Matthews]

That's a fine start.

The weight of a cast iron #7 is considerable, and part of why I now use wooden body planes.

FYI - A plane that size is something I only use on edges that will be joined.

See also camber and scrub plane

[Frederick Skelly]

Welcome to the cave Greg! Yeah, planing a board flat will definitely make you appreciate how hard our ancestors worked. And there are plenty of Full Neanders here who do it all the time. Doing the work by hand will help teach you how to use the tool, if you do it (right) at least a couple times. So it's not wasted effort.

Many of us "evolve" to letting the machinery do the "heavy" work (planing flat, long rips, etc) and use hand tools for what I think of as finesse tasks - cutting joinery, smoothing/surfacing a board, etc. (I havent used my electric sander in 3 years, since I learned to sharpen and use a smoothing plane.)

So it's a journey. And however you do it, an enjoyable one to take. I've learned a heckova lot from the patient, helpful people on this site. You will too.

Enjoy!
Fred

[Greg Parrish]

Thanks for the comments and reassurance. My way of thinking is aligning with the idea of let the equipment do heavy lifting in areas of initial stock prep and longer rips and then turn to hand tools for smoothing and refining. Not sure I could build something without need of my sander though. Maybe that is a goal to work towards. :)

I'll give it another go tonight. Will probably finish this board up on the Hammer jointer to see if I can get some of the twist out without loosing too much thickness.


So here is a question. My two marking gauges have a round base. I am planning a simple shelf with a rabbit joint for the sides to the back pieces and had planned to let the shelf boards fit into dado joints in the sides/back. That said, looking at my 3 shoulder planes and my large router plane, what is the best way to do the edges of the dado? For the rabbit cuts, I'm thinking you would use the marking gauge to cut a line and then the appropriate sized shoulder plane for the wood removal. But on the dado's, I'm not sure how to cut the line since my marking gauge is round. Is this where I need to get a marking gauge with a flat sided base, or is there another way to go about this? Or maybe I'm completely off base on the whole process.......... as a newbie to hand tools I'm overwhelmed with the process even though I've read up and watched tons of videos. Thanks for any pointers.

[Jim Matthews]

But on the dado's, I'm not sure how to cut the line since my marking gauge is round. Is this where I need to get a marking gauge with a flat sided base, or is there another way to go about this? Or maybe I'm completely off base on the whole process.......... as a newbie to hand tools I'm overwhelmed with the process even though I've read up and watched tons of videos. Thanks for any pointers.

I recommend Derek Cohen's invaluable website.
He covers the method I use for dados.

(Score the lines on each side with a knife, deepen the "walls" with a chisel. Saw the sides to depth and remove the waste. If your rabbet plane is sharp it should work.)

If you have a sturdy piece of 3/4" plywood, the "factory edge" makes an excellent batten for scribing a line with a knife. If you don't have a dedicated shop knife, a finely sharpened paring knife will do.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/HarlequinsidetableFine%20dados.html

*****
I routinely cut these and use a pair of fine nails to hold the batten in place. It's easier, and more secure than clamps for cutting dados.

https://brfinewoodworking.com/video-how-to-make-grooves-rabbets-and-dados-with-hand-planes/

11:23 for dados - note the wooden batten

[Blake M Williams]

I'm inside with a/c and I broke out in a sweat flattening my bench. Worked muscles I didnt know I had. I started using bench planes more and I can get a lot more done now without needing to take a break lol. It takes a lot of time and practice. Currently on my first all hand tool project and it wont be a show piece that's for sure.

I hardly use my no 7. My no 5 gets the bulk if it done, and it's a lot lighter too! Good luck and show us your progress.

[David Eisenhauer]

As They say, it is the humidity and not the heat Greg! For some reason, it seems it is important to identify your assailant. In my experience, I have found that I lose less material thickness when removing twist (wind) with a hand plane instead of a powered jointer/planer. I believe that one can spot fix the problem more accurately with a hand plane. Use some winding sticks (or equivalent) to identify the extent/location of the wind and then work the (usually) two opposing corners down lightly at a time while checking frequently with the winding sticks. Sometimes it works to run the plane across the timber at a diagonal run from high corner to high corner if the wind is across the entire piece. You are nearly there on that piece! Sharp blades, light cuts and a waxed sole on your hand planes will result in less effort to plane a surface. As long as I know my iron is still sharp, I re wax the sole when it feels like more effort. Being able to quickly/easily resharpen is a part of the answer as well. Having a dedicated sharpening station ready to go really helps. You will soon work out how thick a shaving you want to deal with as you gauge the amount of BTU's you are expending. Go heavy and quick or go light and a little slower. It changes from day to day.

[Jim Koepke]

If you are going to do much hand planing you might want to make a set of winding sticks:

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They will help to make a map of the surface:

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This will help to remove wood where it is high and avoid removing wood where it is low.

jtk

[David Carroll]

Welcome to hand tool woodworking! It can really be a workout, but if you keep at it, you will develop the muscles and stamina to keep going. If the board needs any real flattening or is twisted, that's really a job for a jack plane. I use a Stanley No. 5 with a cambered iron. Mine has a 10 inch radius. It's much lighter than the No. 7 and will more easily take a bigger bite. You use it just to knock off the high spots. Then you will have much less to do with the No. 7. I stop with the No. 7 when I am taking full length shavings everywhere the board. Depending on the wood, its intended use, and if the surface will show, I might leave it there. However, if the grain is cantankerous or I want a really smooth surface, I take the No. 4 and go over it all just to leave a real smooth surface.

Of course very sharp and well set up planes will make all of the above easier. But the problem I had in the beginning was I did too much with the No.7 that could have been done faster and easier with the No. 5.

Best of luck!

DC

[Erich Weidner]

There is a DVD (probably available streaming by now) titled "Course Medium Fine" (yes just checked available streaming also). https://www.lie-nielsen.com/products/coarse-medium-and-fine-fundamental-woodworking-techniques?path=home-education-videos&node=4244

Though I'd had an interest in hand tools for years, It wasn't until about a year & a half ago that I dug this out and re-watched this video. And again. Then worked on some boards, then watched again. (I may be a slow learner). But Finally something clicked, and I'm definitely getting faster squaring up boards with just hand planes. My biggest mistake in the early days was not understanding just how coarse one can (and should) work. I was definitely guilty of always going for very thin shavings, even on a bigger "course" plane like the #5.

Will it ever be as fast as a power planer? Probably not. Don't know, never owned or used one. (I always bought S4S stock, only recently have I started from rough sawn (well, I had done RS once before see next post).

[Erich Weidner]

PS. My first hand tool project over a decade ago (then I went on a long woodworking hiatus, unintentionally)... I now call it Frankentable. But it was a Shaker sewing table. I tackled dovetails, sliding dovetails and other stuff I had barely practiced before. Honestly, as a first work it turned out pretty good.

But what I'll never forget is how freeking long it took me to plane down the wood. I bought it rough. I only owned a block plane and a #4. I used that smoother plane (set for a pretty fine shaving) to thickness plane down 4/4 stock to 5/8". It was an exercise in perseverance (and lack of hand tool education). :) I didn't attempt another rough lumber project for many years. Now it is not intimidating. I've learned so much in the last 2 years, and that is with very very limited free time for the hobby.

[Alex Atkinson]

ha-ha I also have a Frankentable! I like this name for it so much lol
Now I think to purchase a new sewing table, something like this (https://sewingland.org/best-sewing-table/), because it's one of the most useful thing to keep all the small tools in one place in a correct order.

[Phil Mueller]

Well, you certainly could purchase the sewing table, or design and build one to the exact purpose you have in mind. I know purchasing can often be less money than even the cost of wood to make, but it’s just not the same on the satisfaction level.

[Daniel Culotta]

Hello all, first post here, though I've learned a ton from reading the forum over time. I've also been getting into hand tools over the last year or so due to having a small shop space and wanting to simplify. Loving the journey so far!

Here's another illustrated version of how to cut a dado (stopped in this case, though a through dado uses the same process). It's similar to Derek's process above, except it uses a back saw. It's from a Christopher Schwarz video slideshow walking through a project from the Joiner and Cabinet-maker (there are a lot of good tips throughout this video and the others Chris has posted by the way). Dados start at 17:45. I personally find it helpful to see a process a few different ways to really understand how it works.

https://vimeo.com/175444859

As others have described, I typically mark the lines and saw each side to depth (make sure to saw in the waste, and a batten along the edge can help keep things straight). Knock out the majority of the waste with a chisel, then clean up the last bit of the bottom with a router plane.

Good luck! Flattening boards with planes gets easier with practice (I'm certainly still working on it).

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Daniel and welcome to the Creek.

jtk

[Andrew Pitonyak]

When I started, I prepped a single board, and it was not a large board. I ended up buying a surface planer off Craig's List and then I built a sled since I do not have a jointer.

I will often cut a board (if that makes sense) to minimize what needs to be removed.

I do surface prep mostly with my surface planer, but, especially when things are really out of wack in some ways, I will take down major issues using a scrub plane.

[Jeffrey Hood]

I do pretty much the same as Andrew... I -love- working wood with hand tools, but frankly bringing down a board to thickness with just planes is (although fun and satisfying...) a lot of work... and even though I need the exercise, the time that it takes is a big factor for me... I'm working on my Anarchist's Tool Chest right now, and did a few boards by hand just for fun, but most I used my planer to get them to thickness... I do have a 8" benchtop jointer which I use occasionally, but since I have a small basement shop and don't have it out all the time, I find it much quicker to take my cambered #5 and get the board flat enough to go through the planer... on most of the pine (which I picked out stock that was very flat to begin with...) it took only a few passes to get the boards ready for the planer... that way I have more time to spend on cutting joints and doing what I really like to do... :) On the other hand, I had a few pieces of 4/4 pine that I wanted to keep at 7/8" finished, and was able to do it with planes, where using the planer I probably wouldn't been able to keep that thickness... but I was out of 5/4 and only needed a few pieces and I had the 4/4 on hand...

But to each his own... I've built furniture entirely by hand, and like the process... but sometimes I just want to get it done...



When I started, I prepped a single board, and it was not a large board. I ended up buying a surface planer off Craig's List and then I built a sled since I do not have a jointer.

I will often cut a board (if that makes sense) to minimize what needs to be removed.

I do surface prep mostly with my surface planer, but, especially when things are really out of wack in some ways, I will take down major issues using a scrub plane.

[Matthew Hills]

Everything from how to hold the wood in place, to how to setup my number 7 plane was a big learning curve. I’ve really only used my block plane on occasion thus far. For a first project I picked a simple shelf that I needed to make. Spent my first hour trying to joint flat a piece of mahagony with the #7 followed by a lot of smoothing with the #4. Broke out into a pure dripping sweaty mess and I have an air conditioned shop. Just didn’t expect how much effort would be expended.

Anyway I stopped with only the initial work on this one board. Have the faces pretty flat but it has a diagonal twist across its length.

I'd recommend watching Bob Rozaieski's video "How to Plane Boards Flat & Square (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tvxy_UOGMY&t=26s)" -- this is when flattening by hand clicked for me. (Mike Siemsen has a similar video on flattening (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEdgF8NDsB0&t=155s); I'm sure there are a number of others)

The keys:
- continuously inspect the wood to figure out where you need to remove wood ( Use straight edges, winding sticks, and checking against the surface of your bench)
- get rid of twist and humps first .
- (continue to inspect as you go -- want to get to a concave surface that can rest steady on the bench )
- flatten the concave surface (diagonal passes with long plane, then a few passes with the grain)

I use a bailey #5 with open mouth and cambered blade. This is a pretty light plane, and very satisfying to use.
I use a bailey #7 for flattening
I don't use a smoother until getting ready for finish.
Do wax the soles of your planes.

For flattening, I usually use planing stops at front and back edge of board. Not needing to undo vise or clamp is nice for being able to frequently flip the board over and check for flatness against the bench.

Matt

[Greg Parrish]

Thanks for the continuous feedback guys. I didn't go away. Have been just following comments. At the same time, got side tracked the last few weeks with some plumbing and other repairs that took precedent. :)