pl*wood bad for planes?

[Raymond Stanley]

Unfortunately, a DIY project + no workshop = using hand planes for strange purposes.

I have to cut some pl*wood up to finish up a DIY project that I started months ago, and have to finish before I can start my very first woodworking (and not DIY) project. DIY was my seque into woodworking.

I figured that a high-quality j*g saw + straight edge would cut straight enough lines for my purposes, but they haven't. Soooo.... to get my straight edge, I jointed with a LA jack. Seemed to dull quickly, but other than that worked okay.

Will using my LA Jack Plane on plywood cause any damage to the plane? Like, could there be any debri in their that could catch my sole and put a gouge in it?

Everybody has been so helpful with all the useful information - Soon I will stop reading and posting, and work some wood!!!!

Thanks!
Ray

[Deirdre Saoirse Moen]

Planing plywood really isn't different than planing any other wood that's been glued up. Yeah, I could see that it would dull quickly (especially with certain glues), but I don't see it as necessarily a bad thing.

If it makes you feel better, I'm going to be doing the same thing soon myself. ;)

[Mike Henderson]

The glue in plywood can be pretty hard. If you were using a shooting board to plane the plywood, where the blade was always in the same position relative to the glue lines, you'd probably quickly see some grooves in the edge of the iron, where the glue lines are.

If you're just planing free hand, the nicks on the blade will be random. Nothing you can't sharpen out.

I can't imagine that the glue could damage the sole of the plane. I've planed plywood and never noticed anything except the blade nicks noted above.

Mike