Going crazy. Trying to smooth some walnut.

[Ben Rafael]

I have 2 smoothers, a LN 4 1/2 and wooden Knight coffin smoother.
They are both high angle planes. I'm trying to smooth a Claro Walnut table top that has moderate figure. The figure does not seem to be causing a problem.
Both planes are leaving slight marks on the wood. I've honed both blades up to a 16000 stone and waxed the soles of both planes. I get nice thin shavings but still get trailing marks. Some of the marks are toward the center and off center of the plane, they do not seem to be coming from the ends of the blade.
Anybody have any ideas what's going on?

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hi Ben, The first thing I'd do is get a magnifying glass or jewelers loupe and examine the edge under really good light. Look to see if you nicked or dubbed the edge inadvertantly. Most often slight nicks occur when you hit the blade against something while installing it. DAMHIKT!!

[Mark Singer]

You may have left a bur on the back of the blade. Try flattening the back on a fine stone

[Ben Rafael]

I will reflatten the backs and try again.

[Roy Wall]

Ben -

You can try the famous "ruler trick" by David CHarlesworth...should be on LN's website or easlily googled..

[Nick Clayton]

If the marks are not deep what about following up with a scraper to smooth out the marks?

[Ben Rafael]

You get a better finish with the smoother. To remove the marks with a smoother would I would have to essentially scrape the entire surfacel, which defeats the purpose of the plane. I wouldn't insult such beautiful wood with a scraper or sandpaper.
This is the first time I've had this problem with my planes.

[Wiley Horne]

Are you sure it's the planes? The fact that both planes are doing the same thing unexpectedly makes me wonder if it's something else. For example, residual sanding grit that the planes are catching and grinding into the wood.

Or a stray piece of some tiny thing that is catching in the mouth of any plane you use and getting ploughed across the wood.

Perhaps you've already done this, but....I suggest cleaning the mouths of both planes, then take a tack rag to the surface and get it immaculate, and then try again.

Wiley

[Ben Rafael]

It's got to be something strange about the wood. I reflattened the back of my LN and it still does it. The wood surface is clean and the planes are clean. I looked at the blade edges with my loupe and they are perfect. I even tried another plane, a LV block plane that has given me better shavings than any other plane I've owned, and the same thing happens.
I'm going to put this project aside for a few weeks and try again then. If I still have this problem I will regretably have to use a scraper...unless someone wants to lend me an infill plane.:D

[Ted Owen]

Ben, I'll bet that after an infill, you would still see marks. With so many different planes causing the same effect, it's much more likely it's contamination, surface or embedded, of the wood--as Wiley said.

Best, Ted

[Ben Rafael]

Contaminated with what? I've never put sandpaper to it.

[Robert Rozaieski]

This may be a dumb question and since you haven't had any problems with the planes before it is unlikely the cause, however, do your plane irons in your smoothers have any camber to them?

[Ben Rafael]

Not a true camber, they are slightly rounded at the ends. The marks are not coming from the ends but more towards the center.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Do the marks seem to come from the same place on the plane on each stroke or do they move around?

[Ben Rafael]

They dont seem to move around.
I tried my planes on a piece of unfigured cherry and I get marks on that as well, though not as bad as on the walnut. I doubt it is the wood. My planes seem to have some contagious disease :eek:

I wish there was someone in my neighborhood smarter than me who I could show this too, someone else might see something that I am missing.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Maybe a chipout or something similar that is getting stuck between bed & iron or between iron & chip breaker?

[Ben Rafael]

I reflattened the backs and honed the blades and that didn't change anything, no chipouts that I can see.

[Ted Owen]

So, Ben, it's all your planes that create the marks, and on all woods? Then what do the planes have in common? For example, what do you use to lubricate the soles. Do you put Camelia Oil on your plane bodies or blades?

Best, Ted

[Ben Rafael]

I've put wax on them before, but very light. The strange thing is that I have 2 iron and 1 wood plane all doing the same thing and they started doing it at the same time.

[Ken Bryant]

The sole common denominator seems to be you -- or, perhaps, your workbench, though I can't offhand see how the bench would come into it.

[Ben Rafael]

That's a nice way of saying it's me.:)

I've handplaned at least 1000 feet of wood without this problem, I dont see how I could've changed my habits suddenly.

[Wiley Horne]

Dept. of Crazy Theories:

1. The walnut board has a hard-to-see buried nail or piece of staple in it somewhere that you are planing, and that eventually gouges a burr in the sole of any plane you try. Each plane will then gouge the cherry as well. Cure: Check plane soles for burrs.

2. There is a newly-located grinder in the lumber storage area that has flung spalled-off grit onto the lumber. Test: Scrape along the boards with a card scraper; examine whether there is grit in the scrapings.


Wiley