planing technique

[Scott Thornton]

I need some assistance with my technique...

I am fairly new to hand planing...

I am practicing hand planing faces of boards. The goal is to be able to finish plane things like table tops etc. I am getting some really good results, but the problem I have is that I am constantly creating lines on the boards. I have heard that you should round the edges of your plane, would this help resolve this issue? Should I be working from the middle out?

TIA.

[Mark Singer]

On a smoother a flat blade is this best... The edges are better square and they must be adjusted to parallel the mouth precisely...the gap should be even as you look across the blade. The plane must be set for a very light shaving....you are just slicing the very surface...making tissue like shavings....as with many things in woodworking it takes practice, period. Now my best advice is to select a wood that can be planed , not a figured wood. You must also read the board well....if it is a table top layed up from individual boards make sure you orient them correctly....This article may help....http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/mSinger/z_art/marcouR/marcou1.asp

[Rob Millard]

Scott,
I was never satisfied with the results from a plane iron that had its corners rounded off. Instead, I hone the edge of a smooth plane iron, so it has a very slight curve to the edge (like a scrub plane but not nearly as pronounced). This curve or camber, would only be .002”-.003” but is enough to have the iron cut smoothly across its entire edge, leaving a polished surface behind. To accomplish this, sharpen the edge straight, and then during the final honing apply more pressure at the edges of the iron. When you get it right, a nearly full width shaving will emerge from the plane; too wide a shaving indicates you don’t have a sufficient camber, and too narrow and you have a camber that is too large.
Rob Millard

[David Weaver]

I do exactly what Rob does, I don't have any more curve than he has in his blade, and if you don't set the plane up, it'll still leave lines. Just use a piece of scrap and run it across the mouth of the plane until you're getting nothing at the very end, but something in the middle and just in from the end.

The ability to do that with numbers like Rob is talking about will also depend on the flatness of the plane. If you have an edge to reference against, you can check to see if you have gaps anywhere on the sole - especially to check to see if you have a hollow. If you do, then you might need to tune the plane.

You've probably already found out that it's hard to push a plane with the iron cutting full width - depending on what you're using.

If you have a flat plane and you do as rob described, you shouldn't have trouble taking shavings that are a thousandth or less.

[Tom Jones III]

Has anyone tried the cambered roller for the veritas sharpening jig? I'm wondering if it will produce too much camber?

[Mark Stutz]

Tom,
I haven't had mine for too long, but I use it for that purpose. You can vary the amout based on how much presure you apply to the sides of the blade and how many passes you make. With a steady hand you can do a squeare edge even with the cambered roller.

Mark