Technical talk

[Rick Dohm]

I've been lurking with you Neanderthals for a while now, trying to soak up what I can. I am particularly fascinated by the threads dealing with plane maintenance, but feel pretty ignorant when you use your everyday terms like fettle, lap, etal. Is there a glossary for these terms? Also, how does an adjustable mouth regulate the amount of cut? It seems if the sole is flat, the blade (iron?) should cut the same amount regardless of the width of the opening. And exactly what does a chip breaker do, anyway. And is the frog the part that fits on top of the blade? I bought my first plane in 1962 when I was a kid doing carpentry in the summer. It was a Stanley block plane I got at the hardware store, and I still have it. But that's the only one I've ever used and it didn't come with a training manual or parts list. Anyway, I'm enjoying the heck out of my "continuing education". There's a lot of knowledge in this group that needs to be passed along.

Rick Dohm

[Ken Werner]

Hi Rick and welcome.

Fettle means basically to fine tune.

Lap is to flatten. One laps the flat [not beveled] side of the blade, also called the iron. One can also lap the sole or sides, to flatten them too.

A chip breaker causes the planed wood to move away more abruptly from the cutting blade, thereby reducing tear-out.

The frog is the part of the plane - movable on a bench plane - which sits under the blade.

As for the mouth, adjusting it to be very small does not change the amount of material you remove - it doesn't change the depth of the blade - but it does allow you to stabilize the wood in front of the blade, holding it down, and again, preventing tear out.

Garrett Hack wrote a very nice book that will answer all your questions. You can probably borrow it from the public library.

Please feel free to ask whatever questions you like. But I have to warn you - 'tis a slippery slope you are approaching when in planes you become interested.

Ken

[Terry Bigelow]

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.woodezine.com/04_2004/April_2004_images/0404_plane_parts.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.woodezine.com/04_2004/0404_intro_to_planes.html&h=377&w=650&sz=94&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=EHZge2L187jgQM:&tbnh=79&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhand%2Bplane%2Bparts%26svnum%3D10%26u m%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGWYA,GWYA:2005-31,GWYA:en%26sa%3DN
Maybe this will help illustrate what Ken said?

[Dale Osowski]

This may help you as well, http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/planes2.php

Dale

[Peter Gavin]

Come on over to my house (after giving me a few days to clean up) and I'll show you the parts of a plane and give you a chance to experience the feel of a (poorly tuned unfortunately) smooth plane on some Cherry. You will probably never go back to ssandpaper again.

Peter

[Rick Dohm]

Thanks for your replies. The links are particularly helpful. I've also been following the links to the various plane and handsaw sites that show up so frequently in various posts and find myself drooling without realizing it over what's available out there. I still have my Disston D-23 8 point (needs work, tho), but the kids did in my 10 point years ago. And Peter, I'll be in touch.

Rick