troubleshooting panel raiser

[frank shic]

i recently won a wooden panel raiser off of ebay but have yet to get it to cut satisfactorily. there was some mild pitting on the cutting surface of the blade so i ground and honed the blade THREE times without improvement. after examining the blade in the plane closely, i noticed a gap of approximately 1/32". i pulled the blade out and set it on the bench and noticed that the blade is actually bent slightly.

i'm experiencing a great deal of chatter whenever i try positioning the outer edge of the plane against the corner of the wood (pine in this case) after taking more than 2 passes although i've noticed that if i plane freehand, i can get 3/4" wide shavings.

anyone have any ideas or should i try to unload the plane on some collector? i'm not sure if the problem lies in my honing process (in which case i'll get a skewed blade sharpening jig) or if the blade needs to be entirely replaced.

[Larry Williams]

Frank,

I'm not sure exactly what you have there. One thing I'm pretty sure of is the iron isn't original to that plane. The tang of the iron suggests it was originally for a relatively large rabbet plane. Your plane isn't like a traditional panel raiser and I suspect it's been modified.

I doubt you'll find a "collector" ready to buy your plane unless there's something about it that doesn't show up in the photos. Maybe a desirable maker's mark or something. If you sell it, you'll most likely be selling it to a user with limited experience and knowledge. My guess is they won't have any more success with the plane than you.

[John Downey]

I'm not sure I understand your description Frank, so forgive me if I start talking about un-related stuff.

I agree with Larry, that blade came from a molding plane. Its not unusual to find that they're bowed a bit, but that shouldn't cause you any grief. I'd guess the blade is really too thin for what a panel raiser is trying to do.

Nots sure what you mean by planing freehand, without the fence against the corner maybe?

The one panel raiser I have is similar to yours, but its got a heavy blade, almost 3/16" IIRC. I think I'd find a new blade for yours, and either a better wedge or a screw into the blade bed and a lever cap. I don't think the gap is really the problem (over at the side of the blade right?), but it could be contributing to chatter. Thin blade or a loose wedge looks like the problem to me. Perhaps there's not really enough blade for the wedge to hold it securely, being a tanged blade and all.

[frank shic]

thanks for your responses! i was wondering why the wedge didn't seem to fit as tightly as i would have expected - now it all makes sense. when i meant freehand, i did mean planing without using the fence against the corner. i'll probably just try to unload it back on to ebay rather than pour more resources into this. think i'll just get a skewed dado plane and screw on an auxilary fence next time.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Looks like a bad replacement wedge as well. You could always make a proper blade for it from some O1 and a new wedge. On second thought, it's junk. Just send it to me and I will dispose of it properly for you ;):):D!

[Lewis Biggs]

The pictures may distort things, but the mouth looks very wide to me even for soft woods (and uneven at that). If it were me, I would make a real thick blade out of O1 or O2, have that hardened, and fashion a new wedge, as suggested above. If the mouth remains open or uneven at all, I would put a wooden insert made out of very hard wood in front of the mouth to close it down, and file that back to open the mouth just enough to let the blade through. If shavings clog the mouth, then I would file the insert back just barely enough to minimize clogging.

Alternatively, $185 (plus a bit more for a nicker) got me a REALLY NICE panel raiser from Knight Toolworks. ;)

[frank shic]

this has been a great example of "caveat emptor (let the buyer beware" and a lesson for myself - what was i thinking that i could snag a true panel raising plane for less than $100??? lol... i might go the knight toolworks option someday soon!

[Pam Niedermayer]

You don't really need a special panel raiser plane, you can do this job with regular bench plane and/or a plane like the LN 140 with fence. Just add some judicious marking.

So your comment above about adding a fence to a regular rebate plane is good, assuming it's wide enough to handle your panels.


Pam

[Robert Rozaieski]

You don't really need a special panel raiser plane, you can do this job with regular bench plane and/or a plane like the LN 140 with fence. Just add some judicious marking.

So your comment above about adding a fence to a regular rebate plane is good, assuming it's wide enough to handle your panels.


Pam

Agree with Pam. I currently do mine freehand with a woodie 2" wide skew rabbet plane. Plane a rabbet using the rabbet plane against a clamped on fence or batten, then freehand the bevel, working to a scribed line. Takes a little longer than a dedicated panel raising plane, but works just as well.

[frank shic]

guess what guys? after sharpening the blade with a honing jig and clamping a batten to the board, i am EXTREMELY HAPPY to say that the panel raising plane actually works very well. my jaw dropped when i was taking some swipes tonight and noticed a raised field appearing!

the plane wasn't working before because the horns of the wedge were broken off and the shavings were all just jamming up into the corner underneath the wedge but clamping a batten to the board eliminated this problem. i also learned that adjusting the blade on these wooden handplanes takes a bit of patience - just a slight bit of excess blade and it's tearout city lol.

i'm so inspired now that i think i'll go and wainscot the entire house with raised panels... just kidding ;)