Planing boards flat

[Travis Unruh]

I've been attempting to build a workbench following the videos released by Paul Sellers in his master class series. I've noticed that while planing the legs, the ends tend to round off. The result is a slight arch in the legs as the center sits higher than the ends by several mm's. Despite my efforts to get the legs true and straight, I continue to get the same result. I am new to working with hand planes and can't seem to identify what I am doing wrong. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I have been using a #7 and the pieces are about 32" long.

[Warren Mickley]

The remedy for a surface that is humped in the middle is to plane the center while avoiding the ends of the board. We use a straight edge regularly to check our progress. You don't want to take anything off at the ends until the hump is gone.

Beginners often have a problem rounding over the ends, so making a cut avoiding the ends should be a regular pattern. Even David Charlesworth, who claims to have used a plane for decades, says he cannot plane a flat surface repeatedly without going convex.

[Steve Kaminska]

I've noticed this in my own work as well. I think we have a tendency to bear down on the plane to start the cut as well as to ensure it finishes through the end of the board. If you watch Paul's videos carefully, even he spends more time planing in the middle of the board than making complete passes.

[Phil Mueller]

Hi Travis,
As Warren indicated, you don’t plane the ends. Make a pencil mark about 1/4-1/2” in from both ends. You start the plane with the iron at the pencil mark, and stop the cut just shy of the pencil mark at the far end...thus not planing the ends. Set the plane for a very fine shaving. After a few passes, the plane will stop making shavings. At this point, you have a concave edge (a few thousands)...considered flat by most. Take one last full pass of the edge to remove the pencil marks.

This works equally well on wider surfaces, such as your bench legs. However, on wider boards you also want to avoid planing the outside edges as well. I make a pencil mark on both ends (as above) and about 1/4” in from both sides. This will help keep you from causing a convex surface from side to side. Once the plane stops taking shavings, again, do one last complete pass to remove all the pencil marks.

I first learned this method from David Charlesworth. He has an excellent video (available from LN) that takes you through the entire flattening process.

[Warren Mickley]

If the board is concave, you want to plane the ends and not the middle. If the board is convex, you want to plane the middle and not the ends. If you have a board that is long and convex, just plane the very middle and gradually lengthen the strokes as the board gets closer to flat.

[Derek Cohen]

I've been attempting to build a workbench following the videos released by Paul Sellers in his master class series. I've noticed that while planing the legs, the ends tend to round off. The result is a slight arch in the legs as the center sits higher than the ends by several mm's. Despite my efforts to get the legs true and straight, I continue to get the same result. I am new to working with hand planes and can't seem to identify what I am doing wrong. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I have been using a #7 and the pieces are about 32" long.

The first thing to determine is where the high spots are. You can use your eye and squint along the work piece, or you can use a straight edge. If you want a flat surface, first remove the high spots. Then finish with through shavings.

If you are still rounding off the ends, it is about too much down force on the toe of the plane as it comes off the end of board. Relax your grip on the knob and push down (and forward) on the handle. One does the opposite when entering the board.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Robert Engel]

Travis,

I think this most likely has to do with hand pressure on the plane.

When starting keep maximum pressure on the toe, firm pressure through the cut, and very little as the toe approaches the end of the board.

On a jointer plane, I find it also helps to adopt a low grip on the tote and hole your forearm more parallel to the board, especially toward the end of the stroke.

Also, slowing down the speed of the stroke with any plane almost always result is less errors.

All this being said, the first thing I would do is check the sole for flatness

Hope this helps.

[James Pallas]

Sometimes I think when videos are made and edited they like to show those long plane strokes and shavings. They edit out the part where short stokes are taken or a jack plane is used to knock down some high spots. Don't be afraid to start in the middle or the end with shorter strokes. Use your straight edge and go ahead and mark the spots if you need to.
Jim

[Robert Hazelwood]

Agree with the advice so far. One thing to look at as well is to see if there is any concavity to the sole of the plane, along it's length. Even a couple thousandths will make it very difficult not to plane a hump into an edge.

[Bill Nenna]

Agree with the advice so far. One thing to look at as well is to see if there is any concavity to the sole of the plane, along it'sI length. Even a couple thousandths will make it very difficult not to plane a hump into an edge.

I was about to suggest the same. If the plane has any amount of lengthwise "bow" or "belly" it will surely plane the ends of a surface lower and create a "hump" in the middle on a surface longer than the plane. This can be also be evidenced by a full-length shaving which will be thicker near the start and again near the end of the board.

[lowell holmes]

If you will take a #2 pencil and draw lines crossways on the high parts, you will see where to plane. Keep doing this until the humps are gone.

[Travis Unruh]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've tried to check my #7 for flatness, but I'm limited by an 18" granit slab. Any advice on where I can find something else to flatten and check the longer planes?

Phil, I went imediately to LN and purchased the video you are referencing. I'm a sucker for these videos (to my wife's dismay). I plan on attempting the technique you describe and fingers crossed it works!

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've tried to check my #7 for flatness, but I'm limited by an 18" granit slab. Any advice on where I can find something else to flatten and check the longer planes?

Is the granite slab wider than a few inches? How far is it from corner to corner on the granite slab?

If it is flat from the toe over 18" of the sole and also flat from the heel over 18" of the sole, the plane is likely fairly flat.

If you are in my area, let me know we can get together and check it out. If not you may be near another member who is willing to lend a hand.

If you put a location in your profile settings someone near you may respond with an offer of assistance.

jtk

[Warren Mickley]

I recommend that you don't get the Charlesworth video. His idea is that he will provide a method you can follow so that you will have success without really thinking about what is going on. We call this the cookbook approach. Your problem is the opposite: your are not really thinking about what could be causing the problems or how to solve them. A better approach, mentioned by several in this thread is to identify the high spots and plane only those spots. Check your progress often rather than blindly planing away.

I rather doubt that problems you describe come from the sole of the plane. You could give it a quick check with any kind of straight edge or ruler. It is not that having a very flat sole would not be helpful, but that the situation you describe suggests that you are not taking the kind of partial length shavings that would remedy the situation.

[James Pallas]

I recommend that you don't get the Charlesworth video. His idea is that he will provide a method you can follow so that you will have success without really thinking about what is going on. We call this the cookbook approach. Your problem is the opposite: your are not really thinking about what could be causing the problems or how to solve them. A better approach, mentioned by several in this thread is to identify the high spots and plane only those spots. Check your progress often rather than blindly planing away.

I rather doubt that problems you describe come from the sole of the plane. You could give it a quick check with any kind of straight edge or ruler. It is not that having a very flat sole would not be helpful, but that the situation you describe suggests that you are not taking the kind of partial length shavings that would remedy the situation.

Sound advice from a credible source.
Jim