cambered chipbreaker

[William Fretwell]

Interesting discussion, not least because understanding that little sharp edge IS woodwork. I have cambered a smoother blade at the edges only to help avoid tracks. If the chip breaker is set correctly to provide the correct back pressure on the chip then logically where the blade is cambered it is too close which causes what I call ‘dusting’ as it scrapes more than cuts. You can get the whole blade to dust with the CB set too close, this lifts the CB off the blade.

So logically the CB should always be cambered to match. Sharpening becomes fidly at the edges but doable. I’ve never cambered the CB as I only have one for each plane and have lived with dusting at the edges.

Bottom line, you need at least two blades for many of your planes and two chip breakers! I have used a back bevel for difficult wood but recovering the edge after is lots of work, easier to buy another blade. Mostly I regret the difficult wood.

I have seen furniture with heavily cambered plane marks that was probably wire wool rubbed before the finish and thought nothing of it. True finish planeing with camber I’ve never seen.

I recently bought a high (60^) bed smoother to avoid back bevelling. It’s wood and needed some fettling but pleasantly surprised by the results.

Wonder if cambering ones low angle jack plane is the answer to relieve it of it’s paper weight status. Anyone turned it into a cambered scrub plane?

[Simon MacGowen]

I have used a back bevel for difficult wood but recovering the edge after is lots of work, easier to buy another blade. Mostly I regret the difficult wood.

Reason for keeping two blades for bevel down irons: one as a regular iron without any back bevel, one as a back bevel blade to handle difficult spots. The cost of an extra blade is minimal; anyone who tells me they can't afford to have an extra blade, i tell them to stop woodworking as a hobby, as they probably can't afford to buy lumber either which is a recurrent expense.

Reason for keeping two blades for bevel up irons: one (at 25*) as a regular iron in a low angle plane, one at a higher angle (38* or 50*) to tackle difficult grain wood. I actually keep three for my smoother, with the 50* used only once in a blue moon.


I try to make my woodworking life simple. Converting a back bevel iron back to a regular blade is self-torture in my book (some may enjoy it though).

Simon

[Tom M King]

I do a lot of surface finishing where the smoothing plane texture is the final surface. The old houses I work on have that sort of texture on every planed surface. It varies a lot from one of the houses to another, and I guess, depending on the person, and tool, doing the work.

I keep several Stanley 3's, and 4's with varying amounts of camber, so I can come close to matching a surface texture without fiddling with a plane. I bought all these planes long enough ago, when they were dirt cheap for ones almost ready to go to work, since few other people wanted them.

Having the breaker to match the iron camber helps a number of things when using them. If you don't need them set up like this, that's fine. It doesn't make it not worth doing for those of us who have found it to be useful. I thought I had some pictures of such work, that other people had done, of pieces that have all sorts of tearout problems with reversing grain, but can't find them easily. Some tearout might even be authentic, but I've seen some new replacement parts with Way too much.

Here's one of mine that I already had on these forums. I can't remember which plane I used, or how thick the shavings were, but you can only see this in a strong raking light. This was taken when the Sun just came around the corner of the house.

The new exterior step is on an 1815 house that doesn't have a straight smoothing plane track anywhere in the house. Historic Preservation is not really preserving history if your forgery doesn't match the original as closely as possible.

[John Schtrumpf]

A few more notes...

Thanks Warren for giving the reasons to camber a cap iron. I understand them and can see where sometime in the future I may want to do it.

[Mark Rainey]

Tom, you do beautiful restoration work. Your handplanes result in a surface that reveals the close connection between the craftsman and the wood.

[Warren Mickley]

Reason for keeping two blades for bevel down irons: one as a regular iron without any back bevel, one as a back bevel blade to handle difficult spots. The cost of an extra blade is minimal; anyone who tells me they can't afford to have an extra blade, i tell them to stop woodworking as a hobby, as they probably can't afford to buy lumber either which is a recurrent expense.

I try to make my woodworking life simple. Converting a back bevel iron back to a regular blade is self-torture in my book (some may enjoy it though).

Simon

I have used just one blade per plane in all my planes for my whole career. The only times I have used a new blade are when the old ones were worn down to nothing. I have never used a back bevel.

I don't see why learning to use a plane like this is beyond the reach of a hobbyist.

[bridger berdel]

I have used just one blade per plane in all my planes for my whole career. The only times I have used a new blade are when the old ones were worn down to nothing. I have never used a back bevel.

I don't see why learning to use a plane like this is beyond the reach of a hobbyist.

I have a few extra blade/chipbreaker sets. I have them set up with different cambers, not back bevels. I am still experimenting with planes (i may never stop), so any variation that i can think up and find a way to set up i'll probably try. It's not that i think i'm going to discover something "new", just that each thing teaches me a little bit.

[Jeff Bartley]

Reason for keeping two blades for bevel down irons: one as a regular iron without any back bevel, one as a back bevel blade to handle difficult spots. The cost of an extra blade is minimal; anyone who tells me they can't afford to have an extra blade, i tell them to stop woodworking as a hobby, as they probably can't afford to buy lumber either which is a recurrent expense.

Reason for keeping two blades for bevel up irons: one (at 25*) as a regular iron in a low angle plane, one at a higher angle (38* or 50*) to tackle difficult grain wood. I actually keep three for my smoother, with the 50* used only once in a blue moon.


I try to make my woodworking life simple. Converting a back bevel iron back to a regular blade is self-torture in my book (some may enjoy it though).

Simon

Simon,

If you want your woodworking to be simple isn't using the chipbreaker the most simple? With a back bevel there's no way you could get the chipbreaker close enough to control tear out. And a back bevel is an additional step in sharpening.

I had never considered putting chamber into the chip breaker but I think I'll try it on my #5.

Thank you OP and everyone else in this discussion!