Cambered Plane Blades... Historical?

[Warren Mickley]

In historic furniture work, each of the bench planes (jack, trying, jointer, smooth) has its own characteristic camber. I will make some remarks about the smoothing plane.

The smoothing plane is used to clean off marks, scuffs, dirt, and such just prior to gluing up or just prior to finishing. Because it takes very thin shavings, the camber is very small. In practice a camber this small comes naturally because our sharpening stones tend to hollow. In looking at a piece of furniture the scallop surfaces in these pieces are generally not noticeable by eye nor by touch. However, putting the surface in a most favorable lighting will often enable one to see the planing marks. It is some trouble to see them. Good work has smooth plane marks that are full length, straight with the grain, and regularly spaced.

[Tom M King]

I did remember to take the camera with me today, but once again, I didn't have the right kind of light. I think I was probably really lucky to be in the right place at the right time to catch my first couple of pictures in this thread. I won't take more space here to load pictures that don't tell the story.

edited to add: I saw Warren's comment on straight smoothing plane tracks. I see straight ones mainly on pieces of furniture. The only house part I remember ever seeing straight tracks on was a door in the 1805 Hope Plantation that had straight tracks on the stiles and rails. I remember that striking me as unusual for a house part.

For house parts, it's more of a "get it done" thing, and they will go straight for maybe most of a part, but then change to multiple directions. I have a short video somewhere of me planing those step treads in a yard on a sawhorse, but don't remember where it is. The tracks that aren't straight come from footwork, and arm reach just working out that way. I can't explain it, it just comes out that way. I'm matching replacement parts to original parts in these houses, so don't try to do them one particular way. My elbows are rarely by my side, and I rarely walk while making one stroke, unless I'm trying to leave straight tracks. I would do that if I was building a table.