Page 3 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast
Results 31 to 45 of 81

Thread: plane sole grinding

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    22,492
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Luter View Post
    Ralph -

    - Have you considered sandpaper on a flat surface as a means to lap the hump out? I have a #7 that I did that with. I took a 150 grit sanding belt, cut it open, and laid it out on my table saw. It made short work of flattening the plane bottom. I followed up with some finer grits and it's smooth as a baby's bottom now.
    This is what I do.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  2. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by Ralph Boumenot View Post
    I found the hump with a 12" precision flat bar. I have a 36" marble threshold that I use for plane rehabs but a #8 is 24" long so that makes for a 12" sanding stoke which is useless. The plate would have to be a minimum of 48" and I couldn't find a 48" threshold. As for it working before I got it I don't know that. It is/was filthy dirty and had black gummy substance under the frog but no wood shavings. It is in very good shape and I would like very much to rehab it and put it back to work.
    So you haven't tried actually using the plane yet? You should sharpen the iron, stick it back in the plane, and use it for a while. Then decide if there's still a problem, based on _performance_, and work from there. This will potentially save you a boatload of time. In fact, it will take barely any time at all.

    BTW, how do you measure the flatness of a 24" plane with a 12" bar, and how do you know the bar is straight? Likewise, how do you know the marble threshold is flat, with a 12" bar? You could be introducing a systemic error to all your planes.

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Warwick, Rhode Island
    Posts
    346
    I don't remember that editorial by Chuck. I agree that flat is good enough and that is all I want with my #8. Can I do it by hand like I have done with so many other planes? I don't think so. So I'm hoping Tom will get it flat and then I can make it shiny, sharpen the iron, and put it back to making shavings. And that will put my happy face back on.

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Warwick, Rhode Island
    Posts
    346
    Makes me wish I had a big jointer because my tablesaw isn't much bigger then the length of the #8.

  5. #35
    Stay away from the edges of your plane if your going to lap it on a surface plate, otherwise you will make the sole convex.

    Tom

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,582
    Since this thread keeps going, could the OP please post a picture with a straightedge to illustrate how big the hump is and where it is located?
    Last edited by Pat Barry; 08-08-2019 at 5:50 PM.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Warwick, Rhode Island
    Posts
    346
    I did try the plane out of the box with the iron as I received it. It made shavings on pine. I want to clean it up and make it shiny like all the planes I have done.
    The 12" flat bar is a precision 12" one I got from Lee Valley. It rocks when it is placed behind the mouth of the plane which I take to be a hump. As for the marble threshold, I have never checked it for flatness. It looks and feels flat and I use it as it is. I haven't had any problems with the other planes I have rehabbed on it and I have done 41 so far and I have 6 more waiting to take their turn on it.

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Inkerman, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    1,389
    Plane soles don't need to be flat.

    If for some reason you want it flat, you need to know how to check it for flat.

    And to check for flat you need to have reference surface.

    You can scrape, grind, or sand, it doesn't matter what way you remove excess metal.
    Scraping can be done with an electric or manual scraper, you can buy or make a manual scraper.
    Grinding can be done on a surface grinder, it can also be done with an angle grinder, a die grinder or a little Dremmel grinder.

    You need to understand what flat is, and what you are trying to do, it would be nice if you had a reason for doing it, because it has nothing to do with the function.

    Buy a granite surface plate with a certificate, would be a start. (Not that it is absolutely essential)
    A good (full length) straight edge would be sufficient.

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,582
    Quote Originally Posted by Ralph Boumenot View Post
    I did try the plane out of the box with the iron as I received it. It made shavings on pine. I want to clean it up and make it shiny like all the planes I have done.
    The 12" flat bar is a precision 12" one I got from Lee Valley. It rocks when it is placed behind the mouth of the plane which I take to be a hump. As for the marble threshold, I have never checked it for flatness. It looks and feels flat and I use it as it is. I haven't had any problems with the other planes I have rehabbed on it and I have done 41 so far and I have 6 more waiting to take their turn on it.
    It sounds like the hump may be quite a distance from the mouth from this description. The further away, the less affect. Maybe though, you just want nice and shiny. Its not like anyone really uses a plane this large very often.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    bloomington il
    Posts
    184
    why not just buff it if all you need is nice and shiny

  11. #41
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Greeley, CO
    Posts
    192
    here's the German take on plane flatness and how to measure it:
    https://www.fine-tools.com/rechtwink...ei-hobeln.html

    People who buy our planes quite often complain about the flatness of the soles and their perpendicularity to the sides of the planes. When we come to check these planes we find that in most cases the complaints are unfounded because the planes are perfectly alright. How do these discrepancies arise?

  12. #42
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Ralph Boumenot View Post
    I did try the plane out of the box with the iron as I received it. It made shavings on pine. I want to clean it up and make it shiny like all the planes I have done.
    The 12" flat bar is a precision 12" one I got from Lee Valley. It rocks when it is placed behind the mouth of the plane which I take to be a hump. As for the marble threshold, I have never checked it for flatness. It looks and feels flat and I use it as it is. I haven't had any problems with the other planes I have rehabbed on it and I have done 41 so far and I have 6 more waiting to take their turn on it.
    The question is if the plane works as needed or if it doesn't.

    Don't try to fix what ain't broken.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  13. #43
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    7,254
    Blog Entries
    7
    Quote Originally Posted by Eric Danstrom View Post
    here's the German take on plane flatness and how to measure it:
    https://www.fine-tools.com/rechtwink...ei-hobeln.html
    Exactly. I posted up a thread in General woodworking titled ‘metrology for the cabinetmaker’. It takes at least a surface plate, an accurate square that is checked for accuracy (not scribe and flip method, but checked against a true reference like a cylinder square) and feeler gauges.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  14. #44
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Warwick, Rhode Island
    Posts
    346
    I have tried to post pics but I can't. I don't know why but SMC for whatever reason doesn't recognize my pic files.

  15. #45
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Warwick, Rhode Island
    Posts
    346
    Will do but hopefully I'll get it ground before that happens.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •