This can be done on a grinder—an settjng inch slow-speed grinder is best for this work, a water-cooled, large wheel grinder even better—but good results can be achieved by working the blade on PSA sandpaper attached to a dead flat surface. Very helpful explanation Helen — thank you. I used diamond plates here, and you can find other methods in my sharpening videos setting a wood plane blade 49 YouTube. Bevel up planes, of course, have no chipbreakers and need no such adjustment. Do a careful job here; it's the micro bevel that meets the wood and produces those sething shavings.

Once done, this step need not be repeated, though you may wish to refresh the back bevel with your finest stone each time you re-hone your microbevel. Now that your blade is sharpened and honed to perfection, you will ordinarily only need to refresh the micro bevel on your finest stone from time to time to keep it in top cutting condition. Upgrading Your Plane Blade. If your blade is in bad shape—either badly nicked or rusted—you might be better off installing a new replacement blade.

Several manufacturers offer replacement blades in a variety of widths to fit older Stanleys, Records and other brands. Some blades are as much as 25 percent thicker than the original blades and use modern steels, including both A2 and 01 steel. Replacement chipbreakers are also available. Thicker blades reduce the likelihood of chatter and offer greater stability, but they may require adjustments to the frog or even the size of the mouth opening to accommodate the greater thickness.

Available blades vary in thickness, so take this into account when purchasing. A thickness of. Replacement chipbreakers in particular may be thicker than the original parts and may not fit older planes. Check with the manufacturer before ordering. Highland Woodworking carries Stanley replacement blades and chipbreakers.

Set the Mouth Opening. While the lion's share of attention goes to getting a keen edge on the blade, several other steps will help you get the best from your plane.

One is adjusting the mouth opening. On a bevel down plane, this is achieved by moving the frog forward or backward until the opening is slightly wider than the thickness of the desired shaving. For smoothing planes, very fine shavings are the goal so you will want to set a very narrow gap. The opening can be wider for jointers and wider still for jack planes set up to take thick shavings when roughing out a board.

Set the frog with the blade in place and slightly projected. On planes based on the Stanley Bedrock model, which includes Lie-Nielsen planes , adjust the opening by loosening the two screws on either side of the depth adjustment wheel. Then advance or retract the frog as necessary by turning the large screw located between the two locking screws. Once the frog is adjusted, loosely tighten the locking screws, remove the blade and sight down the frog to the mouth to confirm that the frog is perfectly square to the mouth.

Then tighten the locking screws alternately and gradually until tight. Don't over tighten them to avoid stripping the threads. The more common Bailey-style planes have a slightly different screw arrangement—two locking screws located under the blade-chipbreaker assembly and an adjusting screw at the rear of the frog. This means you may have to insert and remove the blade and chipbreaker assembly several times until you get the mouth set the way you want it.

Otherwise, the adjustment process is the same as for Bedrock-style planes. Some newer planes—including block planes and other bevel-up planes—are built with adjustable mouths. Usually the mouth is loosened by turning a lever at the base of the toe, then sliding the mouth assembly forward or backward to obtain the desired opening. Adjust the Chipbreaker. The chipbreaker on a bevel down plane should also be set so the distance from the blade edge is slightly more than the width of the shavings you intend to make.

The distance will vary for individual planes set up to achieve different results. Bevel up planes, of course, have no chipbreakers and need no such adjustment.

Adjust the Cap Iron Pressure. The cap iron should hold the blade and chip breaker firmly to eliminate chatter but not so tightly that the depth adjuster can't be easily moved with two fingers. With the lever loosened, tighten the screw until it holds the blade and chip breaker snugly in place, then snap the lever down and test the ease of adjustment.

Once you've achieved the right amount of pressure, leave the screw alone and remove the iron by raising the lever. Set the Depth Adjuster.

Now we come to the business end of the adjustments, where the metal meets the wood. On most planes, you turn the depth adjustment wheel clockwise to deepen the cut and counterclockwise to retract it. However, there are exceptions. I recently came upon an old Crusader where the depth adjuster was turned in the opposite direction, so check your plane to see which rule applies.

Unfortunately, because of the unavoidable condition of backlash—excess play in the wheel adjustment—setting the blade depth so it does not slip in place requires a little more technique.

The rule is to finish all depth adjustments with a downward, usually clockwise, movement of the wheel. Failing to keep downward pressure leaves the blade in a loose condition that lets it slip, and you can quickly lose the adjustment you just carefully set. Thus, if the blade is set too deep, back it off by turning the wheel counterclockwise until the blade is fully retracted.

Then make small downward ordinarily clockwise adjustments, testing after each movement, until you get the right depth. If you find you need a more shallow set, repeat the entire process by backing the blade out and then deepening the cut by small degrees. Lateral Adjustments.

The rule of thumb here is to slide the lateral adjustment lever toward the side of the blade that is cutting too deeply. You can test the balance of the blade depth by sighting down the sole and looking for the black line that shows the presence of the blade. Or you can look directly into the mouth from the bottom of the plane to judge whether the blade is the same distance from the mouth edge on both sides. A third method is to take a thin wood chip and stroke it gently on each side of the blade, paying attention to the size of each shaving produced as well as the sound as the chip passes over the cutting edge.

The acid test, however, is to make a cut on a scrap board to see if you get shavings of equal thickness from each side of the blade.

On a flat board, you would expect to get a full-width shaving of uniform thickness. If the shaving is light on one side or missing altogether, move the lever slightly to the side that is cutting heaviest and retest.

A series of small, successive adjustments will usually produce better results than making wider swings in the hope of hitting the correct setting in one movement. Often, moving the adjustment lever affects the overall depth of cut, so be prepared for follow-up depth adjustments. Cambered blades, because the blade corners are curved, are easier to put into balance. This is one reason why they are recommended for most users, especially those new to using hand planes see below.

Plane blades can be cambered or kept straight, according to the user's preference and skill level. The temptation—especially for new users—is to leave the blade edge just as it comes out of the box: straight. But it is precisely new users who can benefit the most from a cambered blade. Because a cambered blade is more forgiving when it is not precisely set to equal depth on both edges. Set the iron in place seated on the work surface, and insert the wedge. Tap the wedge in to place to secure.

Listen carefully, once the wedge is seated the tone will deaden — I spent a long time trying to adjust a plane without any joy only for Richard to inform me that I had the wedge far too tight for my adjustments to be effective.

Sight down the bottom of the plane to see where the cutting edge is sitting. Is it protruding more at one edge than the other? Feel carefully to confirm this. To begin I was shown how to use a thin piece of wood to help read this — taking a shaving by pulling the wood across the blade at the two edges shows how well it is set.

If the shaving is too deep at both then the blade needs retracting — you will cause tracks in your work.

And if the shaving is uneven then you need to tip the blade over by hitting it on the side, low down with a small metal hammer. After making any adjustments, the wedge will need a light tap to ensure everything stays locked.

The smoothing plane is the most difficult to set up just right. It has the slightest of camber and you want to ensure that you get a full width shaving that fades out at both edges so that you leave no tracks, leaving a beautifully smooth finish.

In an odd sort of sense it was the most difficult plane which Richard instructed me to perfect first of all. And knowing which end to hit when is almost becoming second nature. Concepts which have Setting A Wood Plane Blade Zoo led to the recent launch of her second business Winglewood News. That shaving is a thing of beauty, beautifully captured — if only my own were less bestial! I love the idea of using wooden hand planes, but with no experience using them it is rather intimidating.

What would you or Richard recommend in tackling the steep learning curve of wooden plane set-up? My gut instinct is to just get in the shop and start using it…but that seems to simple…. The production quality, from the videos to photos to content itself is second to known…. It became intuitive for me once I understood the physics of it. Tap the toe and he body moves backward.

Tap the heel and the reverse happens. Because of the bedding angle, it appears to suck up a little bit back into the plane.

So, the cut lessens. Thanks Glen, for a lot of people knowing how and why things work is the key to getting it to work. Good explanation. Spot on Helen. Very helpful explanation Helen — thank you. I need more practise now I have a number of different size wooden planes handed down to me. Some homework then while the rain still comes down.

I have had enough of paperwork for this week. If you truly appreciate using wooden planes then you should only hit the wooden parts of the plane with a wooden mallet and the metal iron with a metal peen. Using steel hammers to do all this tapping. Steel mushrooms blades and destroys bodies over time. A plane hammer solves both problems. The brass end of the head will not deform steel and the wooden insert end is kind to the body.

It is the perfect tool for wooden plane owners. Just an idea. Nice, Helen. Very clear, very concise, very accurate, very effective for those who Setting A Wood Plane Blade 2019 practice according to your instructions. One of the great — but often unrecognized — benefits of working wood is the need for patience and concentration on the now, the immediate, the present, the tool, the wood.

They tell you all you need to know, once you shut out the outside world and listen to the music you make with your tools. Practice, practice, practice! Thanks Helen. You and Richard are doing a wonderful job. The instruction is clear and helpful.

I remember it fondly and oh so nostagically. The scent of coal in the air while driving through the villages on a cold evening still Setting A Wood Plane Blade 13 pleasantly wafts through the corridors of my mind. Chicksands is in fact in Bedfordshire not its neighbour Hertfordshire.

I used to visit Chicksands and Henlow for open days back in the late 50s early 60s on Birch Bros buses from Luton. By all means visit these parts again but you will rarely come across the scent of coal in the air nowadays. I agree that Helen and Richard are doing a wonderful job in reinforcing and encouraging woodwork using hand-tools and passing on tips to those of us that are hungry to learn or to re-visit skills long since forgotten.

Hi Robanjo By all means visit us on your forthcoming trip to England. We live in a small hamlet and continue to burn coal on our Setting A Wood Plane Blade Queen open fire! I have two wood planes and fight with them all the time. The fine adjustments are almost impossible to make and must require lots and lots of practice. I have one metal block plane that is simply a dream to use. Fine adjustments take only a moment or two and work every time. Your post had motivated me to try some more but that metal plane sure looks good when I get frustrated.

After 44 years of woodworking, I notice Planes are like people. Some behave well and others do not and need some coaching. Wood planes react well if their Irons and wedge are fitted properly. They only require moderate pressure to stay in position and with a slight tap in the appropriate place will advance or retract in micro amounts.

If you are haing to hit a wood plane too hard, then some adjustment to the fitting is needed. With an Iron body plane there are similar issues which can be frustrating.

Once understood and the plane fitted properly, these tools are a joy to use. Remember, temperature and humidity affect all wood and can affect Iron a bit as well. Put your tools away in cupboards or cases at the end of each work session. Thanks for the reply. I have dedicated myself to learning the wooden plane but there is something I forgot to mention.

My two wooden planes are German made and have a piece of metal on the end which is struck by a hammer to loosen the wedge and, I just leaned, to back the blade up a tad. Yes, those are the designated hammer tap locations. But it was also done so you can use a steel hammer without damaging the plane. Thanks for the input.

With a German plane does one tap the front to deepen the cut or tap on the end of the blade? Chip Breakers or Cap Irons can be set in a variety of ways. I personally believe you can set them too fine and yet there are times you need to set them as fine as possible for the task at hand. Generally, I have mine set back unless I need to deal with some challenging grain.

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