Woodworking for amateur craftsmen

Among the various planes used by wood-workers are the following: block plane, smooth plane, jack plane, jointer and a special plane known as a combination plane. Not all of these planes are absolutely necessary for simple work such as a beginner would do, but they are desirable. The smooth plane, jack plane and jointer differ only in their length, width of cutter or plane iron, and in the manner of shaping the cutting edge of the plane iron.

The jack plane, Fig. 18, is used for planing off rough surfaces or where it is desired to take off a large quantity of wood quickly. Since it is not expected to leave the surface smooth, this being done by means of another plane, the plane iron of the jack plane is ground rounding as shown in Fig. 18, B, this form of iron being better adapted for "roughing off."

The smooth plane, Fig. 19, is shorter than the jack plane. Since it is used merely, as its name implies, for smoothing off surfaces that have previously been straightened, or surfaces where straightening is not essential, the short length is an advantage rather than a disadvantage. Its plane iron is ground straight across with the corners very slightly rounded (Fig. 19, B).

For planing long edges straight, the jointer, Fig. 20, is used. Because of its great length it makes edge planing much easier than when the shorter planes are used. On account of its length, the high places must be cut off before the plane iron can touch the low places. Its iron is sharpened like that of the smooth plane straight across.

The block plane, Fig. 21, is used for planing the ends of pieces of wood ; for this reason no cap iron is necessary to break the shaving, there being none, only sawdust. It also differs from the other planes in that the bevel of the plane iron is turned up instead of down The block plane's chief advantage over the other planes for end planing lies in its being small enough to be operated with one hand, leaving the other free to hold the board.

The combination plane, Fig. 22, is used in making grooves, rebates, etc. By an exchange of cutters it may be made to take the place of a great variety of special planes.

Figure 23 shows a section of a modern plane and gives the names of the more important parts. From this it will be seen that the principal parts consist of the cap, the cap iron which breaks and bends the shaving (Fig. 24) so that the wood may not be torn up, the plane iron for cutting the wood and the frog to which these parts are fastened.

Figure 25 shows the relative positions of plane iron and cap iron. The cutting edge of the plane iron should extend about 1/16 in. below the edge of the cap iron for ordinary work. For fine work, the distance between the edges should be less. The cap iron and plane iron must be firmly fastened together, the cap being used to turn the stout screw, unless a screw driver is at hand; otherwise, a few strokes will have pushed the iron back into the mouth of the plane.

After these parts are securely fastened together, put them on the frog, plane iron down and cap iron up, making sure the plane iron rests flat on the frog with the Y-adjustment in the slot in the cap iron made for it. Next, place the cap in position and push down the cam. Should this cam work loosely and the plane iron and cap iron not be held firmly, adjust the cap screw. Ordinarily this screw when once adjusted needs no attention. Should the cam work too hard, make sure the plane iron is flat on the frog before releasing the cap screw.

To adjust the blade or plane iron, hold it as shown in Fig. 26, turning the plane toward the light. Sight along the bottom, turning the adjusting nut until the blade will project very slightly, not much more than the thickness of drawing paper. The most common error beginners make in learning to use the plane is setting the plane iron too far out of the mouth of the plane. Move the lateral adjusting lever to one side or the other until the plane iron projects the same amount on each side.

Practically every lumber yard carries in stock lumber that has been mill-planed on two surfaces to stock thicknesses. Wood-workers can specify the thickness wanted for the work they have in hand and thus avoid much of the drudgery necessitated by planing up stock entirely in the rough as it comes from the sawmill.

The first broad surface and the first edge planed have a peculiar use and definite names. The first surface is called face side or often working face. The first edge is called face edge or frequently joint edge. These are marked to distinguish them from the others, as shown in Fig. 27. They are the only ones marked. From these two faces, and these only, all testing is to be done, the beam of the try-square and the head of the gauge being held against one or the other.

In selecting these faces, the better broad surface and the better edge are taken, if the object is to consist of but one piece. If it is to consist of several parts, such as a table or a chair, the poorer surfaces are to be selected for faces. Where several parts are to be joined, the faces are turned "in" because, being the first prepared, they are more accurate than the others. Any inaccuracies in the first surfaces will appear in the others, since they are worked from the first sur- faces. Some inaccuracies may be present in the second surfaces which are not present in the first set. For this reason the face sides when joined together are more likely to make close-fitting joints than the others. Frequently there is little choice of surfaces. Generally however, slight streaks of sapwood, smoothness of surface, etc., will be the determining factors.

Should the piece not be of equal width and thickness, select the broad surface which is desired for face side. With the smooth plane remove the mill-marks from it. Mill-marks are the little ridges and hollows which extend across every piece of mill-planed lumber. In mill-planing, a series of knives, two and sometimes four, are caused to revolve very rapidly above or below the board, sometimes both above and below, as it passes through the planer, shown in Fig. 28. If the knives are properly set, revolve very rapidly, and the board is not made to travel over the planer bed too rapidly, these marks are hardly noticeable. They must be removed with the hand plane, however, from any lumber that is to be used for interior finish or cabinet work. If they are not removed, the filler or stain will tend to "bring out" and emphasize every hollow and thus give the wood an ugly, streaked appearance.

Since it is difficult to tell where the smooth plane has or has not cut in removing these marks, it is a good plan to make a series of light pencil lines across the board at frequent space intervals before beginning to plane. When these have been removed the millmarks "will have been removed, too.

In planing, press firmly on the knob in starting and upon the handle in stopping the stroke (Fig. 29), or the ends of the board will be lowered too much. If the board is a long one, it will be necessary to start and stop some of the strokes in its middle. That no marks may show where this takes place, the shavings must be "feathered." This is done by lowering the toe of the plane first in starting and by raising the heel of the plane gradually as the completion of the stroke is neared. This is shown in Fig. 30.

A board will very often become warped or dished after having been planed level at the mill. The nature of the work in which it is to be used will determine whether or not this first surface is to be leveled or merely smoothed. If dished much, and the work require a level surface, a new piece or a thicker piece will be needed. In many cases the dish will "nail out" so that the first surface needs only smoothing. This is illustrated in Fig. 31, where a bottom board is being nailed to the side of a box. When this surface has been sufficiently smoothed, mark it for a face side.

Select and prepare one of the edges for a face edge. Place the piece against the bench stop or in the vise.

The jointer is usually used for edge planing after the jack plane has been used to remove the roughness. After a few strokes, hold the board toward the light, close one eye and look along the edge (Fig. 32), to see whether it is straight or not. Practice will soon enable one to know when the edge is straight. At first it may be well to use a straightedge test in addition to the sight test. This is done by placing something having a straight edge as shown in Fig. 33, holding the board and straightedge between the eye and the light so that any unevenness may show plainly.

The second test is to place the try-square as in Fig. 34. Hold the beam firmly against the face side and make the test at a sufficient number of places along the edge to show its true condition. Should light show under the blade, note where it is, place the piece in the vise again and move the plane over to the side opposite that at which the light appeared, Fig. 35. Take off no more shavings in planing this edge than are absolutely necessary to get it straight and square. The final stroke should be taken the full length of the board and the shaving should be very thin.

Mark this edge as in Fig. 27. It is to be known as the face edge.