Flattening Plane Sole

Re: Flattening Plane Sole

Bob Hackett

>I draw file using a single cut file.For me draw filing gives me more control,hogs off more material quickly and leaves a better finish so it`s really a no brainer.When I say more control I mean it`s easier for me to file a right angle with the file running side to side,think of a tightrope walker with that long pole held out to help.

BTW-excellent scrapers can be made from worn out files so you have no good excuse for not trying scraping at least once.

Mainely,Bob

Be Careful *PICS*

WoodburnBob

>I say this because it's been pretty easy for me to screw this up in the past. But here's how I'm doing it now:

First, figure out where on the sole you need to remove metal. A straightedge examination from various angle gives you a reasonable mental picture. A surface plate and blueing...or magic marker on the sole and a sheet of sandpaper on a surface plate...gives you a better image.

Your goal is to remove the hills and mounds. Almost always this means staying the hell away from the sole border and the perimeter of the mouth.

I've done lots of self-defeating filing by laying the file down and pushing...thinking that the flat file would take care of the problems on its own. In my hands this is the best way to produce a very f**ked up and domed sole.

In theory, all files have a concave side and corresponding convex side. Check yours with a straight edge. But files bend so much in use, that doesn't matter much. It takes very little pressure on a flat file to put a few 0.001s curve in it and what's putatively being filed "flat". This is the single most important thing I've learned from ruining plane soles with a file under the delusional belief that a flat file should produce a flat surface.

The method Paul Womack describes sounds to rely on big honking tapered files...so that you can use the gentle nearly flat, length-wise radius of the taper to, in your words, "hog" metal in a focal area...thereby avoiding what I've just described. I don't recall if he made comments about straight filing versus draw filing. I think straight filing would be a mistake.

My taper files for saws are too small and would be too slow. I'm not buying any more tools for awhile, no matter how essential they are. So I've used two files with a dime in the middle to produce a gentle convexity.



The two files are clamped together with a couple of electrical box connectors...there'd be any number of ways to clamp.



Here's the sillouette.

This allows me to draw file (analogous to using a drawknife or scorp) with extraordinary controll and precision. You can feel and see where you are removing metal in little patches with accuracy on the order of perhaps 1/4 inch. If you vary your stroke direction (say turning 30 degrees every few strokes you'll produce a nice divet in a flat surface or take down a hill pretty efficiently.

Finally, each time you start to draw file, stop and look at the way the file will cut. In one direction, say drawing (pulling) it will cut, while in the other direction it will slide and tend to destroy the file teeth (if you push instead). I say this because I do this myself all the time.

Good luck. Be sure to air you experience...success or failure.

Re: Flattening Plane Sole

Alan Womack

>I recently flattened out a newer stanley block plane using 80 grit drywall screen. The sheet was expensive ($3.00), but it does not load up and worked pretty fast. The finish is also much nicer than even 120 grit paper left. Took me about 30 minutes to flatten the sole out.

I've used Paul Womack's filing method on others, you have to work carefully. I've not yet purchased a surface plate, but I have bought the blue and a brayer to try it on thick glass sometime soon.

Alan

Re: Be Careful *PICS*

paul womack

>The method Paul Womack describes sounds to rely on big honking tapered files...so that you can use the gentle nearly flat, length-wise radius of the taper to, in your words, "hog" metal in a focal area...thereby avoiding what I've just described. I don't recall if he made comments about straight filing versus draw filing. I think straight filing would be a mistake.

A 10" square, second cut file works fine. I'm not completely sure what you mean by "straight filing", but I'm definitely not "draw filing". I just use little diagonal strokes (probably 1" long).

That's a REALLY neat trick with the 2 files, BTW.

BugBear

Re: depth control

paul womack

>When removing metal by filing, I use the following technique to control/measure my depth of cut.

On each spot-cut cycle, I only remove enough metal to remove the file marks from the previous pass. By performing each pass in a different direction, this give a well defined amount of metal removal.

BugBear

Re: Flattening Plane Sole

Tom Wolf

>Thankyou for all the information. I really appreciate the service this forum provides and all the contributers are such an asset to galoots in exile (in the northwest).

Thanks