OT: Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

john Lucas

I don' t do a lot of hand planing but have restored and used quite a few. I have found that for most of us it's more about tuning up whatever you get and sharpening the blade well enough. If you do those two things most anything will work. I have a very old Craftsman block plane and smoothing plane that were the first I bought almost 40 years ago. After a good tune up they do a decent job. I still use them for rougher work saving my good planes for the finer work.

I've started restoring some wooden planes but haven't done the flat planes yet. I have restored most of the moulding planes that I've picked up over the years. I look forward to trying out the wooden smoothing and jointer planes that I have. maybe I'll have time this summer to tune them up.

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

David Bassett

I'm not so sure it's that dark over there and that's where the experts will be.

I'm not one of those experts, but I *think* you're starting off with a vocabulary problem. Block planes are small, often one hand, planes used for small work & touch-ups. E.g. cutting dovetails flush. I've seen Peter Follansbee demonstrate on the Woodwright's Shop and he was using wooden planes. I'm pretty sure they'd be classified as "bench" planes and were probably a wooden Jack and a Smoothing plane. David Weaver, next door, has been making wooden planes and experimenting with the designs. There are several others making and restoring wood planes that I'm sure could also be very helpful.

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers *LINK*

Dave Paine

I have an interest in getting and restoring one or two old block planes for green woodworking -- sorta a la Peter Follansbee. Basically, to roughly flatten a split or riven log segment (possibly to make green boards), and maybe one to refine them further and flatten them out when dry.

As others mentioned, a block plane is small and designed more for single hand use. Best uses I have found are to remove small high spots, dried glue, chamfer edges.

Also as others mentioned I think if you want to flatten boards you would find this easier with larger planes. In the Stanley bench plane range, a No 4 (smoother), a No 5 (jack), a No 6 (fore) or a No 7 (jointer). Lots of opinions about which to use.

A wooden plane will typically have a thick tapered blade and a wooden wedge to hold the blade. Lee Valley and Hock sell the blades. You likely have the skills to make the wooden body and wedge. Lots of internet sites and YouTube videos show how to do this.

If you want to restore a wooden body plane, normally this is flattening the sole, sharpening the blade, tweaking the fit of the wedge and its slot, etc.

I prefer steel/cast iron planes.

If you want to restore a steel/cast iron vintage Stanley bench plane, I can offer a No 4, or a No 5. Email me if interested and I will take some pictures. These have some paint, slight rust, but will restore good as new. Totes may need replacing, but they have all the hardware. If you are looking at vintage planes, you need to watch out for missing or new UN screws force fit into the BSW threads.

I have restored a number of vintage Stanley or clone bench planes. The No 4 and No 5 are dirty, but nothing like this example of a rust bucket.

This restored well so I kept this one.

Before

After

If you want to look up information about the Stanley range of bench planes, Supertool is a very comprehensive site.


http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

Ken Vaughan

Brad

Mike Dunbar has a classic book on restoring and using old tools. Newer edition came out a few years ago. I have the old one and find it an excellent reminder of the basics of making flea market cheap into usable.

There is a progression of tools from fresh riven dripping wet to mostly dry and ready to finish. The block plane is usually used more toward the dryer end of that process.

You will be into draw knives, slicks, and froes before you know it if you start on to the slippery slope. All really good stuff --- especially if you have enjoyment restoring old tools.

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

Brad Vietje

Thanks, everyone!

See, I really wasn't kidding, I don't even know what to CALL them -- HA!

Somehow I figured a "block" plane would be the large ones made from a "block" of wood... but NO!

I already have a large shaving horse and a few draw knives, and have seen some large wooden planes for sale, and I'm interested in restoring one or 2 of them. They are only around $20 each, so it's not a huge gamble. I noticed that some have small cracks heading aft of the irons (again, I don't have the vocabulary here), and wondered how big a deal that would be? Most seem to be made of Am. Beech, about 4" wide by about 3" high, and the lengths vary from about 16" to 26" or 28".

I should get a book or two, and start watching some videos, too. I want to flatten and smooth pretty rough green wood, then refine it a bit more for some relief carving and maybe box making. Not making a piano or a violin here, but a rustic, 17th century style colonial box. I have seen a video of Peter Follansbee doing exactly this, including one episode of the Woodright's Shop, so I should pay close attention.

BTW: "The dark Side" is just a gentle tounge-in-cheek poke at people who seem to enjoy making things that are NOT round -- and I am slowly becoming one of them! I've been getting into spoon carving lately, and instead of building a dedicated turning shop, I'm now thinking more along the lines of a green wood shop, with lathes (powered and pole), a carving bench, shaving horse, spoon vise, and starting a collection of hand-powered tools for working green wood. Fun and not too expensive so far, which is key, since I'm broke.

I live in a timber frame house (with straw bale walls, BTW), so I could easily see myself restoring a spud, slick, and all manner of mortising and tenoning tools, but we'll see. One small step at a time.

Safe spinning,

Brad Vietje

Newbury, VT

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

john Lucas

Brad in my experience the iron it the key thing. If it has pits from rust it's hard to restore. If it's in good shape then the wood can be fixed or modified to work. You can sometimes buy after market blades to fit althought I've never tried. I usually pass up on the planes if the iron isn't any good. You need a plane with a fairly large mouth opening for roughing and then a smoothing or jointer plane to make it flat and smooth.

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

Dave Paine

I noticed that some have small cracks heading aft of the irons (again, I don't have the vocabulary here)

The "iron" is the cutting part of a plane. You may also see this called the blade, the steel, the cutter and other names.

I think the metal was originally iron. Later cast steel. These days much improved steel alloys.

The cracks in the wood behind the iron may or may not impact performance. Hard to say without seeing pictures.

American beech was a common wood species for the body.

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

Jorge Castañeda

Brad, for block planes look for a low angle, those can be fine tuned better than the normal ones.

To flatten boards, start with a #5 (jack) to hit the high spots and when closer switch to a longer one, a #& or #8. That said, when I was building homes, my everything plane was a #6 and for very hard woods a 5 !/2.

Stanley Sweet-hearth (with a hearth next to the brand name is the very best of Stanley, they were made around 1920's.

The stanley's throat is narrower than all the others, but the irons (blades) are kinda soft. Miller's Falls planes have a wider throat but a much better iron. Sargent is another good plane.

Good luck on the hunt!

Says Jorge that owns scads of planes, from scrub, a very coarse, to extremely fine smothers.

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers *LINK*

Peter Hyde

Too many crossed lines here!

A block plane is a traditional wooden plane about 9 -10 inches long and has a radiused blade in a wide mouth. It is used across the grain of a riven board to flatten it across the boards width. Usually the plane is held at 45º to 90º from the line of the grain. Once the board is flat use winding sticks to check that it's not twisted. Plane off high corners to get a true flat out of twist surface. This surface will be rough and the plane iron produces shallow troughs because of the radiuses blade. Next step is a jack or fore plane usually about 14-17" long and the blade is sharpened square with the corners slightly rounded,and the mouth is narrower, usually pretty tight to the cutting edge . This is used to straighten the board length wise and clean off the plane marks left by the block plane.

Check out episodes of the Woodwright's Shop on PBS. Follansbee is a frequent guest and him and Roy Underhill the presenter are a perfect pair when it comes to traditional woodworking

Modern terminology uses the name block plane for a small one handed plane used to take fine cuts on end grain to fit mitres on trim etc.

Spent 5 years pushing planes at the beginning of my woodworking life. Still use them whenever possible. There is nothing better than the sweet swish sound of a wooden plane removing shavings and the rhythm of the body and the using of muscles. Unless it's a gouge on a nice piece of wood in the lathe that is


http://www.thirteen.org/programs/the-woodwrights-shop/

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

Jorge Castañeda

Peter, that description to me refers to a "scrub" plane not a block plane.

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

Peter Hyde

Oooops! Sorry I'm on the wrong continent.. Shop I was apprenticed to used "block" as in "blocking out" a piece of wood from the rough.

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

John C Lucas

Thats what i thought as well. I found a scrub plane a year or so ago but havent had the time to clean it up yet .

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

john Lucas

Since we were talking about hand planes I thought it would be time to pull all of mine out of the drawers and clean them up. I haven't done that since I moved. The 3 wooden planes I haven't had time to refurbish. I have about a dozen moulding planes that I have cleaned and repaired. They aren't pictured. I was wrong I did sharpen and true up the scrub plane. It was the radius plane that I haven't worked on yet.

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

Dale Miner

From split or riven, you would start with a broad hatchet if needed, move onto a scrub plane, and eventually a bench plane when the wood is dry. If needed, a longer jointer plane (#6, #7, #8) would be used for final truing or preparing edges for gluing.

A block plane is way to small for removing any quantity of wood.

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

Brad Vietje

That was my understanding -- and possibly my initial confusion, too. I remember watching some YouTube videos a number of years ago that were from the UK, that discussed wooden planes as "block" planes, but I also remember Peter Follansbee using a scrub plane & jack plane to true up and smooth a riven board (on an old episode of the Wheelwright's Shop, with Roy Underhill) that I saw around a year ago.

Now you see why I didn't want to ask over on the flat-Earth side ( ) since I don't even know how to ask the question!

I did pick up a Ward's/Lakeside #6 hand plane yesterday at a roadside junk shop for $12 in near-perfect condition. Surely not a collector's item, but should work well when sharpened up, and I'm not making $12,000 cabinets here.

I also watched a few videos on the restoration of old wooden planes, and I feel much better informed on the subject.

Safe spinning,

Brad Vietje

Newbury, VT

Re: OT:  Block Plane Question for Flat Woodworkers

Brad Vietje

Thanks, Dale.

I had used the wrong name of the planes I had in mind -- a wooden scrub plane with a curved blade, followed by a wooden jack plane was what I meant, but didn't know the right names.

Safe spinning,

Brad Vietje

Newbury, VT