# Planing rought wood with hand planer?



## Aaronmcc (Apr 12, 2008)

Hey everyone.
I was wondering if a hand planer would work well to plane a side of rough wood (I don't need to do the surface). It saves money to buy the lumber in the rough and during the school year I can use the jointer at school but during the summer... So I was wondering if a hand planer (a cheap alternative compared to a jointer) would work as well as the jointer (flat, smooth, etc). Any comments or answers? :thumbsup:


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## mranum (Mar 27, 2008)

I don't see why not. If you look around you will find older hand planes that were classified as jointers, like the Stanley No.7 & No.8

They are long 22" - 24" and are designed for edge jointing boards. Look for older ones pre 1940 as they are generally better built than the newer ones and you can usually find them for around $70.00 or less most of the time. Here is an example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stanley-Bailey-...ryZ13874QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Although anything like a No.5 or larger would work and they can be significantly less money yet. I bought a No.5 type 9(1902-1905) that needed some tlc for $9.95 + shipping. I spent about a day going through it and cleaning it up and it works great. If you don't have much experience with them there is a learning curve to them and that includes learning how to sharpen them properly. If they aren't sharp they don't work well.

One last thing, check garage sales and flea markets for them, but, if you buy one online make sure you get a very clear indication of its condition such as any cracks or chips around the mouth or side cheeks of the plane, make sure its complete and not missing any screws, Stanley used their own threads and you can't just go to a hardware store and pick one up. There is tons of info on old planes on the net so do some homework before buying and know what you need and what you are looking at before you buy.

Hope this helps.

Matt


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## Aaronmcc (Apr 12, 2008)

Thank you very much.
Maybe a few more questions...
Would a place like Lowes or Home Depot have a longer planer (like twelve inches and maybe a smaller blade since the thickest I would need to plane would be about one inch max) that would take disposable planer blades?
If not, where could I get one? I'd really like to try a new one but it doesn't have to be Uber quality made of pure platinum (or in this case, Purple Heart wood?).


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## mranum (Mar 27, 2008)

You can go to the big box stores and get a plane in a #4 size and maybe a #5. Having said that, speaking as someone who has done that it was a learning experience to not ever do it again. The one I bought was a #4 size and I never could get it to work proper, it simply won't hold an adjustment and the bottom wasn't no where near flat. You still need to know how to sharpen the blade and its not that hard or expensive to do. 

I've never seen disposable blades on a plane but I think Stanley experimented with them a long time ago and they couldn't have worked to well for them or they would still be around.

Don't be afraid to go the old route, its not hard and you have to go through the same steps as you do a new one anyway to set it up properly. In fact I spent more for the new one I bought that sits in the corner than I did for both my old #4 & #5 put together.

Heres a couple videos on the basics of using them.


http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4098

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBr5HeSDw28

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8CPbZg8PGo&feature=related


Good luck with whatever you decide.


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## kapena (Feb 7, 2007)

mranum said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBr5HeSDw28


 
You give good advice.

I just wanted to comment on the method of planing shown in this video.
The guy seemed to be right-handed, but that was the most awkward
demonstration of planing. Left to right is for when you use routers.
I have done a fair share of hand planing, but I don't recall ever using a larger plane by cramping my right arm over to the left side of my body and reaching over with the left hand that way, especially with a long board.
Look where the guy's body is against the bench. He would be really twisted with a long board.
I defy him to do a serious day of planing oak that way. He sure would be feeling it before long.

A right-handed person should aways try to work the plane from right to left facing the bench like a real "galoot" does.


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## Aaronmcc (Apr 12, 2008)

Awesome advice. I'm new to wood working and still learning the basics. I like the wide belt sander at the school (probably 3' I'd guess) but during the summer I'll have to find another way to plane down the wood.


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## mranum (Mar 27, 2008)

When it comes to working with hand tools I'm not a guy who has been doing it for years and years, I'm relatively new to it myself which is why my thoughts lean as they do. After my intial experiece with the "new" one a couple years ago I swore I would never use another one again, they are an old fashioned out dated tool anyway. Or so I thought. My views changed when I ended up with a few old antique planes by chance and did some research to see what I had. I figured that they would go on a shelf since it just didn't seem right to put back in service tools that were made almost 110 years ago. Well the more I researched the more the bug was biting me to try and set them up and use them just to try them out. 

I was building a new bench the top of which I laminated together 1x3's of Maple, Walnut, and Red Oak into a slab thats 30x60. I was figuring on using my belt sander to flatten it but thought what the hell why not try the planes. So I did, and was amazed at the result. There was a bit of a learning curve involved since there was some figured wood in the top, and I had to stop and resharpen the main plane 3 times before it cut like butter, but I flattened both sides of the top with a Bailey #5 type 9 ( 1902 era ) in about 2 hours. Not bad since I didn't know what the hell I was doing. What I was amazed at was just flat it came out. 

FLAT! :thumbsup: :blink: :thumbsup: 

After that I was hooked. I am still building a complete set of the type 9's and will always have an assortment of several other hand tools in my shop from now on. Never, never underestimate the old ways of doing things. Give yourself some time to learn and adapt and you will be amazed at what you can do with them. Working with hand tools is an artform thats leaving the modern world quickly, which is sad to say. I am in my mid 40's, and my Grandfather who happened to be a carpenter was born in 1888. What hits me everytime I use those tools is that, I am using a tool that my Grandfather could himself have used in the early 1900's. You may be to young to experience or feel similar things but for some of us the feeling is hard to describe. You feel & hear the slicing and shaping of the wood with no loud motors, or choking on sawdust. At times its almost theraputic. 


I hope I have helped in some way, after all thats what the forum is for, the sharing of ideas.


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## allenn (Apr 13, 2008)

*hand planes*

Nice advice, guys.

My two cents...I'm a reader. I read for pleasure, and for knowledge. The following recommendations I make from my experiences in exploring the world revealed in the words of others. If you do not enjoy them, it will not hurt my feelings. But they might be as valuable to you as they have been to me.

Check your local library.

Read a copy of R Bruce Hoadley's _Understanding Wood_. (1) Also read Leonard Lee's _Complete Guide to Sharpening._ (2) If you want to work with fresh, green wood, read Roy Undehill's Woodwright Shop series, or as many of them as you can get.(3)

The first of these books (1) will let you in on what wood does, and why. Knowing these things will help you know what you need to do to make wood do what you want it to do, and why some approaches work really well and others just raise blisters to no avail.

The second (2) will show you how to get an edge of a tool to the proper shape and sharpness to do one thing really well. It will then not do another thing quite as well as the one thing for which it was designed, but for that other thing, there's usually a different edge on a different tool that does exactly what the first can't do. Chisels are sharpened differently than are lawnmower blades, and straight razors are different than either of the others. They each do different jobs. Learning why a jointing plane is different than a rabbeting plane is different than a plow plane is different than a block plane can lead you to an understanding of what each can do so much better than any of the others, and why each developed the way it did. You can learn how to change the shape of an edge to get it to do its job just a little better than you ever thought possible, and how to present that edge to the wood to make it do its job with the least amount of exertion on your part. And learning how easy it can be to do a job with a properly sharpened edge, properly presented, will be a revelation. It was for me.

Traditional woodcraft is what the last books (3) are all about. Even if you do no work at all with freshly split planks from freshly harvested trees, the concepts Roy presents can provide delight and enlightenment, like how to take an axe into the woods, fell trees, and make "a house, and everything that goes in it."

allen norris


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## Aaronmcc (Apr 12, 2008)

I think the hardest thing would to do would be to sharpen the blade. My dad has a grinder but I'd have to get some kind of a jig I'd guess to be able to keep a flat edge on the planer blade.


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## mranum (Mar 27, 2008)

allenn said:


> Nice advice, guys.
> 
> My two cents...I'm a reader. I read for pleasure, and for knowledge. The following recommendations I make from my experiences in exploring the world revealed in the words of others. If you do not enjoy them, it will not hurt my feelings. But they might be as valuable to you as they have been to me.
> 
> ...


 
I'll have to take a look sometime, they sound good though.:thumbsup:


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## mranum (Mar 27, 2008)

Aaronmcc said:


> I think the hardest thing would to do would be to sharpen the blade. My dad has a grinder but I'd have to get some kind of a jig I'd guess to be able to keep a flat edge on the planer blade.


It takes some practice but you will catch on quick. The more you research and read the more you will find little tricks to improve your skill at sharpening like flattening the backside of the blade to a mirror finish or putting a secondary bevel on a pitted blade, both done to improve the already finely honed edge. But its not hard to learn, just be patient with yourself and you will get it.:thumbsup:

One last tip, when using a bench grinder have a dish or cup of water next to you to cool the blade ALOT. Take very very light passes to reduce the buildup of heat. The blades are "hardened" so they hold/keep an edge better and if you let the blade get hot you can actually take the hardening out of the blade. Take a scrap piece of steel if you need to get a feel for the grinder and watch how the metal reacts to the grinding action. When its grinding it builds heat, and if you see it starting to turn blue it getting too hot and cool it with the water right away, if it gets hotter than that and starts to get red or orange the temper or hardness is lost and it won't hold an edge well at all. Nice thing is, is that standard blades are cheap and readily available.


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## Aaronmcc (Apr 12, 2008)

Thanks


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## Gerry KIERNAN (Apr 20, 2007)

Aaronmcc said:


> I think the hardest thing would to do would be to sharpen the blade. My dad has a grinder but I'd have to get some kind of a jig I'd guess to be able to keep a flat edge on the planer blade.


Unless the blade is in really rough condition you will probably not need to use a grinder. A small jig to hold the blade at the proper angle, a wetstone, or some fine sandpaper and a sheet of glass is just about all you need. The complete book of sharpening will help you get started in the right direction.

Gerry:thumbsup:


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## jimmiet. (Aug 15, 2007)

*flatten rough saw lumber*

depending on how rough or unlevel you would start with a scrub plane to take out the high spots, the got to a number 7 or 8 jointer plane because of the extra lenght of the plane. then to number 5 or 4 smooth plane. A lot of physical work. but a young guy like you could handle it. also you need to tune up these plane or they are just paper weights.


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## Aaronmcc (Apr 12, 2008)

Thanks


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## Derek Cohen (Aug 14, 2007)

This article/tutorial I wrote may help:

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/Preparing a board without a thicknesser.html

Regards from Perth

Derek


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

Derek Cohen said:


> This article/tutorial I wrote may help:
> 
> http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/Preparing%20a%20board%20without%20a%20thicknesser.html
> 
> ...


Nice job on that article Derek. That's some little 30 inch "pocket plane" you've got there! :laughing:


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## BigHUGE201 (May 14, 2008)

The only problem with using a plane on long boards instead of a jointer is that there is always the chance that the edge might not be straight and even the entire length. You would need an extremely long plane and a good, long straight edge to make sure the board is even. Also using a plane is much, much more time and energy consuming.


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## biglou13 (Mar 20, 2008)

But think of all that execise and improved health :laughing:.

Louis


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## biglou13 (Mar 20, 2008)

But think of all that exercise and improved health


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## Rustaholic (Feb 17, 2008)

This topic reminds me of one of my 8th grade woodshop projects.
When I drew the plan for that tie rack project I thought it would look best with half inch thick boards.
After all,, There was that nice planer over there.
Well,,,, The teacher had a smile on his face and that did worry me a bit. Then I understood when he told me to cut all the pieces first and handed me a plane. :wallbash:
I suggested running the whole board through that planer over there.
He just smiled again and laid the plane down.
I am glad he did. In just a few minutes I had learned how to make very nice 1/2" boards from 3/4" stock.
It came out great. I got an A on that project.

In 9th grade I spec'ed 3/4" stock for my curved top chest that I still use 36 years later for my off-season clothes. :thumbsup:


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