# First try at truing and using a hand plane



## danj (Jul 4, 2012)

Some years ago my dad picked up a beat up, rusty hand plane for me. I was either living in a dorm in college or in a tiny apartment without anyplace for a shop. Recently we moved into a house with both garage and basement (!) and I found the thing while unpacking. 









I wish I snapped a picture when I started, but there it is disassembled. It's a Dunlop. I showed it to my uncle who knows a lot about such things and he said it isn't worth the time to true the base or square and sharpen the blade. Well, I'm working on learning to sharpen my tools and knives and decided this would be the way to learn how to flatten a bed, sharpen a blade, and assemble a plane. It's my only one, but it couldn't get any worse and wasn't worth sending out. 

So, I gave it a go. I picked up a cheap stone at Harbor Freight and flattened it. Then I took on the bed. I've tried emery cloth, the stone, sandpaper from 80-220 grit and lots-and-lots of elbow grease. It's better, but still pretty gouged and not quite flat. So, first question: What should I use to quickly remove material so I can get to flat?

Today I hardened the blade by hand and got it pretty sharp. Not perfect, but not too bad. I then set to planing a cutting board (oak or ash, I think) to use for the base of the strop I'll make next. (cutting board was free an already has a handle. I'll cut off the edges and glue down the leather.) the board is thick, so I could continue to take material if I messed it up. A good way to test a questionable plane. 

Here's what happened. It's not perfect, but it's no longer concave and rough from years of kitchen knives. It's actually around a 160 grit or better finish. 









The picture shows the back of the board, not the planed surface. I hit it a few times, but you can see all the old knife marks, etc. All the curled strips are from the partially- reworked plane though. 

So, first a thanks. Thanks for encouraging me to give the plane a go. I've been reading up here on plane info and just being around here makes me want even more to be in my shop. 

Questions 
- how bad is this plane, really? Is it worth my continuing to true? 
- I adjusted the frog to where I thought it should go, but how do I know for sure?
- any tips, cautions or advice for next steps with learning to plane by hand? 

Thanks
Dan J.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Dan, congrats!

You just opened pandora's box :laughing:

The best thing I've found for the first steps in flattening a plane sole is a sheet of 150x paper designed for floor sanders. It's about 15"x20" an available at tool rental places for use on floor sanders.

As for I it's worth it, heck yeah. If nothing else you will learn a lot about not only tuning but also using hand planes. Go for it!


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## woodbutcher360 (Jul 1, 2012)

A piece of glass/polished granite a tad bigger then a standard size piece of wet/dry sandpaper.
Scrub a pencil across the bottom of the plane. Wet your glass/stone and lay your sandpaper down on it. It will adhere untill it drys out. Run the plane (with the blade retracted but assembled) across the sandpaper and note your progress. Pencil marks left will indicate low spots of course. Once the bottom is flat, then its time to flatten the frog base. Square up the chip breaker's edge, sharpen the blade (I like a very slight radius at the corners to avoid tool marks left behind), put it together and give it a go. It should cut easily and you should be able to obtain very thin shavings (almost translucent)


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## danj (Jul 4, 2012)

Hoping to get back to this soon. Sadly, I can't buy anything now. So, granite, etc will have to wait. Thanks for the replies and I'll refer back I this when I get time and have a job again and can purchase the necessary items to do it right. 

Thanks for the rounding tip. Very helpful.


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## Paul W Gillespie (Jul 7, 2011)

See if their are any granite counter top fabricators in your area. I had one I used to drive past all the time while working. They had a huge dumpster full of throw away pieces. I asked if I could have some and they said sure just don't jump into the dumpster. Anything I could grab from the sides would be ok. I got a couple of large pieces and some 4" wide pieces that were supposed to be back splashes but broke. My only mistake was leaving them in the back of my pick up to get knocked around for months. They chipped up some. Not sure if I can use them now, but they would have been perfect. I may go back.


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## Wrangler02 (Apr 15, 2011)

I disagree with your uncle, the plane is worth fixing up and using, if only because your father gave it to you. My father passed on, and I have none of his tools. This, I regret. I have a couple of Dunlop planes, and while they are no Bedrock, they get the job done.


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## danj (Jul 4, 2012)

Figure it's good to learn on and use until I get another. He gave it to me, but not as sentimental at all. He found it at a yard sale one time and it was cheap. I'm going to fix it up and see. It's already better than nothing. 

Good advice; thanks.


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## woodbutcher360 (Jul 1, 2012)

Paul W Gillespie said:


> See if their are any granite counter top fabricators in your area. I had one I used to drive past all the time while working. They had a huge dumpster full of throw away pieces. I asked if I could have some and they said sure just don't jump into the dumpster. Anything I could grab from the sides would be ok. I got a couple of large pieces and some 4" wide pieces that were supposed to be back splashes but broke. My only mistake was leaving them in the back of my pick up to get knocked around for months. They chipped up some. Not sure if I can use them now, but they would have been perfect. I may go back.


I picked up a 12 x 14 (inches) piece of highly polished marble from a local monument maker. $10.00 and I thought it was a steal. I wet it, stick the wet sp down and sharpen.


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## danj (Jul 4, 2012)

Was at a big box store yesterday to pick something up for my grandparents. They had polished marble files for under $2. I picked one up that wasnt textured. Got it home thinking I had what I needed. Then I laid a straight edge on it. It's cupped around .5mm. This is assuming my inexpensive metal level and my empire combo square are straight. 

Was this a total waste? Sadly, I don't have much around here by way of acquiring scrap marble or granite, but will try next time I get to a city (90 miles). Is anything wrong with the shelving stock I have on hand? It's chunks from a display fabrication company and is pretty stout stuff.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

danj said:


> Is anything wrong with the shelving stock I have on hand? It's chunks from a display fabrication company and is pretty stout stuff.


If the shelving stock is flat, I would use it. You only need a flat surface. The recommendations for granite or marble are due to this normally being flat.

Next time you are able to go to the city, if they have a Woodcraft, you can find granite surface plates.
http://www.woodcraft.com/family/2004864/granite-surface-plates.aspx

Grizzly have larger ones, but you really want to be able to pick these up from one of the Grizzly showrooms. Heavy and expensive to ship.
http://www.grizzly.com/search/search.aspx?q=granite surface plate&cachebuster=7662155587796657


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## Tedstor (Aug 12, 2012)

I have that exact same plane. I managed to to get into pretty good working order. 
Here are my opinions (many of which are not shared by others):

When it comes to the sole, flatter is always better. But it doesn't need to be 100% flat. Mine isn't. Its has a small low spot on the front left and another low spot on the rear left of the sole. But 90ish% of the sole is fairly consistent. I could probably spend another 1-2 hours of my life trying to correct the issue, but the plane works pretty well as is. I doubt the effort would improve its performance. High points definitely need to be corrected, but imo, a couple of low spots are harmless. 

Get some valve grinding compound from an auto parts store($4). Its a highly abrasive paste. It can be used to shape chisel and plane blade bevels, and is also good to use when flattening soles and fitting frogs. Put a few dabs on the frog base, place the frog on the base, and scrub the two parts against one another until you're satisfied with the fit. 

Plate glass is usually pretty flat. Its also cheap and widely available.


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