Woodworkers Resource Blog

Handplane Basics: A Better Way to Use Bench Planes

2010-02-26T17:30:39Z

A Review of:

Handplane Basics
A Better Way to Use Bench Planes
with Christopher Schwarz

This is a video put out by the folks at Popular Woodworking Magazine and Woodworking Magazine (which are actually merging into one magazine with the April 2010 issue. I, for one, am not happy about this, but I digress).

If you're new to handplanes or if you, like many, are frustrated with how they perform, or just plane confused (pun intended) with which plane you should use and when, then this video has the information to take your skills to the next level.

Introduction:

The first part of the DVD starts out by talking about the historical background of bench planes and then quickly breaks bench planes into three categories based on their length and job.

The first group ranges in size from 14" to 20" long. They go by many names, such as fore planes, jack planes, or roughing planes. Their primary job was to remove material quickly.

Long planes or jointing planes are next. They range in size from 22" up to 30" long.

Small planes, usually called smoothing planes, range in size from 10" and shorter and prepare the wood for finishing.

The rest of the DVD concentrates on one plane from each of these three categories.

Bench Planes: Types and Anatomy

Next Chris goes through and discusses the anatomy of bench planes so you'll have a better understanding of how to set up each one up to perform the way you want. He does this for metal bodied planes, wooden planes, and infill planes which is nice, because most of the time the Bailey style plane gets all the attention from magazines and videos.

Sharpen & Set Up a Plane To Remove Material

I learned a great deal from this section. One thing I liked was that Chris shows an easier way of shaping the plane iron (using the grinder) than I've ever seen. This is a good thing, because Chris makes an aggressive curve on the plane irons that are set up to remove material fast; an 8 inch radius. Chris shows a simply made jig that he uses to draw the 8 inch radius curve onto the plane iron. Something I wish he would have done here was to explain quickly how to draw that curve out on a block of wood like he used in the video. I'm sure the reason he didn't was to save time, and this is simple enough to find the answer on your own, but it would have been nice to have it all there.

One struggle I've had sharpening plane irons with a curve was getting consistent results. Chris again, shows a simple way to do this using water stones and an inexpensive jig.

At this point, I already feel like I got my money's worth from the DVD, which is nice; I mean, the reason we buy "information products" like this DVD is learn new ways to work right?

Set Up a Plane to Straighten the Work.

There are some similarities between setting up a plane to straighten work and setting one up to remove material. One of the big differences, obviously, is that set up must be more precise for straightening work as opposed to roughly removing material. Chris shows a way of doing this for a long plane using a wooden shim; simple, but highly effective. I first saw this taught by Deneb Puchalski of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, and Chris credits David Charlesworth for teaching him this technique. I love how learning happens from so many different sources in the woodworking community and how blessed we are to have such access to all this information at our fingertips. Imagine living in the 17th or 18th century?

Sharpening Cambered Irons & Preparing the Wood For Finishing

I use smoothing planes more often than any other plane I own (except for my block planes), so this section had my undivided attention. I'm always eager to learn new ways of using my smoothing planes to get the best result possible (mostly just to keep me from having to use sandpaper).

This section convinced me to finally change the pitch angle of my 4 1/2 smoothing plane, and I love the results. Chris does a good job explaining the differences in pitch and the effects it has on the wood.

How to shape and sharpen plane irons for smoothing planes is next. Using three styles, he shows how to achieve each one using water stones. Again, I learned a new process here as well. Getting a consistent curve was something I was never quite happy with on my smoothing plane irons, but Chris shows a way that is very repeatable. I plan to use this approach on a new set of Hock blades I recently purchased.

True a Face of a Board

This is where everything comes together. Chris takes a rough piece of wood and using only handplanes shows how each: a jack plane, jointer plane, and smoothing plane are used to prepare the piece for use.

True the Edges & Ends

After one surface of the board is complete next comes the work on the edges and ends of the board. Hand placement and pressure points become much more critical during this step in the process and Chris does a nice job showing how to do this.

Chris goes on to show how to achieve the final width and thickness of the board using the same three handplanes.

Now to be honest, I hope I don't often have to take a piece of lumber from rough to ready using only handplanes. It's labor intensive and time consuming compared to using both hand and power tools. But if you work wood long enough, you'll eventually run into a board that is too gnarly, too wide, too short, - too "something" that using power tools is not an option, or at least, not the best option. Having the skills to surface the piece by hand is indispensable.

Final Thoughts

Last, Chris talks about bevel-up planes. Rather than make the DVD longer they include a PDF document on the DVD that discusses these newest entrants into the handplane market. This is a very nice added feature.

My Final Thoughts on the DVD

I have been using bench planes for several years now but never really started to enjoy using them until I learned to sharpen them properly. It opened up a whole new world to me and because of that, I continually find new opportunities and circumstances to use handplanes. This isn't just because I enjoy using them, but also because I find I can get the job done with better results and often times faster than with power tools.

Even though I've been using bench planes for years and have a good sharpening system that works for me, I took away several pearls from this video (the best being how to get a consistent radius on my irons). This is one of the reasons I love woodworking, I'm constantly learning new ways to work and improve my skills.

Bottom line, this video kept my attention, was well organized start to finish, and accomplished the stated goal: To teach a simple system of what plane to use and when. Any time I fork out hard earned money on an educational DVD such as this I have one goal in mind: I want to learn something new that will improve my woodworking skills so I can continually get better. Mission accomplished.

There's another DVD put out by Lie-Nielsen Toolworks called Coarse, Medium and Fine: Fundamental Woodworking Techniques. This video was put out several years ago and covers basically the same techniques with a few exceptions. The only reason I bring this up is to say if you already own this video, I don't think I'd buy Handplane Basics because of the overlap in information. But if you don't own either, and are interested in taking your skills using handplanes to the next level, then I highly recommend Handplane Basics: A Better Way to Use Bench Planes.

Here's a quick trailer of Handplane Basics:

To order your copy or just to learn more information about the video, you can click on the link below:

Handplane Basics: A Better Way to Use Bench Planes

Craig

Turning Basics for Furniture Makers

2009-12-18T01:26:46Z

I first got into turning wood about 8 years ago. The reason I bought a lathe was to turn furniture projects such as table legs, columns, knobs, etc. Being a self taught furniture maker, I assumed that I would simply do the same when it came to turning and that I would quickly catch on. WRONG!

It was a slow process in the beginning for me to learn spindle turning. Why? I think it's because turning is difficult to learn simply by reading books (which is how I learned furniture making). When someone asks me the best way to learn to turn wood, I always recommend taking a class from a knowledgeable instructor. If this isn't available to you, the next best thing is a good quality video.

There are a lot of movements that have to be going on at the same time in order to get the results you're looking for when turning wood. The tool, hands, and body all have to work together. This is very difficult to communicate in words and pictures. Video is a much better way because you actually get to see all these movements happen as the turner works.

Steve Shanesy, the publisher of Popular Woodworking has released a video titled, "Turning Basics for Furniture Makers". This is a great video if you're just getting started as a turner and you want to learn how to make common furniture parts such as table legs, columns, feet, etc.

The video begins with Steve turning a chisel handle so you can have an idea of what spindle turning is all about. After watching this you'll have all kinds of questions. Fear not, the rest of the video goes on to answer all those questions.

The next part of the video are on the basic tools needed to do spindle turning and how to keep your tools sharp. Steve then goes through and shows how each turning chisel is held and what kind of operation each one performs.

The meat of the video is in the actual turning of furniture parts. There are sections that show how to turn table legs, a foot for a chest, and a 1700's candle stand column.

The video does a nice job showing exactly how each piece is made. There are plenty of close up shots so you can see exactly how the tool cuts and how the body and hands are controlling the tool. There's even a part that shows you how to make multiple copies of a piece, such as table legs, using a simple full size template.

So if you're just starting out and want to learn basic spindle turning or just need to brush up on your skills, this is an excellent video.

You can order your copy here

Watch a short clip from the video

LumberJocks Woodworking Winter 2009 Awards

2008-12-22T03:50:13Z

Martin from LumberJocks is at it again. Below is the details about the upcoming Winter Woodworking Awards:

(from the LumberJock's website)

Are you knotty and keeping secrets?

Then it's time to get busy and creative again and compete for some great prizes in our Winter 2009 edition of the LumberJocks Woodworking Awards.

Part 1 of LJ Woodworking Awards - Winter 2009 series

no next part

Are you knotty and keeping secrets?

Then it's time to get busy and creative again and compete for some great prizes in our Winter 2009 edition of the LumberJocks Woodworking Awards.

You are welcome to participate in the following two categories:

A Knot Like No Other - It's creativity time! Don't let that big old knot get you down - incorporate it into a project, highlighting it's beauty or uniqueness. You can knock out the wood (if there is some) and use just the hole or keep the wood intact and include it in your design. It's time to get knotty with your woodworking. Be sure to describe how the knot inspired you.

A Secret Compartment - Sshhh!! It will be just our little secret--where have you hidden that special storage compartment in your woodworking project? Whether you are building a box, a chair, or any other creation, use your design and woodworking skills to add a secret compartment that no one will find unless they know it is there! This project is all about the "secret".

There are several chances to win great prizes from our fantastic sponsors in both categories. And The Best Overall LumberJock will get a special Grand Prize - brand new DeWalt Tracksaw.

I know you're eager to see the complete prize list and read all the details and rules so the last piece of information I'd like to share with you is the entry deadline and that is January 31, 2009 at 3 PM CDT.

Click here to enter the wonderful world of LumberJocks Woodworking Awards Winter 2009.

Have fun and spread the word... Good luck!

Brian Boggs on Chair Design

2008-11-25T03:03:28Z

Brian Boggs has been building hand-crafted chairs for more than 25 years that are as beautiful to look at as they are comfortable to sit on.

I had the opportunity to attend Brian's class on chair design at this year's Woodworking in America Conference in Berea, KY.

Brian Boggs is a rare breed of woodworker. He not only is a world renowned chair maker, but he also is a great teacher and communicator. Those two qualities often times don't go together, but Brian Boggs seemed as comfortable teaching 140 woodworkers in an auditorium as he would one on one.

In the video Brian talks about:

Brian talks about:

Brian talks about:

    * How he got started building chairs

    * How he designs chairs

    * Different joints in chair making

    * Grain orientation

    * Gluing up chairs

    * Designing to fit the human body

    * Proper angles

    * and much more

You can check out our video here.

Leave any questions or comments you have below, we always love to get feedback!

Back From the Woodworking in America Conference

2008-11-17T00:17:57Z

I made it back home from Berea, KY this afternoon safe and sound with my head spinning from all the great classes that I got to attend. If I had to come up with one word for my experience over the past three days it would be, INCREDIBLE!

Here's a list of the classes that I attended:

Chair Design: Brian Boggs

Dovetailing: Pins vs. Tails: Frank Klausz, Roy Underhill

Understanding Sharpening Media: Ron Hock, Joel Moskowitz, Robin Lee

Understanding Western Saws: Mike Wenzloff, Joel Moskowitz, Christopher Schwarz

Bevel-Up vs. Bevel-Down Planes: Robin Lee, Thomas Lie-Nielsen, Christopher Schwarz

Forgotten Workbenches and Workholding: Christopher Schwarz

Mortise and Tenon: Three Solid Methods: Frank Klausz, Mike Dunbar, Roy Underhill

Scrapers: History, Preparation and Use: Christopher Schwarz

Bench Planes: Deneb Puchalski, Ron Hock

Saw Sharpening: Mike Wenzloff

Can you see why my head is spinning?!?

And guess what, I captured it all on video! I'll be editing and putting up the video over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

While I was there somebody ask me what the best part of my time had been. I can honestly say that as much as I enjoyed the classes the absolute best part of my three days in Berea was getting to meet so many enthusiastic woodworkers. The place was absolutely buzzing with excitement the whole time.

I appreciate all the folks who came up and told me they enjoyed my website and the interviews that I've been doing with the instructors over the past few months. Thanks for taking the time to do that, it meant a lot!

Another really cool thing that I got to do was to hang out and talk with many of the other bloggers out there on the Net. Folks like Matt Vanderlist, Mitch Roberson, Al Navas, Neil Lamens and Kari Hultman. I encourage you to visit each of these sites for more information about the conference and to get their unique perspective.