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The Pursuit

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#1 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound

Kicking off a new blog series I'm calling "The Pursuit" which I hope to chronicle my endless chase for perfection. I know by now this is impossible but the drive to try is always present. As I get older I've learned to slow down and appreciate the journey as much as the outcome.

This first entry is about my love of hand planes that I know many fellow jocks share.

When I started working with hand planes, as with all things I take the time to learn, I went over board in my pursuit of "perfection". And while I don't know what perfection is, many internet searches kept leading me back to Paul Seller's and his planes. One thing I always noticed as I watched him fettle, tune, and use his beloved #4 Bailey is the distinctive sound it made. I have watched several, several, like a stupid amount, of videos on planes. While many other wood workers have planes that glide as smoothly as Mr. Seller's none of them had quite that distinctive sound.

On November 21st of 2018 I bought my first trio of planes from a seller on ebay that "specializes" in restoring planes. I didn't want to start from scratch with a junker so I paid for decent users from the start.

Aren't they lovely! They pretty much immediately went to work on a Christmas gift.
Wood Block plane Musical instrument Hardwood Jack plane


From there I fell in love with how they work. I bought a couple more from this same seller. And then I got even more hooked and bought even more! I think my first 8 planes came from the same seller. He does great work but the costs were adding up. On top of the plane purchases I was investing in sharpening setups. Starting with double sided DMT diamond stones and Norton water stones.

No matter what though I couldn't get a plane to be as smooth or sound as nice as Mr Seller's. And after all this is where I set the bar for myself so I must achieve it. It was around this time a neighbor gave me a Craftsam block plane of unknown origin and in terrible shape.

Here is what I was given. The body was just as rusty as that iron
Material property Rectangle Metal Household hardware Font


And the efforts of that first restoration. Oh ya I bought a surface plate just to flatten this little block.
Wood Block plane Rebate plane Strap Tool


That is a pretty crappy restoration from what I can do now but it gave me the confidence to try a type 18 #4 and then a #5. For a time in the spring of 2019 I was buying just about any complete plane I could find for under 30 bucks.

In the summer of last year I bought a house. I had gone from 3 planes I think every wood worker should own to moving 4 tubs full of them all wrapped in bubble wrap.

I didn't stop when I hit the new shop either. I branched out into even better sharpening solutions. Sure I could spring for like 2 Work Sharp 3000s for what ive spent on stones but I want to learn the hard way first and thus here is the current set of stones
Wood Flooring Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood

Along with the stones I have several diamond files, honing jigs, angle jigs, a strop and some other things I'm probably forgetting.

Since hitting the new shop I've added a buffer and a make shift spray booth in my basement. A spray booth was a luxury I didn't have before. With those 2 things and some help from LJ members in regards to finishes I've got a nearly fool proof method for finishing handles.

Now let's not forget all of the time and vast amount of money I spent was still in pursuit of one thing. That was a plane that would glide across wood seemingly effortlessly while making that lovely sound that a Seller's plane seems to make. I recently added a Starrett tool makers square to make absolutely sure each plane I do is dead flat and square. Most call it overkill or unnecessary.

Whether my methods are necessary or not I finally did it. This rusty piece of iron and steel you see here is that plane
Wood Household hardware Gas Metal Hand tool


Here it is returned to its former glory. If it looks familiar its because I posted it on the Show Your Restoration thread. It was posted before I sharpened it as I got all excited about how it looked.
Smoothing plane Plane Jack plane Scrub plane Block plane


And the piece of Douglas Fir I was planing when I first heard that sweet sound. It may not show up in these small pics but this board practically sparkles.
Wood Table Wood stain Flooring Floor


Loose grained fir has always given me grief. No matter how tight my plane was set or how sharp it was you could always feel those big grain lines. Not any more.

If you read all the way to here congratulations. Go get yourself a cookie for reading the ramblings of a what many might consider a mad man. Was it any one thing that got this tool performing as well as it does…I dont know. I justify all the time, energy, and money by saying it was a combination of everything. Would i recommend anyone take on this pursuit…probably not. I was told all throughout my educational years that my mind is like a sponge. Once I set out to learn something I have to know all there is. While that's an exaggeration I do believe that tendency to be both a blessing and a curse.
 

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#2 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound

Kicking off a new blog series I'm calling "The Pursuit" which I hope to chronicle my endless chase for perfection. I know by now this is impossible but the drive to try is always present. As I get older I've learned to slow down and appreciate the journey as much as the outcome.

This first entry is about my love of hand planes that I know many fellow jocks share.

When I started working with hand planes, as with all things I take the time to learn, I went over board in my pursuit of "perfection". And while I don't know what perfection is, many internet searches kept leading me back to Paul Seller's and his planes. One thing I always noticed as I watched him fettle, tune, and use his beloved #4 Bailey is the distinctive sound it made. I have watched several, several, like a stupid amount, of videos on planes. While many other wood workers have planes that glide as smoothly as Mr. Seller's none of them had quite that distinctive sound.

On November 21st of 2018 I bought my first trio of planes from a seller on ebay that "specializes" in restoring planes. I didn't want to start from scratch with a junker so I paid for decent users from the start.

Aren't they lovely! They pretty much immediately went to work on a Christmas gift.
Wood Block plane Musical instrument Hardwood Jack plane


From there I fell in love with how they work. I bought a couple more from this same seller. And then I got even more hooked and bought even more! I think my first 8 planes came from the same seller. He does great work but the costs were adding up. On top of the plane purchases I was investing in sharpening setups. Starting with double sided DMT diamond stones and Norton water stones.

No matter what though I couldn't get a plane to be as smooth or sound as nice as Mr Seller's. And after all this is where I set the bar for myself so I must achieve it. It was around this time a neighbor gave me a Craftsam block plane of unknown origin and in terrible shape.

Here is what I was given. The body was just as rusty as that iron
Material property Rectangle Metal Household hardware Font


And the efforts of that first restoration. Oh ya I bought a surface plate just to flatten this little block.
Wood Block plane Rebate plane Strap Tool


That is a pretty crappy restoration from what I can do now but it gave me the confidence to try a type 18 #4 and then a #5. For a time in the spring of 2019 I was buying just about any complete plane I could find for under 30 bucks.

In the summer of last year I bought a house. I had gone from 3 planes I think every wood worker should own to moving 4 tubs full of them all wrapped in bubble wrap.

I didn't stop when I hit the new shop either. I branched out into even better sharpening solutions. Sure I could spring for like 2 Work Sharp 3000s for what ive spent on stones but I want to learn the hard way first and thus here is the current set of stones
Wood Flooring Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood

Along with the stones I have several diamond files, honing jigs, angle jigs, a strop and some other things I'm probably forgetting.

Since hitting the new shop I've added a buffer and a make shift spray booth in my basement. A spray booth was a luxury I didn't have before. With those 2 things and some help from LJ members in regards to finishes I've got a nearly fool proof method for finishing handles.

Now let's not forget all of the time and vast amount of money I spent was still in pursuit of one thing. That was a plane that would glide across wood seemingly effortlessly while making that lovely sound that a Seller's plane seems to make. I recently added a Starrett tool makers square to make absolutely sure each plane I do is dead flat and square. Most call it overkill or unnecessary.

Whether my methods are necessary or not I finally did it. This rusty piece of iron and steel you see here is that plane
Wood Household hardware Gas Metal Hand tool


Here it is returned to its former glory. If it looks familiar its because I posted it on the Show Your Restoration thread. It was posted before I sharpened it as I got all excited about how it looked.
Smoothing plane Plane Jack plane Scrub plane Block plane


And the piece of Douglas Fir I was planing when I first heard that sweet sound. It may not show up in these small pics but this board practically sparkles.
Wood Table Wood stain Flooring Floor


Loose grained fir has always given me grief. No matter how tight my plane was set or how sharp it was you could always feel those big grain lines. Not any more.

If you read all the way to here congratulations. Go get yourself a cookie for reading the ramblings of a what many might consider a mad man. Was it any one thing that got this tool performing as well as it does…I dont know. I justify all the time, energy, and money by saying it was a combination of everything. Would i recommend anyone take on this pursuit…probably not. I was told all throughout my educational years that my mind is like a sponge. Once I set out to learn something I have to know all there is. While that's an exaggeration I do believe that tendency to be both a blessing and a curse.
Nice blog entry, Sansoo. I understand (as many others will) about the sound a sharp plane makes as it takes its gossamer shaving. I wonder if Paul Sellers has a microphone near the iron . . .
 

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#3 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound

Kicking off a new blog series I'm calling "The Pursuit" which I hope to chronicle my endless chase for perfection. I know by now this is impossible but the drive to try is always present. As I get older I've learned to slow down and appreciate the journey as much as the outcome.

This first entry is about my love of hand planes that I know many fellow jocks share.

When I started working with hand planes, as with all things I take the time to learn, I went over board in my pursuit of "perfection". And while I don't know what perfection is, many internet searches kept leading me back to Paul Seller's and his planes. One thing I always noticed as I watched him fettle, tune, and use his beloved #4 Bailey is the distinctive sound it made. I have watched several, several, like a stupid amount, of videos on planes. While many other wood workers have planes that glide as smoothly as Mr. Seller's none of them had quite that distinctive sound.

On November 21st of 2018 I bought my first trio of planes from a seller on ebay that "specializes" in restoring planes. I didn't want to start from scratch with a junker so I paid for decent users from the start.

Aren't they lovely! They pretty much immediately went to work on a Christmas gift.
Wood Block plane Musical instrument Hardwood Jack plane


From there I fell in love with how they work. I bought a couple more from this same seller. And then I got even more hooked and bought even more! I think my first 8 planes came from the same seller. He does great work but the costs were adding up. On top of the plane purchases I was investing in sharpening setups. Starting with double sided DMT diamond stones and Norton water stones.

No matter what though I couldn't get a plane to be as smooth or sound as nice as Mr Seller's. And after all this is where I set the bar for myself so I must achieve it. It was around this time a neighbor gave me a Craftsam block plane of unknown origin and in terrible shape.

Here is what I was given. The body was just as rusty as that iron
Material property Rectangle Metal Household hardware Font


And the efforts of that first restoration. Oh ya I bought a surface plate just to flatten this little block.
Wood Block plane Rebate plane Strap Tool


That is a pretty crappy restoration from what I can do now but it gave me the confidence to try a type 18 #4 and then a #5. For a time in the spring of 2019 I was buying just about any complete plane I could find for under 30 bucks.

In the summer of last year I bought a house. I had gone from 3 planes I think every wood worker should own to moving 4 tubs full of them all wrapped in bubble wrap.

I didn't stop when I hit the new shop either. I branched out into even better sharpening solutions. Sure I could spring for like 2 Work Sharp 3000s for what ive spent on stones but I want to learn the hard way first and thus here is the current set of stones
Wood Flooring Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood

Along with the stones I have several diamond files, honing jigs, angle jigs, a strop and some other things I'm probably forgetting.

Since hitting the new shop I've added a buffer and a make shift spray booth in my basement. A spray booth was a luxury I didn't have before. With those 2 things and some help from LJ members in regards to finishes I've got a nearly fool proof method for finishing handles.

Now let's not forget all of the time and vast amount of money I spent was still in pursuit of one thing. That was a plane that would glide across wood seemingly effortlessly while making that lovely sound that a Seller's plane seems to make. I recently added a Starrett tool makers square to make absolutely sure each plane I do is dead flat and square. Most call it overkill or unnecessary.

Whether my methods are necessary or not I finally did it. This rusty piece of iron and steel you see here is that plane
Wood Household hardware Gas Metal Hand tool


Here it is returned to its former glory. If it looks familiar its because I posted it on the Show Your Restoration thread. It was posted before I sharpened it as I got all excited about how it looked.
Smoothing plane Plane Jack plane Scrub plane Block plane


And the piece of Douglas Fir I was planing when I first heard that sweet sound. It may not show up in these small pics but this board practically sparkles.
Wood Table Wood stain Flooring Floor


Loose grained fir has always given me grief. No matter how tight my plane was set or how sharp it was you could always feel those big grain lines. Not any more.

If you read all the way to here congratulations. Go get yourself a cookie for reading the ramblings of a what many might consider a mad man. Was it any one thing that got this tool performing as well as it does…I dont know. I justify all the time, energy, and money by saying it was a combination of everything. Would i recommend anyone take on this pursuit…probably not. I was told all throughout my educational years that my mind is like a sponge. Once I set out to learn something I have to know all there is. While that's an exaggeration I do believe that tendency to be both a blessing and a curse.
Thanks. Its been a crazy long year. I got tendinitis from using my planes on a wobbly bench so as soon as that started to heal up I built a real bench for my old shop with a job site saw, a miter saw, and a fleet of planes. All construction lumber jointed and surfaced with nothing but hand planes. And 3 months after it was done I moved. So looks like 2020 is the year of a new bigger bench.
 

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#4 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound

Kicking off a new blog series I'm calling "The Pursuit" which I hope to chronicle my endless chase for perfection. I know by now this is impossible but the drive to try is always present. As I get older I've learned to slow down and appreciate the journey as much as the outcome.

This first entry is about my love of hand planes that I know many fellow jocks share.

When I started working with hand planes, as with all things I take the time to learn, I went over board in my pursuit of "perfection". And while I don't know what perfection is, many internet searches kept leading me back to Paul Seller's and his planes. One thing I always noticed as I watched him fettle, tune, and use his beloved #4 Bailey is the distinctive sound it made. I have watched several, several, like a stupid amount, of videos on planes. While many other wood workers have planes that glide as smoothly as Mr. Seller's none of them had quite that distinctive sound.

On November 21st of 2018 I bought my first trio of planes from a seller on ebay that "specializes" in restoring planes. I didn't want to start from scratch with a junker so I paid for decent users from the start.

Aren't they lovely! They pretty much immediately went to work on a Christmas gift.
Wood Block plane Musical instrument Hardwood Jack plane


From there I fell in love with how they work. I bought a couple more from this same seller. And then I got even more hooked and bought even more! I think my first 8 planes came from the same seller. He does great work but the costs were adding up. On top of the plane purchases I was investing in sharpening setups. Starting with double sided DMT diamond stones and Norton water stones.

No matter what though I couldn't get a plane to be as smooth or sound as nice as Mr Seller's. And after all this is where I set the bar for myself so I must achieve it. It was around this time a neighbor gave me a Craftsam block plane of unknown origin and in terrible shape.

Here is what I was given. The body was just as rusty as that iron
Material property Rectangle Metal Household hardware Font


And the efforts of that first restoration. Oh ya I bought a surface plate just to flatten this little block.
Wood Block plane Rebate plane Strap Tool


That is a pretty crappy restoration from what I can do now but it gave me the confidence to try a type 18 #4 and then a #5. For a time in the spring of 2019 I was buying just about any complete plane I could find for under 30 bucks.

In the summer of last year I bought a house. I had gone from 3 planes I think every wood worker should own to moving 4 tubs full of them all wrapped in bubble wrap.

I didn't stop when I hit the new shop either. I branched out into even better sharpening solutions. Sure I could spring for like 2 Work Sharp 3000s for what ive spent on stones but I want to learn the hard way first and thus here is the current set of stones
Wood Flooring Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood

Along with the stones I have several diamond files, honing jigs, angle jigs, a strop and some other things I'm probably forgetting.

Since hitting the new shop I've added a buffer and a make shift spray booth in my basement. A spray booth was a luxury I didn't have before. With those 2 things and some help from LJ members in regards to finishes I've got a nearly fool proof method for finishing handles.

Now let's not forget all of the time and vast amount of money I spent was still in pursuit of one thing. That was a plane that would glide across wood seemingly effortlessly while making that lovely sound that a Seller's plane seems to make. I recently added a Starrett tool makers square to make absolutely sure each plane I do is dead flat and square. Most call it overkill or unnecessary.

Whether my methods are necessary or not I finally did it. This rusty piece of iron and steel you see here is that plane
Wood Household hardware Gas Metal Hand tool


Here it is returned to its former glory. If it looks familiar its because I posted it on the Show Your Restoration thread. It was posted before I sharpened it as I got all excited about how it looked.
Smoothing plane Plane Jack plane Scrub plane Block plane


And the piece of Douglas Fir I was planing when I first heard that sweet sound. It may not show up in these small pics but this board practically sparkles.
Wood Table Wood stain Flooring Floor


Loose grained fir has always given me grief. No matter how tight my plane was set or how sharp it was you could always feel those big grain lines. Not any more.

If you read all the way to here congratulations. Go get yourself a cookie for reading the ramblings of a what many might consider a mad man. Was it any one thing that got this tool performing as well as it does…I dont know. I justify all the time, energy, and money by saying it was a combination of everything. Would i recommend anyone take on this pursuit…probably not. I was told all throughout my educational years that my mind is like a sponge. Once I set out to learn something I have to know all there is. While that's an exaggeration I do believe that tendency to be both a blessing and a curse.
Looking forward to the series sansoo :) I think Paul's production team puts that sound in during post-processing. There's no way a plane can sound that sweet ;-)
 

Attachments

#5 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound

Kicking off a new blog series I'm calling "The Pursuit" which I hope to chronicle my endless chase for perfection. I know by now this is impossible but the drive to try is always present. As I get older I've learned to slow down and appreciate the journey as much as the outcome.

This first entry is about my love of hand planes that I know many fellow jocks share.

When I started working with hand planes, as with all things I take the time to learn, I went over board in my pursuit of "perfection". And while I don't know what perfection is, many internet searches kept leading me back to Paul Seller's and his planes. One thing I always noticed as I watched him fettle, tune, and use his beloved #4 Bailey is the distinctive sound it made. I have watched several, several, like a stupid amount, of videos on planes. While many other wood workers have planes that glide as smoothly as Mr. Seller's none of them had quite that distinctive sound.

On November 21st of 2018 I bought my first trio of planes from a seller on ebay that "specializes" in restoring planes. I didn't want to start from scratch with a junker so I paid for decent users from the start.

Aren't they lovely! They pretty much immediately went to work on a Christmas gift.
Wood Block plane Musical instrument Hardwood Jack plane


From there I fell in love with how they work. I bought a couple more from this same seller. And then I got even more hooked and bought even more! I think my first 8 planes came from the same seller. He does great work but the costs were adding up. On top of the plane purchases I was investing in sharpening setups. Starting with double sided DMT diamond stones and Norton water stones.

No matter what though I couldn't get a plane to be as smooth or sound as nice as Mr Seller's. And after all this is where I set the bar for myself so I must achieve it. It was around this time a neighbor gave me a Craftsam block plane of unknown origin and in terrible shape.

Here is what I was given. The body was just as rusty as that iron
Material property Rectangle Metal Household hardware Font


And the efforts of that first restoration. Oh ya I bought a surface plate just to flatten this little block.
Wood Block plane Rebate plane Strap Tool


That is a pretty crappy restoration from what I can do now but it gave me the confidence to try a type 18 #4 and then a #5. For a time in the spring of 2019 I was buying just about any complete plane I could find for under 30 bucks.

In the summer of last year I bought a house. I had gone from 3 planes I think every wood worker should own to moving 4 tubs full of them all wrapped in bubble wrap.

I didn't stop when I hit the new shop either. I branched out into even better sharpening solutions. Sure I could spring for like 2 Work Sharp 3000s for what ive spent on stones but I want to learn the hard way first and thus here is the current set of stones
Wood Flooring Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood

Along with the stones I have several diamond files, honing jigs, angle jigs, a strop and some other things I'm probably forgetting.

Since hitting the new shop I've added a buffer and a make shift spray booth in my basement. A spray booth was a luxury I didn't have before. With those 2 things and some help from LJ members in regards to finishes I've got a nearly fool proof method for finishing handles.

Now let's not forget all of the time and vast amount of money I spent was still in pursuit of one thing. That was a plane that would glide across wood seemingly effortlessly while making that lovely sound that a Seller's plane seems to make. I recently added a Starrett tool makers square to make absolutely sure each plane I do is dead flat and square. Most call it overkill or unnecessary.

Whether my methods are necessary or not I finally did it. This rusty piece of iron and steel you see here is that plane
Wood Household hardware Gas Metal Hand tool


Here it is returned to its former glory. If it looks familiar its because I posted it on the Show Your Restoration thread. It was posted before I sharpened it as I got all excited about how it looked.
Smoothing plane Plane Jack plane Scrub plane Block plane


And the piece of Douglas Fir I was planing when I first heard that sweet sound. It may not show up in these small pics but this board practically sparkles.
Wood Table Wood stain Flooring Floor


Loose grained fir has always given me grief. No matter how tight my plane was set or how sharp it was you could always feel those big grain lines. Not any more.

If you read all the way to here congratulations. Go get yourself a cookie for reading the ramblings of a what many might consider a mad man. Was it any one thing that got this tool performing as well as it does…I dont know. I justify all the time, energy, and money by saying it was a combination of everything. Would i recommend anyone take on this pursuit…probably not. I was told all throughout my educational years that my mind is like a sponge. Once I set out to learn something I have to know all there is. While that's an exaggeration I do believe that tendency to be both a blessing and a curse.
I just got my first hand plane about 2 weeks ago. They are addicting!
 

Attachments

#6 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound

Kicking off a new blog series I'm calling "The Pursuit" which I hope to chronicle my endless chase for perfection. I know by now this is impossible but the drive to try is always present. As I get older I've learned to slow down and appreciate the journey as much as the outcome.

This first entry is about my love of hand planes that I know many fellow jocks share.

When I started working with hand planes, as with all things I take the time to learn, I went over board in my pursuit of "perfection". And while I don't know what perfection is, many internet searches kept leading me back to Paul Seller's and his planes. One thing I always noticed as I watched him fettle, tune, and use his beloved #4 Bailey is the distinctive sound it made. I have watched several, several, like a stupid amount, of videos on planes. While many other wood workers have planes that glide as smoothly as Mr. Seller's none of them had quite that distinctive sound.

On November 21st of 2018 I bought my first trio of planes from a seller on ebay that "specializes" in restoring planes. I didn't want to start from scratch with a junker so I paid for decent users from the start.

Aren't they lovely! They pretty much immediately went to work on a Christmas gift.
Wood Block plane Musical instrument Hardwood Jack plane


From there I fell in love with how they work. I bought a couple more from this same seller. And then I got even more hooked and bought even more! I think my first 8 planes came from the same seller. He does great work but the costs were adding up. On top of the plane purchases I was investing in sharpening setups. Starting with double sided DMT diamond stones and Norton water stones.

No matter what though I couldn't get a plane to be as smooth or sound as nice as Mr Seller's. And after all this is where I set the bar for myself so I must achieve it. It was around this time a neighbor gave me a Craftsam block plane of unknown origin and in terrible shape.

Here is what I was given. The body was just as rusty as that iron
Material property Rectangle Metal Household hardware Font


And the efforts of that first restoration. Oh ya I bought a surface plate just to flatten this little block.
Wood Block plane Rebate plane Strap Tool


That is a pretty crappy restoration from what I can do now but it gave me the confidence to try a type 18 #4 and then a #5. For a time in the spring of 2019 I was buying just about any complete plane I could find for under 30 bucks.

In the summer of last year I bought a house. I had gone from 3 planes I think every wood worker should own to moving 4 tubs full of them all wrapped in bubble wrap.

I didn't stop when I hit the new shop either. I branched out into even better sharpening solutions. Sure I could spring for like 2 Work Sharp 3000s for what ive spent on stones but I want to learn the hard way first and thus here is the current set of stones
Wood Flooring Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood

Along with the stones I have several diamond files, honing jigs, angle jigs, a strop and some other things I'm probably forgetting.

Since hitting the new shop I've added a buffer and a make shift spray booth in my basement. A spray booth was a luxury I didn't have before. With those 2 things and some help from LJ members in regards to finishes I've got a nearly fool proof method for finishing handles.

Now let's not forget all of the time and vast amount of money I spent was still in pursuit of one thing. That was a plane that would glide across wood seemingly effortlessly while making that lovely sound that a Seller's plane seems to make. I recently added a Starrett tool makers square to make absolutely sure each plane I do is dead flat and square. Most call it overkill or unnecessary.

Whether my methods are necessary or not I finally did it. This rusty piece of iron and steel you see here is that plane
Wood Household hardware Gas Metal Hand tool


Here it is returned to its former glory. If it looks familiar its because I posted it on the Show Your Restoration thread. It was posted before I sharpened it as I got all excited about how it looked.
Smoothing plane Plane Jack plane Scrub plane Block plane


And the piece of Douglas Fir I was planing when I first heard that sweet sound. It may not show up in these small pics but this board practically sparkles.
Wood Table Wood stain Flooring Floor


Loose grained fir has always given me grief. No matter how tight my plane was set or how sharp it was you could always feel those big grain lines. Not any more.

If you read all the way to here congratulations. Go get yourself a cookie for reading the ramblings of a what many might consider a mad man. Was it any one thing that got this tool performing as well as it does…I dont know. I justify all the time, energy, and money by saying it was a combination of everything. Would i recommend anyone take on this pursuit…probably not. I was told all throughout my educational years that my mind is like a sponge. Once I set out to learn something I have to know all there is. While that's an exaggeration I do believe that tendency to be both a blessing and a curse.
Look for a Paul Sellers video titled "Bad Vibrations"

for planing jump at 4'11"
 

Attachments

#7 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound

Kicking off a new blog series I'm calling "The Pursuit" which I hope to chronicle my endless chase for perfection. I know by now this is impossible but the drive to try is always present. As I get older I've learned to slow down and appreciate the journey as much as the outcome.

This first entry is about my love of hand planes that I know many fellow jocks share.

When I started working with hand planes, as with all things I take the time to learn, I went over board in my pursuit of "perfection". And while I don't know what perfection is, many internet searches kept leading me back to Paul Seller's and his planes. One thing I always noticed as I watched him fettle, tune, and use his beloved #4 Bailey is the distinctive sound it made. I have watched several, several, like a stupid amount, of videos on planes. While many other wood workers have planes that glide as smoothly as Mr. Seller's none of them had quite that distinctive sound.

On November 21st of 2018 I bought my first trio of planes from a seller on ebay that "specializes" in restoring planes. I didn't want to start from scratch with a junker so I paid for decent users from the start.

Aren't they lovely! They pretty much immediately went to work on a Christmas gift.
Wood Block plane Musical instrument Hardwood Jack plane


From there I fell in love with how they work. I bought a couple more from this same seller. And then I got even more hooked and bought even more! I think my first 8 planes came from the same seller. He does great work but the costs were adding up. On top of the plane purchases I was investing in sharpening setups. Starting with double sided DMT diamond stones and Norton water stones.

No matter what though I couldn't get a plane to be as smooth or sound as nice as Mr Seller's. And after all this is where I set the bar for myself so I must achieve it. It was around this time a neighbor gave me a Craftsam block plane of unknown origin and in terrible shape.

Here is what I was given. The body was just as rusty as that iron
Material property Rectangle Metal Household hardware Font


And the efforts of that first restoration. Oh ya I bought a surface plate just to flatten this little block.
Wood Block plane Rebate plane Strap Tool


That is a pretty crappy restoration from what I can do now but it gave me the confidence to try a type 18 #4 and then a #5. For a time in the spring of 2019 I was buying just about any complete plane I could find for under 30 bucks.

In the summer of last year I bought a house. I had gone from 3 planes I think every wood worker should own to moving 4 tubs full of them all wrapped in bubble wrap.

I didn't stop when I hit the new shop either. I branched out into even better sharpening solutions. Sure I could spring for like 2 Work Sharp 3000s for what ive spent on stones but I want to learn the hard way first and thus here is the current set of stones
Wood Flooring Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood

Along with the stones I have several diamond files, honing jigs, angle jigs, a strop and some other things I'm probably forgetting.

Since hitting the new shop I've added a buffer and a make shift spray booth in my basement. A spray booth was a luxury I didn't have before. With those 2 things and some help from LJ members in regards to finishes I've got a nearly fool proof method for finishing handles.

Now let's not forget all of the time and vast amount of money I spent was still in pursuit of one thing. That was a plane that would glide across wood seemingly effortlessly while making that lovely sound that a Seller's plane seems to make. I recently added a Starrett tool makers square to make absolutely sure each plane I do is dead flat and square. Most call it overkill or unnecessary.

Whether my methods are necessary or not I finally did it. This rusty piece of iron and steel you see here is that plane
Wood Household hardware Gas Metal Hand tool


Here it is returned to its former glory. If it looks familiar its because I posted it on the Show Your Restoration thread. It was posted before I sharpened it as I got all excited about how it looked.
Smoothing plane Plane Jack plane Scrub plane Block plane


And the piece of Douglas Fir I was planing when I first heard that sweet sound. It may not show up in these small pics but this board practically sparkles.
Wood Table Wood stain Flooring Floor


Loose grained fir has always given me grief. No matter how tight my plane was set or how sharp it was you could always feel those big grain lines. Not any more.

If you read all the way to here congratulations. Go get yourself a cookie for reading the ramblings of a what many might consider a mad man. Was it any one thing that got this tool performing as well as it does…I dont know. I justify all the time, energy, and money by saying it was a combination of everything. Would i recommend anyone take on this pursuit…probably not. I was told all throughout my educational years that my mind is like a sponge. Once I set out to learn something I have to know all there is. While that's an exaggeration I do believe that tendency to be both a blessing and a curse.
I know that sound.

A hardy "Congrats!" for attaining your goal! One of the bigger challenges I have at this point is maintaining that level of sharp (or as close to it as I've managed with my setup) across all the edge tools I have (chisels, scrapers, planes, etc.).

Nice work, great blog series.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound

Kicking off a new blog series I'm calling "The Pursuit" which I hope to chronicle my endless chase for perfection. I know by now this is impossible but the drive to try is always present. As I get older I've learned to slow down and appreciate the journey as much as the outcome.

This first entry is about my love of hand planes that I know many fellow jocks share.

When I started working with hand planes, as with all things I take the time to learn, I went over board in my pursuit of "perfection". And while I don't know what perfection is, many internet searches kept leading me back to Paul Seller's and his planes. One thing I always noticed as I watched him fettle, tune, and use his beloved #4 Bailey is the distinctive sound it made. I have watched several, several, like a stupid amount, of videos on planes. While many other wood workers have planes that glide as smoothly as Mr. Seller's none of them had quite that distinctive sound.

On November 21st of 2018 I bought my first trio of planes from a seller on ebay that "specializes" in restoring planes. I didn't want to start from scratch with a junker so I paid for decent users from the start.

Aren't they lovely! They pretty much immediately went to work on a Christmas gift.
Wood Block plane Musical instrument Hardwood Jack plane


From there I fell in love with how they work. I bought a couple more from this same seller. And then I got even more hooked and bought even more! I think my first 8 planes came from the same seller. He does great work but the costs were adding up. On top of the plane purchases I was investing in sharpening setups. Starting with double sided DMT diamond stones and Norton water stones.

No matter what though I couldn't get a plane to be as smooth or sound as nice as Mr Seller's. And after all this is where I set the bar for myself so I must achieve it. It was around this time a neighbor gave me a Craftsam block plane of unknown origin and in terrible shape.

Here is what I was given. The body was just as rusty as that iron
Material property Rectangle Metal Household hardware Font


And the efforts of that first restoration. Oh ya I bought a surface plate just to flatten this little block.
Wood Block plane Rebate plane Strap Tool


That is a pretty crappy restoration from what I can do now but it gave me the confidence to try a type 18 #4 and then a #5. For a time in the spring of 2019 I was buying just about any complete plane I could find for under 30 bucks.

In the summer of last year I bought a house. I had gone from 3 planes I think every wood worker should own to moving 4 tubs full of them all wrapped in bubble wrap.

I didn't stop when I hit the new shop either. I branched out into even better sharpening solutions. Sure I could spring for like 2 Work Sharp 3000s for what ive spent on stones but I want to learn the hard way first and thus here is the current set of stones
Wood Flooring Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood

Along with the stones I have several diamond files, honing jigs, angle jigs, a strop and some other things I'm probably forgetting.

Since hitting the new shop I've added a buffer and a make shift spray booth in my basement. A spray booth was a luxury I didn't have before. With those 2 things and some help from LJ members in regards to finishes I've got a nearly fool proof method for finishing handles.

Now let's not forget all of the time and vast amount of money I spent was still in pursuit of one thing. That was a plane that would glide across wood seemingly effortlessly while making that lovely sound that a Seller's plane seems to make. I recently added a Starrett tool makers square to make absolutely sure each plane I do is dead flat and square. Most call it overkill or unnecessary.

Whether my methods are necessary or not I finally did it. This rusty piece of iron and steel you see here is that plane
Wood Household hardware Gas Metal Hand tool


Here it is returned to its former glory. If it looks familiar its because I posted it on the Show Your Restoration thread. It was posted before I sharpened it as I got all excited about how it looked.
Smoothing plane Plane Jack plane Scrub plane Block plane


And the piece of Douglas Fir I was planing when I first heard that sweet sound. It may not show up in these small pics but this board practically sparkles.
Wood Table Wood stain Flooring Floor


Loose grained fir has always given me grief. No matter how tight my plane was set or how sharp it was you could always feel those big grain lines. Not any more.

If you read all the way to here congratulations. Go get yourself a cookie for reading the ramblings of a what many might consider a mad man. Was it any one thing that got this tool performing as well as it does…I dont know. I justify all the time, energy, and money by saying it was a combination of everything. Would i recommend anyone take on this pursuit…probably not. I was told all throughout my educational years that my mind is like a sponge. Once I set out to learn something I have to know all there is. While that's an exaggeration I do believe that tendency to be both a blessing and a curse.
I have to agree. Taking an old plane, cleaning, tuning, sharpening and then hearing that wonderful sound as it slices off a thin shaving is extremely satisfying. Guess that's why I keep coming back for more.
 

Attachments

#9 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound

Kicking off a new blog series I'm calling "The Pursuit" which I hope to chronicle my endless chase for perfection. I know by now this is impossible but the drive to try is always present. As I get older I've learned to slow down and appreciate the journey as much as the outcome.

This first entry is about my love of hand planes that I know many fellow jocks share.

When I started working with hand planes, as with all things I take the time to learn, I went over board in my pursuit of "perfection". And while I don't know what perfection is, many internet searches kept leading me back to Paul Seller's and his planes. One thing I always noticed as I watched him fettle, tune, and use his beloved #4 Bailey is the distinctive sound it made. I have watched several, several, like a stupid amount, of videos on planes. While many other wood workers have planes that glide as smoothly as Mr. Seller's none of them had quite that distinctive sound.

On November 21st of 2018 I bought my first trio of planes from a seller on ebay that "specializes" in restoring planes. I didn't want to start from scratch with a junker so I paid for decent users from the start.

Aren't they lovely! They pretty much immediately went to work on a Christmas gift.
Wood Block plane Musical instrument Hardwood Jack plane


From there I fell in love with how they work. I bought a couple more from this same seller. And then I got even more hooked and bought even more! I think my first 8 planes came from the same seller. He does great work but the costs were adding up. On top of the plane purchases I was investing in sharpening setups. Starting with double sided DMT diamond stones and Norton water stones.

No matter what though I couldn't get a plane to be as smooth or sound as nice as Mr Seller's. And after all this is where I set the bar for myself so I must achieve it. It was around this time a neighbor gave me a Craftsam block plane of unknown origin and in terrible shape.

Here is what I was given. The body was just as rusty as that iron
Material property Rectangle Metal Household hardware Font


And the efforts of that first restoration. Oh ya I bought a surface plate just to flatten this little block.
Wood Block plane Rebate plane Strap Tool


That is a pretty crappy restoration from what I can do now but it gave me the confidence to try a type 18 #4 and then a #5. For a time in the spring of 2019 I was buying just about any complete plane I could find for under 30 bucks.

In the summer of last year I bought a house. I had gone from 3 planes I think every wood worker should own to moving 4 tubs full of them all wrapped in bubble wrap.

I didn't stop when I hit the new shop either. I branched out into even better sharpening solutions. Sure I could spring for like 2 Work Sharp 3000s for what ive spent on stones but I want to learn the hard way first and thus here is the current set of stones
Wood Flooring Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood

Along with the stones I have several diamond files, honing jigs, angle jigs, a strop and some other things I'm probably forgetting.

Since hitting the new shop I've added a buffer and a make shift spray booth in my basement. A spray booth was a luxury I didn't have before. With those 2 things and some help from LJ members in regards to finishes I've got a nearly fool proof method for finishing handles.

Now let's not forget all of the time and vast amount of money I spent was still in pursuit of one thing. That was a plane that would glide across wood seemingly effortlessly while making that lovely sound that a Seller's plane seems to make. I recently added a Starrett tool makers square to make absolutely sure each plane I do is dead flat and square. Most call it overkill or unnecessary.

Whether my methods are necessary or not I finally did it. This rusty piece of iron and steel you see here is that plane
Wood Household hardware Gas Metal Hand tool


Here it is returned to its former glory. If it looks familiar its because I posted it on the Show Your Restoration thread. It was posted before I sharpened it as I got all excited about how it looked.
Smoothing plane Plane Jack plane Scrub plane Block plane


And the piece of Douglas Fir I was planing when I first heard that sweet sound. It may not show up in these small pics but this board practically sparkles.
Wood Table Wood stain Flooring Floor


Loose grained fir has always given me grief. No matter how tight my plane was set or how sharp it was you could always feel those big grain lines. Not any more.

If you read all the way to here congratulations. Go get yourself a cookie for reading the ramblings of a what many might consider a mad man. Was it any one thing that got this tool performing as well as it does…I dont know. I justify all the time, energy, and money by saying it was a combination of everything. Would i recommend anyone take on this pursuit…probably not. I was told all throughout my educational years that my mind is like a sponge. Once I set out to learn something I have to know all there is. While that's an exaggeration I do believe that tendency to be both a blessing and a curse.
Sylvian - Thanks for the video. The blog post for that popped in my google feed after i was fully contempt with my new sharp plane. It was like reading explanations to all the thoughts I had running my head. Somehow I missed the video that went with it.

Thanks to everyone else who read and commented. It makes me feel better knowing my pursuit isn't as crazy as I thought.

I'm very impressed by those that sharpen by hand and get excellent results. For me that is not a thing I can do. A couple old football injuries have left my hands with some nerve issues. I have wonderful dexterity still but touch sensation is hit or miss. Find the bevel they say…well I can punch you in the face and not really feel it but finding a bevel isnt going to happen.

I have to rely on precision instruments and jigs for many tasks others might consider trivial. Even doing basic joinery I have to pull out some fancy squares to make sure I got it right some days. On a bad day I could be off by a 64th and barely be able to feel it.
 

Attachments

#10 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound

Kicking off a new blog series I'm calling "The Pursuit" which I hope to chronicle my endless chase for perfection. I know by now this is impossible but the drive to try is always present. As I get older I've learned to slow down and appreciate the journey as much as the outcome.

This first entry is about my love of hand planes that I know many fellow jocks share.

When I started working with hand planes, as with all things I take the time to learn, I went over board in my pursuit of "perfection". And while I don't know what perfection is, many internet searches kept leading me back to Paul Seller's and his planes. One thing I always noticed as I watched him fettle, tune, and use his beloved #4 Bailey is the distinctive sound it made. I have watched several, several, like a stupid amount, of videos on planes. While many other wood workers have planes that glide as smoothly as Mr. Seller's none of them had quite that distinctive sound.

On November 21st of 2018 I bought my first trio of planes from a seller on ebay that "specializes" in restoring planes. I didn't want to start from scratch with a junker so I paid for decent users from the start.

Aren't they lovely! They pretty much immediately went to work on a Christmas gift.
Wood Block plane Musical instrument Hardwood Jack plane


From there I fell in love with how they work. I bought a couple more from this same seller. And then I got even more hooked and bought even more! I think my first 8 planes came from the same seller. He does great work but the costs were adding up. On top of the plane purchases I was investing in sharpening setups. Starting with double sided DMT diamond stones and Norton water stones.

No matter what though I couldn't get a plane to be as smooth or sound as nice as Mr Seller's. And after all this is where I set the bar for myself so I must achieve it. It was around this time a neighbor gave me a Craftsam block plane of unknown origin and in terrible shape.

Here is what I was given. The body was just as rusty as that iron
Material property Rectangle Metal Household hardware Font


And the efforts of that first restoration. Oh ya I bought a surface plate just to flatten this little block.
Wood Block plane Rebate plane Strap Tool


That is a pretty crappy restoration from what I can do now but it gave me the confidence to try a type 18 #4 and then a #5. For a time in the spring of 2019 I was buying just about any complete plane I could find for under 30 bucks.

In the summer of last year I bought a house. I had gone from 3 planes I think every wood worker should own to moving 4 tubs full of them all wrapped in bubble wrap.

I didn't stop when I hit the new shop either. I branched out into even better sharpening solutions. Sure I could spring for like 2 Work Sharp 3000s for what ive spent on stones but I want to learn the hard way first and thus here is the current set of stones
Wood Flooring Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood

Along with the stones I have several diamond files, honing jigs, angle jigs, a strop and some other things I'm probably forgetting.

Since hitting the new shop I've added a buffer and a make shift spray booth in my basement. A spray booth was a luxury I didn't have before. With those 2 things and some help from LJ members in regards to finishes I've got a nearly fool proof method for finishing handles.

Now let's not forget all of the time and vast amount of money I spent was still in pursuit of one thing. That was a plane that would glide across wood seemingly effortlessly while making that lovely sound that a Seller's plane seems to make. I recently added a Starrett tool makers square to make absolutely sure each plane I do is dead flat and square. Most call it overkill or unnecessary.

Whether my methods are necessary or not I finally did it. This rusty piece of iron and steel you see here is that plane
Wood Household hardware Gas Metal Hand tool


Here it is returned to its former glory. If it looks familiar its because I posted it on the Show Your Restoration thread. It was posted before I sharpened it as I got all excited about how it looked.
Smoothing plane Plane Jack plane Scrub plane Block plane


And the piece of Douglas Fir I was planing when I first heard that sweet sound. It may not show up in these small pics but this board practically sparkles.
Wood Table Wood stain Flooring Floor


Loose grained fir has always given me grief. No matter how tight my plane was set or how sharp it was you could always feel those big grain lines. Not any more.

If you read all the way to here congratulations. Go get yourself a cookie for reading the ramblings of a what many might consider a mad man. Was it any one thing that got this tool performing as well as it does…I dont know. I justify all the time, energy, and money by saying it was a combination of everything. Would i recommend anyone take on this pursuit…probably not. I was told all throughout my educational years that my mind is like a sponge. Once I set out to learn something I have to know all there is. While that's an exaggeration I do believe that tendency to be both a blessing and a curse.
Not a thing wrong with jigs and sharpening aids. And anyone who says there is is an ass ;-)
 

Attachments

#11 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound continued

One of the comments on my previous entry about trying to get the perfect plane mentioned something along the lines of keeping them sharp. Tonight I set out to see if I could first dull my planes…who doesnt need a little practice…and second sharpen at least 3 back to make that awesome sound.

First the aftermath…pretty much all of this is from tonight's experiments. That was a lot of planing.
Wood Automotive tire Tire Yellow Motor vehicle


Second let's take a look at tonight's contestants.
Musical instrument Guitar accessory Wood Musical instrument accessory String instrument accessory


The 6 and 7 were kind of a fail so technically I got a 3 out of 5 where I wanted them. I blame the DMT extra extra coarse stone a bit. The 6 and 7 need squared but that stone crapped out on me after 6 months. It was a new release of their's shortly before I got it so hopefully they will warranty it for me.

Before we get into results here is a couple images of how I prepared each iron. This is my #3 iron with a 25 deg primary and 30 deg secondary. I got a little thick..or is it tall…on the secondary bevel. The primary is taken to 1200 grit and the secondary bevel is polished to 8000 grit and then stropped. I also use the ruler trick to put a back bevel on each iron.
Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor Hardwood


Here is how I prepare the chip breaker. The leading edge is squared and polished to 4000 grit. The down side to this is with the polished back bevel on the iron it can be kind of hard to sight where you want to set the chip breaker for a smoothing cut. When both of them are super shiny they just kind of blend together.
Wood Flooring Gas Hardwood Wood stain


First test was the #3 on a scrap of Douglas Fir I found on the lumber cart. I measure each full width shaving I got for each of the planes tested with my Husky digital caliper. Yes its a Husky so it may not be super accurate but works well enough.
Wood Gas Wood stain Bumper Hardwood

Wood Gas Machine Tool Bumper


Didn't quite get a transparent shaving and the caliper reads 0.0020. Not bad but I wondered if the thicker secondary bevel had any play in this. I count each stoke on the stone when setting the secondary bevel and the #3 was 16 strokes. So I backed off a few and did the same exact setup for the #4 except I only did 12 strokes when setting the secondary bevel. I didn't get a pic of the #4 iron but it looks almost identical to the #3 with a thinner secondary bevel. Here are the results.
Wood Natural material Cuisine Artifact Fashion accessory

Calipers Wood Measuring instrument Gauge Gas


So this time I did get my transparent shaving and the caliper read 0.0015 which is an improvement. Can you tell the difference when you touch the wood grain…I sure can't. So improvement or not in practical use it makes very little difference.

And just to round out the testing here is the #5 shaving reading 0.0030 on the caliper. The #5 frog is set back about a 32nd from being co-planer so I expected it to have a slightly thicker cut.
Musical instrument Guitar accessory Wood Musical instrument accessory String instrument accessory


Edit: Thanks to Ken for pointing out I didn't elaborate here. I did more in the comments but figured an edit was due here. If you read my first entry you know I've read and watched a lot of content on the internet about planes. Most good, some bad, a lot terrible. I didn't book mark all of it so you'll have to excuse my lack of citation. However, one blog I read mentioned setting the frog back away from the mouth a tiny bit to either increase cut depth or slightly change the angle. While it may work for either, as Ken pointed out, it leaves a large amount of the iron unsupported and I gained nothing from doing this.

In conclusion the #5 left the test board very smooth to the touch. However the #3 and especially the #4 left the grain with a distinct sparkle to it. Is all of this necessary…most likely not. It's really just the way I learn things. In my youth and thru my early 20s I spent a lot of time studying martial arts. You spend a ton of time doing the same thing over and over again until it becomes second nature. And really that's what tonight's experiment was all about. Trying to get sharpening…or at least my own method of sharpening…to become second nature.

And just in case you're wondering each size of plane makes its own distinctive sound. But they all share the same characteristics when making it. It's hard to describe but it sounds like a mix between a scraping and tearing sound. However, you describe it once you hear it you won't forget it. And its a great way to quickly tell if your plane is dull or not.
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Paul Seller's plane sound continued

One of the comments on my previous entry about trying to get the perfect plane mentioned something along the lines of keeping them sharp. Tonight I set out to see if I could first dull my planes…who doesnt need a little practice…and second sharpen at least 3 back to make that awesome sound.

First the aftermath…pretty much all of this is from tonight's experiments. That was a lot of planing.
Wood Automotive tire Tire Yellow Motor vehicle


Second let's take a look at tonight's contestants.
Musical instrument Guitar accessory Wood Musical instrument accessory String instrument accessory


The 6 and 7 were kind of a fail so technically I got a 3 out of 5 where I wanted them. I blame the DMT extra extra coarse stone a bit. The 6 and 7 need squared but that stone crapped out on me after 6 months. It was a new release of their's shortly before I got it so hopefully they will warranty it for me.

Before we get into results here is a couple images of how I prepared each iron. This is my #3 iron with a 25 deg primary and 30 deg secondary. I got a little thick..or is it tall…on the secondary bevel. The primary is taken to 1200 grit and the secondary bevel is polished to 8000 grit and then stropped. I also use the ruler trick to put a back bevel on each iron.
Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor Hardwood


Here is how I prepare the chip breaker. The leading edge is squared and polished to 4000 grit. The down side to this is with the polished back bevel on the iron it can be kind of hard to sight where you want to set the chip breaker for a smoothing cut. When both of them are super shiny they just kind of blend together.
Wood Flooring Gas Hardwood Wood stain


First test was the #3 on a scrap of Douglas Fir I found on the lumber cart. I measure each full width shaving I got for each of the planes tested with my Husky digital caliper. Yes its a Husky so it may not be super accurate but works well enough.
Wood Gas Wood stain Bumper Hardwood

Wood Gas Machine Tool Bumper


Didn't quite get a transparent shaving and the caliper reads 0.0020. Not bad but I wondered if the thicker secondary bevel had any play in this. I count each stoke on the stone when setting the secondary bevel and the #3 was 16 strokes. So I backed off a few and did the same exact setup for the #4 except I only did 12 strokes when setting the secondary bevel. I didn't get a pic of the #4 iron but it looks almost identical to the #3 with a thinner secondary bevel. Here are the results.
Wood Natural material Cuisine Artifact Fashion accessory

Calipers Wood Measuring instrument Gauge Gas


So this time I did get my transparent shaving and the caliper read 0.0015 which is an improvement. Can you tell the difference when you touch the wood grain…I sure can't. So improvement or not in practical use it makes very little difference.

And just to round out the testing here is the #5 shaving reading 0.0030 on the caliper. The #5 frog is set back about a 32nd from being co-planer so I expected it to have a slightly thicker cut.
Musical instrument Guitar accessory Wood Musical instrument accessory String instrument accessory


Edit: Thanks to Ken for pointing out I didn't elaborate here. I did more in the comments but figured an edit was due here. If you read my first entry you know I've read and watched a lot of content on the internet about planes. Most good, some bad, a lot terrible. I didn't book mark all of it so you'll have to excuse my lack of citation. However, one blog I read mentioned setting the frog back away from the mouth a tiny bit to either increase cut depth or slightly change the angle. While it may work for either, as Ken pointed out, it leaves a large amount of the iron unsupported and I gained nothing from doing this.

In conclusion the #5 left the test board very smooth to the touch. However the #3 and especially the #4 left the grain with a distinct sparkle to it. Is all of this necessary…most likely not. It's really just the way I learn things. In my youth and thru my early 20s I spent a lot of time studying martial arts. You spend a ton of time doing the same thing over and over again until it becomes second nature. And really that's what tonight's experiment was all about. Trying to get sharpening…or at least my own method of sharpening…to become second nature.

And just in case you're wondering each size of plane makes its own distinctive sound. But they all share the same characteristics when making it. It's hard to describe but it sounds like a mix between a scraping and tearing sound. However, you describe it once you hear it you won't forget it. And its a great way to quickly tell if your plane is dull or not.
So how do you know that the shaving from the #4 is thinner than the one from the #3 because of the bevel geometry and not simply because you have it set to take a slightly thicker shaving? Also curious what you mean by:

The #5 frog is set back about a 32nd from being co-planer
?

Just curious. I applaud your efforts to build a comprehensive understanding of how these tools do what they do!
 

Attachments

#18 ·
Tuning a Buck Bros smoother

I hadn't intended to blog about this because we've all seen it numerous times on YouTube I'm sure. Someone takes the cheapest plane they can possibly find and attempts to make it perform. However on another forum I saw it mentioned that a particular plane model was not worth tuning because it was intended for the home user and thus it was junk.

I will be the first to admit I have blamed a tool or two on their performance. I like to always think its the craftsman not the tool but sometimes the tool just sucks at performing the job it was designed to perform. For all intents and purposes though a bench plane is just a flat chunk of metal that holds a blade. As long as it can do that and keep the blade in alignment then it "should" work.

To that point here is a dusty Buck Bros plane my dad had in his toolbox and was always complaining about it. Since the COVID thing is abating just a tiny bit I drove out to there house to help with some yard work. While I was there he had this thing on his bench and all take apart.

Here it is back at my shop put together to get a feel for it in its stock state.
Blue Wood Gas Hardwood Plane


The first thing i noticed is she is pretty darn light compared to my Stanley's. I'm not a fan of super heavy planes like the Woodriver line but a little heft never hurts. The next thing I noticed was the bottom had A LOT of milling marks in it still but to my surprise she was super flat. Felt more like 320 grit sand paper then a proper smoother. And lastly I noticed the mouth on this thing is HUGE…more on that later.

All right so here is a close up of the mouth after smoothing, getting scary sharp, and reassembly. If you look at the red arrow you will see the lever cap is way too long and doesnt make strong contact with the chip breaker. Next to the red arrow is a dark line. That is the lever cap over hanging the chip breaker.
Finger Gas Gun accessory Eyelash Auto part


I did some test, with no pics unfortunately, with the stock lever cap and the plane would skip or get clogged pretty quick. My next step was to compare it to my "Cadillac" Bedrock 604 and compare to see what could be going wrong.
Automotive tire Automotive lighting Motor vehicle Tread Automotive design


This is where you can really see how HUGE that mouth is compared to a Stanley. We also see the frog looks more like stamped steel than solid cast iron. No biggie as it seats flat and co-planer. The chip breaker is the same rough design with a lager hump at the end so the extra long lever cap really doesnt make any sense now.

Since all else failed i went to the parts drawer and grabbed a Stanley lever cap. This one has a chipped corner cuz its going on a Buck Bros but it still functional. Sorry no pics again until testing but she is now working nearly as smooth as the Bedrock.
Wood Toy Automotive tire Flooring Hardwood


Wood Hardwood Flooring Tool Electric blue


So there you have it. A crappy junk drawer bottom of the barrel Buck Bros pulling shavings nearly as thin as the almighty Bedrock. Is the Buck as fun to use…oh hell no…my Bedrock glides over the wood almost effortlessly but the Buck is most definitely serviceable now.

If you read all of this you like planes as much or more than I do so give yourself a cookie…you deserve it. And if you're thinking of jumping into hand planes as a novice I implore you to buy an already refurbished solid user before trying to restore your own. It will save you a ton of time. I drank all the hand plane Kool-Aid I could find and spend hours tinkering and restoring. It probably took me as long to tune that Buck as it did to write this post but I attribute that to my OCD when it comes to my planes.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.
 

Attachments

#19 ·
Tuning a Buck Bros smoother

I hadn't intended to blog about this because we've all seen it numerous times on YouTube I'm sure. Someone takes the cheapest plane they can possibly find and attempts to make it perform. However on another forum I saw it mentioned that a particular plane model was not worth tuning because it was intended for the home user and thus it was junk.

I will be the first to admit I have blamed a tool or two on their performance. I like to always think its the craftsman not the tool but sometimes the tool just sucks at performing the job it was designed to perform. For all intents and purposes though a bench plane is just a flat chunk of metal that holds a blade. As long as it can do that and keep the blade in alignment then it "should" work.

To that point here is a dusty Buck Bros plane my dad had in his toolbox and was always complaining about it. Since the COVID thing is abating just a tiny bit I drove out to there house to help with some yard work. While I was there he had this thing on his bench and all take apart.

Here it is back at my shop put together to get a feel for it in its stock state.
Blue Wood Gas Hardwood Plane


The first thing i noticed is she is pretty darn light compared to my Stanley's. I'm not a fan of super heavy planes like the Woodriver line but a little heft never hurts. The next thing I noticed was the bottom had A LOT of milling marks in it still but to my surprise she was super flat. Felt more like 320 grit sand paper then a proper smoother. And lastly I noticed the mouth on this thing is HUGE…more on that later.

All right so here is a close up of the mouth after smoothing, getting scary sharp, and reassembly. If you look at the red arrow you will see the lever cap is way too long and doesnt make strong contact with the chip breaker. Next to the red arrow is a dark line. That is the lever cap over hanging the chip breaker.
Finger Gas Gun accessory Eyelash Auto part


I did some test, with no pics unfortunately, with the stock lever cap and the plane would skip or get clogged pretty quick. My next step was to compare it to my "Cadillac" Bedrock 604 and compare to see what could be going wrong.
Automotive tire Automotive lighting Motor vehicle Tread Automotive design


This is where you can really see how HUGE that mouth is compared to a Stanley. We also see the frog looks more like stamped steel than solid cast iron. No biggie as it seats flat and co-planer. The chip breaker is the same rough design with a lager hump at the end so the extra long lever cap really doesnt make any sense now.

Since all else failed i went to the parts drawer and grabbed a Stanley lever cap. This one has a chipped corner cuz its going on a Buck Bros but it still functional. Sorry no pics again until testing but she is now working nearly as smooth as the Bedrock.
Wood Toy Automotive tire Flooring Hardwood


Wood Hardwood Flooring Tool Electric blue


So there you have it. A crappy junk drawer bottom of the barrel Buck Bros pulling shavings nearly as thin as the almighty Bedrock. Is the Buck as fun to use…oh hell no…my Bedrock glides over the wood almost effortlessly but the Buck is most definitely serviceable now.

If you read all of this you like planes as much or more than I do so give yourself a cookie…you deserve it. And if you're thinking of jumping into hand planes as a novice I implore you to buy an already refurbished solid user before trying to restore your own. It will save you a ton of time. I drank all the hand plane Kool-Aid I could find and spend hours tinkering and restoring. It probably took me as long to tune that Buck as it did to write this post but I attribute that to my OCD when it comes to my planes.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.
Sometimes it's worth it just to see if you can ;-) Most any plane "can" work in my experience. Here's some proof ;-)

It's probably just the pictures but, it looks to me as if that BB plane is pitched higher than the Bedrock. Is that an optical illusion or is it?
 

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#21 ·
Rehab, back bevels, and horse butts

It's been awhile since I posted anything about my plane passion…err…maybe obsession is more apropos. Since I've been doing a lot of restorations lately I started playing with some new sharpening techniques I hadn't tried before. So today I want to show how I do a simple iron rehab as well as the new techniques involved and some quick results.

Lots and lots of pics in this one so buckle up.

First up is an iron from a Type 18 #5 dated 347 or March 1947 for those that don't speak plane iron date codes. The bevel isn't too bad so we won't be taking a trip to the grinder on this one.
Rectangle Beige Fashion accessory Wood Serveware


The back however might pose a problem…
Brown Rectangle Tints and shades Composite material Metal


And now the gear involved…a healthy set of stones, a surface plate with some aggressive 60 grit, and of course my favorite plane screw driver, an angle jig, and a honing guide.
Wood Table Luggage and bags Flooring Floor


Purple Rectangle Wood Yellow Flooring


Wood Office supplies Font Auto part Rectangle

Ignore the squares those were from a smoothing iron earlier in the day. For a jack I'm not super interested in square unless its WAY off.

To start I go to my 220 grit stone first just to clean all the old gunk off and see where its hitting when putting on the 25 deg bevel. Also on most jack planes I really only put pressure on the outside corners because I want a decent arc to the iron.
Wood Rectangle Fixture Gas Composite material


If the 220 stone isn't doing the trick because, like this iron, it was hand sharpened by a monkey then I go to the 60 grit paper on the surface plate using the same pressure on the outside corners. Keep some glass cleaner around if you use low grit paper as you want to rinse the honing guide wheel before going back to the stones.

Not much else to it really. You just want to keep working on the sand paper until you've lapped off all the old bevel and have a nice clean line again.
Wood Grey Road surface Rectangle Flooring


After that its take it back to the stones and work the primary bevel up to the 1200 grit stone.

For the back I just keep working and working and working on the surface plate until that big ugly rough spot is nearly gone. I don't have a pic of that since I got frustrated and forgot to take one but you can see it didn't come out as well as I wanted when I show the back bevel.

Before the back bevel we need to put on the secondary bevel at 30 deg. I take that all the way up to 8000 grit on a shapton. I also polish the leading edge of the chip breaker while I'm doing the secondary bevel.
Hood Wood Rectangle Road surface Asphalt


Now to do a back bevel I follow the Rob Cossman ruler method. The thicker the ruler the more steep the back bevel. In this case I went with a very thin ruluer.
Rectangle Wood Road surface Font Gas


Lay the iron across the ruler and work it on the opposite edge of the stone. It's really pretty simple. And the result looks something like this. The dark line across the front of the iron is a polished back bevel.
Wood Rectangle Beige Tints and shades Metal

It doesn't show real well in these tiny pics and as you can see that ugly spot didn't come all the way out. Time will tell if this iron is a keeper.

Now on to the horse butt section I'm sure you're still wondering about. Well I used to have a cheap strop that the leather dried out on. So I went to Tools for Working Wood and got a genuine horse butt strop. I must say this thing is awesome. Mine was ~16" long but I cut it down to 13-1/2" and used the extra strip to put some leather pads on my Gramercy Hold fasts. (Bonus pic at the end if you make it that far)
Blue Wood Wall Paint Wood stain

It's glued to a 3/4" piece of plywood with a bench hook on it. This way I don't have to use a vice and I can keep it out when using chisels without it sliding around on me.

Once the iron is sharp i strop both the front and back. I also strop the leading edge of the chip breaker to give it a super shine.
Rectangle Floor Wood Beige Flooring


And now for the unscientific testing. I didn't use this rehabbed iron in my testing. I used my 5-1/4 which was setup the exact same way hence the unscientific testing. Anyway enough rambling here is the results from a piece of pine.
Wood Gas Bumper Automotive exterior Hardwood


That caliper reads 0.0005…thats right 3 zeros and a 5. It's either broken or you could read the newspaper through those full width shavings. Between the back bevel and the horse butt strop I am very pleased with the results.

And as a bonus if you're jointing small pieces you get small curls…seriously they just roll up and stay there. I think the polished chip breaker has something to do with that.
Vehicle Bumper Automotive exterior Wood Hood


And as your final bonus for reading the ramblings of crazy person, as promised, the leather horse butt pads on my hold fasts.
Wood Tool Hand tool Hardwood Wood stain


Conclusion:
I really like the back bevel even if its very slight. I would say in this case it's maybe a couple of degrees but the results are fantastic. Even if you don't like the notion of a back bevel the horse butt strop is worth having in your arsenal. I've had it for about 3 weeks now and I can use it to touch up an iron without going back to the stones. I can only do that once but hey that still saves more time for making curls.
 

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#22 ·
Rehab, back bevels, and horse butts

It's been awhile since I posted anything about my plane passion…err…maybe obsession is more apropos. Since I've been doing a lot of restorations lately I started playing with some new sharpening techniques I hadn't tried before. So today I want to show how I do a simple iron rehab as well as the new techniques involved and some quick results.

Lots and lots of pics in this one so buckle up.

First up is an iron from a Type 18 #5 dated 347 or March 1947 for those that don't speak plane iron date codes. The bevel isn't too bad so we won't be taking a trip to the grinder on this one.
Rectangle Beige Fashion accessory Wood Serveware


The back however might pose a problem…
Brown Rectangle Tints and shades Composite material Metal


And now the gear involved…a healthy set of stones, a surface plate with some aggressive 60 grit, and of course my favorite plane screw driver, an angle jig, and a honing guide.
Wood Table Luggage and bags Flooring Floor


Purple Rectangle Wood Yellow Flooring


Wood Office supplies Font Auto part Rectangle

Ignore the squares those were from a smoothing iron earlier in the day. For a jack I'm not super interested in square unless its WAY off.

To start I go to my 220 grit stone first just to clean all the old gunk off and see where its hitting when putting on the 25 deg bevel. Also on most jack planes I really only put pressure on the outside corners because I want a decent arc to the iron.
Wood Rectangle Fixture Gas Composite material


If the 220 stone isn't doing the trick because, like this iron, it was hand sharpened by a monkey then I go to the 60 grit paper on the surface plate using the same pressure on the outside corners. Keep some glass cleaner around if you use low grit paper as you want to rinse the honing guide wheel before going back to the stones.

Not much else to it really. You just want to keep working on the sand paper until you've lapped off all the old bevel and have a nice clean line again.
Wood Grey Road surface Rectangle Flooring


After that its take it back to the stones and work the primary bevel up to the 1200 grit stone.

For the back I just keep working and working and working on the surface plate until that big ugly rough spot is nearly gone. I don't have a pic of that since I got frustrated and forgot to take one but you can see it didn't come out as well as I wanted when I show the back bevel.

Before the back bevel we need to put on the secondary bevel at 30 deg. I take that all the way up to 8000 grit on a shapton. I also polish the leading edge of the chip breaker while I'm doing the secondary bevel.
Hood Wood Rectangle Road surface Asphalt


Now to do a back bevel I follow the Rob Cossman ruler method. The thicker the ruler the more steep the back bevel. In this case I went with a very thin ruluer.
Rectangle Wood Road surface Font Gas


Lay the iron across the ruler and work it on the opposite edge of the stone. It's really pretty simple. And the result looks something like this. The dark line across the front of the iron is a polished back bevel.
Wood Rectangle Beige Tints and shades Metal

It doesn't show real well in these tiny pics and as you can see that ugly spot didn't come all the way out. Time will tell if this iron is a keeper.

Now on to the horse butt section I'm sure you're still wondering about. Well I used to have a cheap strop that the leather dried out on. So I went to Tools for Working Wood and got a genuine horse butt strop. I must say this thing is awesome. Mine was ~16" long but I cut it down to 13-1/2" and used the extra strip to put some leather pads on my Gramercy Hold fasts. (Bonus pic at the end if you make it that far)
Blue Wood Wall Paint Wood stain

It's glued to a 3/4" piece of plywood with a bench hook on it. This way I don't have to use a vice and I can keep it out when using chisels without it sliding around on me.

Once the iron is sharp i strop both the front and back. I also strop the leading edge of the chip breaker to give it a super shine.
Rectangle Floor Wood Beige Flooring


And now for the unscientific testing. I didn't use this rehabbed iron in my testing. I used my 5-1/4 which was setup the exact same way hence the unscientific testing. Anyway enough rambling here is the results from a piece of pine.
Wood Gas Bumper Automotive exterior Hardwood


That caliper reads 0.0005…thats right 3 zeros and a 5. It's either broken or you could read the newspaper through those full width shavings. Between the back bevel and the horse butt strop I am very pleased with the results.

And as a bonus if you're jointing small pieces you get small curls…seriously they just roll up and stay there. I think the polished chip breaker has something to do with that.
Vehicle Bumper Automotive exterior Wood Hood


And as your final bonus for reading the ramblings of crazy person, as promised, the leather horse butt pads on my hold fasts.
Wood Tool Hand tool Hardwood Wood stain


Conclusion:
I really like the back bevel even if its very slight. I would say in this case it's maybe a couple of degrees but the results are fantastic. Even if you don't like the notion of a back bevel the horse butt strop is worth having in your arsenal. I've had it for about 3 weeks now and I can use it to touch up an iron without going back to the stones. I can only do that once but hey that still saves more time for making curls.
That strop setup is really nice, thanks for sharing!
 

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#23 ·
Fixing the Chattanooga Chatter Box

This Bedrock 604C type 6a is most UNAFFECTIONATELY nicknamed the Chattanooga Chatter Box.
Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Block plane Jack plane


This "fancy" plane earned its nickname by chattering no matter what I did with it. I toiled for days when I first "restored" it and finally gave up. This was 18 months ago and I've have learned a metric butt load more about planes since then. All my other smoothers have been sold off or stripped down for restore so this jerk needed to perform.

Around here we often talk about fettling or tuning planes to get them up and running. Most of the time this is little things like sharpening, lapping the body, and adjusting the frog. Sometimes it get's into more nitty gritty dirty details to really get them tuned up. I won't be covering anything like dye printing the frog in this post but if you're interested in how that works check out HokieKen's blog post about it here.

Today is more about fixing the all mighty Bedrock Chatterbox. I should have taken pic of it doing its chattering but I didn't have any scrap I wanted to spend time fixing. Lets just say the left half-ish of the iron liked to skip across the wood like children playing hopscotch.

For anyone unware of what a Bedrock's guts look like here is the body and frog mating parts….yes I said mating parts.
Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Metal


Typically what you want is those two pieces to be aligned square and co-planer like the image below.
Rectangle Wood Font Tints and shades Camera lens


See how the front edge of the frog mates up beautifully with the back edge of the angle in the mouth? That is how I like to setup nearly all of my planes.

Here is an overexaggerated image of what the 604C looked like. While the right edge of the iron was fully supported the left side was not. Whether or not this was its only issue I can not say but fixing it fixed the chattering thus far.
Material property Wood Tool Rectangle Auto part


First things first is check the mouth for square. Its dead on. Next up is check the leading edge of the frog for square. Also dead on. That leaves us with either the side rails in the body not being parallel or the rabbets in the frog not being parallel. I checked the frog with a caliper and those are indeed parallel. Which leaves the machining in the body causing the issue. I have no clue how to fix that so my solution was get a jewelers file and work on the frog.
Saw Calipers Wood Tool Office ruler


Since we are skewed to the left I worked the rear left corner and front right corner of the rabbets in the frog. Technically I did the whole rabbet but used light pressure to start the stroke and increasing pressure as I went. This is a long and tedious process. Do 3 to 5 strokes each side, check the fitment, and repeat. It probably took me close to an hour to get it right. While I was at it I did file the very leading edge of the frog just a bit because it had been dinged up over the years.

Once I got it fitted correctly I add the pins back in and tighten the whole thing down. WTF BATAMN its still skewed. Always be sure to check this little jerk…
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Font Plywood


This little jerk can cause an otherwise perfect frog to fit poorly. Especially when its bent because it acts like a pivot point. I had to file down a bur from a bad stamping, hammer it flat with my biggest ball peen, and finally lapped the back for good measure. If you look close you can still see a dark grey low spot. Thankfully this didn't seem to cause any issue and lapping was probably unnecessary.

Here is the final result
Automotive tire Font Rectangle Gas Auto part


You will notice a slight gap between the frog's leading edge and the mouth. This is because the filing I did on the frog. It no longer forms a crisp knife edge. To check for co-planer I use a small flexible 6 inch ruler and adjust the frog depth screw as necessary. Also notice I tightened down the left side first to keep it from moving on me once i had it set.

But will it kill? A human not so much but this isn't Forged in Fire. It definitely kills some maple now though.
Wood Cuisine Fashion accessory Camera lens Event


Wood Nail Finger Thumb Flooring


Blue Wood Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


I cranked up the exposure on the last image and if you look close you can see my test strip is smooth and shiny enough its picking up some of the blue from the plastic bench dog.

Now that I'm feeling confident lets make a go of a project piece. This came out of a really old barn and I think is Douglas Fir.
Wood Table Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Queue sad trombone…we have tear out.
Wood Hardwood Wood stain Flooring Auto part


Although it looks like the corner of the plane caught and chattered I never felt it if it did. I think this piece of whatever wood has some crazy grain directions going on. It felt and even sounded like grain was reversing as I was planing it. I think I'm calling the Chattanooga Chatterbox fixed at this point. What it did with that maple was quite impressive. That small test piece feels like glass.
 

Attachments

#24 ·
Fixing the Chattanooga Chatter Box

This Bedrock 604C type 6a is most UNAFFECTIONATELY nicknamed the Chattanooga Chatter Box.
Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Block plane Jack plane


This "fancy" plane earned its nickname by chattering no matter what I did with it. I toiled for days when I first "restored" it and finally gave up. This was 18 months ago and I've have learned a metric butt load more about planes since then. All my other smoothers have been sold off or stripped down for restore so this jerk needed to perform.

Around here we often talk about fettling or tuning planes to get them up and running. Most of the time this is little things like sharpening, lapping the body, and adjusting the frog. Sometimes it get's into more nitty gritty dirty details to really get them tuned up. I won't be covering anything like dye printing the frog in this post but if you're interested in how that works check out HokieKen's blog post about it here.

Today is more about fixing the all mighty Bedrock Chatterbox. I should have taken pic of it doing its chattering but I didn't have any scrap I wanted to spend time fixing. Lets just say the left half-ish of the iron liked to skip across the wood like children playing hopscotch.

For anyone unware of what a Bedrock's guts look like here is the body and frog mating parts….yes I said mating parts.
Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Metal


Typically what you want is those two pieces to be aligned square and co-planer like the image below.
Rectangle Wood Font Tints and shades Camera lens


See how the front edge of the frog mates up beautifully with the back edge of the angle in the mouth? That is how I like to setup nearly all of my planes.

Here is an overexaggerated image of what the 604C looked like. While the right edge of the iron was fully supported the left side was not. Whether or not this was its only issue I can not say but fixing it fixed the chattering thus far.
Material property Wood Tool Rectangle Auto part


First things first is check the mouth for square. Its dead on. Next up is check the leading edge of the frog for square. Also dead on. That leaves us with either the side rails in the body not being parallel or the rabbets in the frog not being parallel. I checked the frog with a caliper and those are indeed parallel. Which leaves the machining in the body causing the issue. I have no clue how to fix that so my solution was get a jewelers file and work on the frog.
Saw Calipers Wood Tool Office ruler


Since we are skewed to the left I worked the rear left corner and front right corner of the rabbets in the frog. Technically I did the whole rabbet but used light pressure to start the stroke and increasing pressure as I went. This is a long and tedious process. Do 3 to 5 strokes each side, check the fitment, and repeat. It probably took me close to an hour to get it right. While I was at it I did file the very leading edge of the frog just a bit because it had been dinged up over the years.

Once I got it fitted correctly I add the pins back in and tighten the whole thing down. WTF BATAMN its still skewed. Always be sure to check this little jerk…
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Font Plywood


This little jerk can cause an otherwise perfect frog to fit poorly. Especially when its bent because it acts like a pivot point. I had to file down a bur from a bad stamping, hammer it flat with my biggest ball peen, and finally lapped the back for good measure. If you look close you can still see a dark grey low spot. Thankfully this didn't seem to cause any issue and lapping was probably unnecessary.

Here is the final result
Automotive tire Font Rectangle Gas Auto part


You will notice a slight gap between the frog's leading edge and the mouth. This is because the filing I did on the frog. It no longer forms a crisp knife edge. To check for co-planer I use a small flexible 6 inch ruler and adjust the frog depth screw as necessary. Also notice I tightened down the left side first to keep it from moving on me once i had it set.

But will it kill? A human not so much but this isn't Forged in Fire. It definitely kills some maple now though.
Wood Cuisine Fashion accessory Camera lens Event


Wood Nail Finger Thumb Flooring


Blue Wood Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


I cranked up the exposure on the last image and if you look close you can see my test strip is smooth and shiny enough its picking up some of the blue from the plastic bench dog.

Now that I'm feeling confident lets make a go of a project piece. This came out of a really old barn and I think is Douglas Fir.
Wood Table Wood stain Plank Hardwood


Queue sad trombone…we have tear out.
Wood Hardwood Wood stain Flooring Auto part


Although it looks like the corner of the plane caught and chattered I never felt it if it did. I think this piece of whatever wood has some crazy grain directions going on. It felt and even sounded like grain was reversing as I was planing it. I think I'm calling the Chattanooga Chatterbox fixed at this point. What it did with that maple was quite impressive. That small test piece feels like glass.
Congrats! The devil is always in the details and you had to get down and dirty to find them. You will always remember the plane's life (in your possession, anyway) with all the work required to fine tune it, but I suggest a new name for a new era! Even a little "dig" like "Slick" might suffice.
 

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