How to plane the thin edge of a board and not plane it out of square

[Dolmetscher007]

The bane of my existence has been making drawers. I have a large dresser that I need to build 6 drawers for, but none of the drawer slots is square. So, I have to fit the front, then take it down, and plane some, then try again, the plane some more, then try it, then plane it... etc etc. 

I clamp the board into my vice, and plane the 3/4" edge to fit the drawer. When I'm done, no matter how careful I was, the edge is slanted one way or the other. i.e. out of square. Is there some trick to not doing this?

[ormonddmd]

What about making a shooting board then clamping your drawer front flat on the shooting board and plane the edge with your plane on its side, guided by the shooting board ?

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[shaneymack]

What about making a shooting board then clamping your drawer front flat on the shooting board and plane the edge with your plane on its side, guided by the shooting board ?

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This is a good idea but there is no need to clamp the board. The fence will act as a stop.

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[RichardA]

    Since it's a drawer front, don't use a a large plane like a #4, instead, use a block plane, so you can "feel" when your flat on your edge. Then if you're right handed, pinch the front of the plane, with a knuckle against the flat of the board, and slowly push your plane, keeping your knuckle against the flat part.   Your knuckle acts as a fence, and you should be able to get the 90* surface your after!    Try it a couple of times on some scrap.  And don't rush.  That seems to be a mistake a lot of folks have with a plane, they want it done "Now" and just push fast.... Slow is the key!

[Eric.]

Every evening after dinner for the next week, go out to the shop, clamp a piece of scrap in your vise, take your #4 and practice planing a square edge. Check periodically with a square. Then do it again. Then do it again. And again. And at the end of the week you'll be able to do it.

[drzaius]

What Eric said. One of the first things I used a plane for was putting chamfers on boards. It didn't take long before I was able to get a near perfect 45* without even eyeballing it, just by feel. Practice & it'll come soon enough.

[h3nry]

2 hours ago, Dolmetscher007 said:

no matter how careful I was, the edge is slanted one way or the other. i.e. out of square. Is there some trick to not doing this?

The simple trick is to be even more careful.

If this is happening to you a lot then:

1) Mark your line on both sides of the board. If you're not holding your plane square you will get down to the line on one side before the other. If this happens you then need to just plane off the other side of the edge until you are down to both lines.

2) Go slowly - keep checking your progress with a square, and you should arrive at the line on both sides at the same time, making step (1) unnecessary.

3) Do what Eric suggested and eventually both steps (1) and (2) become unnecessary.

[Janello]

If you don't start flat, it's hard to get there later.

Make sure you have the sole of the plane sitting flat before you start the cut. Then it's a matter of keeping it that way throughout the cut. It sounds obvious but there is a distict difference between thinking you are starting flat and undoubtedly knowing it. Before starting the cut,  put the plane at the edge of the board and rock it left and rock it right, you'll feel the flat spot as you do this. 

Until it becomes second nature, If you just walk up to the board, throw your plane on it and take a swipe, chances are you started the cut skewed and have lost the game before it even started.

[h3nry]

Also check that your plane iron is straight, and not taking a deeper cut on one side than the other - or if you have a cambered blade that you are using the centre of the blade.

[Unknown craftsman]

3 hours ago, h3nry said:

Also check that your plane iron is straight, and not taking a deeper cut on one side than the other - or if you have a cambered blade that you are using the centre of the blade.

This I good advise not often shared.I call it a balanced shaving.

[H4zM47]

I was actually doing this very same operation for the first time using handplanes just this week. And I was having the same problem. There's actually a method described by Robert Wearing  for squaring your edges by setting your plane to take a heavier cut where the edge is higher. This way you're not trying balance the sole on an imaginary surface to make everything square. You have to use your fingers as a fence and make sure the heavy set part of the plane stays on the high side of the edge. And when the plane takes a whole width cut, you're square. 

It took me more than a few passes to get it right, but I had 8 boards that I had to do this to, and by the 3rd or 4th board it was only taking me maybe a 4 or 5 passes to make everything square just using my jack plane. 

[Dolmetscher007]

On 6/24/2016 at 11:37 AM, Eric. said:

Every evening after dinner for the next week, go out to the shop, clamp a piece of scrap in your vise, take your #4 and practice planing a square edge. Check periodically with a square. Then do it again. Then do it again. And again. And at the end of the week you'll be able to do it.

This may be the best post I've ever read. Thanks Eric.