Co-Planer by Hand Plane

[protectedvoid]

So, I've been practicing with these refurbished planes, and I've been able to achieve some success in flatting stock with twists, bows and cups. With 1 side now flat, planing the sides to 90° to the flat face is easy enough to accomplish with a shooting board and the #5 or #6. The question is, what's the best way to ensure that the opposite face is truly co-planer to the first face, when flattening it?

[jab73180]

run it through the planer lol

[JohnnyNoName]

So, I've been practicing with these refurbished planes, and I've been able to achieve some success in flatting stock with twists, bows and cups. With 1 side now flat, planing the sides to 90° to the flat face is easy enough to accomplish with a shooting board and the #5 or #6. The question is, what's the best way to ensure that the opposite face is truly co-planer to the first face, when flattening it?

I've been struggling with this myself. It's not something I have seen in a video/podcast/TV Show (HINT HINT Marc, Matt, Shannon, Kari, et al). From what I've heard, after one side is flat, you score a line around the sides, referrencing off of the flat side, to the thickness that you want. Then you plane the un-flat side down to the lines, the edges first, and then flatten down the middle of the board to match the sides. Of course I think I just over-simplified it, but that's all I know. I haven't really gotten it to "work" yet. I usually head over to the planer once I see that it's not going to work.

I hope this helps some. Good luck.

Jonathan

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[lwllms]

Mark the perimeter with a marking gauge set to the desired thickness. With most woods, when you plane to the center of the gauge line a small ribbon of wood drop free or almost free. The ribbon will be as wide as the gauge line is deep and a couple thousandths thick.

[Ben H]

run it through the planer lol

I agree.

[muddlermike]

the scoring method is what I've learned as well. that being said, I owned a planer before I owned a bench plane, so I typically use the power planer to get wide boards coplaner. remember to allow for final smooth planing in your thickness.

[protectedvoid]

I've been struggling with this myself. It's not something I have seen in a video/podcast/TV Show (HINT HINT Marc, Matt, Shannon, Kari, et al). From what I've heard, after one side is flat, you score a line around the sides, referrencing off of the flat side, to the thickness that you want. Then you plane the un-flat side down to the lines, the edges first, and then flatten down the middle of the board to match the sides. Of course I think I just over-simplified it, but that's all I know. I haven't really gotten it to "work" yet. I usually head over to the planer once I see that it's not going to work.

I hope this helps some. Good luck.

Jonathan

===================================

Sounds reasonable enough. I suppose, too, that if I'm working on a level surface, I could also use a level to assist, alongside the perimeter marking.

the scoring method is what I've learned as well. that being said, I owned a planer before I owned a bench plane, so I typically use the power planer to get wide boards coplaner. remember to allow for final smooth planing in your thickness.

I guess for my workbench, I won't risk it. iSawItFirst has offered me assistance with anything I might need, so I'll have to take it by and run it through the power planer to be absolutely sure it's flat and co-planer.

[PurpLev]

using a marking gauge set to the thickness you are aiming for, mark all 4 sides referencing off of your flat side, then, plane it all down to the lines.

[gardnesd]

Ok, don't kill me if I'm wrong here but I think Shannon did this kind of thing in one of his podcasts while building his bench. Perhaps Shannon could comment on which video it is. But maybe he didn't.

[protectedvoid]

Ok, don't kill me if I'm wrong here but I think Shannon did this kind of thing in one of his podcasts while building his bench. Perhaps Shannon could comment on which video it is. But maybe he didn't.

Hey, we're all here to learn or offer up our experiences to others seeking advice. You'll never have to worry about violent reactions from me.

[bois]

Dimensioning stock to thickness is probably one of the most challenging hand tool techniques there is (followed only by flattening the first side of a really warped or twisted board). The technique is pretty much the same, but keeping an eye on the marking lines on the sides adds that extra degree of difficulty. It is for this reason if I had to choose between owning only a jointer or planer, I'd take the planer every time. Unfortunately, for me at least there is no nostalgia in hand dimensioning lumber.

[protectedvoid]

Dimensioning stock to thickness is probably one of the most challenging hand tool techniques there is (followed only by flattening the first side of a really warped or twisted board). The technique is pretty much the same, but keeping an eye on the marking lines on the sides adds that extra degree of difficulty. It is for this reason if I had to choose between owning only a jointer or planer, I'd take the planer every time. Unfortunately, for me at least there is no nostalgia in hand dimensioning lumber.

NO, nostalgia is definitely NOT a factor for me, either. I'd like to learn the skill since I only have 3 hand planes at the moment, and not enough money to buy my own bench-top planer. That being said, I do, at least, have access to more than one power planer, so there is some saving grace there.

Still, like everything else I attempt, I figure it doesn't make sense to learn only half-way. Like Master Yoda says, "Do. Or do not. There is no try." I'll just opt to practice that skill on some scraps or other small projects rather than on the larger project that is my workbench-in-progress.

[RenaissanceWW]

Not sure how I missed this discussion but yes, mark a line and plane to it. I did a video on this some time ago in episode 30. I do recommend using a knife for this as the feather edge it creates allows you to dial in the perfect co-planar edge. As you draw close to your line the feathering edge will stand up away from the stock. Usually one more pass to remove that edge and you are there.

[wilburpan]

Bob Rozaieski, who writes the excellent Logan Cabinet Shoppe blog/video podcast, taught me that there's one other thing to consider: the board may not have to be as coplanar as you think. He has said that for casework, like the carcasse of a chest of drawers, or even a drawer itself, the inside surfaces need to be flat to act as references for joinery and the structural interior elements. The outside just needs to be close to flat and coplanar.

So you can flatten a board with your best joiner, mark that face for the interior of the box, scribe the thickness with that face as a reference, and plane it until the marking lines disappear. The edges will be coplanar. The middle of the board may or may not be, but it won't matter too much if you orient the reference faces of the boards correctly.

Here's another very snarky way to put it: if having perfectly coplanar boards was so important, then the power tool guys wouldn't be able to make half the stuff that they do with the crappy plywood that seems to be rampant these days. If you check the thickness of plywood, you'll find that that stuff isn't perfectly coplanar, either.

[RenaissanceWW]

I could not agree more Wilbur, too much time is spent on perfectly flat and square and coplanar. Does it fit? Does it look good? 'nuff said!

[protectedvoid]

Not sure how I missed this discussion but yes, mark a line and plane to it. I did a video on this some time ago in episode 30. I do recommend using a knife for this as the feather edge it creates allows you to dial in the perfect co-planar edge. As you draw close to your line the feathering edge will stand up away from the stock. Usually one more pass to remove that edge and you are there.

Thanks. Guess I'll need to retire my lead holder and pick up a marking knife. I'll also be sure to check out your video this evening, so thanks for the link.

[protectedvoid]

Bob Rozaieski, who writes the excellent Logan Cabinet Shoppe blog/video podcast, taught me that there's one other thing to consider: the board may not have to be as coplanar as you think. He has said that for casework, like the carcasse of a chest of drawers, or even a drawer itself, the inside surfaces need to be flat to act as references for joinery and the structural interior elements. The outside just needs to be close to flat and coplanar.

So you can flatten a board with your best joiner, mark that face for the interior of the box, scribe the thickness with that face as a reference, and plane it until the marking lines disappear. The edges will be coplanar. The middle of the board may or may not be, but it won't matter too much if you orient the reference faces of the boards correctly.

Here's another very snarky way to put it: if having perfectly coplanar boards was so important, then the power tool guys wouldn't be able to make half the stuff that they do with the crappy plywood that seems to be rampant these days. If you check the thickness of plywood, you'll find that that stuff isn't perfectly coplanar, either.

I had not really considered this point, but in retrospect, this makes total sense. Of course, I'll stick up for using plywood (or rather, good hardwood plywood) when it's called for, like for built-in closet carcasses or cabinet carcasses.

[protectedvoid]

So, I managed to do this successfully on a 14 x 8 x 6/4 piece of hard maple. Surprisingly, it really didn't take that long using a #5 for aggressive removal, and a #4 to sneak up on the exact measure / flatten it out completely.

[Bob Rozaieski]

So, I managed to do this successfully on a 14 x 8 x 6/4 piece of hard maple. Surprisingly, it really didn't take that long using a #5 for aggressive removal, and a #4 to sneak up on the exact measure / flatten it out completely.

Congratulations! Now that you can do it, you may find that the need for the power jointer/planer isn't as great, at least for smaller projects where you don't need to surface a lot of bd. ft. When you have your planes set up correctly, it can be a very fast process. This is the main reason against setting up every plane one owns to take sub thou shavings. You only need one plane that can do that...the smoother. If you set up every plane to take shavings that thin (essentially making them all smoothers), you miss out on how effecient hand planes can be.

The jack and jointer are better set up for faster stock removal, especially if you don't have a power jointer or planer. My jack plane can take off up to 1/16" of thickness in one pass. It helps me get stock to flat and thickness fast. I recently planed a board to final thickness in just over 5 minutes for my podcast, and it would have been half that had I not put the jack plane down so soon and switched to the try plane. Hand tools don't have to be slow .

Watch here:

Episode # 27: Hand Plane to Flat and Square

[protectedvoid]

Congratulations! Now that you can do it, you may find that the need for the power jointer/planer isn't as great, at least for smaller projects where you don't need to surface a lot of bd. ft. When you have your planes set up correctly, it can be a very fast process. This is the main reason against setting up every plane one owns to take sub thou shavings. You only need one plane that can do that...the smoother. If you set up every plane to take shavings that thin (essentially making them all smoothers), you miss out on how effecient hand planes can be.

The jack and jointer are better set up for faster stock removal, especially if you don't have a power jointer or planer. My jack plane can take off up to 1/16" of thickness in one pass. It helps me get stock to flat and thickness fast. I recently planed a board to final thickness in just over 5 minutes for my podcast, and it would have been half that had I not put the jack plane down so soon and switched to the try plane. Hand tools don't have to be slow .

Watch here:

Episode # 27: Hand Plane to Flat and Square

Thanks for the video link. It was very interesting to watch the timed section. I am learning that I'm being just a little too cautious when planing to flat. It definitely took me longer than 5 minutes to do the little piece I was practicing on. LOL. I'll have to spend some time watching some of your other episodes. The one thing I have to work on is perfecting the camber in the irons. I use a honing guide to sharpen my irons, and it really isn't conducive to adding a proper camber to the irons. I use sandpaper on granite as my sharpening system, so the guide was the easiest way to get started. I guess I'm going to have to spend some time practicing sharpening by hand, or invest in one of the veritas honing guides with the cambered roller.

My problem is that I'm slightly OCD, so I could see sharpening by hand becoming a rather frustrating experience for me. Again, thanks so much for posting that video link. It was a very well done episode.

[Bob Rozaieski]

Honing by hand isn't hard if you hollow grind your bevels. If you flat grind, it's slightly more challenging, but not impossible. One thing you can do to hone a bigger camber with your current honing guide is to wrap a couple narrow strips of tape around the center of the roller. That will allow you to hone a bigger camber. Takes awhile to get a big camber just by honing though. Much easier to grind first. If you don't have a grinder, you can use a belt sander clamped in your bench vise (take the dust bag off first unless you really like to BBQ...yourself), a stationary belt sander, disk sander, or any other method that will allow you to remove metal in a hurry. Then hone after grinding. It's quite amazing what a really aggressive hand plane can do. No match for a power jointer and planer for hundreds of bd. ft. of lumber, but for the occasional small board, it can be just as quick to do it by hand as it is to fire up and adjust the machines.

[protectedvoid]

Honing by hand isn't hard if you hollow grind your bevels. If you flat grind, it's slightly more challenging, but not impossible. One thing you can do to hone a bigger camber with your current honing guide is to wrap a couple narrow strips of tape around the center of the roller. That will allow you to hone a bigger camber. Takes awhile to get a big camber just by honing though. Much easier to grind first. If you don't have a grinder, you can use a belt sander clamped in your bench vise (take the dust bag off first unless you really like to BBQ...yourself), a stationary belt sander, disk sander, or any other method that will allow you to remove metal in a hurry. Then hone after grinding. It's quite amazing what a really aggressive hand plane can do. No match for a power jointer and planer for hundreds of bd. ft. of lumber, but for the occasional small board, it can be just as quick to do it by hand as it is to fire up and adjust the machines.

Okay, I have to admit I had considered grinding the left and right third of the roller down a little so I could rock the guide to get a camber. The thought of using tape never occurred to me, and is a much simpler prospect. Thanks for that! I use the scary sharp method to sharpen and hone the irons, so they are flat ground. However, I have some pretty aggressive files that I can use to remove metal in a hurry to restore the original bevel. I have to hone the iron on the jack plane anyhow, so I think I'll give that tape trick a try today and see if I can't get a decent camber going. Thanks again for that tip.

As for the power tools, with Christmas coming, I might see if I can wiggle a benchtop 6" jointer out of the parents. My storage capacity is limited, so that's the largest I can go.