Hey, what causes your hand plane to jump at the beginning of the board/stroke

[gardnesd]

anyone know?

[PaulMarcel]

The frog.

[jlloydparks]

There could be a couple of things at work here. First make sure your blade isn't set to take too big of a cut. Usually that just causes the plane to stop dead when it hits the board in my case, but I have had it jump/skip because of this. The other problem is not putting your weight/force on the toe of the plane when beginning your stroke. This will let the plane lift up and jump/skip.

So try lightening up the cut. You can take a small block of wood and pass it over the mouth as you set the blade to ensure that you are taking a light shaving and that it consistent across the width of the blade. It doesn't help if one side is set deep and the other light. You want a nice even shaving.

Also make sure you put your force down on the front knob as you start onto the board then apply force down to both the knob and tote in the middle of the board and shift the force down to just the tote as you exit the board.

Give those a try and report back.

Josh

[iSawitFirst]

The frog.

Just blew hot tea all over me.

[Bob Rozaieski]

In addition to what Josh said, check how well the blade beds to the frog. If the blade doesn't bed well, it can flex in use. This will cause the skitter you describe. If the iron is well supported by the frog/bed, it can't flex at all and the skitter is avoided. Some say a thicker iron will solve the problem, and it may help to some degree, but it's a bandaid fix, and won't completely eliminate the problem. If the iron and bed are not making firm contact, you need to fix that problem.

In a metal plane, the solution is to carefully lap the bed of the frog on a very flat surface. This isn't as hard as it sounds. I find it easier than lapping soles. Once the bed is lapped flat, it will provide much better support to the iron and should help with the skitter/chatter problem.

For a wooden plane, I soot the iron, and use the sooted iron to mark the high spots on the bed, then gently file the high spots away. Rinse and repeat until the iron is making firm contact with the bed, especially up near the mouth, which is the most important area. Up higher on the bed can actually be ever so slightly hollow; just make sure there's no hump.

Here's a podcast I did last year on tuning up a metal and wooden plane. I go over lapping the frog as part of the tune up.

Hand Plane Tune-up

[RenaissanceWW]

I'd say 9 times out of 10 it is not enough pressure on the knob as you enter the cut. This is the same issue that cause people to taper their boards instead of flatten them. Position your body over the knob so you can drive your weight right down on top of the knob until you feel the blade enter the wood. Move your body, not your arms forward and as the tote comes on to the board you can start to let your body drift back towards the heel of the plane gradually transferring the weight until it is all on the tote.

Bob has a good point about the iron bedding properly but if you are getting a smooth cut during the rest of the stroke then it is probably a weight issue.

[gardnesd]

I've always had somewhat of a weight issue...but that's another conversation. I'll try refining my technique first and then rub the frog only out of necessity

[gardnesd]

I slowed my stroke down a little tonight. Seemed to help with the "jumping". Finished dimensioning the legs for the guild build shaker end table.

[Aggie83]

I've bedded a few frogs in my time.

It's work, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to get the job done.

[gardnesd]

I've bedded a few frogs in my time.

It's work, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to get the job done.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOP!

[knotscott]

I've bedded a few frogs in my time.

It's work, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to get the job done.

Oh the possibilities this poses!