what is the secret of a nice finish ?

[DaveInOz]

everything you ever wanted to know about stanley planes is here

[DarrylF]

Might be a little too much information for a plane newbie - you could get lost for hours there

The general range of bench planes are numbered 3 to 8 basically - there are variations within that, but basically:

#3 - Smallish plane for smoothing boards
#4 - General purpose smoothing plane
#4 1/2 - Wider version of the number 4
#5 - 'Jack' plane - longer than the #4, used for smoothing through to jointing work
#5 1/2 - wider version of the 5
#6 - longer and wider than the 5
#7 - longer again - a jointer plane for flattening boards/jointing edges
#8 - longer again

'C' is for corrugations on the sole, supposed to make it easier to push. Personal preference thing.

Then you get into a whole range of other numbers - block planes (small planes for edges, small work, end grain etc.).

Best recommendation - a #4 for smoothing, a #5 for general purpose/jointing, something around a #60 1/2 or #220 for a block plane.

You can buy Stanley, Record and a number of others. You're pretty safe with Stanley. Record are OK too mostly. Many of the others are rather variable. US made Stanley is considered better than UK made, which is considered better than Australian made. IME that's right. Pre-war is better than post. Solid Rosewood for knob & tote is definitely nice - and definitely look for solid wood unless you have the skills to make your own. Buying is too expensive.

Or if it's all too hard, you could go buy yourself a #4, #5 and a low angle block plane (all Stanley) from Bunnings - probably $300 all up, half to 2/3 of that on eBay for old, better versions. New ones will work just fine with a bit of tuning up - especially the block plane.

Good luck

[popawisky]

G'day

i'll just chip in with my two cents worth
Recently I purchased some jarrah offcut packs 200mmx 90mmx 10mm. To cut a long story short. I dragged out the orange stuff and planed the edges, then using the one up one down method, biscuit joined them. Once sanded it is difficult to see the joins. in some instances the only reference to a join is the change of colour.
So true the edges, tongue and groove or biscuit join, then sand for a smooth finish. Rember one grain up, one grain down.

[EMistral]

You are right Darryl, I spent hours yesterday trying to read all these pages but they are confusing
I came to the conclusion that the planes to use are within the #1 - #8 range as mentioned in the pages and by you.

I had a look on ebay and found some #4 and #5 for $US30 and most of them are 100 years old of pre-war.
why are they so cheap if they are supposed to be collector items?
It is not too expensive and I am prepared to buy them but I am a bit suspicious regarding the price.

also for popawisky, what do you mean by grain up, grain down or one up, one down method ?

when I cut my boards which were 21cm wide, I cut them in half widthwise and carefully marked their location before the board was cut. For instance I tagged them "left up", "right up"
Then I slip each of these 10cm boards in 2 of 1cm
Once again I tagged them "left bottom", "right bottom"
I also carefully marked the corner where they were joining on the intial board
Therefore was everything was planned and cut, I just realigned "left up" with "right up", "left bottom" with "right bottom" to keep the grain and patterns
then after it was a matter of aligning the 2 "up" boards with the 2 "down" boards
is this the type of method you are refering ?

[DarrylF]

Be careful about buying planes from the US - you could find that by the time you pay the shipping and the exchange rate you're well behind.

There's a reasonable Aussie eBay market for planes, so you should be able to pick up something locally.

[jimmyjames]

Hi, all. I've been experimenting with joining boards to make table tops, cabinet sides etc etc. I match the boards, clamp and glue, plane then sand but still am disapointed with my efforts.

I'm not trying to match it with some of the really amazing people on this site and the results they get. Frankly I don't have the budget or obsession but I'm determined to better the mdf rubbish a few of the major retailers put in a box and call furniture.

The problems I'm having are small gaps in the joins (as above). Also I have a hard time getting the joined 'plank' flat / level and generally am frustrating the hell out myself.

I'm limited in the tools area. Mostly power tools ie: c/saw for ripping, b/joiner for joining, electric rebate plane for planing. Bosh orbital for sanding, very few hand tools. I'm a bit short on knowledge too, browsed a few library books, this site and thats about it.

Do I have to buy hand planes? Am I using my power plane incorrectly? How do I get these damn boards to line up and be flat!!!

Finally, as I work more with timber I find no matter how accurately I try to cut / measure / join there are always inconsistancies. Sometimes a little out of square or a joint is a little off etc. Is this and the nescessary fix I have to do to be expected, or am I just kidding myself in thinking that an inexperienced guy with low quailty power tools can make half decent furniture?

[echnidna]

Jimmy,
Your tools are inadequate to get a truly straight joint.
Your aim should be to get your boards so straight that when you hold 2 edges together by hand you cannot see light through the join.

With practise you can do it with a handplane,
But I think most of the forum members use a jointer, or a router.
However I use a sawbench and my joints are invisible.

You are NOT kidding yourself in thinking that an inexperienced guy with low quailty power tools can make half decent furniture

It takes a little practise and seeking advise which you are already doing..

For a newbie with your tools I suggest you start with dressed timber. Make each panel from the same length of timber but alternate the boards so that every second board is upside down. This will even out the effects of slightly different edge angles. When you are gluing them together get all the top surfaces so you cant feel a difference in height when you lightly glide your fingers across the join.

An easier alternative than this is to make your panels from T&G flooring glued together. By cutting very fine wedges from your offcuts and tapping them lightly into the ends the gaps in the ends are filled.

[jimmyjames]

Ta echidna. At the moment I join using thicker boards than needed and keep planing and sanding till and acceptable result is achieved. No light seems to pass through the joins and this has improved my results but that beautiful seamless join and flat surface you see in good furniture is missing.

I never thought of using a router and straight cutter to get a truer edge on my cut boards, you are suggesting I rip the thin boards from a larger piece using the router and cutter aren't you?

When joining the dressed boards, my current method is clamping side to side at intervals to push the boards together then a lenght of timber above and below the boards at intervals to prevent cuping of the 'plank'. From your suggestion I think I'll place the good side down on a flat surface (thick sheet mdf) and clamp from side to side being careful to avoid cupping. This should give me a reasonably flat good side to start off with so I won't have to plane hell out of it. Agree?

If all else fails the t&g flooring lengths sound like a fine idea but I'm just too stubborn to give up yet!

Thanks very much for replying.

[EMistral]

It's good to see that I am not the only one having problems with joining boards !

I have never thought of a router too for having a straight edge
Thanks for that and I will try that as soon as possible (tomorrow)
I let you know if it's getting better for me or not.

otherwise, if I want to rip a board that is slightly bowed, how would you guys proceed ?
I have a triton WC and read their manual and they suggest to use double-sided tape, stick the bowed board to a flat one and run the flat board together with the board on the table saw in order to obtain a true flat surface
once you have obtain this flat surface,there is no need of the second board to rip the other side
That 's what I did but no matter what I try, the first pass is smooth but when I turn the board (end to end) to rip the second half (I need two passes because the boards are wider than the saw), there is always a difference in height between the 2 passes

what is the solution (apart of buying a thicknesser which is my next purchase - tired of cutting nice wide boards in half to be able to rip them with my saw) ?

[Ian Runge]

EMistral wrote:

what is the solution (apart of buying a thicknesser which is my next purchase - tired of cutting nice wide boards in half to be able to rip them with my saw) ?

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but cutting nice wide boards in half might soon be something that you choose to do to get stable flat surfaces like table tops. Nice wide boards are usually plain-sawn, prone to cupping, and somewhat prone to splitting. Once you can join two boards seamlessly, then cutting them in half and re-joining them is the way to solve this problem. See my post earlier today in the forum:
> HAND TOOLS AND MACHINERY > To joint or not to joint .....

WARNING ... WARNING .... seems like you are headed down the path of more and more tools. If you've got lots of skill and talent and time you don't need lots of tools, BUT ... if you're like me (see my signature!)


Ian R.