BLOCK PLANE
SAFETY
A plane is a tool for shaping wood. Planes are used to flatten, reduce the
thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a rough piece of lumber. Special
types of planes are designed to cut joints or decorative mouldings.
Hand planes are generally the combination of a cutting edge, such as a
sharpened metal plate, attached to a firm body, that when moved over a wood
surface, take up relatively uniform shavings, by nature of the body riding on the
'high spots' in the wood, and also by providing a relatively constant angle to the
cutting edge, render the planed surface very smooth. A cutter which extends
below the bottom surface, or sole, of the plane slices off shavings of wood. A
large, flat sole on a plane guides the cutter to remove only the highest parts of an
imperfect surface, until, after several passes, the surface is flat and smooth.
Hand planes are ancient, originating thousands of years ago. Early planes were
made from wood with a rectangular slot or mortise cut across the center of the
body. Planes of this type have been found in excavations of old sites as well as
drawings of woodworking from medieval Europe and Asia. Roman planes found
at Pompeii are largely similar to planes in use today. In fact wooden planes can
still be bought from modern plane makers. As time went on, though, some people
began to make plane bodies out of cast iron or even bronze. Though most planes
are pushed across a piece of wood, holding it with one or both hands, Japanese
planes are pulled toward the body, not pushed away.
Woodworking machinery that perform the same function as hand planes include
the jointer and the thickness planer.
BLOCK PLANE
SAFETY
Parts of a Plane
Parts of a plane
Two styles of plane are shown with some parts labeled. The top of the image is a bench
plane; the bottom is a block plane.
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A: The Mouth is an opening in the bottom of the plane down through which the
blade extends, and up through which wood shavings pass.
B: The Iron is a plate of steel with a sharpened edge which cuts the wood.
C: The Lever cap holds the blade down firmly to the body of the plane.
D: The Depth adjustment knob controls how far the blade extends through the
mouth.
E: The Knob is a handle on the front of the plane.
BLOCK PLANE
SAFETY
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F: The Chipbreaker or Cap iron serves to make the blade more rigid and to curl
and break apart wood shavings as they pass through the mouth.
G: The Lateral adjustment lever is used to adjust the iron so that the depth of
cut is uniform across the mouth.
H: The Tote is a handle on the rear of the plane
I: The Finger rest knob Block planes are held in the palm of the hand the
tip of the user's index finger rests in the indentation on top of the knob.
J: The Frog is a sliding iron wedge that holds the plane Iron at the proper
angle. It slides to adjust the gap between the cutting edge and the front of
the mouth. The frog is screwed down to the inside of the sole through two
parallel slots and on many planes is only adjustable with a screwdriver
when the plane iron is removed. Some planes, such as the Stanley
Bedrock line and the bench planes made by Lie-Nielsen have a screw
mechanism that allows the frog to be adjusted without removing the blade.
BLOCK PLANE
SAFETY
Planing With the Grain
Grain direction can be determined by looking at the edge or side of the work
piece. Wood fibers can be seen running out to the surface that is being
planed. When the fibers meet the work surface it looks like the point of an
arrow that indicates the direction. When planing "with the grain", thin
shavings rise above the surface of the wood as the edge of the plane iron is
pushed forward, leaving a smooth surface.
Planing wood should result in thin shavings rising above the surface of the
wood as the edge of the plan iron is pushed forward, leaving a smooth
surface. But sometimes splintering occurs. This is largely a matter of cutting
with the grain or against the grain, respectively. The grain referred to in
these phrases is the side grain of the piece of wood being worked.
BLOCK PLANE
SAFETY
Planing Against the Grain
When planing "against the grain", the wood fibers are lifted by the plane
iron, resulting in a jagged surface.
When planing against the grain, the wood fibers are lifted by the plane iron,
resulting in a jagged finish, called tearout.
Note that these diagrams and phrases apply to planing the wide face (flat
grain) and/or long side (side grain) of a typical piece of lumber, which is cut
so its wide face is along the grain. In other words, as part of the tree, the
wide face was parallel to the pith and thus along (or parallel to) the direction
of the dominant cells, or grain. Because of the nature of wood, planing the
end grain of the board is physically different from planing the wide face or
the long side.
BLOCK PLANE
SAFETY
Plane Safety
Tips
Use the appropriate plane for the work at
hand.
Use Bench planes for stock removal,
smoothing rough surfaces, truing, and
fine finishing.
Use Jack Planes or longer planes for
longer length planing (i.e. doors) to
produce a straight line.
Use block or trimming planes for end
grain, where single handed working is
required, and to dress up short work.
For optimal cutting performance, place
cutters in bench planes bevel side down
and cutters for block planes bevel side
up.
Always keep the blade sharp.
Lightly oil the working surfaces after use.
Rest the plane on its side when not in use.
Store the plane with its cutter retracted to avoid premature edge wear.
EXAMPLES OF PLANES
WOOD BLOCK PLANE:
Although this is a very old
design they are still used
today to remove a large
amount of wood. This is
due to the fact that they are
lighter than steel planes and
therefore they can be used
comfortably for longer
periods.
JACK PLANE: This is the
steel equivalent of the
wooden block plane. It has
a steel body and because it
is heavier than the wood
block plane it is easier to
hold down on the surface of
the wood being planed. It is
used to plane longer pieces
of wood.
SMALL BLOCK PLANE:
This is a small version of a
wood block plane and it is
used for light work such as
producing 'chamfers'. It is
normally held and used in
one hand.
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