19 Comments

  1. Dear Paul.

    This i s a timely video. Last night I received a record no 3 plane 1958 from an old man who sells tools. Cutting iton was reasonably sharp but it needeed more. I used a sharpening method pretty much the same as yours and gave the plane to my daughter 7.Perfect shavings every time. She was delighted.
    I also bought the chinese plates and plan on trying them like your previous blog. How did you stick the plates to plywood.. was it double sided tape? Last sneaky question… i have a concrete floor in my shed… what is the best flooring for … in the workshop there is only a bandsaw shelves and workbench… laminate good quality.. rubber flooring.. your thoughts please.

    1. I used reinforced fiberglass, double-sided tape but any mounting tap will as will laminate glue too. For the floor; I have worked on concrete floors for the last 12 years and they are hard on your legs as well as your tools if dropped. I use the interlocking rubber floor tiles that look like puzzle pieces. They seem to be the least expensive and they work as well as anything I have ever seen or worked on. You can place them in groupings or cover the whole floor. I have them both ways. I would say not laminate flooring. It doesn’t cushion.

      1. I have heard but not personally explored myself that one can purchase rubber stall mats for horses that are bigger so less interlocking and might be more cost effective than the interlocking matts. I was going to get around to it and then we had the shelter in place happen. I live somewhere this is a bit rural so we have a store that supplies these kinds of things (and hay, baby chickens for sale, etc). Just passing along another option that might give the same results.

        1. Joe,
          Just so you know, a 4’ x 6’ stall mat weighs over 100 lbs. The easiest way I have found to move them is to have a pair of Vice-Grips (locking pliers) in each hand. For my horses, yes. For my workshop, I’d go with Paul’s idea.

          1. I use stall mats that are cut down. They are not too difficult to cut with a utility knife and a straight edge and they are available in different thicknesses. They are heavy though that is sometimes an advantage. I wish I had a way to make a tapered edge to them as they are trip hazards at the thickness I have and collect dust in the sharp corners. Still I like them.

  2. Thanks for the video. Tonight will watch.

    But I can’t just help singing “How sharp is your plane” in the style of The Bee Gees’ “How deep is your love” !

  3. Very timely indeed. I seem to be more challenged by plane irons than other tools for some reason. Yesterday I was working on reclaimed lumber and I knew that dirt on the lumber was going to do a number on my blade. I sharpened it and tried a shaving on a clean piece of wood but it wasn’t right. Taking your advice though and using all my senses I tried to sort out the issue. There was still a bright line on the bevel side of the blade at the cutting tip. Back to the bench stones and in short order and with more care I made the line disappear to get the wire edge. It is so fast now to sharpen and such a joy to use the sharp tool that even doing it twice was not a big deal. The first attempt the plane cut like your dull plane – it would take a shaving but reluctantly unless I started at the end of the board where I believe the blade is pulled down into the work which is not a desirable behaviour. Second time around though I got it and removed a little hump in the middle of my test board with 2 thou shavings. Lovely.

  4. Hello Paul,
    What do you think about corrugated sole ? Generaly found on the Stanley 5. Less friction or lighter ?
    Thanks for all
    Ludovic.

    1. If there is any benefit weight wise it is lost ina reality that shavings get grabbed and frequently clog in the grooves to create surface problems in the wood. Other tasks, like removing the arris or making round-overs, is a struggle.

  5. I understand ! Thank you for this answer. I want a lighter one, I think wooden Jack plane are the best for me. I have modified a record #4 in scrub plane i enjoy this plane too.

  6. A Japanese tool shop owner in Seattle taught me to check sharpened edges with a jewelers loupe. It made an immediate improvement on my edges. I still use it. I believe it cost $3.

  7. Regarding the horse stall mats, they are very thick and definitely a trip hazard in a shop. FWIW, I would advise against it.

  8. Curses, Rodrigo. Now I can’t get “How Deep is Your Love” out of my head.

    For that, I give you: “shelter in place” to the tune of “Staying Alive”.

  9. I used the horse stall mats for my home gym. Nice because you can drop a 45 pound plate and it will bounce. Complete overkill for a workbench area. Don’t need a plane to bounce if you drop it. The interlocking foam ones are much cheaper than the horse mats and actually have more sponge for standing on and will protect tools from hitting the concrete directly. If you want really inexpensive just go to the home center or discount store and get one of the anti-fatigue mats. They will really help your knees and feet as many are designed to meet OSHA etc guidelines for workers standing for hours.

  10. Thank you Paul, interesting demonstration of a sharp blade.
    The habit of tightening the Chipbreaker screw with the lever cap tip however leaves me cold, I have come across so many otherwise great used planes ruined by this habit with a chunk broken off the front of the lever cap.
    You are correct however, a quick hone every little while is easy and keeps the blade in good condition and working a pleasure

  11. Thank you for this video. I have been practicing your style of convex sharpening with diamond plans sans guide. I am very impressed with the results, especially with chisels. My vintage Stanley plane iron is also very sharp with slightly rounded edges, but the edge tends not to be square to body/edge of the iron when I am done. Is this mainly a pressure issue? I am trying to sharpen the plane on an angle as you do but find myself always moving to a more straight ahead angle/orientation to counter what I think is likely uneven pressure. I am sure I need to do this a few more thousand times but any tips for keeping a square-to-the-side edge would be very much appreciated.

    1. I mean to say that the plane iron is sharp with slightly rounded corners per your method. The edge isn’t round just not square to the side of the plane iron.

    2. Self-correction is every ten strokes or so where you check yourself by eye and then with a square. Guess what you see first and then use the square for affirmation confirmation of your actions. This way you will ultimately be training your eyes and mind to do this correction stroke on stroke.

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