Woodworking planes are hand-held tools used to shape and smooth wood. They consist of a blade, a block to drive the blade, and a wedge to fix the blade. Modern planes have steel blades and come in different types for various tasks. Jerk, caused by going against the grain, is a common issue. Japanese woodworking planes differ in technique, with the blade facing towards the carpenter for cutting.
Woodworking planes are tools, usually hand-held, used to smooth and shape wood by shaving very thin strips off a piece. Built in many sizes and configurations to accomplish different purposes, portable woodworking planes require a good deal of practice and experience to use proficiently. The advent of electric woodworking planes has reduced the amount of time normally spent planing wood, but many woodworkers prefer the hand tool because of the amount of control they can exert over it, as well as the quality of the job done.
While modern woodworking planes may seem quite complex in their construction, a serviceable plane basically consists of three elements: a sharp, sturdy blade, called an “iron,” a block of wood or metal to drive the iron across the surface to be planing, and something to fix the iron, often a small wedge. The bottom of the block, called the “sole”, is perfectly flat and smooth, and has a slot, or “vice”, made on it to accommodate the iron, which is rarely wider than 5.08 cm and often narrower, and generally no longer than six inches (15.24 cm). The iron is inserted into the slot and the cutting edge extends just beyond the sole. Once the iron is positioned perfectly to the carpenter’s satisfaction, the wedge is driven into place and the job is on. These are the elements of the woodworking planes found in the ruins of ancient Egypt and Pompeii, and they are the same elements of the planes that many woodworking students are instructed to build themselves in woodworking schools.
The iron is the only part of a woodworking plane that absolutely must be metal, and modern irons are steel. Modern aircraft are built of wood or metal, and some are built of wooden blocks enclosed by metal bands. The different types of woodworking planes are designed to perform many different tasks. Some planes, called block planes, are designed to be held and worked with one hand and are used for tasks such as removing small amounts of material, particularly from the ends of boards. There are a wide variety of one-handed planes, some no bigger than a carpenter’s finger, built for precise, precise tasks like cleaning the inside edges of a mortise. Longer aircraft, generally 15.24 cm (XNUMX inches) and longer, require two hands to control and operate properly. These planes have a knob toward the front for the carpenter’s front hand and a handle near the back for the other.
Planes with longer soles – 14 inches (35.56 cm) and up – are called jack planes or honing planes. Due to their length and the absolute flatness of the soles, they ride on the “high points” of the piece. The blade, just extended past the sole, cuts away those high spots until the work surface is flat and smooth enough for the final finishing and polishing.
One of the hardest parts of planing to master is avoiding a phenomenon called “jerk,” which occurs when the plane is forced against the grain of the wood and small pieces are lifted off the iron and literally torn off, leaving a jagged finish. This happens because the direction of the grain of the wood varies, so even a single stroke of the plane along a piece could follow the grain in some areas and go against it in others. Some ways to avoid snags are to make sure the blade is as sharp as possible and to reduce the blade’s extension beyond the sole.
Most planes have straight or slightly convex cutting edges, to make it easier to remove material, smooth and flatten. Some planes, however, are made to form moldings, and the blades made for them form the shapes of common moldings, such as quarter-round, ogee, and cavetto. Shaping planes are also nothing like other woodworking planes; instead, they are simple flat blocks of wood with the molding profile on the end or intricate looking metal contraptions. In both cases, they incorporate the same three elements as a traditional plane: a sharp blade in the shape of the template to be formed, a device for holding the blade while cutting, and a way to secure the blade in the device.
An interesting variation on the use of planes for woodworking exists in the Japanese woodworking tradition, which evolved over the centuries independently of any Western tradition. While the planes of both traditions are similar in design and function, the technique employed is different: in the Western tradition, the blade faces away from the carpenter and the cut is made when the plane is pulled away. Japanese woodworkers, however, draw the plane towards themselves, cutting on the throw.
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