How To Use and Tune Up a Hand Plane 

So ridiculous I almost thought it was a joke. One of the most irresponsible things I have ever seen on RU-vid. If anyone has ever mimicked this behavior they would have good cause to beat the shit out of that guy.

Even $300 Lie-Nielsen or Veritas planes need to be tuned before use. Mostly just sharpening, but that is tuning, too.

+icespeckledhens That's like buying a guitar without needing to replace strings, or get it set up...

Jordan Rago Yup...the only tools that don't need tuning when bought are hammers and screw drivers. Even screw drivers need to have their heads re-done every few years.

UsernameFECKLE I have tuned a small ball peen, I rounded the edge of the face a little bit so it wouldn’t leave harsh circles in my work.

Sounds like you're missing a chip breaker. Send us an email with pictures to shoptalk (at) taunton.com

Tried to send picture, but the link provided does not work. Any other email I could use?

That was an email... replace the (at) with @ (just a method of keeping spam scubbers from stealing the email address.

Sorry; as much as I use the computer I should have known that. I will send the picture now.

After seeing the picture it looks a lot like what Harbour Freight is selling these days. The best you can do is get it as sharp as you possibly can and tighten that cap iron down as much as possible. If this is your first/only plane you're working up hill. Someone who really knows handplanes might be able to sing but it certainly isn't a good place to learn technique. -Ben

you can always pay $2200 dollars for one with all the work already done.

hahahaha!! for that money I may buy the finished product rather than making it myself.

terryyouth It's in the true woodworker's nature to build RATHER than buy; even if it's more costly and tuning tools is very simply a part of the reward and satisfaction.

ofcourse!! but that reward and satisfaction should also be shared by the better half finance-wise. Anyway, I bought one and even returned it as could not get it working. I got around it though, but dont remember what it was for!!

I just glued my 60 grit sandpaper to the top of my DEWALT DW735X planer...... so now what do I do next??

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Well, that's because Chris is a woodworker, not an actor, not a pro-video creator. There's going to be some trade off sometimes, but we prefer to get the best information out there and not necessarily worry about polish.

Have you seen the price of a good hand plane? You'd easily pay 5X that for a Lie-Nielson or a Veritas.

I have a Stanley that works just as well as that one and I bought it for 3 dollars at a garage sale

He was right that a block plane is the first I ever picked up, but mine was $12 new.

+superman4ever0311 You can't make the arguement that $45 for a new planer is "expensive" when you got lucky by finding one at a garage sale. Not everyone can come across that.

Where did you get it?

+Louis Cypher You must be getting old.

Slap Stick 26, so yes.

Louis Cypher I keep getting stuck with the Wayfair ad (guy with small teeth). Ugh.

I hear ya, but there are some small block planes that can go up to 500 bucks. There are larger ones that can go up to a few thousand.

I haven't met a tool that doesn't need work. My pockets doesn't support 2 grand for a near perfect plane

Seriously, the only hand tool you can buy and not need to tune is a hammer.

UsernameFECKLE says someone that doesnt make ornate valuable items from wood

Jesse W I could have been more specific and eliminated measuring tools, screw drivers, and wrenches, but that isn't necessary. I suppose you have never heard of hyperbole. Almost 100% of woodworking hand tools need some kind of tuning to be most effective. Whether that tuning is as simple as sharpening and cambering the iron on a plane, sharpening the teeth of a saw, burnishing a scraper, or waxing a shaft of metal, you aren't going to find many woodworking hand tools at a reasonable price that don't need some kind of tuning before they are optimal.

Are you serious? Lots of people do. Just use some solvent to remove any residue left over after taking it off.

That may be true, you can remove the glue but it’s only a temp solution that you may do in a pinch. I think you would better served to recommend using a price of tile such as corian, marble, or ceramic (even a pice of glass) for the flat bottom to glue sandpaper too. That way it can stay there to be used again. Gluing to table saw now requires a new glue stain to be cleaned with solvent, every time. The hard, flat bottom of the table saw works as good as anything but in my view there are better options.

Having said all that, the vid is 10 years old. Maybe do an update using many different types of sharpening techniques. I’m sure after 10 years there must be some newer techniques and sharpening equipment

@@GMAN420BC Um... how often do you think you're going to flatten the sole of a handplane?

It seems to me, you also sharpen the blade. The back of the blade must also be flat to sharpen. Your not “just” flattening the sole. That’s only half the job. You must sharpen the blade. Maybe chisels are beneath you. I don’t know, but I do know they must be sharpened too and you use the same method. Do you glue up the saw every time you sharpen a hand tool ?