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+-- Thread: how/where to learn hand plane techniques (/showthread.php?tid=7331924)
how/where to learn hand plane techniques - Wipedout - 07-23-2017
So I am a power tool user. Unless you count my lathe everything is done with power tools - seldom do I use hand tools
And my main reason is I suck at them - especially hand planes. I would love to learn proper technique for scrapers and planes
I have started working more with large live edge slabs and to be able to properly setup and use planes and scrapers for that would be wonderful
Im sure a big part of my problem is setup and lack of knowledge.
I only have a few planes - Ive wanted to buy more especially a jointer plane to help with flattening, but i know I would be wasting money at this point.
So where does a hack like me go to get help with setup and use? Obviously there are youtube - and if you are going to suggest those then point me please so Im watching the right ones - Im sure its like turning - lots of wrong info on youtube videos.
Would love in person teaching but no clue to where. Any help appreciated
Thanks in advance for your help and advice.
Robert
RE: how/where to learn hand plane techniques - Bill_Houghton - 07-23-2017
How do you learn? Do books work for you? If so, check your local library. Two good titles are Garrett Hack's "The Hand Plane Book" and a British book called "Planecraft." Hack's book shows up in some library collections; "Planecraft" is not likely to, but it's cheap online (used).
Check around your area for a woodworking guild, if you'd like an in-person teacher; and check to see if there are beginner's classes in woodworking.
After that, it's buying some cheap wood - pine is good - and practicing.
RE: how/where to learn hand plane techniques - EricU - 07-23-2017
youtube. Paul Sellers has a lot of videos. There are lots of good ones though. Usually that's enough for me, I just have to see someone do something before I get it. Woodcraft has classes.
Sharpening and setup (for planes) are two things that will give much better results, so it's worth learning about those
RE: how/where to learn hand plane techniques - Greg Jones - 07-23-2017
Just about anything Paul Sellers has on YouTube would be worthwhile. Not everyone likes his style, but he gets results with his methods, and has done so for a very long time. Chris Schwarz put out a DVD a few years ago now, Coarse, Medium, and Fine I believe the name is, that is a nice introduction to bench planes. Frank Strazza also has an introduction video that is nicely done. http://www.strazzafurniture.com
RE: how/where to learn hand plane techniques - Handplanesandmore - 07-23-2017
Nothing can replace an in-person/hands-on experience. Go to a class or find someone who can help you in person, if you want the quickest results. You can read books, watch DVD/youtube, etc. and learn the craft a lot slower, with frustrations as well here and there. You can also do both (classes & reading/watching).
My pal teaches dovetails in a one-day class (no prior hand exp. required) and everyone leaves with all the basic skills. How many can reach the same level of dovetail expertise in one day by reading and watching? None that I know of.
Any Woodcraft store near you? Some of them -- the skilled ones, not the salesman kind! -- may be able to help if no classes are conducted, or refer you to someone who has the skills, time, and interest.
Make sure the class you go to include or you follow that up with sharpening. A good handplane with a dull blade is as good as a fancy paper weight.
Simon
RE: how/where to learn hand plane techniques - cpolubin - 07-23-2017
Robert,
Look up the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. There is usually at least one hand plane class each season. I took one taught by Chris Schwarz and Thomas Lie-Nielsen. It's the largest woodworking school in the country and is located a bit south of Indianapolis.
Cliff mom
RE: how/where to learn hand plane techniques - MichaelMouse - 07-23-2017
http://www.amgron.clara.net/
Bit of theory for all edge tools on: http://homepages.sover.net/~nichael/nlc-wood/chapters/caop.html
RE: how/where to learn hand plane techniques - Bill Holt - 07-23-2017
Robert, I see you are in Texas, that is close enough. Franck Strazza is the best instructor I have ever had! I can learn more from Frank in a one day course than a week with someone else. He is just a few miles out of Waco, the Heritage School Of Woodworking. They offer weekend classes and longer.
RE: how/where to learn hand plane techniques - Admiral - 07-23-2017
Classes help, but if you can find a woodnetter close, that's the best, most important is learning how to sharpen, as I've said before a plane is just a jig to hold an edge due tool. Not a lot of magic, just having someone show you what's important and what's not. Any vintage Stanley bench will do yeoman's work if set up right, 95% of a new manufacture plane like LN or LV. You pay a lot for that extra 5%, just like with cars!
RE: how/where to learn hand plane techniques - Bibliophile 13 - 07-23-2017
Great advice so far. There's lots of good information on the internet--blogs, YouTube, and many other places. In fact, the sheer amount of information can be pretty overwhelming.
Let me reiterate what's been said above, though. Nothing is as effective as hands-on, in-person instruction. With a good instructor, you can learn in one hour what it would take you weeks to learn on your own.
Two other thoughts:
1. Get yourself a good handplane. If you can afford a Veritas or Lie-Nielsen smoothing plane, you won't be disappointed. Otherwise, get a rehabbed vintage handplane from one of the fine sellers down in Swap & Sell. A jack plane or a smoother would be a good first choice.
2. Master sharpening. I'd say that 90% of handplane problems are really sharpening problems. A truly sharp iron will work wonders even in a mediocre handplane. But even a top-of-the-line handplane is useless if the iron isn't properly sharpened. Get sharpening down, and you'll find handplaning to be pretty easy after a while.