how/where to learn hand plane techniques
#21
Where are you located in our great state?
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#22
Kingwood, just outside of Houston on the north side. But I can travel easily
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#23
I am a fairly new hand tool user and one thing I have found is that you need to know how to set up and sharpen a plane.  No matter how good your technique is, if your plane is not set up properly and very sharp, using a handplane is much more difficult than it needs to be.  My advice is to also learn how to do those effectively while you learn to use a hand plane.  Like other posters have pointed out, YouTube a great place to start.
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#24
I've found using a plane isn't that difficult , you push it along the wood with the grain. Sharpening isn't magic either, you abrade steel. Finer, the sharper it is. The angle, they have jigs for that. The two things that takes some skill are setting the jig and the blade. The rest is sweat.
A man of foolish pursuits
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#25
(07-24-2017, 12:55 AM)Downwindtracker2 Wrote: I've found using a plane isn't that difficult , you push it along the wood with the grain. Sharpening isn't magic either, you abrade steel. Finer, the sharper it is. The angle, they have jigs for that. The two things that takes some skill are setting the jig and the blade. The rest is sweat.

There are many complex tasks that require more than pushing along the grain. To name a few:

- Jointing an edge square freehand (9 out of 10 the plane users I came across usually didnt have such skill. If you succeeded in edging a 2ft board, try a 6ft one. It is not more difficult as long as you have the know how)
- Planing a surface or a glue up with reverse grain. In other words, you dont have just one grain direction to work with
- Smoothing a surface with a small hollow in the middle (but you dont want to plane the whole thing down or use a sander)

Krenov considered the plane the most important tool in his arsenal and wrote about some of the planing techniques in one of his books. He didn't extend the same degree of treatment to other tools.

If mastering the plane is 10 out of 10 in terms of difficulty, mastering the chisel is 3 out of 10 and the saw 5 out of 10. Anyone who thinks the plane is easy to master has yet to explore its full potentials and what it can do. Among all the better known woodworkers out there, Paul Sellers, Graham Blackburn and Roy Underhill are the ones who can consistently plane as if the plane were an extension of their arms. Even Rob Cosman is seen to be having better sawing skills than planing (in comparison).

Simon
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#26
UY (University of YouTube). 

Garrett Hack, Chris Scwarz, Fine Woodworking + watching project videos you see how guys are using their planes.

Learn these things and off you go:

1. Sharpening (a whole UY course by itself)
2. Setting up a plane
3. Reading grain
4. Securing wood properly

The biggest rookie mistakes are 1. setting blade depth too low and 2. not remembering to read the grain.
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#27
Seek out the best shoulder surgeon in your area and make him your friend. I say "him" because those guys are really violent when replacing shoulders.

Seriously, if your forte is screaming machines, use them to do the first 80% (99% of wood removal) grunt work. Planes and scrapers and paper are the cathartic final finish that makes it all gorgeous. But that is work too, and draws about 20 percent of your time and calorie burn. It's at this final stage that you will understand the need for sharp, Sharp, SHARP.

That done, you haven't even touched the icing. Find Teri Masaschi's "Foolproof Wood Finishing" and make your project respectably perfect.
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#28
I'm just saying, that is what gives me the most grief. You would think after setting up industrial machinery, even steam turbines in generating plants, for over 35 years, a simple plane would be snap.
A man of foolish pursuits
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#29
I got your point now.

Simon
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#30
Treat yourself to a Lee Valley Low angle Jack. If there ever was one plane that could do a whole bunch of things, that's the one. You can play with it right out of the box without even sharpening and that will be enough to get you hooked like the rest of us. Its going to be research, blood, sweat, and tears after that.

There is a pretty high learning curve with handplanes but after you hit your eureka moment and realize that you don't have to make complicated setups using dial calipers and 14 test pieces, you will appreciate all the time and effort you put in to learning how to use and sharpen the thing.

When you get cocky you can pick up an old rusty jack at the local flea market and learn how to make it into a fine tuned shaver. Pick up a big can of johnson's paste wax at the grocery store and apply to that Lee valley jack after every use to prevent rusting.

carl
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