ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my father, Jerry, who taught me always to watch and listen; and to my daughter, Josephine, who stands on her grandfathers shoulders watching, listening, and learning and teaching all of us.
I would also like to acknowledge the untiring support of my partner Kathy Tam, and the helpful guidance of technical editor Rick Mastelli, which made this book possible.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER
What to Use, When, and Why
Understanding is Essential
The Challenge of Grit
CHAPTER
The Cutting Edge
Beyond Mystique
Anatomy of Steel
The Ideal Edge
Hardening, Tempering, and Annealing
Types of Edge Steel
Alloy Ingredients
CHAPTER
Tactics for Achieving Best Performance
The Angle of the Blade
Traditional Blade Angles
The Best Blade Angle
Blade Angle and the Task
Custom Blade Angles
Mouth Opening
Chipbreaker
Setting the Chipbreaker
Plane Geometry, a Summary
Bevel Angle
The Correct Bevel Angle
How an Edge Dulls
Shape of the Blade Edge
Length of Plane/Width of Blade
How Flat is Flat
Wood Block Planes page
CHAPTER
Traditional Solutions: the Jack, Jointer, and Smoothing Planes
The Jack Plane
The Fore Plane
Jack Variations
The Jointer Plane
The Correct Blade Shape
Smoothing Planes
CHAPTER
Strategies for Speeding the Work
The Panel Plane
The Scrub Plane
The Block Plane
Market Block Planes
Adjusting the Throat
CHAPTER OF
A Wealth of Traditions
The Bailey Plane
Anatomy of the Bailey-Style Plane
Wood Block Planes
Anatomy of the Wood Block Plane
The Norris Plane
Anatomy of the Norris-Style Plane
Horned Planes
Anatomy of the Horned Plane
Japanese Planes
Anatomy of the Japanese Plane
Chinese Planes
Anatomy of a Chinese Plane
CHAPTER
Tools & Techniques for Making & Fitting Joints
Rabbet Planes
Fillister Planes
Using the Fillister Plane
The Dovetail Plane
Sliding Dovetail
Shoulder Planes
Bull-nose/Chisel Planes
The Router Plane
Using a Bridge Board
Using the Router Plane
Side-Rabbet Planes
The Mortise Plane
CHAPTER FOR
Specialty Planes that Form and Refine
Compass Planes
The Correct Sole Configuration
Western Versus Japanese Planes for Curves
Hollows & Rounds
Other Shaping Planes
CHAPTER
A Guide to a Suitable Toolkit
First Things First
Beyond the Basics
Razee-Type Wooden Jack Plane page
Classic Shoulder Plane page
CHAPTER
And Tuning Your Plane to Work Right
Preparing the Blade
Preparing the Chipbreaker
Flattening the Back of a Plane Blade
General Techniques for Adjusting the Plane Blade
Setting Up the Bailey/Stanley Plane
Inspect the Plane
Prepare the Blade and Chipbreaker
Bed the Blade Properly
Configure the Sole
Adjust the Mouth
Attend to the Details of the Body and Sole
Attend to the Details of the Grip and Finish
Adjusting the Bailey-Style Plane
Setting Up Wood-body Planes
Inspect the Plane: Old Planes
Tapered Blades
Inspect the Plane: New Planes
Prepare the Blade and Chipbreaker
Bed the Blade Properly
Checking for a Custom Fit
Configure the Sole
Adjusting Wedged, Tapered Blades
Attend to the Details of the Body and Soul
Attend to the Details of the Grip and Finish
Setting Up Chinese Planes
Inspect the Plane
Configure the Sole
Adjust the Mouth
Attend to the Details of the Body and Sole
Attend to the Details of the Grip and Finish
Setting Up Japanese Planes
Inspect the Plane
Tapping Out a Japanese Plane
Prepare the Blade
Prepare and Fit the Chipbreaker
Bed the Blade Properly
Configure the Sole
Adjust the Mouth
Adjusting a Japanese Plane
Attend to the Details of the Grip and Finish
Norris-Style Coffin-Sided Smooth Plane page
Setting Up Rabbet Planes
Inspect the Plane
Japanese Skew-Bladed Rabbet Plane
Prepare the Blade
Prepare and Fit the Chipbreaker
Bed the Blade Properly
Configure the Sole
Adjust the Mouth
Attend to the Details of the Body and Sole
Setting Up Fillister and Moving-Fillister Planes
Setting Up Hollows & Rounds
Troubleshooting
CHAPTER
A Basic Skill that Leads to Others
Sharpening Fundamentals
Jig Drawbacks
Bevel Shape
Grinding
Sharpening Stones
Using and Maintaining Waterstones
Technique
Sharpening
CHAPTER
Of Slaves, Dogs, and Deadmen
A Simple Bench
Deadmen and Helper Boys
Bench Dogs
Shooting Board
Dimensioning Stock
Winding Sticks
Preparing the First Face: Scrub and Jack Planes
Continuing With the Jointer Plane
Smoothing the First Face
Planing the Edges and Second Side
Other Handplane Preparatory Work
Shooting an Edge
Techniques for Shooting an Edge
CHAPTER &
Invaluable, Often-Overlooked Tools
Types of Shooting Boards
Shooting End Grain
Making a Shooting Board
Classic Simple Moving-Fillister Plane page