Hand Plane

A hand plane is, in the simplest terms, a blade (or iron) held at a particular angle to a flat piece of wood or metal. When this tool is moved across a workpiece, it removes small amounts of wood in measurable quantities, flattening the workpiece.

Lot of big words there. If you are at RISD, and you work with wood in any capacity, you have probably seen a plane or two. I am writing to give some pointers about what I think is one of the most intensly useful tools available to woodworkers.

Look Sharp
A plane will only work well if it is properly sharpened. If you take the iron out of the plane, and can use it to shave your arm, it is sharp enough. If not, find someone to show you how to sharpen it. There is nothing so frustrating as fighting a dull tool. Leonard Lee's Guide to Sharpening will tell you all you want to know and more about how to sharpen plane irons and chisels. It's in the library.

Gentle Touch
As with so many things in life, a gentle touch is key. If you have to push hard to make the plane take off shavings, there is a problem. Probably the iron is adjusted too far out of the body, taking too deep a cut. Or it could be dull. Either way, if you are pushing the plane, and your feet are sliding back on the floor, there is something wrong.

Thin is In
Your plane iron should be adjusted so that it is taking off the thinnest possible amount of wood with each pass. It will take a little longer to remove the wood you want to remove, but then again, you can't put it back, so slow is good. As Bill Shakespeare said," Wisely and slow/ They stumble that go fast." The shaving should be thin enough that you can see light through it.

Go With the Grain


The grain in wood lays sort of like the hair on Aunt Mildred's cat. When you pet her from head to tail, it is all silky and smooth. But if you rub her the other way, the hairs all stand up and she gets grumpy. Wood is the same way. If you are planing, and the fibers seem to be ripping, rather than being cut, chances are good that you are "planing against the grain," and need to go the other way.

This is just the barest scratch on the surface, really, but if you are in Sculpture or Furniture or ID or Architecture, a sharp hand plane can be one of the most useful tools in the box.