A hand plane is a tool for shaping wood using muscle power to force the cutting blade over the wood surface. Some rotary power planers are motorized power tools used for the same types of larger tasks, but are unsuitable for fine-scale planing, where a miniature hand plane is used.
Generally, all planes are used to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a rough piece of lumber or timber. Planing is also used to produce horizontal, vertical, or inclined flat surfaces on workpieces usually too large for shaping, where the integrity of the whole requires the same smooth surface. Special types of planes are designed to cut joints or decorative mouldings.
Hand planes are generally the combination of a cutting edge, such as a sharpened metal plate, attached to a firm body, that when moved over a wood surface, take up relatively uniform shavings, by nature of the body riding on the 'high spots' in the wood, and also by providing a relatively constant angle to the cutting edge, render the planed surface very smooth. A cutter that extends below the bottom surface, or sole, of the plane slices off shavings of wood. A large, flat sole on a plane guides the cutter to remove only the highest parts of an imperfect surface, until, after several passes, the surface is flat and smooth. When used for flattening, bench planes with longer soles are preferred for boards with longer longitudinal dimensions. A longer sole registers against a greater portion of the board's face or edge surface which leads to a more consistently flat surface or straighter edge. Conversely, using a smaller plane allows for more localized low or high spots to remain.
Though most planes are pushed across a piece of wood, holding it with one or both hands, Japanese planes are pulled toward the body, not pushed away.
Woodworking machinery that perform a similar function as hand planes include the jointer and the thickness planer, also called a thicknesser; the job these specialty power tools can still be done by hand planers and skilled manual labor as it was for many centuries. When rough lumber is reduced to dimensional lumber, a large electric motor or internal combustion engine will drive a thickness planer that removes a certain percentage of excess wood to create a uniform, smooth surface on all four sides of the board and in specialty woods, may also plane the cut edges.
History
Roman planes found in Germany, dating to the 1st to 3rd century ADHand planerHand planer bottom
Hand planes are ancient, originating thousands of years ago. Early planes were made from wood with a rectangular slot or mortise cut across the center of the body. The cutting blade or iron was held in place with a wooden wedge. The wedge was tapped into the mortise and adjusted with a small mallet, a piece of scrap wood or with the heel of the user's hand. Planes of this type have been found in excavations of old sites as well as drawings of woodworking from medieval Europe and Asia. The earliest known examples of the woodworking plane have been found in Pompeii although other Roman examples have been unearthed in Britain and Germany. The Roman planes resemble modern planes in essential function, most having iron wrapping a wooden core top, bottom, front and rear, and an iron blade secured with a wedge. One example found in Cologne has a body made entirely of bronze without a wooden core.[1] A Roman plane iron used for cutting moldings was found in Newstead, England.[2] Histories prior to these examples are not clear although furniture pieces and other woodwork found in Egyptian tombs show surfaces carefully smoothed with some manner of cutting edge or scraping tool. There are suggestions that the earliest planes were simply wooden blocks fastened to the soles of adzes to effect greater control of the cutting action.
In the mid-1860s, Leonard Bailey began producing a line of cast iron-bodied hand planes, the patents for which were later purchased by Stanley Rule & Level, now Stanley Works. The original Bailey designs were further evolved and added to by Justus Traut and others at Stanley Rule & Level. The Bailey and Bedrock designs became the basis for most modern metal hand plane designs manufactured today. The Bailey design is still manufactured by Stanley Works.
In 1918 an air-powered handheld planing tool was developed to reduce shipbuilding labor during World War I. The air-driven cutter spun at 8000 to 15000 rpm and allowed one man to do the planing work of up to fifteen men who used manual tools.[3]
Modern hand planes are made from wood, ductile iron or bronze which produces a tool that is heavier and will not rust.
Parts
Bench plane (top), block plane (below)A modern milled chipbreaker secured atop a bench plane iron
The standard components of a hand plane include:
A: mouth; an opening in the sole of the plane through which the blade extends, and through which wood shavings rise.
B: iron; a steel blade which cuts the wood.
C: lever cap; secures the cap iron and iron firmly to the frog.
D: depth adjustment knob; controls the cutting depth of the iron.
E: knob; allows a second hand to guide the plane.
F: cap iron or chipbreaker; reinforces the iron and curls and breaks apart wood shavings as they pass through the mouth.
G: lateral adjustment lever; skews the iron so that the depth of cut is uniform across the mouth.
H: tote; the principal handle for gripping the plane.
I: cam lever; which pivots a sliding section of the forward end of the sole to adjust the gap in the plane's mouth. It is anchored to the threaded post of the knob and secured by tightening the knob.
J: frog; an adjustable iron wedge that holds the plane iron at the proper angle and allows it to be varied in depth relative to the sole. The frog is screwed down to the inside of the sole through two parallel slots and on many planes is only adjustable with a screwdriver when the plane iron is removed. Some planes, such as the StanleyBedrock line and bench planes made by Lie-Nielsen and WoodRiver/Woodcraft have a screw mechanism that allows the frog to be adjusted without removing the blade.
Electrically powered hand planers (loosely referred to as power planes) have joined the hand-held plane family.
"Bench planes" are characterized by having their cutting bevel facing down and attached to a chipbreaker. Most metal bench planes, and some larger wooden ones, are designed with a rear handle known as a tote. "Block planes" are characterized by the absence of a chipbreaker and the cutting iron bedded with the bevel up. The block plane is a smaller tool that can be held with one hand which excels at working against the grain on a cut end of a board. It is also good for general purpose work such as taking down a knot in the wood, smoothing small pieces, and chamfering edges.
Different types of bench planes are designed to perform different tasks, with the name and size of the plane being defined by the use. Bailey iron bench planes were designated by number respective to the length of the plane. This has carried over through the type, regardless of manufacturer. A No. 1 plane is but little more than five inches long. A typical smoothing plane (approx. nineinches) is usually a No. 4, jack planes at about fourteeninches are No. 5, an eighteen-inch fore plane will be a No. 6, and the jointer planes at twenty-two to twenty-four inches in length are No. 7 or 8 respectively. A designation, such as No. 4½ indicates a plane of No. 4 length but slightly wider. A designation, such as 5-1/2 indicates the length of a No. 5 but slightly wider (actually, the width of a No. 6 or a No. 7), while a designation, such as 5-1/4 indicates the length of a No. 5 but slightly narrower (actually, the width of a No. 3). "Bedrock" versions of the above are simply 600 added to the base number (although no "601" was ever produced, such plane is indeed available from specialist dealers; 602 through 608, including all the fractionals, were made).
Order of use
Stanley No. 32 transitional jointer plane (26 inches long)A smoothing planeA Japanese plane in use
A typical order of use in flattening, truing, and smoothing a rough sawn board might be:
A scrub plane, which removes large amounts of wood quickly, is typically around 9 inches (230mm) long, but narrower than a smoothing plane, has an iron with a convex cutting edge and has a wider mouth opening to accommodate the ejection of thicker shavings/chips.
A jack plane is up to 14 inches (360mm) long, continues the job of roughing out, but with more accuracy and flattening capability than the scrub.
A jointer plane (including the smaller 14 to 20 inches (360 to 510mm)[4]fore plane) is between 22 and 30 inches (560 and 760mm)[4] long, and is used for jointing and final flattening out of boards.
A smoothing plane, up to 10 inches (250mm) long, is used to begin preparing the surface for finishing.
A polishing plane (kanna) is a traditional Japanese plane designed to take a smaller shaving than a Western smoothing plane to create an extremely smooth surface. Polishing planes are the same length as western smoothing planes, and unlike Western planes, which are pushed across a board, is pulled with both hands towards the user.
Material
Planes may also be classified by the material of which they are constructed:
A wooden plane is entirely wood except for the blade. The iron is held into the plane with a wooden wedge and is adjusted by striking the plane with a hammer.
A transitional plane has a wooden body with a metal casting set in it to hold and adjust the blade.
A metal plane is largely constructed of metal, except, perhaps, for the handles.
An infill plane has a body of metal filled with very dense and hardwood on which the blade rests and the handles are formed. They are typically of English or Scottish manufacture. They are prized for their ability to smooth difficult grained woods when set very finely.
A side-escapement plane has a tall, narrow, wooden body with an iron held in place by a wedge. They are characterized by the method of shaving ejection. Instead of being expelled from the center of the plane and exiting from the top, these planes have a slit in the side by which the shaving is ejected. On some variations, the slit is accompanied by a circular bevel cut in the side of the plane.
The rabbet plane, also known as a rebate or openside plane, which cuts rabbets (rebates) i.e. shoulders, or steps.
The shoulder plane, is characterized by a cutter that is flush with the edges of the plane, allowing trimming right up to the edge of a workpiece. It is commonly used to clean up dadoes (housings) and tenons for joinery.
Stanley No. 78 fillister plane
The fillister plane, similar to a rabbet plane, with a fence that registers on the board's edge to cut rabbets with an accurate width.
The moulding plane, which is used to cut mouldings along the edge of a board.
The grooving plane which is used to cut grooves along the edge of a board for joining. Grooves are the same as dadoes/housings but are being distinguished by running with the grain.
The plow/plough plane, which cuts grooves and dadoes (housings) not in direct contact with the edge of the board.
The router plane, which cleans up the bottom of recesses such as shallow mortises, grooves, and dadoes (housings). Router planes come in several sizes and can also be pressed into service to thickness the cheeks of tenons so that they are parallel to the face of the board.
The chisel plane, similar to a bullnose plane, but with an exposed blade which allows it to remove wood up to a perpendicular surface such as from the bottom inside of a box.
Finger planes. Note the size.
The finger plane, which is used for smoothing very small pieces such as toy parts, very thin strips of wood, etc. The very small curved bottom varieties are known as violin makers planes and are used in making stringed instruments.
The bullnose plane has a very short leading edge, or "toe", to its body, and so can be used in tight spaces; most commonly of the shoulder and rabbet variety. Some bullnose planes have a removable toe so that they can pull double duty as a chisel plane.
Stanley No. 55 combination plane
The combination plane, which combines the function of moulding and rabbet planes, which has different cutters and adjustments.
The circular or compass plane, which utilizes an adjustment system to control the flex on a steel sheet sole and create a uniform curve. A concave setting permits great control for planing large curves, like table sides or chair arms, and the convex works well for chair arms, legs and backs, and other applications. The compass plane, which has a flexible sole with an adjustable curve and is used to plane concave and convex surfaces. Typically used in wooden boat building.
The toothed plane, which is used for smoothing wood with irregular grain.[5] and for preparing stock for traditional hammer veneering applications.
The spill plane which creates long, spiraling wood shavings or tapers
The spar plane, which is used for smoothing round shapes, like boat masts and chair legs.[6]
The match plane, which is used for making tongue and groove boards.[7]
Hollows and Rounds are similar to moulding planes, but lack a specific moulding profile. Instead, they cut either a simple concave or convex shape on the face or edge of a board to create a single element of a complex-profile moulding. They are used in pairs or sets of various sizes to create moulding profile elements such as fillets, coves, bullnoses, thumbnails ovolos, ogees, etc. When making mouldings, hollows and rounds must be used together to create the several shapes of the profile. However, they may be used as a single plane to create a simple decorative cove or round-over on the edge of a board. Many of these hollows and rounds can be classified in the category of side-escapement planes.
Use
Planing with the grain and against the grain
Planing wood along its side grain should result in thin shavings rising above the surface of the wood as the edge of the plane iron is pushed forward, leaving a smooth surface, but sometimes splintering occurs. This is largely a matter of cutting with the grain or against the grain respectively, referring to the side grain of the piece of wood being worked.
The grain direction can be determined by looking at the edge or side of the work piece. Wood fibers can be seen running out to the surface that is being planed. When the fibers meet the work surface it looks like the point of an arrow that indicates the direction. With some very figured and difficult woods, the grain runs in many directions and therefore working against the grain is inevitable. In this case, a very sharp and finely-set blade is required.
When planing against the grain, the wood fibers are lifted by the plane iron, resulting in a jagged finish, called tearout.
Planing across the grain is sometimes called "traverse" or "transverse" planing.
Planing the end grain of the board involves different techniques and frequently different planes designed for working end grain. Block planes and other bevel-up planes are often effective in planing the difficult nature of end grain. These planes are usually designed to use an iron bedded at a "low angle," typically about 12 degrees.
Greber, Josef M. (1956, reprinted 1987) Die Geschichte des Hobels. Von der Steinheit bis zur Enstehung der Holzwerkzeugfabriken im frühen 19. Jahrhundert, Zurich, reprinted Hanover: Verlag Th. Schäfer. OCLC246467323.
Greber, Josef M., transl. by Seth W. Burchard (1991) The History of the Woodworking Plane from the Stone Age to the Development of Woodworking Factories in the Early 19th Century. Albany, NY: Early American Industries Association. OCLC602189643.
Todd, R., Allen, D., Alting, L., Manufacturing Processes Reference Guide, p.124, 1994
Watson, Aldren A. (1982) Hand Tools: Their Ways and Workings. ISBN1-55821-224-8.
Whelan, John M. (1993) The Wooden Plane: Its History, Form and Function Mendham, NJ: Astragal Press ISBN978-1-879335-32-5.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plane (tool).
Handplane Central Information for all types of hand planes, including wooden planes, infill planes and Stanley type planes. Also information on how to make hand planes.
The router is a power tool with a flat base and a rotating blade extending past the base. The spindle may be driven by an electric motor or by a pneumatic motor. It routs an area in hard material, such as wood or plastic. Routers are used most often in woodworking, especially cabinetry. They may be handheld or affixed to router tables. Some woodworkers consider the router one of the most versatile power tools.
In woodworking and carpentry, hand saws, also known as "panel saws", are used to cut pieces of wood into different shapes. This is usually done in order to join the pieces together and carve a wooden object. They usually operate by having a series of sharp points of some substance that is harder than the wood being cut. The hand saw is a bit like a tenon saw, but with one flat, sharp edge.
An adze or adz is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing or carving wood in hand woodworking, and as a hoe for agriculture and horticulture. Two basic forms of an adze are the hand adze —a short-handled tool swung with one hand—and the foot adze (hoe)—a long-handled tool capable of powerful swings using both hands, the cutting edge usually striking at foot or shin level. A similar tool is called a mattock, which differs by having two blades, one perpendicular to the handle and one parallel.
A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws.
A block plane is a small metal-bodied woodworking hand plane which typically has the blade bedded at a lower angle than other planes, with the bevel up. It is designed to cut end grain and do touchup or finish work. It is typically small enough to be used with one hand.
A smoothing plane or smooth plane is a type of bench plane used in woodworking. The smoothing plane is typically the last plane used on a wood surface, removing very fine shavings to leave a smooth finish. When used effectively it quickly produces a finish that equals or surpasses that made by sandpaper.
The scrub plane is a type of plane used to remove large amounts of wood from the surface of lumber, such as when eliminating cup or twist in the first stages of preparing rough stock, or when reducing the thickness of a board significantly. Scrub planes generally have a short sole, a relatively narrow but thick blade, a very wide mouth, and a deeply curved edge to make a deep, gouging cut.
The shoulder plane is a plane tool with a blade flush with the edges of the plane, allowing trimming right up to the edge of a workpiece. Like a rebate plane, the shoulder plane's blade extends, therefore cuts, to the full width of the tool. The shoulder plane is used to trim the shoulders and faces of tenons. It is used when it is necessary to trim right into the concave corner where two surfaces of the same piece of wood meet perpendicularly. It is also commonly used to clean up dadoes (housings) and tenons for joinery.
A spokeshave is a hand tool used to shape and smooth woods in woodworking jobs such as making cart wheel spokes, chair legs, paddles, bows, and arrows. The tool consists of a blade fixed into the body of the tool, which has a handle for each hand. Historically, a spokeshave was made with a wooden body and metal cutting blade. With industrialization metal bodies displaced wood in mass-produced tools. Being a small tool, spokeshaves are not suited to working large surfaces.
A card scraper or cabinet scraper is a woodworking shaping and finishing tool. It is used to manually remove small amounts of material and excels in tricky grain areas where hand planes would cause tear out. Card scrapers are most suitable for working with hardwoods, and can be used instead of sandpaper. Scraping produces a cleaner surface than sanding; it does not clog the pores of the wood with dust, and does not leave a fuzz of torn fibers.
A jack plane is a general-purpose woodworking bench plane, used for dressing timber down to size in preparation for truing and/or edge jointing. It is usually the first plane used on rough stock, but for rougher work it can be preceded by the scrub plane. The versality of the jack plane has led to it being the most common bench plane in use. The name jack plane is sometimes used interchangeably with the longer fore plane.
A drawknife is a traditional woodworking hand tool used to shape wood by removing shavings. It consists of a blade with a handle at each end. The blade is much longer than it is deep. It is pulled or "drawn" toward the user.
The rebate plane or rabbet plane is a hand plane designed for cutting rebates/rabbets in wood. It's a simple tool used in many Western countries with hundreds of years of history. It was in use in England at least as early as the 11th century.
Japanese carpentry was developed more than a millennium ago through Chinese architectural influences from the 12th century. It is a form of ancient Chinese wooden architecture and woodworking joints that involves building wooden furniture without the use of nails, screws, glue, or electric tools.
A jointer or in some configurations, a jointer-planer is a woodworking machine used to produce a flat surface along a board's length. As a jointer, the machine operates on the narrow edge of boards, preparing them for use as butt joint or gluing into panels. A planer-jointer setup has the width that enables smoothing ('surface planing') and leveling the faces (widths) of boards small enough to fit the tables.
A mitre box or miter box is a wood working appliance used to guide a hand saw for making precise cuts, usually 45° mitre cuts. Traditional mitre boxes are simple in construction and made of wood, while adjustable mitre boxes are made of metal and can be adjusted for cutting any angle from 45° to 90°.
A shooting board or shootboard is a jig for woodworking which is used in combination with a hand plane to trim and square up the edges and ends of boards. It is typically used on a workbench. A plank or board with edges planed flat is called a shot edge board.
This glossary of woodworking lists a number of specialized terms and concepts used in woodworking, carpentry, and related disciplines.
In woodworking, a moulding plane is a specialised plane used for making the complex shapes found in wooden mouldings.
Bedrock is a design of bench planes developed by Stanley Works as an attempt to improve over the Bailey plane design. It was introduced in the early 20th century.
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