Thread: Woodworking tools and sharpening

Originally Posted by TristanLudlow

I'm pretty good with the chisels n'at,

Tried to plane flat some little concave pieces of wood, it's a lot harder than I imagined, definitely needs practice

Is your sole flat?

I always check the piece I’m trying to flatten with a straight edge, the edge of the sole can be used as well. For a concave piece start with concentrating your planing on the high spot, then work you way towards the low edges. An easy way to keep track is to just scribble with a pencil so it’s easy to see where you’re taking material, really similar to lapping a hone. Don’t be afraid to go 45* or even more to the grain. Do an X pattern going one direction across the piece then 90* to that on the way back, then finally with the grain again. That technique really helps with twists too.

On another note, I picked up a shapton 16k and honed a plane iron on it, used Cosman’s technique setting a bevel with a 1k dmt then straight to the shapton, my initial opinion is that it works, went about 2* higher angle than the bevel set. I didn’t back bevel with the dmt, only the 16k. I’ll experiment some more and post back if you’re interested. If this works well I can conceivably cut honing time down by 3x’s from what I’m currently doing.

Originally Posted by 32t

I like that but never did get a good answer to what kind of wood they were using.

Alaskan Yellow Cedar is the preferred wood type for most of the competitions. Very tight, very straight grain.
And before someone screams, it is not actually a cedar - it is in the cypress family.

Originally Posted by jfk742

Is your sole flat?

I always check the piece I’m trying to flatten with a straight edge, the edge of the sole can be used as well. For a concave piece start with concentrating your planing on the high spot, then work you way towards the low edges. An easy way to keep track is to just scribble with a pencil so it’s easy to see where you’re taking material, really similar to lapping a hone. Don’t be afraid to go 45* or even more to the grain. Do an X pattern going one direction across the piece then 90* to that on the way back, then finally with the grain again. That technique really helps with twists too.

On another note, I picked up a shapton 16k and honed a plane iron on it, used Cosman’s technique setting a bevel with a 1k dmt then straight to the shapton, my initial opinion is that it works, went about 2* higher angle than the bevel set. I didn’t back bevel with the dmt, only the 16k. I’ll experiment some more and post back if you’re interested. If this works well I can conceivably cut honing time down by 3x’s from what I’m currently doing.

Thank you! Good advice, definitely post back I'm very interested about your findings

“I picked up a shapton 16k and honed a plane iron on it, used Cosman’s technique setting a bevel with a 1k dmt then straight to the shapton, my initial opinion is that it works,”

Yes, it works. You can make the large jump 1k to 16k, because you are only producing a micro bevel on both sides of the bevel with the 16k.

Make sure you are cutting with the grain of the wood, not against it. And adjust your cut to the thinnest possible then adjust as you begin to cut.

With metal planes, there are a number of adjustments, they all work in concert to produce the best cut. The mentors you posted have detailed methods for “tuning” a hand plane, sharpness is but one, an important one but, if the others are lacking the sharpness of the edge does not matter.

It is not difficult it is a process, just like flattening a board with a hand plane, a finish plane is just part of the process. Can you flatten a board with a finish plane? Yes, just like you can set a bevel with a 12k.

Oh yes, what a joy it is, planing's been going a lot better, really good shavings and smooth surfaces. This is addictive.
I'm going to my local wood supplier and get some more woods and boards to practice on. Pine's been fun to work with and easy. Then onto other woods, walnut, oak, mahogany and pear look really fun to work with.


Anyone got a Lie Nielsen Dovetail saw? Wondering if it's worth the money, but consensus seems yes

I don’t have a lie Nielson but other quality brands and lots of vintage. There are several, good new saw makers out now, all about the same price range. Fine Woodworking did a review of many of the new saws recently, you might want to look that up.

BTW, FWW has an online deal going right now where you get the print magazine and full online access to all their content,(including all of the magazines back to issue 1, on line) for $100. It is a great resource.

You also may want to look at the Gyokucho Japanese saws, they are great saws for the money. Check out the Samuari Carpenter’s and David Barron’s woodworking site for more info on Japanese saws.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

I don’t have a lie Nielson but other quality brands and lots of vintage. There are several, good new saw makers out now, all about the same price range. Fine Woodworking did a review of many of the new saws recently, you might want to look that up.

BTW, FWW has an online deal going right now where you get the print magazine and full online access to all their content,(including all of the magazines back to issue 1, on line) for $100. It is a great resource.

You also may want to look at the Gyokucho Japanese saws, they are great saws for the money. Check out the Samuari Carpenter’s and David Barron’s woodworking site for more info on Japanese saws.

Thanks! I've been thinking about getting a Japanese saw instead, I feel I will really like them. It's nice they cut on the pull stroke, been hearing good things about them, looking at a couple reviews atm but will probably go this route


David Barron has me convinced I want a Gyokucho 372 and probably also going to get one of his magnetic dovetail guides, looks quite handy for a beginner like me

Yes, Japanese saws are great performers especially for detail work and is a different technique that western saws. I use both, it does not have to be either or. The one downfall of the thin kerf Japanese saws for cutting dovetails is the thin kerf. If you intend to use a coping or fret saw to remove the pin and tail waste, you have to use a super thin fret saw blade or cut the whole waste with the saw and not use the existing kerf.

Barron’s magnetic guides work, you just have to pay attention to which side of the line or scribe you cut on, the technique of marking dovetail pins with a kerfing saw (with Glen Drake’s Kerfing tool, Rob Crossman also has a similar tool and good video on its use), does make for more precise dovetail cutting. Really though most folks don’t notice or know what to look for in a dovetail joint.

You don’t need to buy a pricy kerfing tool and gage, you can measure the offset, with the saw blade, marking gage or any spacer the thickness of your saw blade.

Glen Drake a tool maker of unique high-quality tools is another you can look at, he has some unique saws and his marking gages are easy to use and precision made. He starts his saw without any teeth, also ends without teeth and uses a variable tooth pattern with the most aggressive teeth in the middle. Rob Crossman’s saws also use a variable tooth pattern with small teeth at the first couple inches. You can also modify a saw by filing the teeth and removing the set at the first couple inches of the saw.

Ironically Dovetails were traditionally not precision joinery but were hidden, quickly cut and super strong joints that until recently not perfectly cut joints. A poorly cut and rough fitting dovetail joint will still hold well, even without glue. With a little practice you can cut the joint quickly and precisely. It really is more technique than precision tool required.

Don’t get me wrong, love precision and beautiful tool, I have a collection of many including the no longer made Bridge City Tools, that I mostly bought years ago. I also collect quality vintage tools and restore and sell quality vintage hand tools.

Here is a recent acquisition I found in the back of an Antique store, covered in dust and bought for a song. Solid Rosewood plane, probably 1800’s judging by the iron. Still takes a nice shaving and looks great with a little bit of oil rubbed into it.

Thank you very much for the extensive explanation and guidance!

And daaamn, that's a thing of beauty, solid rosewood, such history, what an awesome find!

Originally Posted by TristanLudlow

Oh yes, what a joy it is, planing's been going a lot better, really good shavings and smooth surfaces. This is addictive.
I'm going to my local wood supplier and get some more woods and boards to practice on. Pine's been fun to work with and easy. Then onto other woods, walnut, oak, mahogany and pear look really fun to work with.


Anyone got a Lie Nielsen Dovetail saw? Wondering if it's worth the money, but consensus seems yes

I had one and sold it. They make some really nice tools but there are other options that are just as accurate but cost a whole lot less. My current dovetail saw is a veritas. One dovetail saw that LN makes that I haven’t seen anyone else making is a thin kerf dovetail saw. I don’t own one but have used my buddie’s, if you’re into really thin pins on a dovetail it’s worth it. Would be great for small boxes.