New favorite wood tool - Block plane

[Geeze]

My new favorite wood working tool is the basic block plane. I bought a Sheffield brand [True Value had 'em cheap] 6" model. The biggest reason I bought it was to experiment with rounding corners on head shells and cabs. I used a router table for a number of cabs and found it to be an uneven experience. If you didn't tighten the collet just right [like just this side of smoking gorilla grip] the bit would dive into the wood creating a non fix able issue - wood putty is not a decorative feature. Even after I learned the gorilla trick the high anxiety of super vigilance for each pass was a royal pain. The other more annoying issue was tear out. A bit spinning 20K can rip out a crap load of wood. After spending hours on a project only to have hunks of beautiful wood ripped out of the trim - lest just say it is a expletive filled moment or two. The grain in highly figured wood is not all 'going the same way' - walnut in particular.

One of the tricks to hand planing is figuring out which way the grain 'flows'. One way tends to pull the wood off the other shaves it nicely. I have found [again mostly walnut] that I have to plane many pieces from two directions to keep the shave going well. Another tip is to sharpen the new blade - a better trick here [if you are like me and tend to ruin blades by 'sharpening'] is to locate a friendly soul who can actually sharpen the blade correctly. Another is to have just enough blade out to shave the wood - some experimentation is necessary.

When I round the corners I mark to lines with a square 1/4" from the edge on both sides to keep my strokes honest. Never hurts to work a bit from both ends to avoid tear out on the ends. Once I get to the lines using a 45 degree stroke I then make a few passes at 22 degrees to break the edges. 100 grit paper folded over a few times blends all of the faces into a smooth curve. It takes about 5 minutes per edge to round each edge. Yes slow but I avoid any heart pounding !!#**#@! moments.

One other benefit which prompted me to write this - I've yet to make a perfectly square case. The requirement to take 1/64" off of one corner of the front and back baffles was always a royal pain filled with !!$&**! too much! The humble block pain shaves end grain wonderfully nibble by nibble until the baffle falls into place.

If you don't have one of these unspoken hero's you might want to bring one home.

Russ

[Cantplay]

There is a reason Lie Nielson gets 5x more for their planes.

Part of it is quality of materials, the rest is fit.

Take some time with your stones and some 600 wet/dry and clean up the casting of the frog(part that presses on the blade) Make sure it is making even contact.

Different woods need different blade angles. Check out some of the plane forums for more details. If you're going to sharpen a plane blade yourself you really need a waterstone to get it right.

Its like taking a new guitar out of the box. It needs to be setup properly to play well.

John

[Phil_S]

Anyone can learn to sharpen the blade properly and it gets almost razor sharp, so be careful. A piece of plate glass (perfectly flat surface), adhesive backed paper of progressively finer grits (above 600), and a gizmo like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Perfect-Edge-Pl ... 5d44db06de will let you keep the blade sharp enough to shave with. Youtube will show you how. A set of diamond files is also nice to have.

Edit: This morning I have a few more thoughts.

What you did to the corners is something different and something people might like. I think it looks good.

Re: gorilla grip router. Your router shouldn't require that. You obviously do way more cabinet work than I do, so maybe I'm not really the right person to comment. All I want to say is that I recently bought a Bosch router to replace my gorilla grip Craftsman and it make a whole world of difference. I haven't used it much, but my confidence level over any slippage is now quite good. For not so much money, I got a first rate "refurb" at this on-line place: http://www.cpooutlets.com/tools-and-equ ... lt,sc.html

The big differences between the two routers are:
1) Two wrenches required to tighten the collet.
2) Much improved system for locking in the height of the cutting tool.

You can't have too many tools. That looks like a nice acquisition. There is no substitute for what you can do with a good block plane once you learn how to use it.

[Davidg]

Looks nice! If your ok with it then stick with it, but I agree with Phil that a good router with sharp bit should make easy work of that, even on walnut.Maybe the brushes in your router are getting weak or something? I have an old B and Decker from the 70's and it is a beast that always gives great results. I have a newer Craftsman that is rated the same that is not nearly as powerful. Also I assume u know this but JIC always cut inward on ends and corners by starting on outside and coming in.One reason I like the little bearing guides u can put some tape or shim where the roller runs and do a pass then take tape off and your only taking off a fine amount the thickness of whatever tape u use for a "shim".

[Colossal]

I always enjoy seeing your work Geeze!

[drew]

There is a reason Lie Nielson gets 5x more for their planes.

Part of it is quality of materials, the rest is fit.

Part of it is retired orthodontists looking for new expensive shiny toys to spend their money on, too. But it's beautiful stuff. I've visited their showroom in Maine.

[M Fowler]

I think this is a better or easier choice.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.a ... 82&p=64284

[Geeze]

Thank you for the kind comments! I believe the double locking nut would remove the slip issue - I may look into that as I am building a strat body from scratch with African mahogany / maple and a drop curly maple top [God help me] and a router will be the ticket for the top.

I used to scoff at the guys in the wood working mags who said they preferred to use hand tools. While I still think the hand cut dovetail guys are a special kind of nutty I must admit I prefer to do the round over work by hand.

Russ

[statorvane]

I am building a strat body from scratch with African mahogany / maple and a drop curly maple top

If it is anything like the cab, it'll come out fantastic.

If you need help, head over to the reranch forum. In fact, post what you accomplish over there - the guys there always appreciate a unique Strat.

[David Root]

13 years ago when I made my one-and-only scratch built guitar I bought one of these, see pic. The sole is made of lignum vitae. Made in Germany by ECE.

These are a bitch to set up but when you get them right they can do amazing things.

[Phil_S]

I think this is a better or easier choice.
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.a ... 82&p=64284

I wish you had not posted this link. I expect I'm going to be needing one of these soon and while I was blissfully unaware such a thing existed, now I don't know how I've been getting along without it. It's like a bite of the apple. They are very affordable too.

[M Fowler]

Phil they also come in various radius sizes too not just the 1/16th unit I posted

[Geeze]

That is the danger of sites like these - if you don't know about 'it' you don't need it. Once exposed, however. I went on a gear avoidance run for about 18 years - no magazines, catalogs or gear. Until my drummer son said 'Hey dad, get an amp so we can jam..." did this horribly wonderful disease rear its ugly head. Thank God!

Thanks for the reranch steer, Stratovane - more exposure to cool stuff and techniques.

Russ