Purchasing a Japanese plane

[john verge]

Considering purchasing a Japanese plane or two. I attended 2 japanese plane care and use seminars down in Port Townsend Washington several weeks ago. The event was put on by the timber framers guild. The instructor , who's name escapes me, showed us how to sharpen then set up a variety of planes. A participant brought in his poor old and forgotten plane and to our amazement the instructor brought it back to life and in no time was milling micro thin shavings 3 and 4 feet long . Any how, what might folks recommend. Thanks.

[Chris Hall]

Would that have been Mike Laine?

[john verge]

I think it was dale brotherton and his co. name was Takumi.

[Chris Hall]

Okay, yes, know him as well.

~C

[Jack_Ervin.]

Chris,

Some of what I've been working on. A 48mm and a 6mm Kanna. The 48mm I won on ebay and the 60mm I purchased at the Dallas Lie-Nielsen tool show from Lynn Dowd. These have proven to be good entry level planes for me as there are learning curves that I am getting on top of thanks to your blog posts and Jay van Arsdale DVD. I have them working and look forward to further tuning them to work at a level I now understand that they will. The 48mm is the most progressed as the sides are square and the sole is started conditioned. I am showing them with some European Beech dai blanks (stock that I had) that I will take advantage to make a jointer and more refined mouth openings/ bed angles using these blades. I'll see how that develops.

Now I have two more tools to go into the toolbox.

Additional feedback will be appreciated.

Regards,

Jack

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[Chris Hall]

What's the bedding angle on those two planes?

[Jack_Ervin.]

What's the bedding angle on those two planes?

The 48mm is 39 1/2degrees and the 60mm is 39degrees. That's what I plan for the jointer but I plan on 47 1/2 degrees for one. Any suggestions?

[Chris Hall]

39-ish is fairly standard for working cooperative easy-cutting softwoods, and 47.5 is on the steeper side. Depends what sort of woods you plan to work. If a variety of different woods are envisioned, then you would want a variety of bevel angles. That's why a lot of Japanese craftsmen will have what seem like a dozen or more planes which might look quite similar - bedding angles vary and so types of steel, mouth openings etc. If you are planning to use the jointer plane on a shooting board, which entails a lot of end grain trimming, then a lower bedding angle would make sense. What sort of woods and what sort of uses are you thinking Jack?

[Jack_Ervin.]

39-ish is fairly standard for working cooperative easy-cutting softwoods, and 47.5 is on the steeper side. Depends what sort of woods you plan to work. If a variety of different woods are envisioned, then you would want a variety of bevel angles. That's why a lot of Japanese craftsmen will have what seem like a dozen or more planes which might look quite similar - bedding angles vary and so types of steel, mouth openings etc. If you are planning to use the jointer plane on a shooting board, which entails a lot of end grain trimming, then a lower bedding angle would make sense. What sort of woods and what sort of uses are you thinking Jack?

Some soft hard woods but mostly domestic hardwoods. I have some curly Cherry for a table project that is in process. Depending on how the Cherry turns out I may revisit that wood. The jointer I plan on bedding at 39-ish.

As can be seen in the photos above I have removed the pin holding the cap iron and currently conditioning with a single blade. I will delve into fitting the cap iron when I get the single blade setup working. Then I'll determine if I want/ need to setup a higher bed angle.

They are working out well so far. This is quiet a journey.

Jack

[Chris Pyle]

39-ish is fairly standard for working cooperative easy-cutting softwoods, and 47.5 is on the steeper side. Depends what sort of woods you plan to work. If a variety of different woods are envisioned, then you would want a variety of bevel angles. That's why a lot of Japanese craftsmen will have what seem like a dozen or more planes which might look quite similar - bedding angles vary and so types of steel, mouth openings etc. If you are planning to use the jointer plane on a shooting board, which entails a lot of end grain trimming, then a lower bedding angle would make sense. What sort of woods and what sort of uses are you thinking Jack?

Hey Chris et al,

What angle would you suggest for a jointer plane that will be strictly used with a shooting board? I reached out to Suzuki and she said she could have a dai made up with any angle requested. I'm going to get a couple extra dai for smoothing planes at various higher angles but I don't know what jointer angle would be considered ideal. I don't think it's fair to say all end grain is alike but if one were working with mostly domestics: cherry, walnut, oak, black locust, maple, other fruit woods, etc, what would be the sweet spot?

I've seen some people suggest a bedding angle of 27 degrees?