how long to hand plane a board?
- Thread starter Enigma
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yucholian
Well-known member
30 minutes
EdT
Well-known member
If it's ordinary construction grade lumber its probably not very flat or straight in any direction which will be "challenging" at best. As stated above, 30 minutes is a reasonable number if:
1) Your lumber is decent
2) You know how to do what you want to do
3) You know how to tell when you're done and when you're not
4) You have the correct or at least adequate tools for the task
5) Know when to stop. once that 2 x 6 is a 2 x 4 it might be time to reconsider
Give it a go.
1) Your lumber is decent
2) You know how to do what you want to do
3) You know how to tell when you're done and when you're not
4) You have the correct or at least adequate tools for the task
5) Know when to stop. once that 2 x 6 is a 2 x 4 it might be time to reconsider
Give it a go.
hand planes are probably almost a lost art . but, if you have good sharp plane, with a long foot, you can give it a try. shouldn't take all that long. remember tho, slow shallow cuts and work with the grain .
beakie
Well-known member
sorry, but no way can someone estimate the time it would take someone else to do that job.
1. have you ever used a plane before?
2. have you ever used "winding sticks" before?
3. how clean (knot free) is the wood, and how off/warped is it?
4. what plane are you using & how sharp is it?
5. how "flat" & "square" does it need to be?
ideally you have 2 planes (#4 or 5 & a #7 or 8)
blades are nice and sharp
the wood is clean and just needs fine tuning
this could just be a single board used for a shelf, or one of many that will be glued together for another purpose.
this could take a few minutes, or it could take days.
1. have you ever used a plane before?
2. have you ever used "winding sticks" before?
3. how clean (knot free) is the wood, and how off/warped is it?
4. what plane are you using & how sharp is it?
5. how "flat" & "square" does it need to be?
ideally you have 2 planes (#4 or 5 & a #7 or 8)
blades are nice and sharp
the wood is clean and just needs fine tuning
this could just be a single board used for a shelf, or one of many that will be glued together for another purpose.
this could take a few minutes, or it could take days.
MrCat63
Well-known member
If you have a bunch of boards to do or you're on a tight timeline then no, not very practical. I don't look at it so much from a practical standpoint. I enjoy working with hand tools and to me it's peaceful, quiet, and satisfying using a hand plane to prep boards.
If I have a big or a rush job then I go with power tools.
Like beakie said, there just is no telling how long it will take until you grab your tool of choice and give it a try. If you have the aptitude or once you become practiced it shouldn't take long at all.
If I have a big or a rush job then I go with power tools.
Like beakie said, there just is no telling how long it will take until you grab your tool of choice and give it a try. If you have the aptitude or once you become practiced it shouldn't take long at all.
hsvtoolfool
Well-known member
You need a heavy, solid bench to hold the work. That's the key to using
hand tools effectively. Trying to saw, chisel, or especially hand plane a
board that's sliding, shaking, or vibrating is a nightmare.
If the board has lots of cup or twist, then the first step is a using a "scrub"
plane or perhaps even an adze to hog off the high spots and get it roughly
flat. This step goes pretty quickly...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6osskqppymU
If you don't need to scrub (and I recommend your first try be a fairly flat
piece), then use the normal #5 bench plane and finish with the #7 or #8...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_96gNMMc_g
The two fellows above are masters and make it look easy. Their planes
are well-tuned and sharp. They have solid, massive benches which helps
a LOT. So you'll sweat more than these guys the first time you try. But
it's a quite and relaxing process.
hand tools effectively. Trying to saw, chisel, or especially hand plane a
board that's sliding, shaking, or vibrating is a nightmare.
If the board has lots of cup or twist, then the first step is a using a "scrub"
plane or perhaps even an adze to hog off the high spots and get it roughly
flat. This step goes pretty quickly...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6osskqppymU
If you don't need to scrub (and I recommend your first try be a fairly flat
piece), then use the normal #5 bench plane and finish with the #7 or #8...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_96gNMMc_g
The two fellows above are masters and make it look easy. Their planes
are well-tuned and sharp. They have solid, massive benches which helps
a LOT. So you'll sweat more than these guys the first time you try. But
it's a quite and relaxing process.
brothernov
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2017
- Messages
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If you have to ask, the answer is probably "forever"
cvairwerks
Well-known member
sberry
Banned
Roy Underhill had a show on planning recently.
rlitman
Well-known member
You might be right, but there's no need to be discouraging. Everyone has to start somewhere.
Are we counting setup, cleanup and sharpening the blade time?
If so, then yeah, I guess. Otherwise, I hope you're talking about something that still has bark and branches on it.
If I wanted to joint a 2x6, I'd be remiss if it took me more than 5 minutes of actual arm work with a #7. That is, assuming I didn't have to clear space to get this board into the vise (which is not a realistic assumption), and could just pick up the plane out of my drawer and start using it.
Real life example:
Not too long back, I was installing a door. I had a new slab, going into a frame that was almost 1/4" too small for the door. I put the door on the floor with the edge I was planing up, and used a parallel clamp on the floor side as a kickstand. I then placed a plastic garbage pail between the foot of the door and the wall, and ran the #7 down the edge of the door to right over the pail (so there was just about no cleanup). It took me less than 10 minutes to plane the 1/4" off the slab. It's unlikely you should be removing that much material to just joint something.
Ahh, the gossamer shavings of the smoothing plane!
The correct answer is about six feet.
If it's a case of hand planing the board or sitting on the couch watching tv I'd say hand plane the board. Even if it takes a day and a half you'll be further ahead both physically and mentally.
My shop teacher in woodwork had a long board in the back of the class. If you were caught talking or fooling around you had to hand plane a board till it was square. I had to do it once, then I behaved in class after that.
I had to hand plane all the 10' upright log posts in this house by hand on 2 and 3 sides. I was aiming for 1/16th" tolerance. The 1st step was to rip the flats with a chainsaw, then hand plane the perfectly square surfaces. Some would go fast at about 1 hr each but other took 3 hours or so as I recall.
My shop teacher in woodwork had a long board in the back of the class. If you were caught talking or fooling around you had to hand plane a board till it was square. I had to do it once, then I behaved in class after that.
I had to hand plane all the 10' upright log posts in this house by hand on 2 and 3 sides. I was aiming for 1/16th" tolerance. The 1st step was to rip the flats with a chainsaw, then hand plane the perfectly square surfaces. Some would go fast at about 1 hr each but other took 3 hours or so as I recall.
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Mr. T
Well-known member
Isn’t that kind of like saying “on a recent episode of This Old House they worked on an old house?”
sberry
Banned
I just figured that one might look it up and see if they match the opinions here.