Hand Planes

A bench plane is a hand tool principally used for flattening either the edge of a timber board, or the flat face of a timber board.

Introduction

Hand planes consist of a steel sole with a sharp flat blade which can be adjusted to slightly protrude. Used to accurately level or create long rebates by pushing it across the surface of the timber.

Three Great Reasons To Use a Hand Plane

Laminating Boards: Planning a flat edge or face on a board after it has already been machined will remove micro machine marks. This will improve the appearance of the lamination lines, making them more faint, or even invisible!

Tapering: Tapering a piece of timber to a custom dimension can be achieved with a bench plane. Once the desired taper is marked on the timber, it can be cut leaving the critical line left; this can be achieved on a machine such as the bandsaw. Then the hand plane can be used, honing in on the critical line marked for the taper. Leaving an accurate smooth flat finish.

Flattening: If a frame of a coffee table is glued together for example, the rails should if anything sit higher (0 - 1.5 mm) above the terminating leg. This is because it is easier to plane the long edge of a timber rail rather than the end grain of a timber leg. The hand plane will most efficiently bring the rail height to match the height of the leg, allowing for a top to sit flat and evenly with micro adjustments.

Materials

Timber: Dried timber

No Metals or Acrylics can be used with this hand tool.

Hand Tool in Operations Video