Crap. Crappity crap crap crap. I’ve been working with a honing jig and waterstones for HOURS now, and you know what? It makes jack shit difference. Plane almost went through the window.
Before you do that, and per Tripler’s suggestion above, are you sure the bevel is facing downward? The cap iron (the part that screws down over the blade) should come up almost to the honed edge, maybe only a 16th of an inch away.
D’oh! I can’t believe I didn’t get this until just now. :smack:
Yes, the bevel is facing downwards. No, it still doesn’t work because it’s a piece of shit and I hate it. In a very intimate and personal way. It has been cut out of the will for reasons that are known to it.
I tried my first mortise today. Split the hell out of it. Am one thrown chisel away from quitting this stupid hobby altogether or running down to Lowes and buying a bunch of power tools I can’t afford.
Zsofia,take heart,don’t give up.At some point you’ll reach a plateau and be able to utilise what you’ve learned.Then it’s back to the slog.
I never regretted getting my bench skills together,I feel I can do anything,and sometimes it really is the idyllic relaxing thing.
Power tools are OK,but you'll find they aren't a solution to frustration.I have a blanket chest made by my Gfather,from cedars felled on his father-in-law's farm.Everything,including the re-sawing,was done by hand,and he made one for each daughter (4),simply because he had no electricity on his farm.You can do a lot with hand tools.By not working, what do you mean?
- It can’t cut at all
- The plane keeps skipping and bouncing
- You can’t push it very far without it bogging down
- You can only get curlies that are a few (or less) inches long?
What kind of chisel are you using? If you are not using a mortise chisel you should be pre-drilling the mortise with a slightly undersized bit, then cleaning up with a bench chisel. When doing so, don’t pry against the walls of the mortise. There is a lot of leverage in your chisel.
Chopping mortises can be fun and frustrating. I have a nice router based fixture for mortises which I use a lot, but I do like chopping things too.
One more thing, a lesson I had to learn the hard way. Make sure your waterstone is flat. They can dish out rather quickly. I have a drywall sanding screen (should be available at any home hardware business) laid out on the back of the flattest ceramic tile I could find. Several swipes across the screen usually flattens the stone. Then one can sharpen the entire width of the blade/chisel, instead of just the sides while turning the middle into a bellied pig. :smack:
I realize now (after I split it) that I was unconsciously prying with the chisel, plus trying to get too much at once. I marked it (that little mortise marker is such a neat little tool!), drilled a bunch of holes, and then started to work with my chisels - followed the directions in the book, but his turned out a hell of a lot nicer.
The plane does all of the above, actually. I know that sounds impossible but it’s absolutely true. Today I’ll know if I’ve won Ebay auctions for two vintage Stanleys that somebody’s tuned and sharpened. It’s a 4 1/2 and a block plane.
I have to wonder if I’m really doing this sharpening thing right, even now. (I’m a girl. I have light fine arm hair. My boyfriend wouldn’t stand still enough for me to try it on him, either. Having one hand behind your back when you tell somebody “Come here a minute” doesn’t work when they’re older than four or five.) I’ve been killing myself at the waterstones (with a lot more confidence now I got that Lee Valley honing jig, though - thing is neat!) and I can see my reflection in the plane bevel, but it seems like there’s absolutely no difference at all in what the plane does! I’ve flattened the back at least right by the edge, too. It ought to be murderous! It ought to send the board screaming in fear! I’ve put hours and hours of my life into this piece of junk!
Mom says she remembers her dad and her uncle Ted planing stuff in the basement all the time, and my grandpa was absolutely not a handyman or a mechanically inclined person at all. I mean, it definitely couldn’t take a ton of skill and talent if Grandpa was doing it, and I’m sure he didn’t have half of my waterstone setup. (“What happened to his tools, mom?” “Oh, I don’t know, I’m sure they hit the yard sales years ago.” Note to self - wake up early one of these days and go to yard sales.)
Zsofia, do you live near one one these woodworking stores ? They offer great hands on classes in all hand and power tools.
Not really. I’m in Columbia, it’s in the middle of the state. There is a wood store here, I think it’s new, and they do classes, but there’s nothing on the schedule that’s good for me! I mean, they do a lot of “into to woodturning”, which is cool and something I’d like to learn but not helping me right here, and they’re doing some intro to cabinetmaking stuff which I’ll really need when I’ve mastered the basics, but no “hand tools” and no “so you’ve never done this before!”
If the plane is skipping and bouncing the frog may not be set right thus allowing chatter.
If you are bogging down you have the blade set too deep. It is finicky, very finicky to learn how to set the blade. When making adjustments turn the screw no more than 1/16 of a turn.
Short curlies can be caused by a board that is not flat yet, I know catch-22, but also it can be caused by a plane that is not flat, thus able to rock causing the blade to come in and out of contact with the board.
I’ve been experimenting with setting the blade in little increments, and this was helping UNTIL I took it out and got it really sharp, and now it’s all fuxx0red again.
How do I know if I’m setting the frog right?
The frog is a tricky sumbitch. It has to be flat so that when the lever cap is engaged the blade is not bent out of flat. Most frogs are adjustable, so you want to ensure that there is only a small gap between the front of the blade and the mouth. I think 1/32 or a bit more is supposed to be pretty much the correct setting. By keeping the mouth tight you force the wood to break before it tears.
How did you do on those eBay Stanleys?
Good question! I forgot to check!
Argh, somebody sharked me. 
No dice.
ETA - I am tempted to spend money I don’t really have and just send a check to Lee Valley. That’s more fiscally responsible than Lie-Neilsen, right? So that’s practically like saving money.
I am a huge LV fan. As part of my LV arsenal I have their apron plane, scrub plane, large shoulder plane, cabinet scraper and flush plane (ignore the marking, measuring, chiseling, clamping and vising tools I have purchased/received)
My Xmas list has the LV Low angle Jack on it.
You are right, it is practically saving money. You want to feel really good, look at these beauties the LV’s are practically free! They don’t look as nice, but they pretty much buy themselves! 
Sweet! I feel like I just made money!
Yup, I think your diagnosis is right: the Anant plane was a POS. I think everybody makes the same mistake with their first plane. I know I did, and mine was by Record, a manufacturer of some repute! I think buying old Stanley planes off eBay is the right thing to do. And don’t worry about missing one – they’re a commodity item. They’re cheaper than the Anant plane, too. Still, it’s hard to evaluate condition over eBay, and you may still find yourself needing to spend time on tuning, and/or a new blade.
There are reputable dealers of old tools online. Look through the wood working forum I linked to early on and you will find dealers who sell tuned and ready to use Stanleys.
Btw, don’t buy hardwood mallets. That’s not necessary, a nice, or even brutal mallet is a fine project and quite a bit of joy can be had whacking chisels with your own creation. Especially when it is made from scraps.
So, what did you order?
<shuffles feet> some… stuff…
I mean, I got a low angle block plane and a #4. And then I got a centering tape measure, because it seemed so convenient. And some brad pointed drill bits. And then I forcibly stopped myself and hit “submit”.
I could keep looking for a good dealer of antique Stanleys, but I decided to go with something I feel I can trust right out of the box. At this point I just can’t tell, is it me or is it the plane? I’d feel confident if I couldn’t get these two to work that it’s me, and not a defect in the thing or something I don’t understand how to tune. And if this doesn’t work out I feel they basically hold their value if I want to sell.
That’s nothing to shuffle feet over, it’s called a good start 
Even if you give up on woodworking as a hobby, the block or #4 would be a nice addition to the home owner’s tool box, to fix a tight door, or what have you. Both sound like nice picks, I hope you enjoy them.