80 Chapter 4 Hand Tools
planed is accessible. Place the plane over the joint
and set the depth stop and blade for a thin cut.
Push or pull the plane across the joint to smooth
the bottom. Refer again to Figure 4-39.
Sharpening Plane Irons
Sharpening includes both grinding and
honing. Grinding shapes the cutting edge to a
hollow-ground bevel (a curved shape) with the
grinding wheel. Honing, or whetting, on an oil-
stone further sharpens the cutting surface to a
fi ne edge.
Grinding is necessary when the cutting edge
loses its hollow-ground bevel or becomes nicked.
Plane irons are usually ground to a 25°–30° bev-
el for general-purpose work. This forms a bevel
that is about 2 1/3 times the blade thickness.
The plane iron is ground to its proper angle
by moving it across a rotating grinding wheel,
Figure 4-47. Each pass of the grinding wheel
should remove very small amounts. Continue
the grinding process until a small burr appears
behind the bevel. Dip the plane iron in water fre-
quently to keep it cool. Excessive heating during
grinding draws the temper (hardness) from the
blade.
When you have completed the grinding
operation, you will need to hone the blade to
remove the burr. Apply a few drops of oil to a
clean oilstone. Place the plane iron into the hon-
ing jig, making sure the bevel of the plane iron
lies fl at on the oilstone. Push the plane iron and
jig along the length of the oilstone several times.
Next, turn the plane iron over (do not remove
from the holding device). Place it fl at on the oil-
stone and stroke the other side to remove the
burr. The plane iron should be honed to 30°–35°.
Repeat this process until the cutting edge can
slice the edge of a piece of notebook paper with
a clean cut.
When you have completed the honing op-
eration, slightly round the corners of the cutting
edge on the side of the oilstone. This prevents the
edges from digging into the stock while in use.
Test Your Knowledge
Answer the following questions based on the
information provided in this section.
1. The _____ is the part of the plane that does
the cutting.
2. Long pieces of stock can be smoothed with a
jointer plane or _____ plane.
3. True or False? Jack planes and smooth planes
are used to surface the end grain of wood.
4. L-shaped joints are made along the edges of
stock with a(n) _____ plane.
5. A(n) _____ plane is used to smooth the
bottom of dado joints and remove the waste.
6. The _____ plane has curved cutters.
7. True or False? A plane should be laid on its
side when not in use.
8. The blade of a plane should be adjusted so
that it is parallel with the _____.
9. List the order in which to square up stock.
10. Describe the difference between a chamfer
and a bevel.
11. For general-purpose work, plane irons are
usually ground to a bevel of _____ degrees.
12. True or False? Honing is done by moving the
plane iron against a rotating wheel.
Figure 4-47. Before using the grinder, make sure you
set the tool guide to the proper angle for the type
of blade you are sharpening.
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