Grinding & Honing Freehand | Hand Plane Foundations

Welcome to my Hand Plane Foundations course. In this course I'm going to introduce the different types of bench planes and discuss their setup and use, focusing on the planes you’ll need most as a new hand tool woodworker. I’ll cover sharpening the iron, setting up the cap iron, and troubleshooting and tuning the tool up to perform at its best. I’ll finish up by building a modern two tone cutting board from some beautiful North American hardwoods, completely by hand.

[@alberttibbets6567]

Thanks for the clear explanation and for the well focused camera work.

[@rattlejake0422]

That tip about referencing your camber directly from the plane's sole makes SO MUCH sense. Thank you for this series!

[@timmorris2206]

You have explained how to do this several times over the years. But this time, wow. Home run my friend! Great job! I am really enjoying these videos! I've been with you from the beginning back in NJ!

[@BobRozaieskiFineWoodworking]

Thank you my friend!

[@edwardog]

This is the smartest way to establish camber on a jack plane that I’ve ever seen.
Great script, camera work, and editing! I wasn’t able to sign up for the course but I sent in $20!

[@BobRozaieskiFineWoodworking]

Thank you!

[@bencepaul3497]

Thanks!

[@thewalnutwoodworker6136]

I just kept a bevel gauge set to 30 degrees for a while till I developed the mussel memory. I find the my hands jump to within a degree of 30 without even felling for the bevel.

[@thl1113]

I want to ask regarding free hand sharpening plane blades and chisels whether it is important to use square or any measuring tool to check for straight edge and squareness. I did it but found it too much of a hassle and sometimes it took several hours to get everything square and straight. Thank you.

[@BobRozaieskiFineWoodworking]

It’s really not that important with chisels and bench plane blades that will be cambered. Where I do find edge straightness to be quite important is with joinery plane blades. If the edge of the blade for a joinery plane isn’t straight, the resultant joint made by the plane won’t be straight/flat. This can cause gaps in joints like dados and rabbets and improper fit in joints like tongue and groove. This may not be a big deal for a hidden joint (rabbet for back panel of a case or a dado hidden behind a face frame), but if the joint will be visible it can be unsightly. I add some camber to almost all of my bench planes though so as long as the edge is “square” enough that the lateral adjustment permits even projection across the mouth, then that’s good enough. It need not be perfect.

[@thl1113]

@@BobRozaieskiFineWoodworking Thanks to your series on hand planes, I have a basic understanding of how to use them. And this explanation really clarifies the honing and grinding process.