How do you 'tune' a hand plane?
 

In the discussion comparing handplanes, reference is made to the extra
effort required to tune an older or pooer quality hand plane. I have to
confess ignorance....
Is anyone up to a step by step description as to how it is done?

Dave

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 02:12:18 GMT, "Dave"
wrote:

In the discussion comparing handplanes, reference is made to the extra
effort required to tune an older or pooer quality hand plane. I have to
confess ignorance....
Is anyone up to a step by step description as to how it is done?

I'm still a relative newbie to the world of hand planes, but the one
thing I know for sure about the whole tuning situation is that it is a
whole lot easier to have someone who knows how to do it help you get
started. I must've worked on my old bailey plane for about 30 hours
using various articles in magazines and website descriptions of the
process, and got almost nowhere. Sure, it'd cut wood, but it wasn't
pretty. I took the thing into a voc. ed course, and had the
instructor give me a hand with it, and he had the thing shaving little
curls of wood thin enough to read newsprint through in about 15
minutes. Most of the problems he spotted with my setup were not even
mentioned in any of the articles I found, and I learned more in that
15 minutes than I did during countless hours of frustration. The
moral of the story is not to mess with text descriptions of handplane
tuning- IMO, it's much less time-consuming and more rewarding just to
find someone who knows what the heck they're doing to at least take a
look at your plane, and tell you how to fix it up!

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

Dave wrote:
In the discussion comparing handplanes, reference is made to the extra
effort required to tune an older or pooer quality hand plane. I have to
confess ignorance....
Is anyone up to a step by step description as to how it is done?

Dave


For wooden planes, this is my favorite site:

http://www.ilovewood.com/alburnam17.htm

I'll leave the iron ones to the experts.

Glen

George wrote:
"Glen" wrote in message
nk.net...

Dave wrote:

In the discussion comparing handplanes, reference is made to the

extra

effort required to tune an older or pooer quality hand plane. I have to
confess ignorance....
Is anyone up to a step by step description as to how it is done?

Dave



For wooden planes, this is my favorite site:

http://www.ilovewood.com/alburnam17.htm

I'll leave the iron ones to the experts.



http://www.amgron.clara.net/ Will find one.

http://www.supertool.com/ Another to get you up on what the fanciers are
talking about.




Another tuneup site
http://www.yesterdaystools.com/tuninga1.htm
Or if you'd rather have it done
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/mike_in_k...od/Default.htm

"Glen" wrote in message
nk.net...
Dave wrote:
In the discussion comparing handplanes, reference is made to the
extra
effort required to tune an older or pooer quality hand plane. I have to
confess ignorance....
Is anyone up to a step by step description as to how it is done?

Dave


For wooden planes, this is my favorite site:

http://www.ilovewood.com/alburnam17.htm

I'll leave the iron ones to the experts.


http://www.amgron.clara.net/ Will find one.

http://www.supertool.com/ Another to get you up on what the fanciers are
talking about.

Fine Woodworking magazine has had wonderful articles on this subject. On
their webpage there is an index of all issues. Most libraries have FW. Or,
you can just order a new plane from Lie Neilsen.
Dave

Prometheus wrote:

tuning- IMO, it's much less time-consuming and more rewarding just to
find someone who knows what the heck they're doing to at least take a
look at your plane, and tell you how to fix it up!

Oh fooey. I've never had anything but. I don't think I know anyone under
the age of 80 who has ever actually used a hand plane. (In three
dimensions anyway. Sure, lotsa you electronic type invisible people on the
other side of this piece of shiny glass.)

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

Dave wrote:

In the discussion comparing handplanes, reference is made to the extra
effort required to tune an older or pooer quality hand plane. I have to
confess ignorance....
Is anyone up to a step by step description as to how it is done?

First you thock it with your thumbnail. Note the pitch it produces. Now
look up what pitch it's supposed to produce in the table. Remove metal or
add weld until it produces the correct pitch when you thock it with your
thumbnail. Now it's tuned perfectly.

(Now that you have some real answers already.)

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

On Wed 29 Dec 2004 08:12:18p, "Dave"
wrote in news:6uJAd.604404$Pl.487644@pd7tw1no:

In the discussion comparing handplanes, reference is made to the
extra
effort required to tune an older or pooer quality hand plane. I have
to confess ignorance....
Is anyone up to a step by step description as to how it is done?

Dave

I really liked the Frank Klausz video on tuning up your tools. Found it at
Woodcraft. He does chisels, saws, and hand planes. Watching somebody do
this stuff is a thousand times better than reading an article or seeing
pictures. After watching him tune up and use that old fleamarket plane, I
went back to the articles and websites, and got a lot more of them because
I had a better frame of reference.

Incidentally, he does mention in that video that he used to use glass as
part of his tuneup, like for trueing a plane sole, but then he put a
straightedge to the glass pane and found it wasn't flat, so he uses a piece
of melamine now. And he set the teeth on a dovetail saw with a little
screwdriver.

"Silvan" wrote in message
...
Dave wrote:

In the discussion comparing handplanes, reference is made to the
extra
effort required to tune an older or pooer quality hand plane. I have to
confess ignorance....
Is anyone up to a step by step description as to how it is done?

First you thock it with your thumbnail. Note the pitch it produces. Now
look up what pitch it's supposed to produce in the table. Remove metal or
add weld until it produces the correct pitch when you thock it with your
thumbnail. Now it's tuned perfectly.


Not necessarily. This is a fine method if you're going to be planing alone,
but if you're going to be planing with someone else, you'll want to grind or
weld until you've got that pitch either 1/3 above or 1/3 below.

--

-Mike-

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 19:02:28 -0500, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:


Not necessarily. This is a fine method if you're going to be planing alone,
but if you're going to be planing with someone else, you'll want to grind or
weld until you've got that pitch either 1/3 above or 1/3 below.


Fifths sound much better than parallel thirds. Or, if you're into
Godsmack, you could pick a nice dissonant pair. G

Barry

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 09:26:41 -0500, Silvan
wrote:

Prometheus wrote:

tuning- IMO, it's much less time-consuming and more rewarding just to
find someone who knows what the heck they're doing to at least take a
look at your plane, and tell you how to fix it up!

Oh fooey. I've never had anything but. I don't think I know anyone under
the age of 80 who has ever actually used a hand plane. (In three
dimensions anyway. Sure, lotsa you electronic type invisible people on the
other side of this piece of shiny glass.)

Nothing wrong with finding old folks- they're a wealth of information
about all sorts of things. Your "80" figure is a bit high, though.
They were still using hand planes in the local schools 20 years ago,
so there are bound to be a few around who know what they're doing.
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

"Dave" wrote in message
news:6uJAd.604404$Pl.487644@pd7tw1no...
In the discussion comparing handplanes, reference is made to the extra
effort required to tune an older or pooer quality hand plane. I have to
confess ignorance....
Is anyone up to a step by step description as to how it is done?

Dave



Basically you lap the sole of the plane flat, then lap the sides square to
the sole. Then you need to make sure the blade sits flat against the frog
(?) and a few other tweaks.

Read about it he
http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/r...ls&file=articl
es_120.shtml

"Ba r r y" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 19:02:28 -0500, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:


Not necessarily. This is a fine method if you're going to be planing
alone,
but if you're going to be planing with someone else, you'll want to grind
or
weld until you've got that pitch either 1/3 above or 1/3 below.


Fifths sound much better than parallel thirds. Or, if you're into
Godsmack, you could pick a nice dissonant pair. G


All right - you opened that box... what is that dissonant pair that those
guys and others like them use?
--

-Mike-

On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 07:41:14 -0500, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:


All right - you opened that box... what is that dissonant pair that those
guys and others like them use?

"Evil" stuff is usually played in minor keys, and sometimes with a
flat fifth. Some hard rock bands tune a half or whole step lower,
which gives the whole thing a gruntier sound. The "E" string on a
guitar would actually be tuned to an "Eb" or "D", and the rest of the
instrument is tuned to match.

In rock and roll, It could go back to the Black Sabbath's "Black
Sabbath". Leaving rock, who knows who invented it? Scary,
dissonant sounding passages appear in all kinds of classical music.

Barry

"Ba r r y" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 07:41:14 -0500, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:


All right - you opened that box... what is that dissonant pair that those
guys and others like them use?

"Evil" stuff is usually played in minor keys, and sometimes with a
flat fifth. Some hard rock bands tune a half or whole step lower,
which gives the whole thing a gruntier sound. The "E" string on a
guitar would actually be tuned to an "Eb" or "D", and the rest of the
instrument is tuned to match.

I'm going to try some flattened 5th stuff and see what it does. The sound
you hear in a lot of the dissonant stuff today is definetely more than just
drop tuning and it's something other than the standard 3rd or 5th for
harmony.

--

-Mike-

On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 20:04:05 -0500, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:


I'm going to try some flattened 5th stuff and see what it does. The sound
you hear in a lot of the dissonant stuff today is definetely more than just
drop tuning and it's something other than the standard 3rd or 5th for
harmony.

Also look into "passing tones".

Drop tuning dosen't create dissonance, but it can drastically change
the way an amp and speaker handle the instrument. 5 string basses
make a difference in the overall sound as well, if the rest of the
band is using standard tuning.

Barry

"Ba r r y" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 20:04:05 -0500, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:


I'm going to try some flattened 5th stuff and see what it does. The
sound
you hear in a lot of the dissonant stuff today is definetely more than
just
drop tuning and it's something other than the standard 3rd or 5th for
harmony.

Also look into "passing tones".

Drop tuning dosen't create dissonance, but it can drastically change
the way an amp and speaker handle the instrument. 5 string basses
make a difference in the overall sound as well, if the rest of the
band is using standard tuning.

Barry

Yeah - I use passing tones in lead parts a lot, but I've never played with
them to see if they would create that modern dissonant sound.
--

-Mike-

On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 13:44:16 GMT, Ba r r y
wrote:

In rock and roll, It could go back to the Black Sabbath's "Black
Sabbath". Leaving rock, who knows who invented it? Scary,
dissonant sounding passages appear in all kinds of classical music.

One of my favorites is the Germans marching into the
Soviet Union in one of Shostakovich's symphonies
(the Leningrad ?)

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 16:24:23 -0500, GregP
wrote:

On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 13:44:16 GMT, Ba r r y
wrote:n
n
In rock and roll, It could go back to the Black Sabbath's "Black
Sabbath". Leaving rock, who knows who invented it? Scary,
dissonant sounding passages appear in all kinds of classical music.

One of my favorites is the Germans marching into the
Soviet Union in one of Shostakovich's symphonies
(the Leningrad ?)

I haven't heard that.

Off to find it... G

Barry

One of my favorites is the Germans marching into the
Soviet Union in one of Shostakovich's symphonies
(the Leningrad ?)

I haven't heard that.

Off to find it... G

Barry


My favorite is the four seasons, Vivaldi.

Alex

On Tue, 4 Jan 2005 16:42:48 -0800, "AAvK" wrote:


My favorite is the four seasons, Vivaldi.

That's one I've heard.

Barry

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:23:37 GMT, Ba r r y
wrote:

I haven't heard that.

Off to find it... G


I hope that it's the right one and I haven't sent you off
on a wild goose chase. My CD of it is out on loan
right now so I can't check.

GregP wrote:

One of my favorites is the Germans marching into the
Soviet Union in one of Shostakovich's symphonies
(the Leningrad ?)

yes, number 7

AAvK wrote:

My favorite is the four seasons, Vivaldi.

not much dissonance in that!

"Ba r r y" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 16:24:23 -0500, GregP
wrote:

On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 13:44:16 GMT, Ba r r y
wrote:n
n
In rock and roll, It could go back to the Black Sabbath's "Black
Sabbath". Leaving rock, who knows who invented it? Scary,
dissonant sounding passages appear in all kinds of classical music.

One of my favorites is the Germans marching into the
Soviet Union in one of Shostakovich's symphonies
(the Leningrad ?)

I haven't heard that.

Off to find it... G


I told Susan that we were going to use the "Promenade" from Pictures at an
Exhibition as our wedding march.

She knew the piece, and immediately replied "I don't want them to think I'm
pregnant...."

My favorite is the four seasons, Vivaldi.

not much dissonance in that!


Maybe not, just an interjection. But it's got plenty of very sharp dynamics.
Have you ever heard the whole piece through? It can be amazing.
Alex