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#32. WIA: Bench planes, with Deneb Puchalski

November 21, 2008 by Al Navas (Sandal Woods) · 4 Comments 

Download Quicktime (*.mov)
Run time: 45 minutes, 05 seconds

Background:
This was a hands-on clinic. Most participants brought their own hand planes to the session. NOTE: Please forgive the hum in the video – this day was cold (38°F), the furnace was running, and the fan hummed. I was unable to filter out this sound completely, although it is now a little better than in the original, raw video. Additional note (added Nov. 22): A member of the WoodNet woodworking forums suggested that the sound is quite a bit better if you use a headset and adjust the balance controls.

Summary:
In this episode, Deneb Puchalski, of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, shows the basic set of bench planes (scrub, jack, smoother, jointer, and bevel-up), and their adjustments and use. He then goes on to flatten one side of a board, while describing each step and the importance of every detail he covers.

Make sure to take note of the hints he gives that will save us time, energy, and materials (all are in the video):

  • Don’t lift the hand plane completely off the board; instead, tilt it slightly, and pull back on one edge toward you.
  • Use a small block and test the cut with one edge of the iron at a time. If you must adjust the depth of cut, test again using this small block.
  • Remove high spots on the board as he suggests, to minimize the risk of introducing other problems, such as twist and (new) low spots.
  • Adjust the iron cap so that it is approximately 1/16″ above the cutting edge of the iron. Don’t over-tighten it!
  • Do not over-tighten anything on the hand plane. Tighten all components sufficiently, but only to prevent iron movement.
  • Lay the planes on the sole, on the workbench, not on their sides.
  • Keep the irons sharp, and sharpen when needed, or when they must be sharpened.
  • Some irons must be sharpened more often than others. Do not delay sharpening.

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Comments

4 Responses to “#32. WIA: Bench planes, with Deneb Puchalski”
  1. Cliff PolubinskyNo Gravatar says:
    November 24, 2008 at 4:23 pm

    Al,

    For the audio next time, look into a PZM microphone. Crown makes a very good one. This is a pressure zone mic that can be placed near the subject and will do a great job of picking up everything around. You don’t have to hang the mic on your subject. Just tape it to a nearby surface (NOT the workbench!!). I did industrial video production for 23 years and we always had one or two in our sound kit. I just had to record the deliberations at the synod of bishops for my jurisdiction and covered the room with 2 mics fastened to the ceiling.

    And thanks for your efforts on these. There were some sessions I really wanted to attend but they conflicted with a session that I wanted to see more.

    Cliff

  2. Al (Sandal Woods)No Gravatar says:
    November 23, 2008 at 7:34 am

    Ken and Bob,

    Thanks for your comments – and you are welcome!
    .
    Bob,
    I appreciate your suggestion regarding the audio. I did have the remote microphone with me, but the circumstances were such that: 1) I had not discussed with him ahead of time, and b) Rushing from presentation to presentation is not conducive to hanging another wire from the presenters. What I will do next time: Contact the presenters, and make arrangements *ahead* of the conference.
    .
    .
    NOTE to all: It has been suggested that the audio is better if one uses a headset and adjusts the balance control. While true, the audio is still not as good as it could have been.

  3. Bob EastonNo Gravatar says:
    November 23, 2008 at 7:19 am

    Al,
    THANKS very much for your recent videos! They’re a big help for those of us who couldn’t make it to Berea, and very much appreciated.

    As an aside, I asked the conference organizers if they planned to film the presentations. They said, “maybe next time.” So, your “citizen journalism” is a good answer.

    Your next step in the video arts is to add remote micrphone capability to your setup. Deneb’s presentation would have been very much better had a microphone been nearer to him. I don’t know if your camera has that capability (very likely), or whether the presenters would cooperate, but I suggest it as the next step in improving what you offer us.

    My mention of “citizen journalism” comes from seeing more and more people pick up small cameras and publish their results. I saw a great interview recently, where C-SPAN’s Brian Lamb interviewed Michael Rosenblum, who is absolutely wired with enthusiasm for small camera journalism greatly exploding the amount of video available to us. You can watch that interview at: http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=281407-1 (Hit the red (f) button over there in the “Watch” box.)

    Thanks again!

  4. Ken ShepardNo Gravatar says:
    November 22, 2008 at 10:01 am

    Great Videos!! Thanks so much for these.

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