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PSA: My hand plane disaster and the $4 fix from a hardware store in Bellingham
Last Tuesday, I was trying to smooth a maple board for a small table and my old Stanley No. 4 plane just kept tearing out huge chunks. I spent three hours getting more and more frustrated, convinced I'd ruined the wood. The next day, I took it to a local hardware store, and the guy at the counter showed me how to sharpen the iron at a slightly different angle using a simple honing guide. It cost me four bucks for the guide and ten minutes of work, but the difference was night and day. Has anyone else had a simple tool adjustment completely save a project?
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parker_price2mo ago
That Bellingham hardware store guy is a legend. I had a similar thing with a cheap block plane tearing up some cherry. The real fix wasn't just the sharpening, it was learning to read the grain direction on curly wood. Maple can switch direction every few inches. @craig.mila, the guide is cheap but the knowledge is free if you find the right person. I spent more time fighting the tearout than I did fixing the plane once I understood that.
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