I recently got my hands on a #4 1/2 plane and sharpened it up. When I used it next to my #4 plane on the same piece of wood, I noticed that the #4 1/2 produced tight curls, while the #4's shavings ended up accordion-folded. The #4 still gave a decent finish, but I'm curious about what causes these different shaving behaviors. Is it due to the mouth opening, chip breaker clearance, or something else? I usually set my chip breakers to around 1-2 mm of clearance, but I'd love to get some insights into this!
5 Answers
The key point here is that, despite the way the shavings look, what really matters is the finish you're getting. Shavings are awesome indicators, though. They can tell you a lot about your cut and what the wood surface is like, even if the finish appears fine!
Another factor could be the angle of your chip breaker’s edge. If it's too steep or if it’s burred from sharpening, that may cause shavings to hit the edge and fold too sharply. I’ve seen it happen with tighter openings on infill planes. A few passes over a strop could help with that!
You might want to check the ramp angle on the chip breaker as well. A steeper angle can help with tear-out on tricky woods, but it also increases the force needed and could lead to folded shavings. It's all about finding the right balance. If you're facing tough material, consider using a chip breaker with a slight back bevel too!
It sounds like your chip breaker might be too close to the blade. When it’s set really close, the shaving can get pinched, causing it to fold instead of ejecting cleanly. I’ve noticed this happens especially if you do a back bevel or if you're applying a ruler trick to the blade. Just a thought!
Yeah, that makes sense. I adjusted mine from 1mm to 2mm and noticed a difference. It still folds a bit into my hand, but at least it's not jamming! Cheers!
I think you're right about the shaving not exiting properly from the mouth. If the clearance is tight or the chip breaker is set too close, it can lead to those accordion folds. You might not get an ideal shaving ready to go, but as you said, it can still finish well! Someone with more experience with bevel down planes might have better tips, though.
Absolutely! Those little details in the shavings offer so much info about the wood and the tool settings. It's all about reading the signs.