Hey everyone! I recently got a brand new Lie-Nielsen hand plane #5, and I've sharpened it, giving it a lightly cambered micro bevel at 35 degrees. My blade seems sharp since it's cutting hair and paper easily, but when I try to plane some rough construction lumber to practice, it's been a nightmare. The plane feels choppy, gets stuck on knots, and sometimes it even requires so much force that it moves my workbench instead of cutting the wood smoothly. I know that construction wood can be tricky, but is my experience normal? Should I just avoid planing this type of lumber altogether? I want to make sure I'm not wasting time sharpening the blade over and over if it's just the wood that's the issue.
3 Answers
I hear you! Construction pine can be tough on planers. One tip is to oil the bottom of your plane and maybe try a more aggressive plane to tackle any rough spots on the surface. It could make a difference!
Yeah, running a nicely sharpened blade over a knot in construction pine is a sure way to ruin it. For dimensioning construction lumber, I usually stick to a jointer and planer, leaving hand planes for better quality hardwood. Just keep an eye on grain direction and take light cuts!
Knots can be a real pain when you're trying to plane through them. Also, don’t forget to check the grain direction; planing downhill makes things a lot smoother than going against it.
By aggressive, do you mean sharper or adjusting the blade more? I’ve been using wax on the bottom and it helped a bit.