Tuning and Using Block Planes

If you want to learn more about hand planes, the block plane is a great place to start. Many of us already have one; but, they don’t seem to work well.

In this basic course, we will take the planes apart, clean them, tune them up, and put them backtogether. Then we will adjust them and put them to use as I guide you through several exercises for common tasks for this very versatile tool. Central to this will be endeavor will be a significant amount of time devoted to sharpening.

To get the most out of the class, it will be helpful for me to know what you have and what condition it is in. Please send me a picture of your plane and the blade, both front and back. Or better yet, bring it to the next meeting. This will be a long class but we will take a lunch break.

You will need to bring your block plane and lunch. I will supply the sharpening equipment but please bring the sharpening equipment you use and a honing guide if you have one so we can evaluate what you use. Sharpening can be messy, bring rubber gloves if you want.