Fix Your Hand Plane Problems by "Reading" Your Shavings

[@notreallymyname3736]

Rex: "We're going to throw the shavings away at the end of the day..." James at Wood by Wright earlier this week: "I keep cool shavings in jars!" In all seriousness, this is why the woodworking section of youtube is great. It's always great to have a reminder about planing fundamentals.

[@RickyVonPooper]

This is the video I didn't know I needed. You've stressed the chip breaker placement before, but now you showing the differences in placement has helped me immensely! Thanks Rex!

[@RexKrueger]

Awesome! I'm so glad this was useful.

[@aburgh]

Agreed, immensely useful. I’m learning on my own like Rex did and it is hard to know, for example, is the edge sharp enough, is the shaving clean enough, is the chip breaker close enough. Info like this is a good substitute for being in the room with an instructor. Thanks Rex!

[@raulkaap]

I'm a metalworker - stainless CNC turning. Reading chips and swarf gives really useful info there as well. For example, if both edges of a drill bit are cutting. Also, some chips are just beautiful in their own right. Little metal flowers or worms.

[@JMFuller227]

Thanks for this awesome information, Rex! I’ve always had issues setting up my planes on the edge of boards like so many other videos show; it never occurred to me that the same principle would work for the face of a board. I also appreciate how your videos often illustrate your very focused and intentional planing style. I feel it’s so common to see videos of folks like Paul Sellers who look like they are just picking up the plane and plowing it through the wood that it’s easy to forget that they are being every bit as intentional. It just doesn’t look like it because they have been doing it for so long. Thanks again for the great video!

[@kennethbezanson4266]

I always seem to learn something new when I watch your videos. I was going to skip this one because it didn't seem that interesting. Now that I think about it, I likely learn more from the small topics because you have so much to say about everything. You're a wealth of knowledge with the skills to share it!

[@lamMeTV]

Its fun how I have never touched a plane and already knew how to troubleshoot all of these. Also good to know why shavings should be feathery at the edges! I just knew that is how a plan should cut but not why

[@knight4today]

😮😮😮 I’ve seen a video on shaving before, but not how it looks at the chip breaker or edges. SO HELPFUL.

[@andrewrhodes496]

WOW! Just wow! So much needed information. I recently got my first REAL prize plane (which some might argue, but i love it) about 3 months ago- Stanley #62. It does so much more then the rest, even better than my thickness planer, but I've noticed a little more of "those" inconsistencies & now i know what to do! Thank you, Sir!

[@michaeldoto4673]

Thank you Rex for detailed explanation. Will you please explain what causes accordion style shavings?

[@martintheron1386]

I will also love to know

[@mdb92nc1]

Rex I implore you to revisit your audio setup. Idk exactly what it is, maybe the specific codec or your mic, but your audio is way more compressed than most other stuff I watch/listen to. I really enjoy your videos, you've opened up a whole new way of thinking about wood working to me!

[@1pcfred]

We like it compressed.

[@FearsomeWarrior]

Rex touched on this but I would add a preamble saying you do not have to perfectly setup a plane. Many times you are throwing the tool into the wood like a rampaging beast. Some rough work and some fine work. Sometimes it matters, sometimes it does not.

[@What_Other_Hobbies]

Never thought about chip breaker position and how much the saving curls are related.

[@RexKrueger]

It's a subtle thing. I learned from watching Richard Maguire.

[@pinkiebrain7597]

​@@RexKrueger One might add that there is also a 'too close' to the cutting edge. If pushing the plane forward is way too hard and the shavings compress like an accordion and/or the plane clogs, the chipbreaker is too close to the cutting edge. Richard knows his stuff.

[@מעייןהמלבלבתחייםםםם]

Thanks for the very important video... When I was starting my first steps with hand planes I was looking for the perfect shavings like in all the KZbin channels....well with the time I had two major conclusions: every planning task has its own perfect shavings while dimensioning the wood... second the as you showed it can help us tune the plane and understand the surface of the wood ( you can change for more suitable plane for the task but not necessarily)well in most of all the KZbin channel they don't tell you that...they just showing the "perfect shavings"

[@eviper67]

Rex great video, for a new woodworker like me and others thats information that i need. That will help me set up my plane and know if i got to change something!

[@theeddorian]

A nice discussion, and the emphasis at the end on being satisfied with the surface is a very good point. I usually just aim for a very light camber on the edge, just enough so that as it is adjusted for a heavier cut, it initially produces just fibers and can can be adjusted for heavier removal that still leaves no tracks. Leaving a very lightly scalloped surface is bit of witness marking that I like. Perfectly flat is evidence of skill, but those tracks tell me that nice - rather than perfectly flat - surface was done by hand.

[@tom314]

Thanks, i've always wondered how far back the chip breaker should be set and now I know how to check. Cheers :)

[@deliaguzman1138]

This is going to give me a lot of ways to adjust and improve my planing! Thank you!

[@claudegodcharles1790]

Shaving forensics, loved it!

[@BenjaminMellor]

Rex, I would happily support you on Patreon, but I'm just not in the position right now. I will probably do it once I get a consistent source of income. I'm just happy I can watch your videos for free.

[@jdjd2922]

Search the tube for "Alte Filme - Wirkungsweise eines Hobels" for high speed macro films of taking a shaving

[@theidlehandsworkshop3884]

Many thanks for the tips as always Rex, sorry I can't make the show tonight with ya'll, we rescued another horse so all of our money is going to her.

[@sanjaraejour9632]

Thank you so much for this video! Now I know that my chip-breaker was set -way- too far back, so that's something I'm going to correct.

[@michaelferrin2688]

I so need start getting some hand tools and working on some projects.....Love your channel, love what you do, keep up the great content!

[@mariushegli]

I have nothing to say really, but I appreciate your content, and wish to help with the yt-algorithms.

[@jennabarton433]

Thank you, that was well explained and informative. Really appreciate it 😁

[@MCOChuck]

Thanks Rex! This was very helpful.

[@markp6062]

Great info, Rex! Solid advice that addresses the problems I'm seeing with my planing. All of them! 🤣

[@TankVgryazi]

Really helpful tips in this video. Thanks!

[@RexKrueger]

Glad it helped! I wasn't sure about this one.

[@Festus171]

Excellent! Thanks for this; it's just what I needed at this point in my journey.

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic, Rex! Thanks so much for all the info! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@5StoryWoodWorks]

Great Information Rex! Thank you.

[@skippylippy547]

Very informative - as always! Thanks Rex 👍

[@SimonWillig]

This is really helpfull. Thanks Rex!

[@noahfreeman8115]

this is really helpful!

[@douglashopkins8070]

This is a wonderful video.

[@BenjaminMellor]

So Rex, since you vastly prefer the leg vise, do you think you could build another one? Maybe you could make another video on it to improve the previous design.

[@adelheidsnel5171]

Thank you!

[@tim-hypnotherapist]

It's like reading one of those scrolls....from the old land.

[@FrankTranDesign]

Ooh, the editing on this video is fantastic. Can you cover the low angle version? My Stanley SW No62's screw-tight mechanism gets loose when I use the shooting board. Also, how much of my plane blade should stick out? I try to get shavings like you've shown, but would I do the same when I'm trying to use my shooting board?

[@wj8108]

Hey Rex, why does everyone hate the #6? I love mine.

[@halorail]

thanks

[@johnfisk811]

Love the chest on the floor in the background. That would be a fine project.

[@BuckSterling1]

You should show an example of what it looks like when the chip breaker is too close to the edge, took me awhile to figure that one out. And what about shavings from bevel up planes? Does the shaving tell you if you have the mouth too open or too tight?

[@Drinksfromtap]

Beats interpreting rat entrails 😊

[@liamcarrington26]

Hey this and your beginner woodworker episodes on how to plane have been amazing. I’ve been trying to edge joint a board and when I take a shaving the shavings come off well but they are all ‘zig-zag’ and by that I mean it is all crumpled like an accordion when I hold it up, hoping someone might have some insight as to what that means with my plane? Thankfully your advice from the video applies to me the face is coming off smooth and I think straight and square so it’s doesn’t seem to be a problem I’m just trying to learn what it means!

[@1pcfred]

I get accordion chips if the mouth is too narrow for the chip to pass through. But something else may cause it too.

[@pshadyyx]

I don't throw away my (wood) shavings, I keep them and use either as mulch in the garden or lining in the quail house. Also, you can get a tearout while planing even with all top set plane, if you plane against the grain.

[@notreallymyname3736]

Same! They're also great for getting charcoal lit.

[@robohippy]

Well, still learning to use a hand plane. Problem I am having at present, is that my wider boards I am planing seem to end up concave rather than flat. I also don't seem to get much of an arc to the cutting edge, and I have tried a lot of variations, including starting to make the arc with coarse, like 220 grit stones. All blades seem to be just a hair out of square. Most of the time to the same side. I tried to reverse the tightening button and it didn't seem to make any difference....

[@RexKrueger]

Well, I'm not sure what the tightening button is, but you use the lateral lever to get the blade square. If your boards are concave, plane a little at each end before taking full strokes. That should help.

[@robohippy]

@@RexKrueger Oh, that is the tightening button/knob on the jig I use. I will freehand some day. I seem to be able to bet the blade pretty square. One person recommended using a 1/4 inch board and take shavings on each side of the blade to check. That made sense to me. Just looking at it doesn't seem to give me reliable results. I have taken shavings and felt each side, when I get full width shavings, and that helps some what as well. Long way to go! Thanks for responding!

[@lincolndickerson1293]

What chip breaker and iron are you using in this video? I am finding that the original chip breaker is finicky to get tuned and set properly on my old/restored Stanley #5. The chip breaker and iron on my WoodRiver 5 1/2 is much easier and simple because of the design, flat steel on flat steel.

[@khogg3581]

I believe there’s an ancient form of poetry in which poet woodworkers would write their poems on shavings from planing wood. If I’m mistaken about this, it should be a thing.

[@stevenclarke2592]

Hi rex that little fancy round tool that you have can it be posted to the uk and also can see it in the shop.

[@RexKrueger]

Yup! We've shipped many to the UK.

[@glencrandall7051]

Good information here. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.

[@ianpearse4480]

Nice.

[@stanaugustin]

Hi Rex, I'm sometimes getting zig zag, tightly wavy shavings. Any idea what could be the problem? The plane i'm using is inexpensive, but i set it up nicely apart from this detail. Cheers from poland :)

[@nbgambler]

Fantastic video, very great tips on dialing in your hand planes. I have to compliment you though furtherz you have the shiniest head, and nails in the KZbin woodworking community! Do you use hand tools for that? 😂

[@RomanPasicznyk]

planing soft wood like poplar. how would your comments be with a piece of harder wood. i.e. oak, maple, beech

[@jerseycornboy]

What if the plane makes saw dust and no shavings

[@BakerVS]

Another one: when chips come out as tiny akkordeons, that means that the chip breaker is jamming the chips.

[@Wunder_Dog]

Howdy y’all, I am just getting started and underestimated how many shaving I was going to have at the end of the day. What do all of you do with your shavings? I have put in my compost until that was too much. I am starting to use as mulch around my front bushes. I am in Texas so fire starter and all that is not very relevant to me. Gift packaging is great idea but I don’t give that many presents to people. What do y’all do?

[@johngriswold2213]

It helps to have chickens...the shavings make perfect coop bedding and collect droppings, great to add to garden beds or compost piles;)

[@robertlunsford1350]

So, how do I read the shavings from my electric razor in the morning?

[@gforce9204]

Few years ago: ""The shavings doesnt matter, the wood is matter." Now: "Read the shavings! It is important" I think always some thing to learn :) Sorry for terrible english.. Greeetings from Hungary :)

[@Jason-jd1jv]

I recently bought my first plane and I'm having trouble adjusting it properly. It's a new Stanley #4 and the shavings seem to be random. One stroke mightmake a perfect shaving while the next stroke might not take a shaving at all while the very next stroke might produce a very thick shaving. Sometimes it stutters, other times it doesn't. I'm doing something wrong but without consistent results I can't figure out what to do next. I've flattened the sole, sharpened the iron, flattened the chip breaker and check it carefully to make sure that everything is consistent but the shavings are completely random. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

[@1pcfred]

I saw someone that was having bedding problems with the iron on the frog and that caused issues with chatter. It sounds like it's the only thing you haven't checked. I think what they had to do was file the mouth some? It was on a brand new Stanley plane too. It was just defective from the factory. They're slapping them together without making sure they actually work. The plane iron has to rest on the frog all the way down by the mouth. It needs the support otherwise it'll flex and do funny things. Stanley irons are pretty thin so they're susceptible to that failure.

[@Jason-jd1jv]

@@1pcfred Thanks for the reply. I did check the frog and it looked ok. I hit it with a small file to take out some of the machine parts but I will look at it again more closely. I didn't spend very much time at all on the frog and my eyesight isn't what it once was so I will go back through more thoroughly to see what I missed

[@1pcfred]

@@Jason-jd1jv I don't know how David figured it out. He did a series of videos about it. Look for a channel called David W he may have discovered it in a video called, "New Stanley after Flattening and Sorting Shortcomings - #4 - It could have been a good plane"

[@mypony891]

What it you are getting a plane track on both sides at the same time

[@TokyoScarab]

Rex, I've been watching your videos for a couple years now and you've really helped give me the confidence to get into the craft myself as of last year. I still have a lot to learn, but I came across an unusual handmade wooden plane at a flea market here that I can't seem to find any information about online. I have a couple hunches, but nothing seems to perfectly line up with the images I see online and the plane itself. I'm not sure if I'm just not looking for the right search terms but even Google's Lens image match search doesn't help as much as I'd hoped it would. Is there any way I can find out more information on this plane? If it is actually something interesting and unusual and you'd be interested, I would perfectly willing to mail it to you for a video. I feel like maybe I'm asking too much or if there are better channels of getting in touch with you to do this in. It's ok if you decline it, I just wanted to bring it up and wanted to say thanks again for having such an incredible and very welcoming channel and community! :D

[@DonaldMcDaniel-c4l]

😃👍👍

[@TomeRodrigo]

Your audio is so poor. Like you are recording the audio somewhere from the closed wardrobe. Your previous videos were much much better regarding the audio quality.