How Does a Wood Plane?

The wooden Plane works by taking off very thin layers of material shavings when pushed along the material, and with Japanese planes, it removes the shavings when pulled along the material.

This process allows you to remove the material to straighten and smooth it to give a nice clean finish.

You will notice that when you are planning the material, the excess material comes up from the neck of the Plane, so it is important to keep your Plane sharp and remove the buildup of shavings when planning.

The throat lever is in front of the cap; if your Plane is set to cut a lot of material, the material will be harder to remove; always set your Plane to remove the thin strips, and the result will be a clean and smooth finish.

Keeping the edge of cutting iron as close to the sole as possible will really help avoid unnecessary splits; Be careful not to “choke” the Plane.

Choking your Plane occurs when the shavings being removed become stuck in the mouth of the Plane and will result in splitting and damage to the surface of the material being employed.

Remember to adjust the position of your Plane’s blades for the amount of material you want to remove; the larger the mouth opening, the more material will be ejected.

And the smaller the mouth, the less material will come out. Depending on the types of material you are working on, the size of the mouth will need to be adjusted to achieve the correct position.

Types of Wood Planes:

#1. Bench Plane

Bench planes are workhorses of hand planes, but unlike most other planes on this list, this isn’t a stand-alone tool but more of a category where multiple hand planes become lumped.

This misnomer causes a lot of confusion, especially among new woodworkers who do not understand that an experienced woodworker can call a fore plane, jointer plane, or smooth Plane a bench plane.

Many also called bench mounted electric Plane, bench plane The hand plane, a whole class of bench plane ranges from a humble five to an impressive 30 inches tall and is the dominant workhorse in the hand plane family. These have blades that sit beveled down at a 45-degree pitch.

These are reinforced by a cap iron, which also serves to protect the mouth from clogging.

Benches planes are numbered, and an entire article could be written on the difference between each individually numbered size.

However, there are some common types of planes that are considered to be types of bench planes, most notably four planes, jointer planes, and smoothing planes.

#2. Molding Plane

Designed for work on molding and edge trim, these are perhaps the most durable of all aircraft, with some still in use for over 100 years if care is taken.

The molding plane, as the name suggests, is for working on molding and trim. These planes are extremely durable and are often made of wood.

Molding planes are also essential furniture crafting tools because you can do fine detail work with them.

#3. Plough Plane

These planes have a fence and a depth gauge, so they can cut grooves and rabbets.

The blade is set at a 35-degree angle. Plow planes have a fence and a depth gauge, which allows you to cut grooves in your wood as well as in rabbets along the edge.

Plow plane is the tool you need for tongue and groove projects.

#4. Rabbet Plane

Designed specifically for cutting rabbit joints, the Rabbet Plain has been around for centuries.

The blade protrudes the tiniest amount from the sides of the tool, allowing a square cut with less risk of bonding.

The rabbet plane is specifically for cutting rabbet grooves along the edges of the boards.

These planes are usually about 10 inches long, and the blade is slightly wider than the tool allowing square cuts.

#5. Bull-Nose plane

Bull-nose planes are smaller and typically range from 3 to 4.5 inches long. It has a slender body with a slightly wider blade.

Use this tool to eliminate rabbits and can be helpful for detailed work. The low-angle blade is extremely sharp for cutting across the grain.

The bullnose Plane is designed to eliminate rabbets, and the lower angle of the blade allows it to cut along the end grain and grain.

It gets its name from metals “nose” that forms a natural stop at the front of the blade.

For this reason, it is best used on rabbits that do not span the entire length of the piece. Some model is adjustable, and some have a removable nose.

#6. Chisel Plane

Chisel planes are a special type of aircraft that lack any kind of guard at the front of the blade.

This allows them to reach and clean the edge of a cut where other planes cannot reach.

Chiseled aircraft lacks a front guard, which allows them to reach areas other aircraft cannot reach. These aircraft are quite easy to use and simple in design.

#7. Combination Plane

The combination plane has an interchangeable cutting blade that you can turn to perform tasks for other planes. With a few adjustments, you can make the tool look like molding or a rabbet plane.

One of the disadvantages of many specialist tools is the fact that the amateur craftsman cannot buy the complete set.

While not very commons, combination planes have an interchangeable cutter, which allows them to perform tasks of many more specialized tools, such as rabbets or molding planes.

#8. Compass Plane

The compass plane, also called a circular plane, has an adjustable curved sole, which allows you to use the Plane on a curved surface.

These aircraft operate where other aircraft fail, but they take some practice to operate correctly.

One of the more unusually designed aircraft, the spherical Plane, has a curved sole that is often adjustable. This allows you to use the Planes on curved surfaces and details.

#9. Finger Plane

A finger plane is a small tool used to work out detail on small objects such as tools and is often used to remove excess glue.

These are not adjustable, so you may have to buy more than one to complete each task.

They can’t be adjusted, although you’ll find a variety of flat and curved soles in the artisan’s workshop. Since they are mainly used for thin boards, the blades are of very narrow width.

#10. Fore Plane

Fore planes are large and can be 14 to 20 inches long, with a foreplane usually being the first-hand Plane hitting a rough board.

This removes material quickly, and the length allows it to partially straighten the piece.

You use these planes to smooth out rough boards. This removes the wood quickly to prepare it for finer tools. You can also use it to smooth out some boards a bit.