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learning how to make a joint is part of the fun
I use my jointer and a granite plate

kinspeed wrote:I got the post war Stanley No.6 for $45, it's in really good shape. The blade needed some work so I sharpened it by hand, thanks to Paul Sellers, got it set right in the plane and it is shaving translucent shavings. I'm building my shooting board for it tomorrow and then it's joining the tops and backs.

When planing the joint pay attention to how you start and how you finish a pass with the plane. When starting have your weight forward of the cut by the time you finish the pass your weight should be behind the cut. The idea is to always take advantage of the flat sole of plane. If your weight is behind the cut when you start you will take too much off of the leading edge of the plates if your weight is ahead of the cut when you finish you will take too much of the trailing edge of the plate. At the point that you are getting full continuous shavings look to see how the plates match up. If there is a gap at the ends take a few strokes starting in the inside of the edge. Then take a couple slow cuts paying attention to how the leading edge of the sole matches the plate at the beginning and how the trailing edge of the plane's sole matches the plate on the trailing edge of the plate. I only write this as when I started to use a plane it seemed impossible to get a flat edge. Now I barely think about it.

johnnparchem wrote:

kinspeed wrote:I got the post war Stanley No.6 for $45, it's in really good shape. The blade needed some work so I sharpened it by hand, thanks to Paul Sellers, got it set right in the plane and it is shaving translucent shavings. I'm building my shooting board for it tomorrow and then it's joining the tops and backs.

When planing the joint pay attention to how you start and how you finish a pass with the plane. When starting have your weight forward of the cut by the time you finish the pass your weight should be behind the cut. The idea is to always take advantage of the flat sole of plane. If your weight is behind the cut when you start you will take too much off of the leading edge of the plates if your weight is ahead of the cut when you finish you will take too much of the trailing edge of the plate. At the point that you are getting full continuous shavings look to see how the plates match up. If there is a gap at the ends take a few strokes starting in the inside of the edge. Then take a couple slow cuts paying attention to how the leading edge of the sole matches the plate at the beginning and how the trailing edge of the plane's sole matches the plate on the trailing edge of the plate. I only write this as when I started to use a plane it seemed impossible to get a flat edge. Now I barely think about it.

Thank you very much for the tips. As I read what you wrote, I thought about my practice planning. As I started to notice some of what you referenced and as I practiced more it was a bit more natural to do as you described.

I'm sure the Stanley will work great for you.

I was working on a practice top yesterday. Getting a perfect joint was like chasing my tail. I ordered a new blade and some DMT stones. The old blade really needed work and I don't think I got it right. It cut well but that's it.