This guide assumes a sharp iron — sharpening is covered in the sharpening guide — and a plane whose parts you can name; the hand plane guide explains them. It works for any bench plane. Where bevel-down and bevel-up planes differ in setup, both are given.
Check the plane
- The sole. It must be flat where it matters: at the toe, around the mouth and at the heel. Lie-Nielsen grinds its soles to within 0.0015 in and suggests an occasional light sanding on 320 grit or finer wet/dry paper on a flat surface to keep them that way. An older plane may need much more work; see the last section.
- The iron and chipbreaker. The edge is sharp and square to the sides, or evenly cambered if the plane needs it. On a bevel-down plane, the chipbreaker’s leading edge seats tight against the iron with no gap: the plane iron guide explains why.
- The frog and lever cap. The frog is seated and its screws are tight. The lever cap holds the iron firmly but not so hard that the adjuster binds: Veritas says a quarter turn of its lever cap knob is enough, and warns against overtightening.
- A little wax. Veritas recommends silicone-free paste wax on the sole, which also helps it slide; Lie-Nielsen advises keeping iron bodies oiled or waxed against rust.
Set depth, lateral and mouth
Hand plane setup is the same three adjustments on almost every plane: how far the iron projects, whether its edge is parallel to the sole, and how wide the mouth is. Make them in this order, with the plane upside down and a light behind it.
Setting depth, lateral adjustment and the mouth
Set the chipbreaker (bevel-down planes)
With the iron out, fix the chipbreaker behind the edge. Lie-Nielsen suggests about 1/16 in for general work and closer for fine smoothing; for difficult grain, closer still.
Set the mouth
The mouth should be as small as will let the shaving escape, which supports the wood ahead of the edge. On a bench plane with an adjustable frog, loosen the frog’s locking screws, move it with the adjuster and retighten. On a plane with an adjustable toe, set the toe — but, as Veritas warns, check the mouth before advancing the blade, so the edge never runs into the toe.
Retract the iron
Withdraw it until no edge shows through the mouth.
Sight along the sole
Hold the plane sole up and look along it toward a light. Advance the iron until the edge just appears as a thin dark line.
Set the lateral
Move the lateral lever, or the combined adjuster on a Veritas bevel-up plane, until the line is even from side to side, parallel to the mouth.
Finish with a forward movement
Both Lie-Nielsen and Veritas say to make the last adjustment by advancing the iron, which takes up the backlash in the adjuster so the iron cannot creep back in use. If you need to retract, go back further than necessary and come forward again.
Take a test cut
Plane a scrap. A smoother should take a thin, even shaving across its width; if one side is thicker, adjust the lateral toward the thin side. For the finest shavings, Veritas notes that test cuts, not sighting, set the final depth.
Read the grain
Wood planes cleanly in one direction and tears in the other (see the plate above). Fibres are rarely parallel to the face of a board: the Wood Handbook explains that a board sawn at an angle to the fibres has diagonal grain, and that logs with spiral or interlocked grain can never yield truly straight-grained boards. Where fibres meet the surface at an angle, a plane moving so the fibres run down into the board ahead of it cuts them; a plane moving the other way gets under them and lifts them out.
- Look at the edge. The lines of the grain on the edge of a board show which way the fibres run out of the face. Plane the face in the direction in which those lines run down away from you.
- Take a test stroke. Plane a short, light stroke. If the surface tears, turn the board end for end.
- Expect reversals. In a board with reversing or interlocked grain, the direction changes along its length, and no single direction is right everywhere. There, change the plane instead: close the mouth, set the chipbreaker closer, take a lighter cut, or skew the plane — Veritas notes that skewing lowers the effective cutting angle, which eases end grain; for tear-out, a higher cutting angle is the other tool, described in the hand plane guide.
Hold the work, and stand behind the plane
The work must not move. Clamp it, hold it against a planing stop, or hold it in a vice, so that both hands are free for the plane — OSHA’s hand-tool guidance makes the same point about securing work. For end grain, Veritas advises clamping the work low in the vice, where it is secure and comfortable to plane.
Stand with your body behind the line of the stroke, so the push comes from your legs and body rather than your arms alone. The rear hand on the tote drives the plane; the front hand on the knob presses it down and steers. A long stroke is made by walking with the plane, not by reaching.
Pressure through the stroke
A plane cuts only where its sole is supported. At the start of a stroke only the toe is on the board, so pressure belongs on the knob, which is over the work; pressing on the tote would tip the plane down behind the board and lift the edge into the wood at an angle. In the middle both ends are supported and the pressure is even. At the end the toe has run past the board, so pressure moves to the tote. Get this wrong in either direction and the ends of the board are planed round — the commonest reason a board that looked flat will not glue up tight.
Planing a face flat
Flattening a face
Find the high spots
Lay a straightedge along, across and diagonally on the face, and mark where it rocks or where light shows beneath it.
Check for wind
Set a pair of winding sticks across the board, one near each end, and sight across them (see the drawing below). If their tops are not parallel, the board is twisted.
Take down the high spots first
With a jack plane, work across or diagonally to the grain to remove the high areas and any twist, planing more from the two high corners.
Plane along the grain
With a longer plane, work along the grain in overlapping strokes, keeping the pressure right through each one, until the plane takes a continuous shaving along the full length.
Check again
Recheck with the straightedge and winding sticks, then leave the final surface to the smoother.
Winding sticks are simply two identical straight, parallel-sided sticks, longer than the board is wide. Because they are longer than the board, they exaggerate any twist, and sighting across them shows a difference too small to see on the board itself. To correct wind, plane the two high corners — diagonally opposite each other — until the sticks read parallel.
Planing an edge square
An edge is squared to a reference face that is already flat, and marked as the reference: the techniques page explains why every later cut is measured from that face. A long plane does the best job, because its sole bridges the dips along the edge; Lie-Nielsen describes its No. 7 as the jointer for truing and shooting joints.
Planing an edge square
Hold the board edge up
Clamp it in a vice with the edge horizontal and at a comfortable height.
Set a straight, fine cut
A jointer’s iron should be straight across, not cambered, for edge work, and set to a light, even shaving.
Guide the plane with your fingers
Curl the fingers of your front hand under the sole and against the reference face, so they act as a fence and keep the plane centred on the edge.
Plane full-length strokes
Keep the pressure right through each stroke, starting on the knob and finishing on the tote, until the plane takes a continuous shaving from end to end.
Check for square
Hold a square against the reference face at several points along the edge.
Correct a slope
If the edge slopes, move the lateral lever so the iron projects further on the high side, and take a few strokes; or shift the plane toward the high side, so the edge’s centre cuts there. Recheck, and return the lateral to centre.
Check for straight
Sight or lay a straightedge along the edge. If it is hollow, take short stopped strokes from the ends; if it is round, from the middle, before finishing with full-length strokes.
Common faults
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Torn surface in patches | Planing against the grain | Reverse the board; if the grain reverses, close the mouth, set the chipbreaker closer and take a lighter cut |
| Plane skates without cutting | Iron not projecting, or a dull edge | Advance the iron; sharpen it |
| Plane digs in and stalls | Cut too deep, or iron creeping back and forth | Retract, then finish every adjustment with a forward movement |
| Shaving thicker on one side | Edge not parallel to the sole | Adjust the lateral toward the thin side |
| Shavings jam in the mouth | Mouth too tight for the cut, or a gap under the chipbreaker | Open the mouth slightly; seat the chipbreaker tight against the iron |
| Chatter marks | A loose iron, lever cap or frog | Tighten the lever cap and frog screws; check the iron is seated |
| Ends of the board rounded | Pressure on the overhanging end | Press on the knob at the start and the tote at the finish |
| Edge not square | Plane tilted, or iron set unevenly | Use the fingers as a fence; correct with the lateral |
| Face still twisted | High corners not taken down first | Check with winding sticks and plane the two high corners |
Grain-related faults and the plane features that help are explained in the hand plane guide.
Setting up an old plane
Many people start with a second-hand plane. Restoring a hand plane can be worthwhile, but some faults cannot be fixed economically, and it is better to find them before spending hours on setup. The table below separates the two; the checklist that follows is the order in which to look.
| Check | Acceptable | Not worth fixing |
|---|---|---|
| Body and sole | Surface rust; light pitting; a sole that needs some flattening | Cracks or old repairs in the casting, often around the mouth or on the sides; heavy pitting |
| Mouth | Clean and square | Chipped, or filed open by a previous owner |
| Frog | Rust and grime on its seat | Broken or chipped, or damaged bolt holes |
| Iron | Rust on the face that sharpening will remove | Too short to reach the adjuster, or pitted right at the edge — though a replacement iron solves this |
| Lever cap | Chips on its lower edge | A broken top lever, which the plane cannot work without |
| Adjusters | Stiff with old grease | Missing parts that cannot be found for that model |
| Knob and tote | Cosmetic damage | Cracks that make the grip unsafe |
Adapted from Virginia Toolworks’ guide to vintage planes. Replacement irons, and how to check they fit, are covered in the plane iron guide.
Inspecting an old plane before setting it up
- No cracks in the body, especially around the mouth and the sides.
- The mouth is not chipped or filed wider.
- The frog is whole and its bolt holes are sound.
- The iron is long enough to reach the adjuster, or you will replace it.
- The lever cap’s top lever is intact.
- The depth and lateral adjusters are present and move.
- The sole is flat enough at the toe, mouth and heel to be worth flattening.
Sources
Setup steps follow the makers’ instructions for their own planes. The planing technique is established bench practice, explained here in BenchRoot’s own words; the sources support the statements about adjustment, grain and securing the work.
- 1.
No. 4 Smooth Plane — instructions. Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
Used for: Soles ground flat to 0.0015 in and kept that way with 320 grit or finer wet/dry paper on a flat surface; advancing the blade clockwise and finishing with a forward adjustment to take up backlash; adjusting the mouth by loosening the frog’s two locking screws and turning the middle adjuster; chipbreaker about 1/16 in from the edge, closer for fine smoothing; keeping iron bodies oiled or waxed against rust.
- 2.
Bevel-Up Planes — instructions. Veritas Tools Inc..
Used for: Setting a blade by sighting along the sole; test cuts for fine shavings; a quarter turn of the lever cap knob and no more; checking the mouth before advancing the blade; finishing every adjustment with a forward movement; a mouth as small as will let the shaving escape; skewing the plane; clamping end grain low in a vice; silicone-free paste wax on the sole.
- 3.
No. 7 Jointer Plane. Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
Used for: The jointer as the plane for truing and shooting joints.
- 4.
Alex C. Wiedenhoeft. Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-190), chapter 3. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, 2010.
Used for: Straight-grained and diagonal-grained boards; spiral grain; interlocked grain, whose direction reverses so that no straight-grained board can be cut from the log.
- 5.
Hand and Power Tools (OSHA 3080). Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2002.
Used for: Securing work with clamps or a vice so both hands are free for the tool.
- 6.
What to Look for When Buying Vintage Hand Planes. Virginia Toolworks, 2012.
Used for: Cracks and repairs in the body; a chipped or filed mouth; heavy pitting; broken or chipped frogs and damaged bolt holes; the remaining length of the iron; the lever cap’s tab; missing adjusters.
About this tutorial
Written by BenchRoot Editorial. How BenchRoot sources, checks and corrects its pages is set out in the Editorial Policy. If something here is wrong or unclear, the contact page explains how to tell us.