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Planecraft

Sharpening and Planecraft
$350.00

Instructor - Craig Stevens

  • Well be rescheduling this class in 2024 (weekend class)

This course is a primer on the basics of sharpening and handplanes. The abilities to sharpen and use cutting tools like hand planes and chisels are essential skills for successful and enjoyable woodworking. Likewise, learning the proper techniques for adjusting and using those same tools, hand planes in particular, truly elevates woodworkers ability to fit, fine-tune, shape, and smooth, woodworking projects.

Saturday focuses on the fundamentals of sharpening, thoroughly covering the geometry of a sharp cutting tool, sharpening stones and supplies, variations for different types of tools, and honing/polishing techniques. The workshop will cover sharpening plane blades, chisels, woodworking knives, and card scrapers. Sharpening is a most important woodworking skill to help one grow as a craftsperson. If you’ve struggled to get handplanes and other cutting tools to work as hoped, the lack of a sharp edge is almost always the culprit.

Sunday we’ll concentrate on handplanes. We’ll explain how this essential tool works, the proper form for handplaning, and how to choose which planes work best for the task at hand. When used correctly, handplanes are a joy to use, and they’re often the best tool for making wood projects tight-fitting, flat, and smooth.

The different topics covered include:

- The proper use of Japanese water stones and specific techniques for sharpening

- The traditional metal body Stanley bench planes and the modern versions made by premium makers

- Japanese and Krenov-style wooden planes, both of which Craig used extensively throughout his furnituremaking career

- Specialty planes like the router plane and shoulder plane and how they excel at fitting joinery

- How to hold the workpiece while planing, including useful jigs and fixtures

You’re welcome to bring in your own handplanes, but please know this is not a restoration course. When going over how planes function, we’ll discuss how to do some of the finer tunings to get the most out of the tool, but planes in a rough state are beyond the scope of this course.

Click here for Tool List

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Earlier Event: September 8
Basic Sharpening
Later Event: September 12
Learning Series 1 - Basics - week 2