Atuned block plane with a sharp blade in the hands of an experienced Rodmaker is a precision instrument. The sound it makes as it quickly cuts through a bamboo strip producing a long tight curled shaving is truly music to the ear. It stirs the soul of a Rodmaker. FIGURE 1. A finely tune plane and the shaving it produces. Planing is a skill that must be mastered and practiced so that you get to this level. There are many subtle aspects of planing that the beginner misses. Not only must you produce the pretty curl but you must maintain the angles on the bamboo strip you are planing. At times this may appear difficult to the beginner. The key to planing good angles is having a strategy and method for planing bamboo strips that enables the rodmaker to maintain control of the planing process. In this section we will discuss the strategies and methods for maintaining control of the process of planing bamboo strips to final dimensions. I will review latter some of these techniques in the sections concerning use of the 1st, 2nd, and Final planing forms that pertains directly to that step of rodmaking. The Beginners Supplement to The Maters Guides to Bamboo Rodmaking 1-1
Basic Techniques BASIC TECHNIQUES.. Setting the Plane Blade Review the anatomy of a plane. Refer to the section on tuning you plane before going further. Holding the Plane Simple as it sounds, there is a technique for correctly setting the plane blade and adjusting for depth of cut. Try this method for consistant results: Back the depth setting wheel down from where you last used it. Place the blade in the plane and tighten down. This should be firm not locked in. The blade must be able to move to adjust it. First visually make sure the blade is in square. The cutting edge should be parallel with the mouth opening of the sole of the plane. This is a simple adjustment with the adjustment lever. Insure that the blade is retracted far enough back so it does not cut. A simple test is to place the plane on a strip and try to plane. If it does not cut, this is good. If does cut, then back the blade out with the adjustment wheel. The reason we want the blade back when we first set it in is that there is slop in the blade adjustment. If you put it in at a cutting depth then it may slip back during planing. Or the first cut may be way too deep. What we do now is rotate the depth setting wheel until the blade first starts to cut. This should produce not even a curl yet since it barely touches the bamboo strip. Now you can incrementally turn the wheel about a ¼ turn and test it to see how much it cuts. An experienced rodmaker can look at the curl and tell you exactly how much is being taken off. This is easy to do with a little bit of practice. Get in the habit to mic the curl you produce with the dial caliper to see how thick the curl is. You will soon become familiar with seeing a curl and knowing what depth of cut produces that type of curl. Normally the tighter curl the smaller the cut. You will soon realize that the finest cut usually takes off between.002 and.003. While a medium cut takes about.005, and a heavy cut takes.008 -.010. Anything more than that is living dangerously with your strip. There are several basic things in holding the plane and using it. Which plane you use is a personal choice. The two most popular planes are the Stanley and Record. The 9 and ½ models are the preferred choice of most rodmakers. I personally use the Record. The The Beginner s Supplement To the Masters Guides to Bamboo Rodmaking 1-2
Planing Strips Techniques reason is that it just fits my hand better. The plane is cradled rather than held. When it is sharp, all you should do is push and guide it rather than grabbing it and exerting pressure downwards. The weight of the plane is enough. The heal of the plane rests in the palm of the hand. The thumb and 4th finger steadies it and the fore finger rests on the tab in front. The plane should feel comfortable in this position. The thumb and 4th finger exert enough pressure to steady the plane and keep it horizontal with the form. Planing Position The plane is positioned at an angle or skewed to the strip to be planed. It is not perpendicular to the strip. This is slices the strip and results in a nice curl of shavings coming off at an angle. It is easier for the blade to cut at and angle then directly perpendicular to the strip. The angle of attack is about 20 degrees, just enough to make a big difference. At this angle you can still cradle the plane and steady it. Remember, you are pushing the plane and do need undue force to make the cut. Planing Basics Several basic-planing principles will help you plane better. First never reach. If you start planing and the strip is long, just walk your way down the strip. Reaching is a basic mistake. At the end of a reach, you are beyond the point where you have good control of the plane being horizontal to the form and it has a tendency to roll to the direction you are standing on. A second problem is that you may not clear the end of the strip before bringing the plane back and the strip catches as you come back and bad things happen to the strip. PLANING STRIPS TECHNIQUES.. Rough Strips - 1st and 2nd Forms With rough strips you have a technique to allow you to quickly mill the strip to get to your angle. This technique is required on when using your 1st and 2nd forms. Plane the end of the strip away from you until your are down to the angle. You will have planed the final 12-15 or so. Stop and turn the strip around and then plane into the rough strip from the back. This has several advantages. First you are not planing into the area that you have planed to the angle, thus avoiding planing too deep into that part of the strip. Second you can plane quickly into the rough portion of the strip easily. Lastly you will have much better control of the strip because you can secure it with your fingers right behind the planing area on the good surface. The Beginner s Supplement to the Masters Guides to Bamboo Rodmaking 1-3
Planing Tips Final Strips When planing strips after they have the angles in your final form, start forward at the top 12 or so and make a clean pass. Then move back 6 and make you next pass(s) until you get a clean pass. Then move back again working your way back to the butt. Each time making a clean pass down the strip. This technique allows you to get clean straight sides in your strips with out dips and valleys. Once you made clean pass down the entire strip and ready to flip the strip, use your center gauge and check the angles every 5 down the strip. If the angles are off, place the strip back in the form, adjust the tilt of the plane and make another pass down the entire strip. Do not just plane the area where the angle is off. This causes an uneven edge on the strip. This promotes glue lines showing in the rod. If the angles are good then flip the strip and plane the other side. When finished - check the angles. Don t put it aside until the angles are correct. PLANING TIPS.. The best tips I can give you are: Let the plane do the work don t ever apply pressure to plane Keep the plane horizontal to the form Don t ever reach Keep the plane position at an angle to the form. Sharpen, Sharpen, Sharpen - never use a dull blade - see section on sharpening for knowing when to sharpen. PLANING SAFETY.. It is not that planing strips is dangerous. It is planing strips with a dull blade can cause the plane to grab and move the strip. That is not a problem by itself. It is the position of your fingers that is the problem. The planed edge of a bamboo strip is sharp, very sharp. It will cut your finger in a heartbeat. Never put your fingers on the edge of a strip. Always hold the flat portion of the strip. Rubber finger guards do help protect your fingers. But the best protection is a sharp blade and correct position of the fingers. The Beginner s Supplement To the Masters Guides to Bamboo Rodmaking 1-4
Summary SUMMARY.. Planing is a skill developed through practice. To be good at planing strips you need to have control of the process. The above techniques will help you gain that control. Like all aspects of rodmaking it requires time and patience. The moment you hurry or get impatient Murphy s Law will apply. The Beginner s Supplement to the Masters Guides to Bamboo Rodmaking 1-5
Summary The Beginner s Supplement To the Masters Guides to Bamboo Rodmaking 1-6