Plane (tool)

For thoughtful child sponsors

A plane is a tool for shaping wood. Planes are used to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a rough piece of lumber. Special types of planes are designed to cut joints or decorative mouldings.

Though most planes are pushed across a piece of wood, holding it with one or both hands, Japanese planes are pulled toward the body, not pushed away. A cutter which extends below the bottom surface, or sole, of the plane slices off shavings of wood. A large, flat sole on a plane guides the cutter to remove only the highest parts of an imperfect surface, until, after several passes, the surface is flat and smooth.

Table of contents

1 Parts of a Plane
2 Types of Planes
3 History
4 References

Parts of a Plane

Two styles of plane are shown with some parts labeled:

A: The Mouth is an opening in the bottom of the plane down through which the blade extends, and up through which wood shavings pass.
B: The Iron is a plate of steel with a sharpened edge which cuts the wood.
C: The Lever cap holds the blade down firmly to the body of the plane.
D: The Depth adjustment knob controls how far the blade extends through the mouth.
E: The Knob is a handle on the front of the plane.
F: The Chipbreaker or Cap iron serves to make the blade more rigid and to curl and break apart wood shavings as they pass through the mouth.
G: The Lateral adjustment lever is used to adjust the iron so that the depth of cut is uniform across the mouth.
H: The Tote is a handle on the rear of the plane.
I: The Mouth Opening Adjustment controls the size of the mouth of the plane. A larger mouth opening permits more wood to be removed in a single stroke, while a smaller mouth opening aids finer cutting.
J: The Frog is a separate casting on some planes which holds the blade, and which is attached to the body of the plane. The frog can be adjusted forwards and backwards, which serves to control the mouth opening.

Types of Planes

Planes are sometimes categorized as bench planes or block planes. Bench planes are characterized by a cutting iron bedded with the bevel facing down, attached to a chipbreaker. Block planes are characterized by a cutting iron bedded with the bevel up, and the absence of a chipbreaker. On the top in the image is a bench plane; on the bottom is a block plane.

Bench planes are sometimes named according to their length:

A smoothing plane is 10 inches long or shorter.
A jack plane is around 14 inches long.
A fore plane is around 18 inches long.
A jointer plane is around 22 inches long.

Planes may also be classified by the material of which they are constructed:

A wooden plane is entirely wood except for the blade. The iron is held into the plane with a wooden wedge, and is adjusted by striking the plane with a hammer.
A transitional plane has a wooden body with a metal casting set in it to hold and adjust the blade.
A metal plane is largely constructed of metal, except, perhaps, for the handles. The planes in the image are metal planes.

Some special types of planes include:

The shoulder plane, which trims tenons and other joints.
The rabbet plane, which cuts rabbets and dadoes.
The router plane, which cuts grooves and shallow mortises.
The scrub plane, which removes large amounts of wood quickly.

The spokeshave is a tool closely related to the plane.

History

Roman planes found at Pompeii are largely similar to planes in use today.

References

Hack, Garrett (1997). The Handplane Book. ISBN 1-56158-155-0
Watson, Aldren A. (1982) Hand Tools: Their Ways and Workings. ISBN 1-55821-224-8