Popular Woodworking 2004-06 № 141, страница 17

How Much Snipe is a Problem?

I'm thinking of buying a thickness planer, but I have no concept of snipe. Is snipe less than .002" even noticeable to the eye? Also, how long is the snipe, and does it happen on both ends of the board?

Reggie Santos Bothell, Washington

Almost all planers on the market snipe to some degree - it's really just a matter of how much. A thousandth or two is impossible to see, but it will be felt by your fingers. I consider this amount of snipe insignificant - it will be planed or sanded off before finishing.

Usually snipe occurs on the first and last few inches of the board. The best way to minimize it is to feed all your boards continuously through the planer, butted end to end. This way, the snipe occurs only on the first board and the last one.

— Christopher Schwarz, executive editor

How Do I Become a Better Plane User?

I bought a No. 4 Lie-Nielsen smoothing plane, read your article on smoothing planes (June 2003), purchased the Norton sharpening stones and a DMT diamond stone, and I am getting a beautiful edge on the tool's iron. The plane works wonderfully. It takes practice but I am getting smoother, faster surfaces than I ever did by sanding.

I have a couple of questions. Sometimes I am getting tiny nicks in the iron even though I haven't hit any metal - is this normal? Also, I wish to learn more about hand planing: How do I plane a large surface such as a tabletop with out getting "lift marks?" Can you recommend a book or a class I can take to go to the next level?

Tim Thompson Columbus, Ohio

Tiny nicks in your plane's iron usually are a result of premature edge crumbling. Try increasing the angle of the primary bevel of your iron. The typical angle is 25°, but 30° creates a more durable angle, and it doesn't change the cutting characteristics of the plane because bench planes operate with the bevel down. If the nicks appear infrequently, you might have planed something abrasive. If you increase the bevel angle and you are still getting nicks constantly, it might be that your iron was poorly heat-treated. I suggest you send it back to the manufacturer.

As to planing a tabletop, here are a couple of pointers. When you work a top, first plane diagonally across the surface and then diagonally the other way back across the top. Clean up the diagonal tool marks with long passes that follow the grain and run the entire length of the top. These long passes eliminate "lift marks."

To advance to the next level, you can take a class from one of the many excellent schools out there. Also I recommend "Planecraft," a book from the early 20th century that has been reprinted by Woodcraft. It'll cost you only about $10, and it's worth every penny. PW

— Christopher Schwarz, executive editor

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