Our October 18th meeting will feature a presentation by Rollie Johnson entitled “Handplane Technology and Sharpening Basics“. It will presented via Zoom only.
Bevel-up versus Bevel-down Handplane Technology
Its all about angles! Understanding the differences between bevel-up and bevel-down handplane technology can improve your handplane work. We will discuss how the two very different style handplanes are designed, why they’re designed the way they are, and why blade sharpening-angles make a significant difference in how a bevel-up plane cuts and not much difference in how a standard bevel-down bench plane cuts. We will also discuss the basics of handplane setup.
Sharpening Basics
Sharpening is the most important skill a woodworker needs to acquire. We will discuss how to create a sharp edge and how to quickly and accurately refresh that edge when it dulls. We will examine the basic types of steel used for chisels and blades. I will cover several different sharpening systems and we will look at a jig that makes sharpening easy and accurate.
About Rollie Johnson
Rollie Johnson has been messing around with hand tools and sharpening for over five decades. Early on he discovered that sharp cutters and well-tuned hand planes can make life a lot easier in a woodworking shop. He started a restoration business in 1976 and quickly added furniture building to his repertoire, reproducing antiques and building custom pieces as well as producing custom millwork. In 1997 he wrote his first article for Fine Woodworking magazine which started a relationship with the magazine that resulted in his becoming a Contributing Editor in 2004 and continuing to the present day. He has been a featured presenter for The oodworking Shows for the past decade and in his free time plays Bluegrass mandolin. Rollie doesn’t like to be bored