In this segment, Author Sandor Nagyszalanczy and host David Thiel reveal techniques for using Japanese hand planes.
Modern metal hand planes familiar to Western woodworkers have cast iron bodies and steel blades. They have a knob that turns to adjust the depth of the cut. Older Western planes were made of wood, with a simple wedge to hold the iron in place.
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Figure A
Figure B
Figure C
Japanese hand planes arose from a very different tradition of craftsmanship. For example, a Japanese hand plane is pulled toward the user to cut, while Western planes cut on the push stroke. Cutting on the pull stroke allows the user more control during the cut.
Simple Japanese planes (figure A) consist of the blade, a tapered chip breaker to hold the blade in place, and the wood body of the plane.
The plane on the left in Figure A is a spoon-bottom plane. The bottom of the plane body is curved in two dimensions. This specialty plane is used for applications that require wood to be hollowed out, such as the seat of a chair or the face of an oar. The blade of this tool is wedged right into the body of a plane. A mallet or small hammer (figure B) is used to adjust the tool or to remove the blade.
The tool on the right is a chamfer plane. The body of the plane consists of two halves that are
bonded together with bolts (figure C). The blade is set in between the two bolts. To narrow the chamfer, bring the blades closer by tightening the bolts. To widen the chamfer, set them farther apart. This specialty plane is used for cutting sharp edges off of boards.
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