Lapping #8 Bedrock Plane

The old #7 and larger planes seem to mostly not be straight. I figure that the old timers used them that way, so whats the harm in keeping it that way. I’ve got a #7 that’s not perfect either, but it still does the job.

-- Julian, Park Forest, IL

I’ve heard of people getting the soles ground or planed in a machine shop, its doable if you want to go that route.

When I lapped my last jointer plane I changed the paper ALOT makes a huge difference in the cutting speed.

Also what abrasive are you using? SiC seems to work best. This is a great low cost/high quality supplier that I buy a lot of paper from: http://barbkat.com/index.html

you might want to use a better abrasive.

mind you though – this is a JOINTER plane, not a smoother – the sole does NOT have to be perfectly flat … think about it – this is a huge sole…. taking that much material is one major project.

as long as you have a somewhat straight line between the toe, throat, and heel – you should be good to go. don’t try to flatten the entire sole perfectly flat, it’s an overkill, and will add no value to this particular plane.

if you do however choose to go that route – I’d consider a belt sander, or stop by a machine shop… I’d rather spend those 4+ hours working on wood, then on metal soles of planes…

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.