# Which sandpaper for flattening planes



## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

I bought a bunch of belt sander belts, as i figured i could use them both for my rigid sander and flattening planes.

Seems as thought i don't get much out of em before they're toast. What kind of paper would you guys recommend?

They're not too expensive, about $15 for 10. But I'd like to maximize usage. I make sure to periodically clean the belt with a vacuum.


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## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

Well, I have used self stick 80 grit and up

Various brands, aluminum oxide (white) and (gold).


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

For flattening the sole of a plane why not try this tip which works great. Instead of using a sander usea regular stone designed for sharpening chisel planer blade etc .You know the type it is usually around eight inches by two by one.And if you stick you plane in a woodworking vice sole up then apply some elbow grease , and work the stone with some light grade oil across the plane sole it comes up really well.I found this tip to be the best method and does not groove or cause slight imperfections to the flat surface. Alistair


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

I use, and abuse an old sanding belt







clamped down across a FLAT floor tile ( about $4 for the tile) , and maybe a sandpaper shim under the belt as needed.

Have since replaced those wood battens with a pair of Visegrip Finger clamps. Belt WAS an 80 grit. Be sure the mark the sole with a sharpie









to check on how it is coming along.


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## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

That might work with small stuff, but not a #6 or #7..
Just not enough length there.


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

PSA sandpaper rolls. Mirka makes some that last decently well in my experience. Available in lots of grit options, and to whatever length you want to tear off and stick down.


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

I've had success flattening, that isn't the issue. The issue is the longevity of the paper.

I typically get 2 planes out of 1 belt. Maybe more, depending on how bad it is.


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

Sweet thanks Shane. I've heard good things about mirka.

I tried an off brand roll of 220 grit for wood, terrible stuff. Gums up on just wood!


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## unbob (Mar 10, 2013)

Bandits photo above is typical of the problems I have run into with these planes! It can be seen the sole has a twist, and sunk in behind the mouth, with some depression ahead of the mouth also. This is visible by the dark areas.
I found planes perform poorly in that condition. I ended up owning 20 of these things, some worse then others.

Problems being, way too thin castings of some inconsistent cast iron, some have very hard skin from cooling too fast when pulled from the mold, some have hard and soft spots, inclusions of contaminates.
I do various operations to get them flat, all are time consuming and present their own problems, including machine surface grinding, and milling. The milling and or grinding I found adds stress to the planes sole causing them to warp and twist to some degree from that, but tends to make them better then they were.

Having tried LN planes, I truly believe the only way to get near that performance, is once the plane is pretty flat from however one gets there, is to finish off with hand scraping the sole using dye and a truly flat reference, as in the photo I have included.
The plane in the photo is a lesser quality Stanley Four Square 5 1/4 size, it now works very well.
There is simply no other way to get them as flat as a LN plane. LN planes are made of a much more stable cast iron, that tends not to get induced stress from machining processes.
Scraping is self compensating and is the only way to get poor quality cast iron truly flat.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

I use cheap 80 grit sandpaper off a roll. I burn through it but it's cheap. Depending on the size and condition of the plane I might get near flat or totally flat from 2 strips (usually 1.5 - 2 times the length of the plane). The point being I think you will use a lot of sandpaper no matter what. I do stop and brush it out every couple minutes.


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

I don't aim for perfect flatness. To do that would be absurd. I just want a uniform finish on the sides and a moderate flatness. I'll see if I can get some rolls instead. Probably change to a lower grit for rough removal. Been starting with 120, which does work pretty well. I had a #7 almost flat in under 10 minutes.


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## unbob (Mar 10, 2013)

After testing out the LN handplanes that they say are .0005" flat, and finding that they are very good, that is the standard I want. But at a much lower price rehabbing older planes.
One has to find their own acceptable standard. For example, Its not possible to get a plane better then .003" flat by sanding it, but, at that tolerance, it would be much better then one that is .030" out of true.
At .003" flat, a plane is six times out of tolerance of a LN plane.

With the actually very simple hand tools I pictured, and a few hours time, an old plane can easily be brought to better then twice the tolerance of a LN plane-.0002".
That is, after sanding/or machining, the remaining error can be knocked down fairly quickly by hand scraping.
I am a metal worker, so since its metal, I use those methods. On the other side of the coin, to sand a metal surface flat is absurd, to a metal worker.


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## distrbd (Sep 14, 2011)

Has anyone ever tried drywall sandpaper like Norton WallSand sandpaper?it might be just abrasive enough for this job.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/wallsand-4-3-16-inch-x11-1-4-inch-sanding-sheets-medium-100-grit-25-pack/968007


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## sikrap (Mar 15, 2009)

I use 80 grit sanding belts to start. They are 3M and they are the cloth back. IIRC, I got a bunch of them at an estate sale and paid about $2 for a box full of them. Buying the cheap belts is just a waste of money because they wear out so quick.


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## unbob (Mar 10, 2013)

Unfortunately sanding rolls up the edges of the sole, just the nature of the method. However just sanding can make things more better.
Myself, working some more problem woods such as burl, I find the need to go the extra step of scraping. Reducing tear out, and getting better edges.
Here are some of the planes with that last step done. The larger planes such as the 7 and 8 with the C type soles are the most time consuming though.


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Unbob, hand scraping looks really interesting, but there is some definite skill involved there and a reference plate is needed. My understanding is that those are a significant investment if you don't already have one. Funny too, that scraped surface looks less flat.


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

I really don't see the point to going as far as to scrape them. I've never noticed errors in ANY of my planes showing up in a work piece. I DO have a lie nielsen #4 1/2 and it is a superb plane. While i would love a LN jointer, i don't think it would be a worth while investment.


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## UpstateNYdude (Dec 20, 2012)

I am in no way a hand tool user and know very little about how to even use them, but isn't most of the flatness in planing achieved by good technique not how flat the sole is? I'm also curious to know how you could possibly even gauge the difference between a LN at .0005 and a hand sanded sole at .003, for sake of comparison .004 is a thickness of an average piece of paper, and your trying to tell me that a plane out of flat by even less than the thickness of a piece of paper isn't going WAY overboard? on something even if compounded would not be seen by the human eye.

I think at some point you have to draw the line at how much flatness can you live with, or else you'll sand the whole sole off the plane, I'm not saying tolerances don't need to be met but not to a point that is ridiculous…just my 2 cents though.


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## TerryDowning (Aug 8, 2012)

After seeing many of the fine examples of wood working from the 18th and 19th century (the golden age of hand tool wood working if you will) and predating the existence of cast iron planes I too wonder at the validity and practicality of flattening cast iron to thousandths and ten thousandths of an inch. I doubt very seriously that those master craftsmen were worrying if there hand planes were within .0005 in tolerance. Yet they managed to achieve silky smooth flat surfaces none the less. I can see why Lie-Nielsen does it with their brand new planes it is expected of them. The new ductile cast iron is better suited to precision machining as well.

If precision measurement is your thing then go for it. Personally, before I even think about flattening the sole of a plane I sharpen the iron and fettle everything else up then test it. If it leaves the surface of wood acceptable to me then it's good. I will sand plane soles on a flat surface but only to remove corrosion. Having obsessed on a couple of planes and finding it really didn't matter regarding the surface of the wood after planing I decided that flattening the sole was the last thing I would worry about on a hand plane restoration.

IMHO the true test is the surface left on the wood after planing, not the size of feeler gauge I can slide between a reference and the sole.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Have seen a video of a fellow hand filling, scraping and in general trying to get a perfect flat surface …..on a 9-1/2 BLOCK PLANE, and it looked worse than it did BEFORE he started. He even made an UGLY adjuster for the toe, on a metal lathe. Now, I CAN pick up the usual Stanley 9-1/2 plane for around $3-6 about anywhere. Question is? WHY ALL THAT WORK ON A $5 plane?

Now, would you do the same to the sole of a Dia? A Japanese style hand plane? IF you did, you would find out very quickly that it will no longer work as a plane. It only needs to be flat in three areas, name them.

One could go all out, flattening the sole of a plane. But since it is a tool to flatten WOOD items, NOT perfect metal parts, not worth the extra effort to make it a Machine tool. Toe, mouth, and heel need to be co-planar, edge can be a bit rounded over. No need for a sharp 90 degree edge, as it will dig into the wood as you slide the plane around. Besides, I have been CUT using one with that sharp edge.

Go out and get three sanding belts, and a long enough flat glass or tile. Get the belts as wide as you can. Most only come in three grits, anyway. Maybe find an 80 grit, a 100 grit, and a 120-150 grit. Glue them down as flat as you can. They can even be side-by-side. Work your way along each, using the Sharpie lines as a gauge to tell when each is as done as it can get. The "final" grit will be just a polishing. Wax the sole when done, and put it back to work.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

And, yes I am a hand plane user. I want a plane that is easy to start on a piece of wood, stays in the cut going along the board, and finishes the cut at the end. The main thing i don't want is for it to rock as it goes along. Don't want to sides to mark up the surface I am trying to get finished.

Flat IS nice, but lets not go way overboard about it. Just needs the toe, both side of the mouth and the heel to be at least in the same line, front to rear and at the diagonals. IF there is a slight hollow behind the mouth….so what. The area does no cutting. If the edges along the sides are straight teo to heel, that is about all that is needed along the length. As for sanding a sole









This is a Millers Falls 1455 block plane. A low angle block plane. Sanded to 120 grit. Works very well. Works even better after the iron is sharp as can be.


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