# Flattening a plane blade back



## mandatory66 (Jul 26, 2012)

Just spent 2.5 hrs. flattening the back of a Woodriver 4 1/2 plane blade. My fingers are numb and black and my back aches. Started with a course 325 diamond stone then a 1200 fine diamond stone and a 6000 water stone. There has to be a better, quicker way. The iron had a slight hump about 1/4 inch from the edge, I had to use the ruler trick on the back to help get rid of it. Without the trick I probably would still be flattening the back. I am hoping some one here has a better process.


----------



## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Not that I know of.


----------



## upchuck (Nov 3, 2013)

Mandatory66-
The initial flattening of the back of plane blades new or vintage is a pain. For the hard-core out-of-whack examples I use 80 grit zirconium sand paper on a flat surface to just grind it down.
Also remember that for some planes the backs do not need to be perfect. With a scrub or jack plane that will be followed up with other planes the first pass over the wood does not have to be perfect. Following passes with other planes will shave off any imperfections.
Also remember that all of your efforts only need to be done that first time. After the blade is flat only minor touch ups when sharpening will be needed to maintain your blade.
chuck


----------



## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Id return it.. and get another..

say rob cosman only spends 2 minutes getting his WR blades ready out of box, i deserve that quality too!

If you got it flat already id still take it and maybe demand another that they make sure if flat before you left.. and take both home

But.. well i can sometimes be an ass.


----------



## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

Bill, work on your Zen, mind over matter, you don't mind and a little work don't matter. Become one with the process. I've spent hours and like you, gotten totally frustrated, but once the job is done and done right the results are so worth it. I can't think of a more satisfying sound in the shop than a sharp plane sliding down the edge of a piece of board. Hang in there, it'll get better!


----------



## Mykos (Jun 27, 2013)

For a brand new plane that is unacceptable to me. I'd return it and buy Veritas instead.

I've never spent more than 10 minutes on a vintage Stanley plane blade.


----------



## DocBailey (Dec 9, 2011)

I have a partial, but important, solution.

Discussions of how things should be, may be appropriate in reference to new irons, but there is many a vintage blade that needs extensive work.

After years of finger-numbing work, I finally smartened up and started using a hunk of wood.
bolt the blade to it and you'll find that you can apply a great deal more force at no cost to your joints.

Others have used a big rare earth magnet for the same purpose.

have a look here, about a third of the way down the page.


----------



## ColonelTravis (Mar 19, 2013)

I've had a few blades in bad shape but never spent 2.5 hours flattening any of them. You started way too high a grit for big work like that, I've tried flattening blades or chisels on my coarse Dia Sharp, which is 325 - just insane. Never again. Get a granite stone and 60 grit sandpaper - massive metal remover.


----------



## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Only the cutting edge needs to be flat… So you may have polished more than you needed to. Also, there is a trick known as the ruler trick.






Better video


----------



## rad457 (Jun 15, 2013)

2 sided tape a small block of wood onto the plane blade, start with 80 to 180 grit adhesive backed paper on flat surface, then I go to a 1000 water stone and finish polish on a 8000! (Mirror) for bad vintage blades, about 30 to 60 min.? When the plane is a keeper/worker a PMV11 blade from LV is installed, 10min prep!
Hock blades for Krenov planes take 30 to 45 min. because of the chip breaker.


----------



## mandatory66 (Jul 26, 2012)

Doc, hunk of wood sounds like it will sure help, so does using the 2 sided tape to attach it recommend by rad457. Will try starting with larger grit paper on a flat surface next time. Will look into the PM11 blade in the future. I did get that sucker flat my best shaving was .0005. WR not up to LN but will get the job done. Thanks to everyone for the advise, that block of wood will sure save my fingers.


----------



## TRHeath (Jan 20, 2014)

I'd return it. I bought a WR #6 and a Pinnacle blade/chipbreaker for a #4 a week ago. Between the two of them I probably didn't spend more than 20 minutes flattening and sharpening to 16000 grit. I started the back of the blades on a 1000 grit waterstone and had them polished in about 1/8" within a few minutes. You must of gotten a bad blade. In fact, I was so impressed with them that I just ordered a #4 1/2 and a #5 1/2 a few minutes ago.


----------



## unbob (Mar 10, 2013)

When a thin item like a plane blade is made, its surface ground on both sides. To help keep it flat it has to be flipped several times grinding both sides more evenly. Otherwise, if a blade is surface ground completely on one side, then the other side completely ground, the blade will warp-curl….
To produce a blade that is flat, it takes more time and cost more.


----------



## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

My WR #6 blade took more time to flatten than I expected, but no more than 30 mins.
Even at that, the best I could do was get a 1/16" behind the middle of the edge, so its gonna need more flattening. I was a little disappointed, but since I have a Veritas blade to fit, I didn't go any further.

As far as your plane, I would have returned it. If you have to take off that much metal, you can't help but wonder how stable the blade is going to be. I can almost guarantee you'll be checking it for flatness from here on out.

Cosman is full it bull making people think they will get a WR plane ready in 10 minutes. 
Remember he's tied into Woodcraft, so what do you expect?

Interesting that the WR blade is thicker than the Veritas blade of the same size.


----------



## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

Wow, I bought a harbor freight plane just to see how they were and it took me less than that, starting at 60-grit sandpaper on a granite tile. I was able to take that lump of crap from a turd to a sharp turd in about an hour. Great paperweight.

I also agree that you started on too-high of a grit.


----------



## Fettler (Dec 6, 2012)

Take it back to woodcraft. Rob says some of those blades have been defective and if they have a hump don't waste your time. The ruler trick assumes a relatively flat back and you may run into chatter issues.

I put IBC pinnacle blades in my woodcraft planes. I've been very happy with my #6 and block plane but my #4 1/2 always seems to give me troubles. Make sure you take a file and chamfer the edges so if you ever nick the edge you wont be leaving tracks in your work piece. I need to hit the base again with several grits to smooth it out.

I've never liked the tote design on Veritas, the angle is a bit off for my height and over time leads to some sworeness in my wrists. Port Townsend school of woodworking has a lot of veritas planes.


----------



## RichardHillius (Oct 19, 2013)

I have used a Worksharp with 80 grit Zirconia Alumina discs and it removes steel very fast. A few seconds is enough to get even scratch marks across all but the worst plane iron or chisel backs.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00867OC62/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's so rough I would suggest getting some 120 Grit ones as well or else you will spend forever working the scratch marks out of the piece. Also be careful about rocking the back when you place it on the disc or you could round over the edges. This sandpaper is so aggressive that using it by hand would probably work well to. It's much more aggressive than the 80 grit sandpaper that came from Worksharp or the Klingspor replacement discs I bought.


----------



## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Most times, when a "new" iron comes into the shop, I will "flatten the back at the 1"x30" beltsander with 120 grit belt. Cup of water nearby. Fingers get warm….dunk the metal in the water. Takes a whopping 3 minutes to get the back flat. IF that long. Sole of the smaller planes will take a ride on the 3×21 beltsander, after I make a bunch of black sharpie lines across the sole. Again, maybe 10 minutes of that. Sides will ride, too IF needed.

Have a mark set up on the narrow belt sander, to show the 25 degree angle for the bevel. This re-defines the bevel, and gets it ready for the stones, and 2.5K grit paper. Then a nice 20 stroke strop. Bevel is ready to go, back was also polished up as I went.

Had a WR#4 V3 for about a year. Came with the wrong V2 chipbreaker. Got it replaced. Nice plane, but it started to get real finicky as things went along. Finally got tired of messing with it. Sold it off, and bought a couple Millers Falls #9s Much better plane.

The only "thick" irons in the shop are the tapered ones in the woodies. Butcher…Ohio Tool works, New York Tool. Prefer the OEM irons for the "newer" planes.


----------



## LBH (Feb 22, 2015)

I just box up my old Stanley's No 2, No 4, and No 6 and sent them to Tablesaw Tom.

"$30 for the#2, $40 for the 4, $50 for the #5 and $65 for a six and that totals $185. I also give a $5 per plane discount after 2 so the total cost is $175"


----------



## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

80 grit until flat


----------

