I picked up a balsa blank (my first) from an add on Swaylock’s a few weeks back. Since then every free evening i have had i have been tuning up my planes, chisels, etc. I flattened all the soles of the planes and sharpened the blades up to 1200 on diamond stones and then honed them on leather… when i make a pass with a plane i am getting a killer cut with nice shavings but at the end of the stroke the balsa kinda tears and leaves little hairs over the blade. i can’t easily “eject” the shaving by giving them a tug. I have to stop, turn the plane over and clear the shavings from the blade. it is a real pain in the ass, not is it really slow going but i can’t get into a grove and am not getting the normal joy i get from using hand planes on wood or foam. Any suggestions? Change the bevel angle on my blades? Deeper cuts? File the throats wider/ move the frog back? Live with it?
Nice tip Doc.I would move the frog back first before doing any filing.Also try holding the plane at an angle.A low angle block plane (Stanley or Record) with blade corners rounded a bit does pretty good on the final passes.Jim Phillips has this stuff wired…I wonder where he’s been as of late???He talks about this a good bit in the Archives.I do know that there is a lot of hand block sanding on Balsa.
super sharp blades will help, but some balsa just seems to do this. You have to figure out the grain, which will be different on each plank, as will the density of the wood. Try this - make each pass end on one you just made, that may help. (think of working backward down the blank, each planer pass will end on the low spot in front what you’re cutting. See if a razor plane gives you better results, and make thin cuts. Partly you just have to take your time and not get frustrated - if you get into the right mindframe it won’t bug you… I found that I enjoy hand planing balsa so much that using the power planer on it became a fallback tool…
Had the same issue on my first board, but with the plumajillo. No matter how sharp the blades I couldn’t get past it. Running the plane at an angle definitely improved the cut. The real answer is Amapola. Light as balsa but carves like basswood. I’ve seen dimensioned lumber online. I also found using a spoke shave gave a cleaner cut. Can’t wait to see the pics. What kind of board are you making. -D
JP The grain is the thing. You have to think of the wood as having grain going the length of the piece. (Usually true. ) If your are running your block plane along the length of the board and toward the nose, when the nose starts to ascend, or flip upwards, you will start to grab the end grain in the wood, and tearing is more likely. Turn around and begin your cut at the nose, going “downhill”. Then you’ll be shaving the end grain, not ripping it up. Rule of thumb: Hand plane downhill. It also helps to turn the plane diagonally: it slices better. Doug