Read and followed all the block plane sharpening threads but am confused as which way to place the blade in the plane after sharpened. My almost 2" blade is sharpened to 30 degrees with a 10 degree back bevel. which side faces down, 30 or 10?
10 seconds on gooooooogle…
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/tools/1273881.html?page=3
Thanx - Bevel up. Sorry to bother you.
Quote:
Thanx - Bevel up. Sorry to bother you.
No bother bru! I was curious myself!
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Hold on a second. If you have a standard block plane, the flat of the plane iron should be flat. Do I understand right that you sharpened a bevel on the flat side? Not correct.
Rules of thumb:
Bevel one side only.
Standard bench plane has bevel down.
If, on the other hand, you have a Standard or Low Angle block plane, the bevel goes up.
But no bevel on the flat side of the plane iron.
Doug
Hmmmm, Doug I may have messed up. I put a 30 degree angle on the blade which is a pretty low angle correct? This angle should face up. I also put a 10 degree “cutter” angle on the bottom. Do I have this all wrong?
Lads,
As with anything in life, there are differing opinions - but the core approach is consistent.
Doug is right in that your bevel is different depending on the type of plane you are using. (Bench plane, Block plane etc.)
Use google to search specifically for the type of plane you are using (the popular mechanics thread sounds a good place to start also) and read up.
I’ve read articles saying that for a block plane, best results are gained by putting a small cutting bevel into the cutting side (flat side for a block plane) and then read another article saying that a cutting bevel is utter giberish and it shouldn’t be done, but 2 things need to be kept in mind here:
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Most of these articles are written by poeple with years of experience in woodworking - remember we are dealing with a differrent medium here.
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Agian, most of these articles are written by poeple with years of experience in woodworking - Through their years of experience they have learnt techniques for using their tools that get best results for the way in which they use those tools. Every one is different as you may hold the plane in a different way, use a different action etc…
Hope this helps rather than muddies the water 
-Cam
This is an interesting discussion.I am a wood worker and a shaper and I have found that tuning block planes can get complicated.I have planes set up for woodworking and planes set up for shaping foam boards.May I ask what you are trying to accomplish with your plane???Are you shaping the board with it or just cutting the stringer??? RB
Plane blades or irons should be ground to a 20 to 25 degree angle. The width of the angle (or bevel) should be about
2 1/2 times the thickness of the blade. When honing the blade raise the blade another 5 degrees to put a secondary bevel on the blade. Strop to a mirror finish to remove the burr.
if it is a block plane,about 6 inches long +/- overall and generally for use with one hand ,the back of the blade or the flat side should have notches in it that fit over the threads of the depth adjusting knob in the back. if this is the case ,it can only be put in with the bevel up. that is ,unless you’ve re-ground the blade.
benck planes are another story.
RB - It’s a Block plane approx 6" long and used for shaving the stringer.
LAZYMODO - There are notches in the blade but seems to be able to be put in either way.
Mate
Surfifty is spot on, block plane bevel up always.
The notches in the blade are for when the blade gets worn down through repeated regrinding, so that it always reaches the throat of the plane body.
Take the blade back to the grind stone!!