{"id":2921,"date":"2014-04-12T02:09:34","date_gmt":"2014-04-12T07:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/?p=2921"},"modified":"2020-09-16T14:21:43","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T18:21:43","slug":"compass-plane-in-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/12\/compass-plane-in-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Compass plane in use"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_1210_edited-2\"<\/p>\n

The compass plane is an effective tool when thought of as a jack plane for curves.<\/strong> It is mostly a shaping plane, where the shape is a curve,<\/strong> not a flat surface as for a regular jack plane. It is mostly fantasy to think of the compass plane sleigh riding over varying-radius curves spilling out long silky shavings.<\/p>\n

The most important step<\/strong> in efficiently forming true curves in solid wood is to saw<\/a> consistently<\/a> to a good layout line<\/a>. However, there will inevitably be some lumps and bumps in the sawn surface, so the curve must be “faired”<\/strong> to make it pleasing.<\/p>\n

Key to using the compass plane is that the sole must be set<\/strong> a bit steeper than the work piece for concave (inside) curves (see photos above and below)<\/strong>, and a bit shallower than the work piece for convex (outside) curves. Furthermore, the planing should proceed into downhill grain, that is, with the grain,<\/strong> which means you may have to turn around often. Outside curves<\/strong> are generally easier to negotiate, and shallow ones can often be worked well with a flat-sole plane such as a block plane.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1210_edited-3\"<\/p>\n

This all sounds good except<\/strong> that most of the interesting curves in woodwork have a varying radius (i.e. are not circular) and some reverse from inside to outside. So that means a single sole setting is ideal for only a relatively short length of curve. As a practical matter therefore, for inside curves,<\/strong> the sole is set to accommodate the steepest portion<\/strong> of a length of curve that you choose to work in which the radius does not vary too much. It is a matter of feel and judgment. Which is to say that these planes are not very practical for abruptly changing curves.<\/p>\n

Because we want the plane to remove lumps and bumps, the shavings,<\/strong> especially early on, will mostly be short,<\/strong> and the cutting edge will engage and disengage<\/strong> the wood as you take fairly short strokes. Then as the fairing proceeds,<\/strong> the shavings will lengthen; that is, if the planets are aligned.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1202_edited-2\"<\/p>\n

The compass plane<\/strong> is capable of fairing a nice gradual curve in the right circumstances and wood. Remember too, it can handle wide surfaces<\/strong> that are difficult to manage with spokeshaves and rasps.<\/p>\n

Also,<\/strong> it is often helpful to initially<\/strong> remove some of the roughness of the sawn surface with a rasp (not a sanding block) to avoid a very rocky ride in the early stages of planing.<\/p>\n

The anatomy of the compass plane does not permit it to transmit the wood-hugging stability that we expect from a good bench plane. I like to make the ride firmer and improve my feel<\/strong> of the plane’s interaction with the wood by placing my right hand<\/strong> as low as possible at the heel, sometimes with my fingers touching the top of the sole plate. Meanwhile, the palm of my left hand<\/strong> hugs down on the nose as my thumb<\/strong> reaches down onto the sole plate.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1205_edited-2\"<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it’s not about the tool,<\/strong> it’s making the product come out the way you want it that counts. I’ll use whatever tool it takes to produce the desired curve in a particular wood. Sometimes,<\/strong> that’s the compass plane.<\/p>\n

Next:<\/strong> scouting reports on each player on the tools for curves team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The compass plane is an effective tool when thought of as a jack plane for curves. It is mostly a shaping plane, where the shape is a curve, not a flat surface as for a regular jack plane. It is mostly fantasy to think of the compass plane sleigh riding over varying-radius curves spilling out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-2921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tools-and-shop","tag-curves"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2921"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6773,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2921\/revisions\/6773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}