Australian Wood Review – June 2017

The No.40 Scrub Plane

This is an amazing little tool. With its diminutive stature, wide

mouth opening and a thick iron with a heavily cambered edge,

it is perfect for removing a staggering amount of material

quickly and efficiently. Original Stanleys are commonly

available from secondhand tool dealers or online auction sites,

and brand new production versions can be had from Lie-

Nielsen Toolworks.

Sharpening the Blade

A, B The best way to prepare the edge is by hand. Place a

1000 or 1200 sharpening stone widthways in front of you,

feel for the registration of the bevel on the stone and carefully

swivel your hips left-to-right to rock the iron back and forth

across the stone. Pay careful attention to the swarf mark left

on the stone to ensure you are working correctly. Once you

can feel the burr on the back face of the iron then you’re done.

C Flip the iron over and work the burr off the back face. I like to

use David Charlesworth’s ruler trick here.

D Set the iron in the tool with a coarse protrusion. Yes, have it

protruding this much!

E Secure the board firmly and start taking passes. This tool is

small and does not have much in the way of inertia in use, so

it requires some vigorous effort to drive it through the pass,

but you’ll be amazed at the scale of the shaving that can be

produced and how quickly you can remove coarse sawmill

marks and/or broadly flatten a twisted board.

72 Australian Wood Review

TECHNIQUE

B

D

E

A

C

Photos: Donovan Knowles

Damion Fauser is a furniture designer/maker who also

teaches woodwork from his Darra, Qld workshop. Last

issue he wrote about jigs and setups for getting more out of

your thicknesser. Email: [email protected]