🔧 12. Common Problems & Troubleshooting
“Just like hips, the plane doesn’t lie—if something’s wrong, it tells you in shavings.”
Barnaby the Owl
Jonas had been working on a walnut tabletop all afternoon. Despite freshly sharpening his blade and setting his frog just right, he kept getting less than optimal results. Frustrated, he paused and examined the shavings—they were thick, uneven, and sometimes curled oddly sideways.
What Jonas needed was not another test cut—but a troubleshooting mindset.
Here’s a comprehensive field guide to decoding what your handplane is telling you when things go sideways.
📉 1. Tear-Out
Symptoms:
- Jagged patches of missing wood
- Rough surface even after planing
- Happens most on figured or reversing grain
Causes:
- Planing against the grain
- Blade not sharp enough
- Too aggressive a cut
- Mouth too wide or cap iron poorly set
Solutions:
- Check grain direction before every pass
- Hone blade to a razor edge
- Close the mouth tightly for smoothing
- Advance the cap iron within 1 mm of the iron blade edge
- Consider a high-angle frog or bevel-up plane for tough grain
Jonas’s fix: Re-honed his blade with a micro-bevel, closed the mouth to a whisper, and reduced his cut depth. Tear-out vanished.
🌐 2. Blade Chatter
Symptoms:
- Rippled surface
- Faint horizontal lines in the planed wood
- Audible vibration or “buzz” while planing
Causes:
- Iron not firmly bedded
- Frog not tightened
- Blade too thin or unsupported
- Too aggressive a cut
Solutions:
- Tighten all frog and cap iron screws
- Use thicker or higher-quality irons
- Reduce depth of cut
- Apply even downward pressure while planing
Pro tip: A sharp blade rarely chatters. Dull edges bounce.
↔️ 3. Skewed or Crooked Cuts
Symptoms:
- One side of the board lower than the other
- Edge jointing results in a twisted joint
Causes:
- Blade not laterally aligned
- Uneven pressure during planing
- Sole not flat
Solutions:
- Use lateral adjustment lever or taps to align blade
- Check iron projection across the mouth with a square
- Focus pressure toward the high side while planing
- Re-flatten sole if necessary
📏 4. Board Not Flat
Symptoms:
- Wind or twist remains after planing
- High spots or hollows
Causes:
- Uneven blade camber
- Improper sequencing (e.g., skipped jointing)
- Planing without referencing flat surfaces
Solutions:
- Use winding sticks and straightedge frequently
- Start with jack plane for rough stock
- Use long jointer plane before smoothing
- Apply even pressure throughout stroke
Field wisdom: “The board won’t lie—if you chase low spots, you’ll only dig deeper.”
🪚 5. Plane Not Cutting at All
Symptoms:
- Plane glides over wood but leaves no shaving
- Just polishing the board, no bite
Causes:
- Blade retracted or dull
- Frog set too far back
- Iron not advanced properly
Solutions:
- Extend the blade slightly using depth adjuster
- Check cap iron position
- Re-sharpen the blade if needed
- Reset frog to support the blade fully
⚒️ 6. Trouble Shooting Specialty Planes
Router Plane:
- Problem: “Skating” or chattering across grain
Fix: Add downward pressure, sharpen cutter properly, ensure sole is dead flat.
Shoulder Plane:
- Problem: Doesn’t reach corners or leaves fuzzy edges
Fix: Sharpen square to edge, make light passes, check squareness of bed.
Block Plane:
- Problem: Bites into end grain or leaves shiny burnished surface
Fix: Hone blade to higher angle (~38–40°), wax sole, plane at slight skew.
💡 Final Thoughts: “The Plane as Teacher”
Every poor result is a lesson in disguise. Whether you’re fighting grain, iron chatter, or a board that won’t square, every moment with your plane is teaching you something.
Jonas keeps a simple mantra in his shop:
“If the shaving isn’t pretty, neither is the surface.”
Trust the feedback your plane gives. Look at your shavings. Listen to the sound of the blade. Feel the wood through your fingertips.