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I know how to flatten a plane, but I've got one that's a little too uneven for me too care to spend the time fixing it.

Are there any kinds of shops that have machinery to do this easily for a reasonable fee, or am I better off just trashing it?

Edit: It's a Buck Bros plane... I'm pretty sure it's the same one shown in this picture. So very cheap I believe; I wasn't familiar with the brand before I purchased but it was part of a bigger deal of many tools on Craigslist. In any case, I've been wanting one this size and I still think it would otherwise work nicely if the sole was flat.

The reason I asked is because I saw someone else on the internet in a years old post mention taking it to a shop and that it was inexpensive to do so... perhaps he was getting mates rates though.

On another note I also read about someone flattening with a belt sander. Any reason not to try that?

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  • If you really want to find a 2rd party to do this — or I should say, attempt to do this — you're looking for a light-engineering place that has a surface grinder. But there are many cautionary tales in forum posts about this. 1st caution is it's not economically viable, which I suppose is the best one since that pretty much squashes the idea straight out of the gate for most peeps (except for those who have a friend who'll do it for 'mates rates'). The second is that unless the fixturing is done well (and this is the trickiest part of the operation in multiple ways) it might not even work!
    – Graphus
    Commented Nov 21, 2022 at 8:10
  • I presume you're used to the idea of doing this the 'conventional' way, running the plane back and forth over abrasive. But there are many finer details to this methodology that can help with problems, and better yet, other — better — ways to tackle high spots you might not be aware of. You still have to decide for yourself "Is it worth it to me?" however it's normally way more efficient than the hand-sanding method. But before that, start off with what plane is it — the make and size + type/age (this is to assess inherent value)? Then, be more realistic about how flat the sole needs to be.
    – Graphus
    Commented Nov 21, 2022 at 8:19
  • If your plane is a 4 or equivalent, the sole does need to be pretty flat for it to work well as a smoother, however 'pretty flat' covers a multitude of not-flat realities (and this is only if you do want the plane as a fine smoother!) Have a look at this old Answer for some surprises. And if your plane is a 5, as it intimates if set up in the traditional way it actually doesn't need a particularly flat sole at all (one of the surprising things that old wooden jack planes can tell us).
    – Graphus
    Commented Nov 21, 2022 at 8:33
  • It's been nearly a week, have you abandoned this Question?
    – Graphus
    Commented Nov 27, 2022 at 18:59
  • @Graphus No, Somehow I just missed the updates. About to add a couple edits...
    – BVernon
    Commented Nov 28, 2022 at 20:00

1 Answer 1

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To get this done commercially, what you're looking for is any sort of light-engineering or metalworking facility that offers surface grinding.

Surface grinding is how very flat surfaces are achieved in many metalworking applications and it is how most or all planes have their soles flattened in the first place1.

As this is a modern mass-market plane (or low-end plane, depending on how uncharitable you want to be) it's unlikely you'll be able to find a service that will do this for a fee that makes sense — if done on the books, their minimum charge per hour could more than double the effective price of the plane (if bought new).

One other (cheaper) possibility that has been mentioned in some posts online is looking for a nearby high school that teaches metalwork, where the shop teacher might take on the project for fun/as a teaching example. But the almost complete disappearance of metalworking classes from American high schools (source: mrpete222/tubalcain) now makes this possibility remote.

And it's worth realising in advance that neither of the two options above would come with any sort of warranty. Without proper fixturing — clamping in place to prevent movement, as well as providing good support to prevent flexing — the grinding could be completed and the sole could still not be flat, in just the same way that rounds of sanding can be done and when the sole it checked it's found not to be much flatter than before.... or even worse.

Plane being ground

machining service for handplanes

In addition, as this is a cheap plane spending much more than maybe the price of a coffee or two on flattening the sole doesn't seem to make economic sense. But there's good news below.

On another note I also read about someone flattening with a belt sander. Any reason not to try that?

If the platten is long enough and flat enough, you do it carefully, and you are suitably cautious of the sparks which can theoretically start a fire this is one of the ways one can speed up the process of flattening a plane sole (or working a cheek square to the sole2) in the modern workshop.

But.....

The sole doesn't need to be flat for the plane to work
As this is a jack plane, used for its original purpose — as a type of roughing plane (think of it as a big-ass scrub plane) — then the sole doesn't need to be particularly flat for it to work as needed.

Without getting into it too deeply, 5s are too long to be effective smoothers and much too short to be effective jointers3, so their original role is the only one that really makes sense.

So I would advise not chasing flatness on this plane and seeing how it works as-is once the iron has been sharpened with a suitable camber.


1 Obviously this plane should be very flat as a result, as the box promises. But it appears that most cheaper planes (and some that aren't cheap at all!) are ground when the rough castings haven't been allowed to 'season' properly..... no surprise, as reputedly this takes years to fully complete. When you don't wait long enough, after grinding some distortion can occur due to the cast iron still settling down.

2 Note that this is not actually necessary. Including if the plane is used for shooting!

3 Even 6s at ~18" long are generally considered a little short for this (you want at least an additional 4").

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  • Quick Question: Do you find the sole of a plane changes shape slightly with/without the blade tightened in? The plane actually seems much flatter now than when I originally wrote the post so I'm trying to figure out if I'm taking crazy pills, as I vaguely recall thinking this was happening with another plane I flattened last year.
    – BVernon
    Commented Nov 30, 2022 at 19:24
  • 1
    "Do you find the sole of a plane changes shape slightly with/without the blade tightened in?" I've never noticed this myself, but I don't obsess over the flatness of my plane soles (I'm guided by how they work, so often I don't even check). As you're no doubt well aware, some people are adamant that the plane must be fully assembled during flattening work, so the body casting is "fully stressed" by the frog screws and the tension of the blade assembly + lever cap. This does seem to make sense and is persuasive, however tests have been conducted that show it does not make a difference [contd]
    – Graphus
    Commented Dec 1, 2022 at 15:08
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    ... (and it is worth bearing in mind that both factory grinding and third-party grinding are done to the bare body casting). But, that's not to say it couldn't ever happen given how many planes there are and how they might vary. So for what little it's worth my opinion is you should have the plane assembled when flattening. Because why not? Plus it does give you two convenient handles to hold on to :-)
    – Graphus
    Commented Dec 1, 2022 at 15:11

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