592 
PLANE. 
fame right line, did not the air, their own gravity, or the 
ruggednefs of the plane on which they move, (top their 
motion. Cheyne. —An inftrument by which the furfaceof 
boards is fmoothed.—The iron is fet to make an angle 
of forty-five degrees with the foie of the plane. Moxutis 
Meek. Ex. 
A plane operates to cutoff a thin chip or (having from 
the wood on which it is applied, by the (harp edge of a 
(feel cutter or broad chifel, called the plane-iron: this is 
fixed in a hole made through a wooden block, called the 
Jiock, and the edge of the iron projects a very fmall quan¬ 
tity through the lower fide of the (lock, called the face of 
the plane; the furface of which face is made a perfectly 
true plane. The iron is fixed in an inclined pofition in 
the hole through the (lock, by means of a wedge driven 
in before it, to jamb it fad in the hole, which, being wider 
than the thicknefs of the iron, leaves an aperture before 
the iron, called the mouth of the plane : this is very nar¬ 
row'where it opens in the lower fide or face, but grow's 
wider as it rifes up through the (lock ; the wedge is alfo 
cut forked, to allow more room for the (havings which 
the plane-iron cuts to pafs up before it through the 
mouth. When a plane of this kind is applied with its 
face upon the furface of a piece of wood, and preffed down 
upon it whilft it is moved forwards, the edge of the iron 
penetrates the wood to the depth which it projects 
through the face, and removes a (having of that thick¬ 
nefs and the whole breadth of the edge of the iron, the 
(having turning up before the iron paffes through the 
mouth, and efcaping. The inclination of the iron makes 
it cut eafily; and if the iron is fet fine, that is, if the edge 
projects but very little beyond the face, it will remove 
very thin (havings, and produce a flat and fmooth furface: 
on the other hand, if it is fet rank, that is, with a confi- 
derable projection, it will cut away very fad, producing a 
flat though rough furface, and quickly reducing the wood 
to its intended thicknefs: if the wood has an irregular 
furface, it foon reduces it to a plane, becaufe the face be¬ 
ing flat, will not fuffer the edge of the iron to defeend 
into the hollow places, but removing all the eminences 
it paffes over till they are reduced to one level. 
Planes are known by different names, from their differ¬ 
ent dimenfions and purpofes. Joiners life the jack-plane, 
the long plane, trying plane, floating-plane or jointer, and 
the /mootking-plane; all which they denominate bench- 
planes, becaufe the wood they are ufed upon is generally 
laid on the work-bench. 
The jack-plane is ufed for taking oft' the rough and 
prominent parts from the furface of the wood, and redu¬ 
cing it nearly to the intended thicknefs, in coarfe (ha¬ 
vings or dices. The (lock of this plane is about feven- 
teen inches in length, three inches high, and three and 
a half inches broad ; all the fides are ftraight and at right 
angles to each other: the mouth is cut through the fo- 
lid of the dock to receive the iron, and hold it at fuch 
an elevation as to make an angle of forty-five degrees 
with the face of the plane; the iron is a thin metal plate, 
one fide confiding of iron, the other of fteel; the lower 
end of the iron is ground to an acute angle off the iron 
fide, forming a doping part called the bafil of the iron, fo 
as to bring the fteel fide to a diarp edge: the wedge, 
which fixes the iron in its place, is let into two grooves 
of the fame form, on the Aides of the opening or mouth : 
two Aides of the wedge are parallel, and it is forked or cut 
away in the middle, leaving the Aides like two prongs to 
fill the lower part of thefe grooves; this allows the (ha¬ 
ving to pafs up without obdruflion before the wedge: 
for the mouth or opening through the dock mud be un¬ 
interrupted from the face to the top, and mud: be no wider 
on the face of the plane than is fufficient for the thickeft 
(having to pafs with eafe ; and, as the fliaving is difeharged 
at the upper fide of the plane, the opening through it 
mud expand or increafe from the face to the top, fo as to 
prevent the (havings from flicking. A handle, called the 
tote, is fixed to the upper fide of the (lock, immediately 
behind the iron; it is formed to the drape of the hand, 
and direction of the motion, fo as to produce the mod 
power in puffing the plane forward. When the workman 
has occafion to take out the iron to ffarpen it, he ftrikes 
the fore end of the top of the (lock fmartly with the ham¬ 
mer, which loofens the wedge and the iron. 
The other bench-planes are adjufted in the fame manner, 
and indeed do not differ, except in dimenfions, from the 
jack-plane. Of late years, a great improvement has been 
introduced in the irons of planes, to caufe them to cut 
fmooth ; thefe are called double-ironed. The double iron 
confifts of a fecond iron, with a reverfed bafil ferewed 
againft the front fide of the iron, fo that its edge lies 
againft the iron at a very fmall didance from, and parallel 
to, the cutting edge ; and, applying clofely to the fteel 
fide of the iron, it forms an inclined plane, which turns 
the fliaving over immediately after it is feparated or cut 
up by the edge, and thus it prevents the iron from fplit- 
ting the fliaving deeper down than it will afterwards cut, 
and leaving a rough or torn furface. This fecond iron is 
called the cover of the iron ; and the bafil of its edge, in- 
ftead of being ground flat, as that of the iron, is rounding: 
the ferevv, which binds the cover upon the iron, paffes 
through a flit in the cover, and thus admits of its edge 
being adjufted at any required diftance from the cutting 
edges of the iron, and this diftance depends altogether on 
the nature of the wood the plane is to be worked upon. 
If the (tuff is clean-grained, the edge of the cover may be 
fet at a confiderable diftance, becaufe the difficulty of 
pufiiing the plane forward becomes greater as the edge of 
the cover is nearer the edge of the iron, and the con¬ 
trary when more remote: this is occafioned by the edge 
of the cover turning the fliaving over immediately it is 
cut up. 
The trying-plane is ufually twenty-two inches long, 
three quarters broad on the face, and three in height; it 
does not differ from the jack-plane, except in having a 
double handle, adapted for greater force : in ufe, it fuc- 
ceeds the operation of the jack-plane, to ftraighten the 
wood, and remove the ridges left by the former. It is fet 
with lefs iron, and cuts a finer fliaving : the mouth is alfo 
much narrower. When it is ufed upon a long piece of 
work, the workman takes every fliaving the whole length 
by ftepping forwards, inftead of (lopping at arm’s length, 
as with the jack-plane. The fliavingof this plane, though 
finer, is fo much broader than the jack, that it requires as 
much force to puff it forwards. 
The long plane is fet very fine for finiffing work which 
is to be very ftraight; it is twenty-fix inches long, three 
and a half broad, and three inches in height. 
The Jhooting-plane, or jointer, is the longed and mod 
correft plane ufed ; it is employed after all the others, 
chiefly in (hooting the ftraight edges of boards which are 
to be jointed together; it is generally made two feet and 
a half long, three inches and a quarter broad, and three 
and a half high; it is ufed like the others, but with great 
care to move it fteadily from one end of the work to the 
other, without prefling it down, as that might fpring the 
plane, or the work, and caufe the iron to cut when the 
work was fomething hoi' iw, whereas the objeft is to 
make a perfectly ftraight edge. The face of this plane 
mud be kept quite true; and therefore it is a great object 
to make it of a fine piece of clean-grained hard beech, 
well feafoned, that it may not warp, or vary, by the wea¬ 
ther. 
The fmootkiny-plane is very (liort, without any handle, 
and its fides are curved, fo that it very much refembles a 
coffin ; it is feven inches and a half long, three broad at 
the mouth, and two inches and three quarters in height; 
it is ufed for finiffing work when put together, and to 
give the greateft degree of fmoothnefs to the wood, for 
which purpofe it is let with as fine an edge as poflible._ 
Joiners have alfo the firelight block for ftraightening 
ffort edges, rebating-planes for forming rebates ; others, 
for the fame ufe, are called the moving fillifter, fajh-fillifier, 
•, and 
