How to Eliminate Plane Tracks

Plane tracks are the lines in the wood left by the corners of your plane blade.  I think that they can add a lot of character to a piece and will often leave them.  Certainly in the secondary surfaces but even on the show surfaces of a project, the plane tracks can add some real character not found in machine made pieces.  But when you do want a track free surface, the best way to accomplish it is by adding a slight curve or camber to the blade in your smoothing plane.  In this session I show how I add a camber to my smoothing plane, but then discuss the idea of clipping off the blade corners for other planes like the Jack and even Jointer plane.

Whether you leave the plane tracks or not, being able to sharpen a smoothing plane camber is a good idea as it will give you an additional tools for prepping your projects for finish and increase you comfort using a smoothing plane.  In the end, its a whole lot less sanding and dust.