Interactive Activity: Plane

Tool Demonstration: Shaping Wood

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Transcript of movie: The plane is used to smooth wood and to make shaped edges called “moldings”. The plane is a piece of wood with an opening cut into it that tightly holds a metal plane blade by means of a wedge. The cutting end of the blade is shaped to make a specific shaped cut along the wood. The woodworker carefully sets the blade in the correct position to shave just a bit of wood at a time- too high and it won’t cut, too low and the blade will gouge the wood. He runs the plane along the wood, taking off a thin shaving with each pass.