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Just got a block plane from Lowes (the only one on the display). It has a cup on its sole. Is it supposed to be like that?

enter image description here

fixer1234
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Trident D'Gao
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2 Answers2

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Take it back. The bottom of the plane should be totally flat within the reasonable ability to measure flatness.

Michael Karas
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  • Fully agree that it should be flat. It could be lapped but since you just purchased it take it back.+ – Ed Beal Jul 02 '18 at 13:24
  • @EdBeal - If he had access to a surface grinder that plane could be fixed. Hand lapping it would take forever. Another thing is that seeing that the plane had such a dip in its base makes one wonder if the rest of the plane had good surfaces. For all we know the blade could even rock when placed into position. – Michael Karas Jul 02 '18 at 13:53
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Most hand planes you buy unless you get a premium hand plane you need to tune. There are several tutorials online on how to do that. http://www.instructables.com/id/Tuning-a-Hand-Plane/

I normally take plane apart and flatten the sole using a granite stone using higher number wet sandpaper, the water will keep the paper sticking to stone.

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/granite-surface-plate-9-x-12-x-2-a-grade?via=573621f469702d06760016cd%2C5764196e69702d6593000317

You can use a permanent marker on sole and when lines disappear your sole is flat.

You should also flatten the back of your blade using same technique.

To get proper bevel I prefer this tool.

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/veritas-mk-ii-honing-guide?via=573621f469702d06760016cd%2C5764196e69702d6593000317

I hope this will explain it in more detail.

Now this takes time but the rewards comes when your tool works as it should and you get crisp cuts each time.

The Evil Greebo
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jstodberg
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  • i think it is a valid answer, the rules need to be made more linear – Trident D'Gao Jul 02 '18 at 19:39
  • @1224 not sure which version of answer you saw first but when I wrote my comment the answer was literally 2 sentences with no links, definitions of terms, etc. It's been heavily rewritten since then. – The Evil Greebo Jul 02 '18 at 19:43
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    @TheEvilGreebo your comments was good I am new to answering questions in Stackexchange so thanks for putting me in the correct direction. – jstodberg Jul 02 '18 at 19:46