Traditional Joinery Guild | Traditional Woodworking & Bench Protocols

Hand plane pulling a curly translucent shaving of walnut wood on workbench

Featured Bench Protocol

How to Sharpen a Hand Plane Blade: The Waterstone & Micro-Bevel Protocol

Why a microscopic tenth-of-a-degree misalignment causes catastrophic tear-out on figured hardwood — and the step-by-step waterstone sequence to achieve mirror-polished, hair-whittling shavings.

By James C. Miller • 8 min readRead Full Guide →

Recent Bench Protocols & Guides

Articles from the Workshop Floor

Sharpening

Waterstone Grit Progression: From 1000 Shaping to 8000 Mirror Finish

Why spending more than 45 seconds on your finishing stone actually dulls the apex through rounding and slurry friction.

Updated October 2026 • 6 min read

Craftsman tuning chipbreaker on wooden hand plane

Tear-Out Defense

Tuning the Double-Iron Chipbreaker: The 1/64" Secret

How closing the distance between the cap iron and blade edge mechanically breaks curly wood chips before they lever up grain.

Updated October 2026 • 7 min read

Tool Steel Metallurgy

O1 High Carbon vs. A2 vs. PM-V11: The Hardwood Test

O1 gives the keenest apex for soft pine, while PM-V11 survives 500 feet of dense white oak without chipping. Review the laboratory data.

Browse Plane Catalog →

Interactive Bench Tool

Workbench Bevel & Honing Angle Calculator

Select your timber species (from soft White Pine to 1820+ Janka Ipe) and plane bed geometry to calculate your exact primary and micro-bevel target in real-time.

Launch Honing Calculator →

[BENCH CALIBRATION PRESET]
White Oak (1360 Janka): 25° Primary / 32° Micro
Black Walnut (1010 Janka): 25° Primary / 30° Micro
Bevel-Up Pitch Formula: Bed Angle (12°) + Micro (38°) = 50° York