Hand tools: measuring, sawing, planing

After sawing, the surface of the material is cleaned, levelled and brought to exact size by planing. A plane consists of the body (kunda), blade and wedge. The jack plane (sherxebel) is for rough planing: its body is 250–260 mm long, its blade 30 mm wide with a curved edge projecting 1–3 mm, so it takes thick shavings. The smoothing plane (taxta randa) is for smooth planing: body 55–60 mm wide, blade 45–50 mm wide, set to project only 0.1–0.3 mm. The mushranda is like the smoothing plane, but its blade has an iron chip breaker that snaps the shaving. The jointer (japs randa) levels long boards: body 700–800 mm long, blade projecting only a little, as in the smoothing plane (about 0.1–0.3 mm). When planing, the blank is clamped in the vice, and the plane is held by the left hand at the front and the right at the back and pushed forward. Flatness is checked with a ruler or try square.