Thanks to all who’ve advised me on the care and feeding of hand planes and curly maple.
After much trial and error, last night I finally got my old hardware store Stanley #4 to make consistent shavings in my maple. Nirvana!
But, what the wood gods giveth, the wood gods taketh away. This morning, the fahata lump of ugly iron and pot metal would NOT! As soon as the blade touched the maple, it would dive into the wood and stop the plane.
Sooooo, I cleaned all the paint off the frog so that the blade would not stick to it, surfaced the blade/frog interface so it supports the blade evenly, bedded the frog into the plane (as it might have had the potential for rocking – this frog is made of pot metal, by the way), adjusted the frog by backing it up so that the frog and sole both (and equally) supported the blade (on the assumption that a chattering blade trumps a wide blade opening, hands down),, re-sharpened the blade with just a touch of a 25 degree back bevel, and placed an apple on a plate in the woods for the nymphs and sprites. Then I tried again. Once again it makes shavings. Actually works. Will this last? ONly time will tell (like, tomorrow).
Thank goodness I have a new Lee Valley Bevel Up Smoother under the tree with 3 different angles of nice, thick, blades. (or does this simply mean that I’ve got three times the trouble waiting for me???) I Will be strong and wait until Christmas morning to unwrap my new toy!
Actually, this journey is fun, but I’m sure not making SWMBO’s cabinet very fast.
Mike D
Replies
Mike
If you have an english made newer version of the Stanley #4, then you probably taken her as far as she'll go. I had several in my shop for "borrowing" ( I teach classes in wood butchery 101), and went through them pretty well. It seemed they didn't like to stay workable for very long.
You'll fare much better with that item under the christmas tree, and I'd also tell you not to give up on bevel down planes. I've got several #3's, #4's, and #4 1/2's, and they all leave a terrific finish. Some planes(older stanleys, Lie Nielsen, Lee Valley, Clifton, etc.......) just are better functioning tools.
Keep at it. Before you know it, you'll have quite the collection brewing.
Walnutz
I agree that this one is clearly "no Scottish".
Now that I know that one can find good ones on e-bay, I think I'll skulk there for a while in hopes of finding an affordable pre 1940 #5 or #6 Bailey (is that spelled right?) in usable condition.
Mike D
Once you get a few planes to accomplish surfacing, edging, and odd trimming, you can decide for yourself using your own experiences whether or not you enjoy the hand work. I think a basic group, just for getting started, would include a block plane, jack (#5 or equivalent), smoother (#4 or 4 1/2) and fore(#5 or #6 with mouth wide open, and blade set with a camber). Once you've gotten this group, you can prepare rough stock, flatten, edge joint, smooth and trim to your hearts content. Once you've gotten a good feel for these planes, you can decide if you wish to continue. Over the years, my woodworking has evolved from a lot of power tool use to almost all hand tool use. I simply enjoy it more. Once you get proficient with the use of hand planes, and other hand tools, you'll find that most tasks can be accomplished quite quickly with a hand tool, without ever reaching for a power cord.
After you get the feel for them, they will literally talk to you, by the way they perform, as to when they need sharpening, tuning, etc..... Before you know it, your bench will look like mine (see pic).
Jeff
oops. Here's the pic.
Jeff
Jeff,
You show off! That's just wrong posting a pic like that!
Now you get busy and hang the drywall and clean up all that iron on your bench. Besides, they would look much nicer in my plane/chisel cabinet while you're at it. Good luck gettin 'em back!
:-)
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 12/11/2007 10:11 am ET by KiddervilleAcres
Bob
Actually, I'm gonna put tongue and groove 8" boards in vertical on the walls in my shop, as soon as I get some free time. I also have a hand tool cabinet under construction, but that is also on standby while I continue to work on paying customers' jobs. That's always the story. I never get to work for myself, that is if I wish to continue to eat and pay for tuition for my kids.
Jeff
I've quickly deleted your message before SWMBO could see where this is all leading. Good lord, man - that looks like Fort Knox in there.
Mike D
Can you tell us why all those nice planes are resting with their edges down on the bench? Aren't you worried about upsetting all those who know that planes are supposed to be resting on their sides? :<)Cheers!
Ron,
I think you are suggesting that Jeff is not a competant plane-owner, a sentiment with which I concur, as he has also let them breed like rabbits or cane toads. Soon they will get in the house and annoy his ladywife, being underfoot and also attacking the cat.
There is an easy solution for young Jeff - he must send them extras to me as I will train them up and put them in a nice drawer when not being used to swoosh this and that. It may be cruel to prevent the breeding of his planes but we cannot have heaping-helpings of them festooning benches like that. What will the apprentices think if they sees that pic?
You! will note, as has Bob, that the many instruments are suspiciously clean compared to that router we can all see; (which electric thang looks very well used, very well). Perhaps there is a glass cabinet, just out of sight, where all them gleamers sit for months just getting admired whilst the router does all the hard work? :-)
(Of course not)!
Lataxe, in a greenish mood.
I like the HUNK 'o cherry they're all perched on!
Samson
That hunk of cherry is 15" wide and 4.5" thick. It was sawn by me 5 years ago from a very large log. It has two nice 4" wide lengths of riftsawn cherry that will become the massive legs of the new workbench I'll be building soon. I need another in the shop. I'll get 4 legs that are 4" X 4".
Jeff
Sire Lataxe,
It's been a while.
The reason for the dust on the routers is because that's how long it's been since I've used them. The planes get used almost every day, and I blow the shavings out of them nightly before shutting down.
Jeff
Ron
I've always found the notion of laying a plane on its side comical, too. Last time I checked, they're for working wood, right??!! Besides, they get sharpened almost every day anyway, as I use them daily.
Jeff
oops. Here's the pic.
That's quite a collection you have there. I have several of the dark knobbed planes off to the right but I don't have the cherry collection on the left. They look like nice tools.
My curiosity in writing to you is: the block plane that looks like a Stanley 9. I have an original Stanley I bought years ago for 150 and my Stanley 55. I was told not to use it and keep it in the box. I have fooled with it a bit but I elected to keep it as a collector. Truth is, I put it in a food vacuum bag and its sitting up in the attic.
What uses does the iron miter plane have that you can not do with the low angle bench plane?? Seems to me this would be the one I would reach for a bunch. Maybe you could comment on the low angle bench plane a bit and the iron miter plane.
Several people I have met over the years have called the #9 a piano maker's plane. Funny thing is I don't know any piano makers so I can't even ask how the name came about.
Regarding the "piano maker's plane," I'd assume that it was called that by some because it was . . . ahem . . . used by piano makers for precision work. (look to the far right in this catalog page).
$3.00? That's a little steep for a #9, don't ya think?
;)
Lee
My #9 is LN's version, and I use it for shooting miters. I do alot of cabinet jobs, and usually miter the corners. I use my shooting board for that purpose, as the LN version is ground precisely at 90°, and is the preferred tool for this task for me.
I use my low angle jack for several tasks. With the 25° iron in, I use it for planing end grain smooth. Obviously, it is ideal for this task. I also use it as a smoother for difficult, grainy woods like crotches and curly maple and cherry. I have a 2nd iron that I'll switch into the plane that has a secondary bevel ground that gives me an effective planing angle of about 60°. I have found this function of the tool to be able to handle smoothing any of the North American hardwoods that I work with without tearout.
Jeff
PS I don't personally worry about the collector's value of tools in my shop. I use them all, and if any sit for a while unused, I sell them, usually on ebay. Since I've taken this photo, several of the Bedrock planes on the right side of the photo were liquidated, and the money went towards other tools that I needed. I kept a 607, a 606 (my favorite for rough stock), and a 604 1/2. All others are no longer in my posession.
Edited 12/13/2007 7:36 pm ET by JeffHeath
It seemed they didn't like to stay workable for very long.Old woodshop teacher in high school. Drop a tool on the floor and you had to wear a yellow dunce hat for the rest of the week! Really!
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