Has anybody else been able to view the newly released Making Traditional Side Escapement Planes by Larry Williams yet? My local Blockbuster still had one left on the shelves. Actually it just arrived in the mail amid heavy anticipation today.
I’ve watched it once through and thought it was quite informative, very good. He doesn’t seem to have left off any details. I thought that the video would basically be tools, wood selection, layout, mortise, shaping the sole, and making the iron. The level of detail he went into regarding the detail (chamfers, volutes, etc.) was quite welcome and unexpected. The entire time I thought “hey, I can definitely do this.” Then the blow torch, oil bath, oven part… Overwhelmed.
There is reference to both Lie-Nielsen producing blanks for the irons and a second video with Don McConnell regarding use. Any idea when either of these are expected? (How long will the line be after the release of Don’s video? 4 years?)
Replies
Won't get mine until tomorrow, but I took a class from him several years ago. He was a great teacher. I know the irons were in the works for a long time, but you can make them the way he teaches in the video I bet. I think if you hacksaw out the blank from O1 you can taper it with mill files before heat treat. Or not taper at all, still will work. I am really looking forward to the video...
I think that he uses the Lie Nielsen blanks in the video. I may be wrong. The video really was quite good.
Thanks Matt.Don's DVD should be only weeks away. We should receive our proof copy tomorrow and I think our approval is the last step before the DVD goes out for printing or what ever it's called. I believe the tapered irons from Lie-Nielsen are in production and should be available soon. I'm sorry but I've neglected to ask them about the irons for a while.
Larry,I just want to echo the other posters here - the video is really quite excellent and extremely thorough - the level of detail is way beyond any other sources I'm aware of. It was well worth the wait. I'm very much looking forward to Don's video as well. I sent LN an email last night asking about the blanks, but haven't heard back yet.
I received a reply from TLN last night about the tapered blanks - he says they should be ready for primetime in about a month.
Hi Larry
The video sounds as if it will be a class job. I ordered a copy via LN and am eagerly awaiting it. I have waiting in the wings a bunch of tapered vintage blades that I have been collecting for some time. I guess, when done, that I will have to send my plane(s) to you for a review! :)
Regards from Perth
Derek
This is undoubtedly a great dvd.
I can't get my head round the American habit of saying quite good, about something that is outstanding.........~;-)#
David Charlesworth
It likely is a very good DVD...I'll wait for Don's.
For your entertainment, the following message is from that old book, the dictionary:
Main Entry: quite Pronunciation: ˈkwît Function: adverb Etymology: Middle English, from quite, adjective, quit (<--emphasis mine)Date: 14th century
1 : wholly, completely <not quite finished>2 : to an extreme : positively <quite sure> —often used as an intensifier with a<quite a swell guy><quite a beauty> 3 : to a considerable extent : rather <quite near>3 : to a considerable extent : rather <quite near>
Seems to me you darn English are responsible for its use <g>...
Take care, Mike
I can't get my head round the American habit of saying quite good, about something that is outstanding..Yes, and we call our children kids.. I hate that term but I use it also?Would bloody good be better to use? :>)
Yes, and we call our children kids.. I hate that term but I use it also?
My parents often called them something else entirely different:-)If you build it he will come.
My apologies. The video is quite outstanding.
Edited 11/24/2007 5:01 pm ET by MattInPA
Matt,
No apologies necessary. It is clear that we are all agreed that the dvd is unique!
Mike's dictionary is enlightening, but in England I have a feeling that current usage would give "quite good" as a form of damning with faint praise, or as my father used to say "modified rapture".
I will have to consult Pat's friend Ann, head of English at a large college.
Isn't language interesting........
best wishes,
David
Ha, David...gotta remember that the particular dictionary I used was printed in America <g>.
I was only having fun. Language is an interesting diversion. The most fun I had as regards language was when I student taught English class to "foreign" students at a Bible college.
Language moves, for lack of a better word. I suspect you are correct that the phrase would contain a bit of biting sarcasm. Then again, I love sarcasm. The best arguments I have ever had with people (mainly educated British and Indian) left me with the wonder of how much said was a poke at me (most likely a lot). Great fun.
Take care, Mike
Mike, good stuff.
I have a report from my etymological source, who also teaches English Language to foreign graduates. This is UK usage of course.
Apparantly the meaning of Quite is governed by whether the adjective associated with it is Gradeable or Not.
i.e. quite unique means absolutely unique.
Quite good is definitely a bit luke warm, as good can be fairly, moderately, quite or very etc etc.
Anyway I am quite certain that Larry's dvd is extraordinarily good..........
Best wishes,
David
But not so young man, absolutely unique in the sense expressed is a pleonasm, in that the word unique is a complete expression.
I looked at a H N T Gordon Gidgee A55 Smoother at the Harrogate show, the mouth was so tight as to allow only a whisper of shaving through, the gap between blade edge and front of the mouth being barely discernible. The demonstrator spent some fifteen minutes or so fiddling with the plane but I had to leave, having an urgent appointment with reality.
Its a fair cop guv, I suspected tautology....... you must have a very large dictionary, the P word does not appear in Chambers...... any recommendations for a good online one please?
Fortunately this does not undermine the different meanings of quite?
I wish people would not demonstrate badly with other peoples tools. The Gordon spokeshave is clearly designed for fine finishing cuts on cranky timber, and I have no doubt that it will perform that function extremely well.
The humidity in Harrogate is probably much higher than the place in OZ where Terry makes the tools and I suspect a little sole smoothing in the throat area might have helped
My brief review of Marcou planes will appear in the christmas issue of Furniture & cabinetmaking magazine, out mid Dec.
best wishes,
David
Good sir, the Collins contains the reference, though my usual sources are a 1936 edition of Nuttall's Standard Dictionary and Fowlers.
With regard to the Gordon smoother, not spokeshave, the problem would be that it carries a brass insert in the throat so that would have to be filed to give clearance. I agree with your observation regarding demonstators, I wish to see how planes handle various situations such as cross grain, interlocked grain and so on. It grieves me to see the emphasis on just how thin a shaving can be produced by half an hour of fiddling.
I know the Marcou planes are of high repute, but beyond my means. And I turn more to woodies of late. I look forward to the article.
Than you for your reply, David.
Oh dear!
Not only guilty of lousy grammer but also of careless reading.
Sorry about that......
Now which review would that be please? (Always on the look out for new material. I think you can guess that I am looking forward to trying one of his spokeshaves).
Wooden planes are splendid, (hence the comments about Larry's excellent dvd on the making of moulding planes et al). We have built several in the workshop. Almost any plane will remove timber but the final finishing of difficult timbers is surely one of the most challenging and frustrating hurdles on the way to a piece of fine furniture?
Australia seems to have many beautiful, dense cranky timbers and I believe this explains Terry's excellent designs and choice of pitch and blade material.
Many thanks for the dictionary recommendations.
best wishes,
David
Now which review would that be please? (Always on the look out for new material. I think you can guess that I am looking forward to trying one of his spokeshaves).
Perhaps the UK's newest planemaker, Phil Edwards?
I have two of his planes, a third soon enough (OK, *not* soon enough!). Making planes for joinery, decorative elements, smoothing...shooting...and...
http://www.phillyplanes.co.uk/
Take care, Mike
Edited 12/2/2007 6:02 pm by mwenz
Thanks Mike,
Good idea.
David
Now which review would that be please? (Always on the look out for new material. I think you can guess that I am looking forward to trying one of his spokeshaves).
Hi David
Terry - whom I know you have met - is a skilled woodworker and a patient and knowledgeable demonstrator of his planes and spokeshaves.
I've enjoyed using his planes for some years, and a review of a couple is here:
http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/dCohen/z_art/hntGordon-S/hntGordon-st1.asp
View Image
His spokeshaves are equally wonderful in performance, although their looks may be a little off putting for some at first.
View Image
Review here:
http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/dCohen/z_art/HNTspokeshave/hntSpokeS1.asp
I must add that I am watching Larry's DVD. I have not had enough time to complete it. What I have managed to view so far is excellent. Perhaps if I build a couple of these planes (although I do own a half set), Larry might find time to write a review of them :)
Regards from Perth
Derek
Thanks Derek,
I think that building moulding planes would keep one out of mischief for quite a while....? wish I had the time.
Having used and reviewed Terry's planes when they first came to UK, and had the pleasure of a personal demo in my workshop, I can second that they work very well indeed. Book 2 page 102.
best wishes,
David
David
Not to drift too far from the english-american language gap thread but I was wondering??? Do you get to hear John Renbourne much? I have seen him with the Pentangle and the Ship of Fools when he comes to the states but.. it would be "really great" to see him in a small place around his hometown of Devon. Don't mean to assume too much but I love his music and I am guessing maybe you have gone to see him on his home terf??
Dan
Dan,
I was very fond of him and many other folk and blues guitarists when at university.
Fraid I have not seen him for many years.
David
Larry,
I finished watching the DVD last night. Fantastic work. I am not one to say this lightly, but I can truthfully say that this is one of the best woodworking-related videos I've seen (and I've seen all that are offered through LN plus many others). Not only is it a great "how to" video, it is also a wonderful historical document on a craft that has managed to endure for centuries. And it is apparent from the video that you are not only a highly skilled crafstman, but also a living conduit for the historical details of the tool and the craft behind the tool. Now I am eagerly awaiting the installment from Don on putting these planes to use.
I hope there will be more instructional videos to come.
Warm regards,
Andrew
Iron blanks, along with Don's video, are now listed on Lie Nielsen's website under the "what's new" tab.
Making Traditional Side Escapement Plane..
What the heck is that?
It's the name of the new video. Sounds like you need to put your order in. Seriously, it's a video about making traditional molding planes. He makes a #10 hollow and round in the video. You leave with a pretty good basis for making more than just hollows and rounds, however. (Though you would need them to make more complex molders.) If you're interested in the topic and learn by seeing vs. reading, this is the video for you. Check it out, I can't imagine you'd be dissappointed.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled