Replies

1. 
   SCFrankland | Apr 23, 2003 12:38am | #1

   I have several of Steve Knight's handplanes and they do a great job.  Check out his website, you won't be sorry.

   http://www.knight-toolworks.com/

   Scott C. Frankland

1. 
   jvs | Apr 24, 2003 04:01am | #9

   Scott, have you ever used Knight's panel raisers?

   /jvs

1. 
   SCFrankland | Apr 25, 2003 03:38am | #11

   No I have never used his panel raiser mainly because I have a router bit and to try and explain why I need both the bit and plane would be a hard won battle with the wife.  I have looked at them and if they are anything like his bench planes then I don't think you will go wrong.Scott C. Frankland

1. 
   jvs | Apr 25, 2003 03:19pm | #14

   Aye--I pick my battles, too!  Given the options of a ~$1k fixed power tool or the plane, this one never even rose to a skirmish.  Adding the Knight or C&L smoother should be fairly easy, too, now that we have a precedent...    :)

   /jvs

2. 
   eddiefromAustralia | Apr 23, 2003 12:57am | #2

   Living in Australia, I have met Terry Gordon (HNT Gordon) a few times and he is more than helpful and approachable.

   I personally use two of his planes, a jointer and a kit smoother for cranky wood.  They work well on this because of the high bed angle and thick blade (1/4")

   Steve Knight, as well as Larry Williams make very good quality wooden planes in the States, equivalent quality to Terry's work.  ECE Primus make good wooden planes and they come with an adjuster which may make your life easier.  They are sold by the Museum of Woodworking in the US.

   Your question on cheaper or dearer is much the same as "should I buy a Stanley or a Lee-Nielsen" plane.  Depends on your expectations.  The dearer planes come fully tuned out of the box (wood or metal bodied) and work at an optimal level already.  The cheaper ones may not work so well and you won't know if it's the plane or your technique that's letting you down if things don't go so well.

   With regards to your question on how many planes, one about the length of the HNT Gordon jointer should be sufficient (18").  If you need a smoother, go for either a coffin smoother or a ECE Primus type smoother, but you should be able to do the flattening with the single plane, providing that the sole is flat and you have the blade set super fine and super sharp for the final passes.

   Larry Williams posts here occasionally and he may see this thread - What are your thoughts, Larry/others?

   Hope this helps.

   Cheers, eddie

   
   

   ---

   Edited 4/22/2003 6:30:17 PM ET by eddie (aust)

3. 
   Thom1 | Apr 23, 2003 04:20am | #3

   The chinese planes aren't bad, thought he ones that LV is currently selloing seem small.  Japan Woodworker, just added most of the style I would want, including high angle and regular smoothers, ebony jointer (a little too pricey).  Sets of Hollows and rounds!!

   I personaly like the ECE, Ulmia planes, they have high angle planes, as well as standard angles, and they sell scrub, jack, and smoother equivalents.  The blades are good, but I have replaced them with blue steel ones when I could get them.  I bought mine from LV.  Peck and Highland seem to have all the models.

4. 
   jvs | Apr 23, 2003 12:05pm | #4

   Thanks all!  I ordered a JW catalog to look closer at the Gordons, and will probably pick up one of the cheaper smoothers today to experiment with (and at the very least, knock edges with).

   /jvs

1. 
   eddiefromAustralia | Apr 23, 2003 02:57pm | #5

   That's great jvs,

   I'm sure that you won't be disappointed.  Feel free to respond to this post if you need advice on adjusting the blade (there's no adjuster, they're adjusted with a mallet).

   If you want to flatten a board with it, you'll need a bit of length in the plane, I suggest approx 18" minimum.

   Cheers,

   eddie

1. 
   jvs | Apr 23, 2003 04:15pm | #6

   Great--thank you!  One of thing things I am looking forward to about this is the fact that you are actually SUPPOSED to fine tune the tool with a hammer...  :)   From what you have said and I have been able to find out elsewhere, the Gordon trying plane should be the right one, might as well just order it. 

   I know that a very sharp edge will be especially important in this particular run of wood--for North American cherry (which is what I do ~80% of my work with), would you recommend having a second blade on hand out of the gate, or do the standard blades hold up well enough to get a reasonable amount of fairly hard work without touching up the edge?  With my Hock blades, I generally get tired before the edge does; I keep the factory ones around and sharpened purely as spares (not exactly junk, but no comparison).  I know that it is a your-mileage-may-vary question, but a rough read on on this would be appreciated.

   Regards,

   /jvs

   Edited 4/23/2003 10:08:19 AM ET by jvs

1. 
   eddiefromAustralia | Apr 24, 2003 12:09am | #7

   Hi jvs,

   You should be able to get by with the one blade.  If you're working tough woods, then the Gordon planes come with a High Speed Steel blade as an option, lasts longer between sharpenings.  At the 60 degree pitch, there is a fair bit of 'scraping' wear on the blade, which the HSS withstands OK.

   Cheers,  eddie

1. 
   jvs | Apr 24, 2003 01:54am | #8

   Sounds good--I'll start with the stock blade and go from there.  Thanks again, Eddie!

   /jvs

5. 
   MarkRoderick | Apr 24, 2003 02:52pm | #10

   I'm not sure if this counts, but I have a wooden ECE scrub plane and it would be perfect for taking off the cherry. Cost me about $69 at Lee Valley.

1. 
   jvs | Apr 25, 2003 02:33pm | #12

   I have an iron scrub for most of the 3/16ths that need to come off; was looking more to cleanup the dishing left by the scrub after that.  Just curious--how does the sole hold up on a wooden scrub plane?

   /jvs

1. 
   MarkRoderick | Apr 25, 2003 02:46pm | #13

   I've only been using it a short time, so I can't give an educated answer to that question. For the amount of work I do, it will probably last a very long time.