Ease edges on plane?

[GarF]

I've got a got an oldish wooden smoothing plane which appears more or less unused. The body still has fairly sharp corners with stopped chamfers toward the top and is more or less unmarked. I haven't used it much yet, partly because the edges of the body were pretty uncomfortable in my hand- perhaps the reason the original owner didn't use it much either.

I'm not exactly asking permission to ease the corners since it's a user not an ornament, but I'm more curious whether it would have been common practice for makers in the past to personalise their tools to fit their hands. I assume the same would be the case with hand saws?

 

[ED65]

Tools like this were commonly used by men with calloused hands, which presumably meant they'd be more tolerant of sharp arrises than most of use would be! Regardless, I wouldn't hesitate the ease the edges if you need to. Just a tiny amount doesn't affect looks that much but can make a world of difference to comfortable handling.

 

[AndyT]

Though statistically unlikely, you might have a plane which is interesting just because it hasn't been used or worn.
Could you post a few pictures before you change anything?
And is there a maker's mark?

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I'm not sure that there's much evidence for tool handles being altered by owners in the past. Certainly, there are the odd exception around to prove the rule, but I can't recall ever having seen a tool that been altered. I've certainly owned some that probably should have been altered - but they weren't. I've also got a few chisels that have obviously been re-handled at some point in their lives, but I'm not sure that's quite the same as altering a handle to fit a particular hand.

Saw handles in particular seem to have evolved in shape down the years - and not for the better. My 19th century examples seem smaller, for one thing; later examples, particularly on handsaws, seem to become steadily larger, and as a result, less comfortable. However, I've never actually seen a vintage (20th century) one visibly 'reshaped', however much some would have benefitted from it.

As for your plane - well, it's yours to do with as you will (though noting AndyT's caveat might be a wise precaution). If you do change it, go by very small increments - it's surprising how well even a visually 'non-ideal' shape can fit the hand. Especially with smoothing planes, you don't need to apply much 'oomph' to push them through the cut, given they're normally set for a fine shaving.

 

[Sideways]

I had a cheap mallet that I always avoided using for exactly this reason, crude bevels and square cut edges. I knocked it apart and rounded it off on the sander. Made a world of difference. I use it much more now. Go for it !

 

[custard]

A wooden smoother would have been used for a final few passes, taking gossamer fine shavings. If the sole has been waxed then it's almost effortless to use. As CC suggested, you shouldn't experience any discomfort because the work load's so extremely light. If you're having to grip the plane hard and energetically push then you're probably not using the plane in the manner it was designed for.

 

[thetyreman]

it might be a very rare unused one, there's nothing wrong with rounding the edges if it doesn't feel right.

 

[GarF]

ED65--I expect if the hands were sufficiently calloused they would rub away any sharp corners in time, the tool altered by the very hands themselves rather than the other way round. However, my day job requires that I moisturise! So I'm not going to put that theory to the test.

AndyT-- think it's fairly bog standard. It certainly didn't cost me a lot.


Custard and CC-- Quite. Honed, stropped and waxed it does run quite easily, and leaves a polished surface behind, taking a reasonably thin shaving- I need more practice to set it just so.

The back corners are chamfered already so the only discomfort on my right hand is where my index finger rests against the edge of the iron. The front corners however are fairly crisp, so even after a couple of minutes test on a foot long piece of scrap the palm of my left hand is burning. I could, and probably will, toughen up a bit in time but for the moment I'm inclined to relieve these corners incrementally until using it is a pain free experience.
Cheers all
G

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It's only a tool. If you think the shape needs changing, JFDI.

 

[AndyT]

The BB range was Marples' budget range, partly made by machinery, not by hand and probably not with the best pieces of timber, despite the name.
So I wouldn't be surprised if it needs a bit of breaking in for its first user.
I'd probably keep it as it is and set up another one to use, but I am odd like that.

It would probably benefit from a liberal application of boiled linseed oil.

 

[AndyT]

I can't quite tell from your pictures but if that is the single iron 11/2" wide by 6" long it was the bottom of the range of BB smoothers. Only 3 bob in 1938, when a 2" double iron was 5s6d in the same BB range or 7s6d for a proper Shamrock brand plane.
You're unlikely to get the best performance from that plane.

 

[ColeyS1]

It's only a tool. If you think the shape needs changing, JFDI.

Thats what id recommend. Make it comfy, unless you don't plan on keeping it for long.

I use to make quite a lot of windows with multiple glazing bars. The base of my smoothing plane had quite sharp square edges. If I wasn't careful it was quite easy to bash into a glazing bar with the front edge of the plane instead of any high spots being smoothed off with the iron. 5 minutes on the buffing wheel and now my smoother and block plane have a nice rounded/polished edge that glides over any obsticle. Pointless struggling with something uncomfortable.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[AndyT]

I've been looking for more information on the possible age of this plane. As far as I can see from Catalogues, the 1938 issue was their first appearance - they don't feature in the 1928 issue. They were still listed postwar, in the 1959 catalogue, where the small single iron version is listed as a "toy" plane, priced at 12s 3d.
A full size BB wooden smoother with a 2" double iron was more than twice as much at 28s.
But wooden planes were still cheap compared to cast iron - a Marples brand no 4 smoother was 47s.

Marples were the last big name maker of wooden planes in the UK, just about carrying on til the mid 1960s.

 

[toolsntat]

Unless you're really attached to it for whatever reason, put to one side or sell it.
New in the original box gives it a much greater value than the copious amounts of readily available and very cheap good quality user planes of this type out there today.
It is the first of that size I have seen, in this condition, in the box.
If you're passing drop by and I'll dig one out of the unwanted pile for you.8)
Cheers
Andy

 

[AndyT]

Andy's offer of a swap looks a good one to me. If you want a wooden bodied smoother which will perform well, that little plane ain't it.

 

[D_W]

I had exactly the same plane (bought it just to see how well finished they were - and mine did need a bit of correction to work with the cap iron set close - I suspect that was common with planes in general for a couple of hundred years).

I found it to be comfortable. Make sure your hands are in the right place on a smoother like that - the back hand with the roundover on the back in the middle of your palm and the front hand across the plane and not gripping tight on the front corners like you would grip the back.

I'd hate to take the edges off of a plane like that - even though it's newer, it's quite a handsome looking plane. If the corners on the front are really causing you a lot of problems, just bump the corners on your bench a couple of times to knock some of their smartness off.

 

[JohnPW]

Yes, I would say adjust your grip so you're not pressing on the corners or edge.

If this design was uncomfortable it wouldn't been made for more than 100 years!

 

[toolsntat]

Andy's offer of a swap looks a good one to me. If you want a wooden bodied smoother which will perform well, that little plane ain't it.

Mmmmm, swapping :?:
Wern`t necessarily where I was at, but .....
Tek the lot if there any use.
more-wooden-stuff-t108506.html
Cheers
Andy