Footprint Planes.

[Honest John]

So I was preparing some rough stock by hand the other day, and a thought crossed my mind that perhaps I could do with a scrub plane. My number 5 Quangsheng was sort of ok as we’re my Stanley smoothers but really I wanted a more aggressive cut and didn’t want to move the frogs and change the setup of any of my planes. I felt that a dedicated scrub plane was the way to go. Lots of old Stanley 5s and 6s on fleabay, but at a price. I also noticed brand new Footprint number 5s at cheap prices. Has anyone any experience of Footprint planes? I don’t normally do cheap tools, but I’m wondering if one of these would fit the bill for a scrub? I actually have a Footprint no4 plane that I bought at a sale at our turning club for I think £3. I bought it as a project, and it took a lot of fettling to get the loose bits secured and get it cutting right. However, it has become my go to smoother and can be set up to take full width shavings that you could read a paper through! I have no idea if this is normal for this brand. I am fighting an urge to ring Mathew for a Quangsheng No6 and repurpose one of my other planes for the scrub, but the footprints are much cheaper. So are there any Footprint fans out there, or shall I have another glass?

 

[fezman]

When i first started woodworking a couple of years ago, i bought a Faithfull No4 for about £25 on amazon. It was OKish, but i quickly bought an old stanley No4. I converted the faithfull to a scrub plane after watching a couple of youtube videos. It works great at taking of very heavy shavings when preparing stock.

 

[Honest John]

That’s what was in my mind when I bought this old Faithful number 4, just to restore it and turn it into a scrub. Might still do that yet, it’s just that following my fettling it has become a superb smoother. I have a Stanley 4 1/2 and also a Quangsheng 3. Both work superbly well, but no better than this Cheap one. Just wondering if I got a good one or if this has been other people’s experience.

 

[Just4Fun]

I bought a couple of cheapo 4s (Silverline). I set up one as a scrub and the other as a smoother. Both work well, similar to Stanleys.

 

[ED65]

The date of manufacture will play a big part in how decent a Footprint plane will tend to be. Older ones are good enough to actually have some outright fans but by the 80s they were a bit hit-or-miss apparently, even though they were still being touted as quality British-made tools the reality could fall short. Ones of more recent manufacture and those of today are said to be pretty poor, about typical for the low end of the market.

I don’t normally do cheap tools, but I’m wondering if one of these would fit the bill for a scrub?

Depending on the scale of work you're intending it for you could do a lot worse than setting up an old wooden jack for the purpose. A roughing jack is really nothing more than one fitted with an iron that has a heavy camber on the edge, the plane doesn't normally need any other modification (including to the cap iron, you just set it well back from the edge). And obviously the price is right with what they often go for in the UK!

In the interim if you have a spare 2" iron one of your existing metal planes can be temporarily assigned to roughing duties, without any need to modify the mouth unless it's atypically small. Whether you need to move the frog depends on whether you normally have it set fully back or like to have it further forward.

 

[Osvaldd]

no5 stanely/record on ebay or a carboot for £20 and you're set. there are certain things you want to buy new, like battery powered tools, but bench planes? no way..

 

[Jacob]

5 is a bit big and heavy for a scrub plane. 3 would be better. Small wooden ones even better - less weight, 'scrubbing' can be hard work!

 

[scooby]

5 is a bit big and heavy for a scrub plane. 3 would be better. Small wooden ones even better - less weight, 'scrubbing' can be hard work!

Agreed. As mentioned, theres nothing wrong with getting a cheaper new no.4 (Faithfull for example), cambering the iron and moving the frog right back or filing the throat if needed.
As an alternative, I recall Paul Sellers using a 778/78 with a heavily cambered iron with decent results.

 

[scooby]

That’s what was in my mind when I bought this old Faithful number 4, just to restore it and turn it into a scrub. Might still do that yet, it’s just that following my fettling it has become a superb smoother. I have a Stanley 4 1/2 and also a Quangsheng 3. Both work superbly well, but no better than this Cheap one. Just wondering if I got a good one or if this has been other people’s experience.

Good comment. I've got an assortment of plane ranging from relatively expensive to pretty cheap (subjective opinion). I've found faithfull bench planes (4,5 and 7 especially) to be pretty good, they just need a bit of tinkering.

 

[Honest John]

Well iweekened didn’t I. I knew I would. Got Mathew to send me a No 6 Quangsheng. Absolutely superb. Only about 20 hours from me weakening and pressing the button to DHL knocking on my door with it. Been using it today and I’m really impressed. As for a scrub, I was already thinking as someone has suggested of repurposing a wooden one. I’ve got a school type Marples that has a widish throat that should do until I can pick up a coffin type perhaps at a boot sale.

 

[thick_mike]

I cambered the blade on an old wooden coffin plane the other day for use as a scrub plane. It was great, made flattening an old oak board a breeze compared to a normal plane. Totally emphasised to me the benefit of the correct tool for the job.

 

[scooby]

Sounds like you've got the QS bug. Understandable, they are nice bits of kit.

 

[Honest John]

I’ve got 4 now, but I’m definitely stopping now :roll: