How to store Handplanes?

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
JonnyW":eqbl06tl said:
Although, I must admit, I thought you were also going to say 'and use sun screen'.

Jonny

Well, if you're a bodger working shirtless in a treeless forest, that might be a need, too!
 
D_W":i3nbqyda said:
CStanford":i3nbqyda said:
I've become lost about what point(s) you're trying to make.

Plane design and method of use that actually gets the most work done with the least effort.

It's not much of a discussion when the "experts" do nothing but smooth wood and are certain that they know more about plane design than people who actually used them for a living. Thus, as they say in shark tank, I'm out.

As I said in an earlier post the standard six days a week, eleven hours per day work-week explains the vast majority of it. They worked their a$$es off. To be sure, a few little trucs here and there help a little but that's about it.

Put 66 hours a week in month in and month out doing anything and you'll get better at it and if it involves physical labor, get into better shape as well.
 
Interesting thread.
I am hobbyist hand tooler with a bandsaw that is used for re-sawing. Chipbreaker stuff really converted me to old stanley planes. I started with fancy planes and I am steadily moving toward woodies. I am fit and can plane all day long, but I find light weight agility of old Stanley pre-bedrock planes very satisfying.
I just read an article by Jeff Miller in Fine Woodworking about jack planes and it seemed that he probably uses his planes mostly for smoothing and his recommendations were disappointingly for a $350 LN and $260 LV planes. When I started a couple of years ago I bought $30 Millers Falls, sharpened it and it was fine for everything I needed without any fettling or ruler tricks or what not.
With more experience it seems to me that what most publications or major vendors recommend are at odds with my preferences or conclusions as a handtools only woodworker. I find that what D_W recommends to be more of a my cup of tea. I am an engineer though and usually like to think about what worked and what did not and do not mind taking a hard way to practice some basic skills.
 
I read that one too. The article seemed geared around a plane to cover all bases. In most shops I guess that is mainly smoothing and fine adjustment with a few heavy passes now and again. I was preparing some boards this evening and actually grabbed a cheap Pinie plane that I'd not used yet. Its light weight was very much appreciated!
 
G S Haydon":1qkbqwa5 said:
I read that one too. The article seemed geared around a plane to cover all bases. In most shops I guess that is mainly smoothing and fine adjustment with a few heavy passes now and again. I was preparing some boards this evening and actually grabbed a cheap Pinie plane that I'd not used yet. Its light weight was very much appreciated!

Jeff writes good articles, and in this case did do a lot of comparisons. However I found it interesting that the planes chosen were #5s - jack planes - and no where, at any time, was there a recommendation, or even a suggestion, to prepare the blades with a camber for hogging. The planes were only used with a straight blade ala smoothers. There are obviously many who do not like the idea of the #5 as a "jack of all trades" - quite literally, that is, they will use it for only one task - something that ranges between a longer smoother and a shorter jointer. However, this is not the forte of the #5, which is more typically used as a rough plane with an 8" radius blade - or is so in my workshop. Indeed, a flat sole is not needed, and this factor could have changed the results completely. As a result, the article seemed to miss the point for me.

Regards from Perth

Derek
 
...... There are obviously many who do not like the idea of the #5 a a "jack of all trades" - quite literally, that is, they will use it for only one task - something that ranges between a longer smoother and a shorter jointer. However, this is not the forte of the #5, which is more typically used as a rough plane with an 8" radius blade -....
I see a 5 as a general purpose plane for smaller work. The difference between it and the 5 1/2 jack plane is quite noticeable.
 
The timber your working with will determine the best approach. As Derek has previously mentioned; a power jointer and thicknesser to prep the stock for final smoothing is a preferable option when dealing with some of the Aussie Hardwoods.

Stewie;
 
rkboston":cawsqree said:
I find that what D_W recommends to be more of a my cup of tea. I am an engineer though and usually like to think about what worked and what did not and do not mind taking a hard way to practice some basic skills.

Thank you for posting that thoughtful comment, too, from the standpoint of someone working most or all by hand.

Some would argue otherwise, but getting good with the planes in more aspect than one (and chisels, too, and drawknives, etc) is something that will carry over to general work and make certain problems very easy to handle.

I think one premium plane is good for everyone working in a vacuum. It's debatable about what it should be. If someone wants to go from there and get all premium planes, so be it. I'd bet that there would be a statistically significant difference in the opinion of the dimensioners vs. others.
 
swagman":kg3fwxhm said:
The timber your working with will determine the best approach. As Derek has previously mentioned; a power jointer and thicknesser to prep the stock for final smoothing is a preferable option when dealing with some of the Aussie Hardwoods.

Stewie;

If I regularly worked woods in excess of 1800 hardness, I probably wouldn't consider working completely by hand, either.
 
No one who works professionally, in their right mind, would do without planer thicknesser and bandsaw at the very least. (Except for museum type workshops like Collonial Williamsburg)

This fashion for reproducing the past, everything by hand seems a bit bizarre to me.

David
 
David C":xgo2o35c said:
No one who works professionally, in their right mind, would do without planer thicknesser and bandsaw at the very least. (Except for museum type workshops like Collonial Williamsburg)

This fashion for reproducing the past, everything by hand seems a bit bizarre to me.

David

It's a hobby for many of us. It's not a matter of fashion, it is literally a matter of choosing what you want to do and then doing it. There is quite a lot to be gained by doing at least some dimensioning by hand. What you learn goes right over the head of people who don't know what you're talking about.
 
Is there not room for everyone to do what feels right for them? I'm a windowcleaner by trade and an abseiler. Im about as good as you can hire. I say that with total honesty. Really. I'm mustard at what I do. Would I consider buying one of them Karcher aoutomatic window cleaning squeegees at John Lewis? http://www.johnlewis.com/karcher-wv5-pr ... mcampid=73 8)
And yet, when I come on here I'm looking for advice. I'm aware i know F*** A**. Thats why Im here. To learn off people who have the experience and who can show me better ways to do stuff I'd like to learn how to do to a good standard.
I wouldn't get confused about listening to someone in a pro workshop with tools that I'll never need as a hobbyist diyer. My interest (and limitations financially mean that buying bandsaws and such) are just not an option Then again I'd like to think that if someone wanted my advice I'd be glad to give it as long as it was taken with respect. So i' always listen with respect to those who earn their wage doing this. I honestly don't see the battle.
Surely it's all about different parameters.
It's too easy to get rooted in whats right or wrong.
The one answer solution. Life don't work like that.
What suits you works for you. If it dont work for someone else then where does the problem lie?
Long live the sharing of knowledge not the hoarding of it.

Cheers and Regards
Chris.
 
A while ago on a gardening forum, a respected professional said he didn't see the point of stainless steel tools (he was a hard landscaper and paver), and advised accordingly.

After a friendly discussion (watch and learn, boys) he realised that a professional, using a shovel, fork or spade daily on gravel and sand is never going to have the rust issue of someone who uses their tools less frequently.

So, surprisingly, it's the part timer who needs the posh stainless steel tool.

Context is all; there is never (or extremely rarely) a universally correct answer.

To me, one of the joys of a forum is finding out just how many different solutions there are.

BugBear
 
G S Haydon":18nwfzp6 said:
I read that one too. The article seemed geared around a plane to cover all bases. In most shops I guess that is mainly smoothing and fine adjustment with a few heavy passes now and again. I was preparing some boards this evening and actually grabbed a cheap Pinie plane that I'd not used yet. Its light weight was very much appreciated!

Jeff writes good articles, and in this case did do a lot of comparisons. However I found it interesting that the planes chosen were #5s - jack planes - and no where, at any time, was there a recommendation, or even a suggestion, to prepare the blades with a camber for hogging. The planes were only used with a straight blade ala smoothers. There are obviously many who do not like the idea of the #5 as a "jack of all trades" - quite literally, that is, they will use it for only one task - something that ranges between a longer smoother and a shorter jointer. However, this is not the forte of the #5, which is more typically used as a rough plane with an 8" radius blade - or is so in my workshop. Indeed, a flat sole is not needed, and this factor could have changed the results completely. As a result, the article seemed to miss the point for me.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I'm in the same boat as you here Derek. It struck me Jeff appreciates the #5 as David & Jacob appreciate a #5 1/2. A good all rounder. I think Jeff is of a smaller frame so I guess a #5 is less effort to use perhaps.
 
David C":3nbv3snq said:
No one who works professionally, in their right mind, would do without planer thicknesser and bandsaw at the very least. (Except for museum type workshops like Collonial Williamsburg)

This fashion for reproducing the past, everything by hand seems a bit bizarre to me.

David

This fashion for reproducing the past, everything by hand seems a bit bizarre to me.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=adam ... JmKOZAM%3A :shock: #-o
 
The old chippie I worked with years ago deemed 4s and 5s site planes and 4 1/2s and 5 1/2s workshop planes - because of the weight, which might have been an advantage in a 'shop and a disadvantage when carrying around.
 
swagman":gfoayyuq said:
David C":gfoayyuq said:
No one who works professionally, in their right mind, would do without planer thicknesser and bandsaw at the very least. (Except for museum type workshops like Collonial Williamsburg)

This fashion for reproducing the past, everything by hand seems a bit bizarre to me.

David

This fashion for reproducing the past, everything by hand seems a bit bizarre to me.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=adam ... JmKOZAM%3A :shock: #-o

I rather miss Adam Cherubini's contributions to the woodwoking press. He had some really interesting insights into the tools and techniques of a couple of centuries ago, and whilst I wouldn't have done what he did, I did rather admire his willingness to completely immerse himself in the ways of that time. Sometimes, simple techniques get forgotten as technology marches on, and rediscovering them can be useful for the modern woodworker.
 
As a woodworking pro I use whatever tools will get the job done. While I have machines to do many tasks that in times past might have been done by apprentices with hand tools, I am completely open to the idea that especially for small jobs a hand tool could be faster and produce a better result than a machine. In fact, I relish the thought.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top