Myths & Mysteries

[bugbear]

Card scraper (or stanley 80) best as they bend to form a camber. A rigid bladed scraper plane is a different thing altogether

The Lee Valley scraper plane has a screw to bow the blade. I'm assuming that's what you meant when you said camber.

BugBear

 

[Paul Chapman]

Well, yes, it is for fine finishing but, IMHO does not give the burnished shine obtainable from a well set plane

Since I started using scraper planes, I've never gone along with the notion that you can't get as good a finish with them as you can with an ordinary plane. Maybe some people have problems honing and setting up scraper planes :-k I frequently use scraper planes these days and, in my experience, they give just as good a finish as any bench plane.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Modernist]

Well, yes, it is for fine finishing but, IMHO does not give the burnished shine obtainable from a well set plane

Since I started using scraper planes, I've never gone along with the notion that you can't get as good a finish with them as you can with an ordinary plane. Maybe some people have problems honing and setting up scraper planes :-k I frequently use scraper planes these days and, in my experience, they give just as good a finish as any bench plane.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

I am probably one of them Paul. I sold my scraper plane mainly as I could get a good finish on any wood so far to come my way with the BU setup above. I don't have any trouble with normal sharpening but I did find the scraper plane a bit of a faff. I do have an 80 in reserve but so far it hasn't left the box.

 

[woodbloke]

The Japanese have the low cutting angle thing pretty good worked out. They prefer the lowest possible cutting angle, even go a lot lower then 45 degrees. It seems to give the surface a righness, glow and depth that isn't doable with high pitch planes.

Agreed, but a lot of the Japanese timbers are different to those used in the West. Most of the time (not all) the timber they use is beautiful, home produced, straight grained, knot free softwood as opposed to our more awkward temperate hardwoods. Stu Tierney at 'Tools from Japan' does a fairly top end range of Tsuneburo kana where the cutting angle can be specified, but most of the planes are set up to work with softer woods - Rob

 

[Corneel]

Well, I don't have that fault free softwood of the Japanese available overhere.

So I am very happy to get such beautifull surfaces on beech, maple, oak etc, but also jatoba and teak, with my UK made 1980's thin blade and thin chipbreaker Stanley #4. But also with my prewar Nooitgedagt wooden coffin smoother.

Watch that video I posted earlier in the thread http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Nq1sbOhMM. And just look at the surface I get with that humble plane.

Now calculate the costs. A bevel up smoother easily hits the 300 euro mark. For the much praised versatility you need another 30 euro for an extra blade. And that's just one plane.

 

[Modernist]

Try something like this then post back

 

[Kalimna]

Brian - that's an awfully big bit of wood cluttering your desk, let me take it off your hands for you

Adam

 

[Modernist]

Brian - that's an awfully big bit of wood cluttering your desk, let me take it off your hands for you

Adam

Too late it now works for it's living

 

[Corneel]

That sure doesn't look too shabby!

I'll see what I can do. Just to be sure what I am looking at: What kind of wood? Any finish? And what are these small holes in the top surface?

 

[bugbear]

Brian - that's an awfully big bit of wood cluttering your desk, let me take it off your hands for you

Adam

Too late it now works for it's living

Interesting (and pretty). I used to have my (Paramo, but v. similar) saw filing vise fixed on a softwood plank, but I eventually upgrade to a stiffer piece of oak, and filing (and the noise of filing) improved. Your support looks similarly rigid.

Firmly held work is such a pleasure.

BugBear

 

[bobbybirds]

Now calculate the costs. A bevel up smoother easily hits the 300 euro mark. For the much praised versatility you need another 30 euro for an extra blade. And that's just one plane.

Actually, You don't need another blade to benefit from the versatility... For example, on my LV LA Jack I just used to use the 25 degree blade that I ordered my plane with, and when I need a steeper bevel for tricky grain work, I would just hone a very small, steeper micro-bevel. Once done the work I need to do, it is nothing to re-hone it back because the micro-bevel is so small it takes very little effort to return it back to 25 degrees. Now I also have the LV BU Smoother, which I ordered with a 38 degree blade. Because the blades are interchangeable between these two tools, I am covered based on the job.

For convenience you could obviously just have a second blade if you do enough constant work to justify it, but it isn't necessary for most people...

 

[Corneel]

First the excuses.

We had a herring and beer party after work. The herring was nice, but the beer too. So when I zame home I wasn't in the mood for sharpening. I just grabbed the Stanley with Ray Iles iron and planed one end of a piece of maple.

I don't have such a spectacular piece of wood as you do.

I'm a lousy photographer, so I hope this iphone pic will do.

Of course a pissing match like this doesn't prove anything at all. I think we can safely conclude that both planes are capable of leaving a nice surface. And now I see this piece of wood, I'm reminded again why I don't like curly maple. It's rather ugly isn't it?

 

[Modernist]

That sure doesn't look too shabby!

I'll see what I can do. Just to be sure what I am looking at: What kind of wood? Any finish? And what are these small holes in the top surface?

It was a scraggy board end of sycamore and the holes are just what I haven't planed out yet. There was no finish.

Actually, You don't need another blade to benefit from the versatility... For example, on my LV LA Jack I just used to use the 25 degree blade that I ordered my plane with, and when I need a steeper bevel for tricky grain work, I would just hone a very small, steeper micro-bevel. Once done the work I need to do, it is nothing to re-hone it back because the micro-bevel is so small it takes very little effort to return it back to 25 degrees. Now I also have the LV BU Smoother, which I ordered with a 38 degree blade. Because the blades are interchangeable between these two tools, I am covered based on the job.

I don't even go that far I leave the 27.5deg O1 blade in the BU Jack for all end grain work and a 45 deg A2 blade in the BU smoother for difficult grain. Obviously I could swap them if necessary but rarely do.

 

[Modernist]

First the excuses.

We had a herring and beer party after work. The herring was nice, but the beer too. So when I zame home I wasn't in the mood for sharpening. I just grabbed the Stanley with Ray Iles iron and planed one end of a piece of maple.

I don't have such a spectacular piece of wood as you do.

I'm a lousy photographer, so I hope this iphone pic will do.

Of course a pissing match like this doesn't prove anything at all. I think we can safely conclude that both planes are capable of leaving a nice surface. And now I see this piece of wood, I'm reminded again why I don't like curly maple. It's rather ugly isn't it?

Are those blotches herring stains or a natural feature

Re curlyness it depends on how much

I didn't actually make this only designed it.

 

[Corneel]

Yeah the herring was very fatty!

I know this isn't a nice piece of wood with these blotches. I have it on the bench at the moment because the curls make it a nice test piece. When the plane isn't working correctly it tears immediately.

 

[Modernist]

I think Cocobolo can be a hard test

In this case from a LN 62

 

[pedder]

cocobolo? Looks more like bubunga.

Cheers Pedder

 

[Modernist]

cocobolo? Looks more like bubunga.

Cheers Pedder

You are right - brain fade

 

[bugbear]

Of course a pissing match like this doesn't prove anything at all. I think we can safely conclude that both planes are capable of leaving a nice surface. And now I see this piece of wood, I'm reminded again why I don't like curly maple. It's rather ugly isn't it?

Maple, you say?

(website:

http://www.guitaristjeffmiller.com/guitars12.htm

Take a look at that maple after he stains and polishes - it's "gorgeous", or possibly "gaudy"

)

BugBear

 

[Modernist]

I think you could say he's grasped the rudiments of guitar making- stunning.

The finished job was better on heads down no nonsense material than it was on the more subtle stuff IMHO.

Lovely use of quilted maple.