New Toy - Clifton no 4

[D_W]

Also, I notice that the lateral adjustment lever looks like a one piece design. The lever on LN's is a brass tab screwed into the lever (please correct me). Never seemed a particularly clever way to make it.

You're right. I never noticed that as it's covered by the iron, but it's kind of in keeping. I don't think there's much forging or sweating of anything at Lie Nielsen. The castings are done elsewhere and it's more or less a CNC and hand finishing shop given the video of the tours.

it could've been pressure fit, though, as some of stanley's were. Even if something isn't forged or cast, there's something interesting about taking two pieces of metal that don't fit together and forcing them to, anyway.

 

[G S Haydon]

The reason I mention it is I've seen a couple get loose, no issue with a one piece design.

There were some harsh reviews of Clifton back in the day. Clifton have been on a journey. I would be delighted to purchase a shoulder plane for at home, I just can't justify it at this moment.

 

[D_W]

The reason I mention it is I've seen a couple get loose, no issue with a one piece design.

There were some harsh reviews of Clifton back in the day. Clifton have been on a journey. I would be delighted to purchase a shoulder plane for at home, I just can't justify it at this moment.

I was a beginner when I first heard of them. The negative press was damaging in the sense that I bought everything I could find, and around 2005/2006, the publications talked about A2 being the bees knees, and I believed what they said. I also recall a story about "a clifton plane 7 thousandths out of flat". At this point, I could draw file it and lap it to less than any production plane in two hours at the most, usually less, and I'd fix it.

But they were not easy to find on the ground here and whatever was at highland when I was there was a type that I wasn't interested in - in retail places like that in the US, only the oddball stuff stays around. Or I'd have bought it, too.

I feel satisfied to have tried everything. Much of what I have now isn't worth a lot monetarily, but it feels more like what I'm looking for, and I treasure the older 8 record that I found on your ebay, as well as a near perfect i. sorby 7. The sorby is made as well as any bench plane I've had with a thin soft iron that would appeal to an experienced user but not a beginner.

There's a lot of debate about which plane, which type, whatever. If someone is in the UK and they prefer to spend the money on clifton because it's the one that gives them the same warm feeling as two shots of brandy - that's the one to get.

 

[Jacob]

I had a Clifton 4 for a while. I like trying things out just to see if there really is an advantage in things which cost 10 times the 2nd hand price of a Record for instance.
Found no particular advantage. Was heavier than a Record and made of surprisingly soft steel - such that it picked up a deep scratch very soon on a bit of grit or something. But then it was easy to grind off (wet n dry paper backed 80 grit used wet).
Sold it.

I've also been the other way and bought the worst looking plane in the universe, which was an Indian brand "SV" or "Essvee". A bit of a challenge to get it working - which was possible but it was not well built or designed! Sold it for a fiver or so.
The most interesting thing about all the planes which have passed through my hands is that all of them had usable blades, including the SV. Some take longer to sharpen but hold an edge longer, thick ones take longer to sharpen but don't hold an edge longer, and that's about it. Completely contradicts the interminable waffle from the tool crazies about steel varieties and treatments, except I have a bias in favour of the old laminated blades.
I think it's likely that most of the problems with blade "quality" is due to novice sharpening and overheating on a grindstone.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Thick ones don't take longer to sharpen unless your odd ideas lead you to never grinding the things.

 

[Jacob]

Thick ones don't take longer to sharpen unless your odd ideas lead you to never grinding the things.

They take longer to grind. It's the same thing.
One of the odd things the toolies say is that it's quicker to sharpen if you grind first, which is much the same as saying it's quicker to sharpen if you (partially) sharpen first. It's the same thing.

 

[D_W]

I've also been the other way and bought the worst looking plane in the universe, which was an Indian brand "SV" or "Essvee". A bit of a challenge to get it working - which was possible but it was not well built or designed! Sold it for a fiver or so.
The most interesting thing about all the planes which have passed through my hands is that all of them had usable blades, including the SV. Some take longer to sharpen but hold an edge longer, thick ones take longer to sharpen but don't hold an edge longer, and that's about it. Completely contradicts the interminable waffle from the tool crazies about steel varieties and treatments, except I have a bias in favour of the old laminated blades.
I think it's likely that most of the problems with blade "quality" is due to novice sharpening and overheating on a grindstone.

>interminable waffle from the tool crazies about steel varieties and treatments<

what is this? What are the treatments, abrasives? Cryo? Cryo generally makes a better woodworking tool if for no other reason, it can correct issues in heat treat that are either chosen or not.

There is something true hidden in your post - actual sharpening time and planing time should be pretty much in proportion across alloys and hardnesses. If they aren't, then one of the edges is getting damaged in use and that needs to be corrected.

I hope nobody falls for the talk of soft castings- a plane with a softer casting is definitely a lot easier to correct if it should season itself in the hands of the user. Millers falls planes (castings) are pretty soft. They're a delight to true up because they yield to sandpaper well, but not to wood edges. Some castings are so hard that they need to be machine ground or filed, which isn't quite so nice.

 

[WideningGyre]

We could talk about things we actually find stimulating, just at the risk that someone from the southern US would show up under an alt claiming to be from Cardiff, and who has never had the courage to show his own work or methods. Ever.

It's a shame that on the hand tool side anyone would consider thin shavings out of the ordinary, but I doubt the point of the post was to talk about the shaving.

You da' man Dawg. Don't let anybody tell you you're not.

 

[D_W]

You da' man Dawg. Don't let anybody tell you you're not.

Show us how good you are, Charlie. Something other than stories about tinkling if touching a near finished project with a plane.

Really - 20 years of his this nonsense with multiple logins on forums the entire time. What are you afraid of?