Finally got to watch the talk & really enjoyed it! Great to hear straight talk from someone who uses their tools on a daily basis to earn a crust. It always strikes me how we all gravitate to certain sizes & types of tools to perform particular tasks, but what we each choose for any given task may be quite different. I always quote this as the main reason why there are so many different sizes of planes & saws!
I nodded my head in agreement with his assessment of the Norris screw-adjuster, I've said exactly the same about it, clever, but flawed.
I was particularly interested to hear what he had to say when someone asked about where the name "panel plane" comes from (his answer was quite fascinating - who'd have thought of researching plane lore in Old Bailey files!?). I've asked that question myself, on this & other forums, but no-one came up with as plausible a suggestion. He admitted he didn't know for sure, but has found there were wooden planes called "panel planes" (seemingly distinct from "panel-raising planes") long before infills arrived on the scene, and that these may have been used for final finishing of panels, where a longer plane than a conventional smoother would maintain the flatness. Anyone who has made panelled doors that are to be highly polished will have quickly discovered that the surface needs to be very flat, as any minor undulations will show up under even slightly oblique lighting on polished surfaces! So it makes sense to me that someone faced with preparing bookmatched Mahogany panels for a fancy piece of furniture on a regular basis would reach for a longer, wider plane than a typical smoothing plane to help refine & maintain flatness.
I certainly find my 'panel plane' excels at that sort of task....
Cheers,
Ian
