Prediction: moulding planes

[AndyT]

The price of moulding planes is about to go up.
Paul Sellers has just been rabbiting on to his 355,000 YouTube subscribers telling them how useful and versatile they are.

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So if you have any you want to sell, this could be what you have been waiting for. If you still want to buy any, get in quick.

The video also includes a plug for British Planemakers (though he only shows the 2nd edition) so watch that rise as well. (Current cheapest copy on Abebooks is £63!)

 

[HJC1972]

Won't be selling any of mine (shown below) anytime soon. Rarely use them but they have, on occasion, got me right out of trouble.

 

[ED65]

Yes Andy! I saw the video in my YouTube feed earlier and only later twigged that I'd missed my window to build up a modest collection on the cheap *sigh*

I doubt the effect will be as large with these as with e.g. routers but we'll see.

 

[t8hants]

I bought my box of 20 for £1.00 at a jumble sale back in the 70's and have added a few since.
Thanks to Paul though I can't keep up with the rise in price for router planes, I am still looking for one.

 

[Racers]

Cough

grooving-plane-t117884.html


Pete

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Have to admit to slightly mixed feelings about Paul publicising moulding planes.

One the plus side, I'm all in favour of good tools going to good homes rather than being turned into table lamps or firewood, and I'd like to see more elegance and tasteful embellishment in both joinery and furniture work - we've been rather starved of simple beauty in architecture and in much furniture for far too long (except at the very high end).

On the other hand, I do worry a bit that he's not being entirely honest about how tricky vintage moulding planes can be to set up and, especially in case of complex moulders, sharpen successfully. It's all very well telling the uninitiated about what a well-tuned plane can do, but without telling how to tune planes well, it could set people up for a frustrating time with their acquisitions. Indeed, I gather the reason that Matt Bickford took to making new moulding planes was the frustrations he endured getting vintage ones to perform. That may also be true for other makers of new side-escapement planes, too.

Still, on balance, let's think positively. The more people interested in such things means the more chance of tools of real historical interest being spotted and finding their way to safe keeping, and the more the market for old tools develops, the more it will develop the market for new ones too.

 

[custard]

he's not being entirely honest about how tricky vintage moulding planes can be to set up and, especially in case of complex moulders, sharpen successfully.

+1

For the great majority of woodworking hobbyists moulding planes are a complete waste of time and money. Less than one in ten of the vintage moulding planes that I've seen are in a fit state to use. The remainder have shrunken or warped stocks so that the cutting edge bears little relationship to the sole pattern. That's not an easy fix.

If you're bored and just want something to tinker with in your shed then by all means get one, but if you're serious about making stuff then forget about moulding planes, at least until you're some way up the skills curve.

 

[woodbloke66]

he's not being entirely honest about how tricky vintage moulding planes can be to set up and, especially in case of complex moulders, sharpen successfully.

+1

For the great majority of woodworking hobbyists moulding planes are a complete waste of time and money. Less than one in ten of the vintage moulding planes that I've seen are in a fit state to use. The remainder have shrunken or warped stocks so that the cutting edge bears little relationship to the sole pattern. That's not an easy fix.

If you're bored and just want something to tinker with in your shed then by all means get one, but if you're serious about making stuff then forget about moulding planes, at least until you're some way up the skills curve.

Agreed, never used one and they're entirely unsuitable for the sort of work I do. What little mouldings I use can be easily accommodated on the router table - Rob

 

[ac445ab]

Some of mine that have found home to the mild clime of South Italy. I found several of them in quite working conditions and they are good performers, only I had to hone Irons, although I haven’t try with others more complex profiled I have too.
Ciao Giuliano

 

[thetyreman]

personally I doubt they'll ever be a big thing, it's a really niche area of woodworking, agree with custard that they're a bugger to set up, it's very hard to find immaculate ones because people don't store tools properly anymore in chests or a climate controlled environment, it's a real pain when the shape doesn't match the shape of the wood, I just gave up on my beading plane and it was very frustrating!

 

[Trevanion]

Moulding planes? Pfft....

I really don't see moulding planes really gaining much more value than they are now, rather than the more specific task planes have increased in the past couple of years such as your rebate and router planes which have pretty much tripled in price. I could be wrong, but I don't think they will go up.

 

[David Schweizer]

The video also includes a plug for British Planemakers (though he only shows the 2nd edition) so watch that rise as well. (Current cheapest copy on Abebooks is £63!)

This is my first post and I am struggling with reply and quote proceedure so I hope this works.

May I suggest that you wait a few months. The 4th edition of British Planemakers is currently with the publishers, and will hopefully be available for purchase at the end of the year. It will be quite a bit heavier than the 3rd edition, and I guess you will not get much change from £100, but it will be worth it.

 

[AndyT]

David, I'm well aware of that.
I already have the 2nd and 3rd editions, bought at reasonable prices.

And welcome to the forum!

 

[Mcdemon]

I bought my box of 20 for £1.00 at a jumble sale back in the 70's and have added a few since.
Thanks to Paul though I can't keep up with the rise in price for router planes, I am still looking for one.

Keep looking.
I agree the prices are high now but I managed a bargain early Stanley 71 made in USA for £45 from a dealer on Saturday. Only one pointed cutter but will buy a Veritas straight cutter soon. Good condition considering it’s 100 years old.
Good luck with your search and don’t succumb to the silly prices on eBay.

Regards Mark

 

[Osvaldd]

Whats the difference between moulding and beading?

 

[AndyT]

Whats the difference between moulding and beading?

Moulding is the general term for decorative shaping along an edge.
Beading is one type of moulding, with part of a circle in cross section. Widely used in a range of sizes on furniture and joinery. Beading planes are among the commonest moulding planes.

 

[David Schweizer]

David, I'm well aware of that.
I already have the 2nd and 3rd editions, bought at reasonable prices.

And welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the welcome Andy. Are you, by any chance, the same Andy T.... from Bristol that I know?

 

[AndyT]

Thanks for the welcome Andy. Are you, by any chance, the same Andy T.... from Bristol that I know?

I'm not as easy to spot as some, but yes that's me.