Remake of Preston scratch stock

[Andy Kev.]

I came across this on the Lee Valley website:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.a ... at=51&ap=1

It would appear to be a faithful copy of the Preston original and I must admit that I quite like the look of it. I wonder if Lee Valley is considering redoing similar old Preston tools like the ovolo shave, quirk router etc. Now that would be interesting.

 

[AndyT]

Yes, interesting. I guess that the challenge for LV, as it was for Preston, is that if you look at all the people who might want to scratch a moulding by hand, some of them will want to buy the special tool, but others -maybe most of them? - will just cut a slit in a bit of scrap wood, secure a cutter with a screw, and get on with it.
That said, the price in dollars is less than I would have guessed, much less than a collectable original.
And I can personally confirm that the LV cutters are good for those not keen on metalwork.

 

[marcros]

i like that. i think that there are more people that would prefer to make than buy than you would imagine, although I appreciate that many people enjoy making tools too. when making tools, i always find that time is of the essence because it is holding up the project- maybe others view it as part of the project. If the price translated $ to £ then for £36, it wouldn't be bad value for its usefulness.

well done to LV for giving us the option, in any case. I am not sure how many other purchased scratch stocks are out there to buy off the shelf.

 

[bugbear]

Interesting - this design has been repro'd a few times now, but never stayed
in production for long.

e.g. Woodcraft ($95!!!)

http://web.archive.org/web/200308170954 ... g/3072.htm

BugBear

 

[undergroundhunter]

Looks like a nice piece of kit. Priced well, I'd buy one.

Matt

 

[bugbear]

Well done to LV for giving us the option, in any case. I am not sure how many other purchased scratch stocks are out there to buy off the shelf.

Well, in additiona to the Lee Valley "Cast Scratch Stock" that this thread is about, there's this from Lee Valley and this from Lee Valley

LN do a repro of the Stanley #66

BugBear

 

[condeesteso]

Don't really follow LV so missed this, but the cutter set at $23 looks well worth it as shaping your own is a bit tedious. I'd buy the cutters but do as Andy says more or less - in my case a Wickes scratch gauge modified to suit. And we all need a relative that goes to the States often, I rarely let my son-in-law come back empty

 

[Trafalgar]

Lee Valley at its best. Much more appealing than the iterations of bench planes over the years. I'm actually moved to order one of these.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I'm very tempted as well. I have a LN #66, which gets a lot of use, but this is a large tool and sometimes the handles get in the way, or the body is too wide to get inside a curve. I generally tend to make a blade for a wooden block, but the downside of this is the lack of adjustability when the the cutter needs sharpening. I have the older LV scratch stock/beader, which is rarely used, as it suffers from this disadvantage. The ability to set a fence is important in my view, not only for sharpening, but also when working grain from both directions.

The LV blades fit the LN and Stanley #66, but are a little shorter and the metal is thinner. I like the rigidity of the LN cutters, however the arris is thicker than on the LV. The finer LV arris can create a sharper profile, but this is also trickier to use since this thinner, pointier section is more vulnerable to follow the grain. Use light strokes.

A review of the older LV scratch stock written several years ago: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReview ... eader.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[bugbear]

Don't really follow LV so missed this, but the cutter set at $23 looks well worth it as shaping your own is a bit tedious.

It looks like the LV cutter set is common to all their (3) scratch tools.

It also looks like the new Preston is either a dead copy, or even a recast; it even has the Preston logo!

http://thekiltedwoodworker.com/2015/03/ ... its-clone/

http://www.findmytool.co.uk/preston-rou ... review.php

http://www.stagtools.co.uk/Gallery/Pres ... shaves.htm

(note logo and location c.f. Lee Valley)

BugBear

 

[Jelly]

Lee Valley at its best. Much more appealing than the iterations of bench planes over the years. I'm actually moved to order one of these.

I already have... The combination of me thinking 'I really must make a scratch stock', seeing this thread and the Weak dollar and/or Strong pound made it inevitable that I would.

 

[Trafalgar]

Attribution is adequate I'd say:

"Founded in 1825, Edward Preston & Sons, Ltd. produced some of the finest tools of the Victorian age. "
"Our version is a close reproduction of the original, cast from stainless steel with a black powder-coat finish."

 

[Tony Zaffuto]

Thanks BugBear for the cutter info, as I have one of their other scratch stocks, but really like the looks of this one (plus I accumulate Preston tools and even though this is a copy, it would just look right with the rest of my stuff).

 

[undergroundhunter]

Lee Valley at its best. Much more appealing than the iterations of bench planes over the years. I'm actually moved to order one of these.

I already have... The combination of me thinking 'I really must make a scratch stock', seeing this thread and the Weak dollar and/or Strong pound made it inevitable that I would.

Jelly,

Any idea on total cost inc shipping and taxes? I really want one of these now.

Matt

 

[JimB]

Lee Valley at its best. Much more appealing than the iterations of bench planes over the years. I'm actually moved to order one of these.

I already have... The combination of me thinking 'I really must make a scratch stock', seeing this thread and the Weak dollar and/or Strong pound made it inevitable that I would.

Jelly,

Any idea on total cost inc shipping and taxes? I really want one of these now.

Matt

I've ordered one from Australia, postage just over $14US, that's for surface delivery.

 

[Jelly]

Lee Valley at its best. Much more appealing than the iterations of bench planes over the years. I'm actually moved to order one of these.

I already have... The combination of me thinking 'I really must make a scratch stock', seeing this thread and the Weak dollar and/or Strong pound made it inevitable that I would.

Jelly,

Any idea on total cost inc shipping and taxes? I really want one of these now.

Matt

Shipping was just shy of $20, the stock and blades $60... That's about £54, tax will be about another £10, for a rough total of £65 ish

 

[JimB]

No tax paid across here for such a small amount so total here is just the price and postage.

 

[Jelly]

The weird bit for me was the UPS Express shipping (takes 1 week) was cheaper than the USPS Surface Mail rate (takes 8 weeks)... Win-Win really, but you wouldn't think it would be so.

 

[JimB]

The weird bit for me was the UPS Express shipping (takes 1 week) was cheaper than the USPS Surface Mail rate (takes 8 weeks)... Win-Win really, but you wouldn't think it would be so.

Half your luck! The surface mail was cheaper to Australia so I went for that. Gives me something to look forward to; though at my age I might forgot I ordered it by the time it arrived.

 

[JimB]

Jelly, I'm now in the same position as you. Our son turned up and decided he also needed a scratchstock and one of the new mitre planes so the extra weight made ups cheaper than surface mail! I've stopped trying to make sense of the world.