Scrub plane size

[Corneel]

I don't think it is a very black and white thing between scrubs and jacks. Even the Germans, a real scrub loving nation, have a continum of planes ranging from the scrub, via the jack and the double iron plane to the smoothing plane and finally the reform plane. All are about the same length with a horn in front. The scrub is narrowest with the biggest camber. They are to be used where neccessary.

Personally I only use my real German scrub plane (Schrupphobel) when thicknessing a board. And maybe to correct very crooked boards. It leaves a terrible surface, much worse then sawmill marks.

 

[ac445ab]

May be it's only a question of different habits the reason why in UK the scrub plane is quite unknown and, at opposite, it is so common in Continental Europe.
My impression is that a dedicate scrub plane (like the ECE wooden one type or the Stanley 40) is faster in preparing rough boards as the heavily cambered blade can cut deeper grooves and its narrower width helps to scrubbing areas prone to tearout without too much damages. Rough board I use often are cupped or bowed along the transversal axis so I do not need the extra length of a jack plane. However, after the scrubbing job, I use the jack (with a slight cambered iron) like a scrub with an angle to the board and finally in longitudinal motion.
I use scrub on the board edges too, when the edge is very distorted and wish to correct it speedy.

Ciao
Giuliano

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

And we are forgetting riven stock, a prime candidate for the scrub as a prep tool. Many furniture makers these days are harvesting their own timbers, or savaging stuff from the firewood pile, in an attempt to be ecological/ original. Perhaps the scrub's intended use will see a renaissance in these modern times. It seems that some here understand the uses of the scrub, after all, British idiosyncrasys not withstanding .

Mike.

 

[Jacob]

Hello,

And we are forgetting riven stock, a prime candidate for the scrub as a prep tool. Many furniture makers these days are harvesting their own timbers, or savaging stuff from the firewood pile, in an attempt to be ecological/ original. Perhaps the scrub's intended use will see a renaissance in these modern times. It seems that some here understand the uses of the scrub, after all, British idiosyncrasys not withstanding .

Mike.

Not forgetting riven stock. Scrub plane here is ideal, but axe and adze are popular on the green wood scene. I posted here http://www.bodgers.org.uk/bb/phpBB2/vie ... f=2&t=2781 to see what they would say but the scrub still seems to be a bit of a foreigner.
But planes are essentially bench tools and a bit useless out in the woods, compared to axe and adze.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

But planes are essentially bench tools and a bit useless out in the woods.

A bit OT, I know, but I have watched someone using a #4 on a piece of wood on a pole lathe. Bodgers are IME a lot less fixed in their thinking as to what tool suits which job.

 

[bugbear]

Yep. Ellis; "Single iron jacks are used for rough "scurfing" as a preliminary operation on extremely rough or dirty surfaces" but IMHO not for routine planing of sawn boards.

That would depend on how good your sawing is. Another obvious use is for removing extreme wind, cup or bow.

Further, given long seasoning times after sawing but before use, one might well
NOT have the correct thickness for a task available in seasoned stock, unless you're an exceptional
planner. Under these circumstances, scrubbing down to thickness, though wasteful, may
be the least worst course of action.

I don't think there's actually a hard and fast boundary between jacks and scrubs. If you
look at some of the old texts, the camber they recommended for jacks is pretty extreme by modern standards,
and jacks with single iron were also available. That gets you a long way towards a "pure" scrub.

BugBear