Scrub Plane - Too specialist?

[mr]

Is a scrub plane too specialist an investment? Can the same job be done with other planes? Im looking at a first attempt at preparing stock for a project , having always used PAR before, I don't have a planer thicknesser nor much interest in buying one truth be told. So casting around it appears that a scrub plane will help. I will probably need to remove in the region of 10 mm from board surfaces to get into the right area thickness wise before moving on the next set of weapons.
My alternatives are currently a stanley 4 and a Record 4 /12 which arent going to be that much help in the task at hand I wouldnt have thought and possibly a low angle jack which might be more helpful. Thicknessing is obviously something Im going to do a fair amount of If I buy non par wood and Im tending to think that buying a scrub plane might be useful but then if something like the jack will do the same job praps the pennies are better spent elsewhere. Any thoughts?
Cheers Mike

 

[Colin C]

Hi Mike
If you dont want to get a planer then a scrub plane is one option or an electric plane will also do the job and not as much hard work ( or as much fun seeing the big shavings come off )
Since you are going to do this by hand you will need a jointer or a jack plane as well.
Try Ebay of a scrub plane if you still want one and the jack /jointer from there too, as the new stanley/ record one's are rubbish ( as you will know from here)
I hope that helps

 

[Alf]

A nice, cheap wooden jack would do the job nicely - s'what they live for.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Colin C]

Alf beat me to it
I know someone that has a wooden jack and jointer for sale that are in good nik, you can also make the jack a scrub plane ( its me with the two planes, I will post pic if you are intrested)

 

[Alf]

Everyone and their Aunt Lillian have a wooden jack and jointer to sell. :lol: Just make the jack a "proper" jack and it's virtually a scrub, see?

Cheers, Alf

 

[Corset]

I am no expert but... I ahve a scrub plane and i have been preparing all my wood by hand including a massive piece of oak. The scrub is great and very easy to control. The electric hand planer is naff it does not correct the wind etc and it is all too easy to get a ridge or linkup mark when using a long piece of timber.
I havn't used a tweaked jack but the veritas scrub is amazing and has saved me so much time and effort and i would be lost without it. It is all too easy to flatten a boad with it. It is the best 80 quid i spent apart from the 200 quid for the bevel up jointer i just got from canada in the post. Together they are greeeat

 

[George_N]

You can also save money by cancelling your gym membership. Thicknessing with a scrub plane will give you a pretty good work-out.
Seriously though, how practical is it for a relative novice like me to buy rough-sawn timber and get close to the finish quality of a planer/thicknesser by using a combination of scrub/jack/smoother/jointer planes? Is it just practice, practice, practice and "serve your apprenticeship"? Maybe if you're impatient, like me, buying a mix of PAR and rough-sawn is the way to go, so I can practice preparing stock and also get on with actually making things.

cheers

George

 

[Colin C]

Its practice, practice, practice and also being pointed in the right direction, does make a BIG difference ( which you will get on here ), plus some wineding stick will also help.

 

[bugbear]

Everyone and their Aunt Lillian have a wooden jack and jointer to sell. :lol: Just make the jack a "proper" jack and it's virtually a scrub, see?

Cheers, Alf

You've got that all wrong. It's done like this.

Hmm. Quite similar, really. Jack's just get scrubbier, No one is quite sure when a "scrubby jack" becomes a "scrub".

BugBear

 

[Anonymous]

Jack's just get scrubbier, No one is quite sure when a "scrubby jack" becomes a "scrub".

BugBear

Scrubs are shorter (<11"+/-) and blades are narrower (< 1 1/2").
My scrub is very different from my wood or metal "scrubby jacks" .
That is my story and I'm sticking to it. :lol:

 

[Colin C]

From what I have known Roger Nixon is right as I has a scrub plane to but for me it is used for getting new pieces of wood to match the old.

 

[Frank D.]

My scrub plane gathers dust most of the time since I set up a jack with a cambered blade. I agree with Chris Schwarz who once said that a scrub is more of a carpenter's tool (that's the only thing I still use it for), and a jack for cabinetmakers. We rarely have to take off 10 or 15mm of wood on the face of a board, most of the wood we buy is dressed fairly close to final thickness. Unless you plan on using 25mm-thick, twisted, rough-sawn boards to get 12mm final thickness without using a bandsaw, a jack will work very quickly without being too aggressive. My jack has a camber of about 2 or 3mm. I use an old Stanley and it works fine, no need for more. The extra length also lets you conserve flatness more easily.
2p

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Hi Mike

I use a scrub plane for all flattening and thicknessing. Depending on the type of wood and its width, I am able to choose from about 4 or 5 planes.

As a rule of thumb, as the wood gets harder I prefer a heavier plane. For wide and hard boards I will turn to a Stanley #5 1/2 with a strongly radiused blade. The extra heft of this plane provides the momentum to plough through hard Jarrah. For medium sized hardwood boards the LV Scrub is the one for me. In fact, if I were to own just one scrub plane, then this would be it.

See http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/dCohen/theLeeValleyScrubPlane/index.asp

For a more delicate touch, or with soft woods, the Stanley #40 works very well. Ditto a heavily radiused Stanley #3 (which has the advantage of setting blade projection). These are light planes and tend to skip on hard woods.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Mittlefehldt]

I have been considering the possibility of my next purchase being a scrub plane. My local purveyor of wood brings it in rough and will plane it four sides for .50 cents a board foot Canadian. Or I could buy it rough and do it myself, (there's a concept)

I currently have two wooden jointers with decent irons but of course wider mouths, I wonder if maybe they would simply be too big a plane to use as a scrub?

That or I will save my pennies and buy the Lee Valley one from the local store, decisions, decisions.

 

[mr]

OH dear
MUch input (thanks all) and still no closer a decision. Was thinking that 10 mm or so was a lot to take off by hand but it appears that I cant get closer to the required thickness from the likes of SL hardwoods (no one closer to home seems to be able to help with the right thicknesses etc). Hence thinking I might use a scrub. THough I can see the point about using a wooden jack with a suitable blade and my bank manager agrees. I do have an old woody jointer fore plane (17inches) so that might be worth a go with a cambered blade. Its about time it had a birthday. Its an unsettling thought really that I might be about to throw many beer vouchers at something (the wood) that Im then going to turn into scraps. Still I spose Ive got to get on the learning curve at some point rather than rely on par which isnt very productive really.
Thanks all for your input.

 

[Philly]

Mike
Sorry, a bit late getting here. A scrub?
As other knowledgable folk here have said, the scrub and the "jack" do the same job. If you have a cheap #5 lying around, open the mouth right up and curve the blade-voila! You can have a go and see if you like it.
Personally, I bought the Veritas scrub and I don't regret it at all. It is such FUN to use, decimating boards at a fantastic rate. It certainly will do the job you require. Have you seen Rob Cosman's DVD "Rough to ready"?? He use's only hand tools to prepare and thickness stock-the scrub comes out a lot! :wink:
So, my 2p worth. If you aren't going for a powered thicknesser a metal scrub (let's face it, off the shelf there is a choice of two) will be a good friend to you.
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[Scrit]

Was thinking that 10 mm or so was a lot to take off by hand but it appears that I cant get closer to the required thickness from the likes of SL hardwoods.

3/8ths (OK, 10mm) - you'll have muscles like Garth! Have you thought about going the whole hog and getting/making a frame saw for ripping to approximate size and then applying the scrub plane. It will probably be a lot less effort. If you look around you can pick up a Bismarck plane (i.e. a horned scrub plane) which even Marples used to make. Last time I saw one it had the asking price of £4.00 on it.

If I didn't have a static machine I'd rough with a power planer then finish with a jack and jointer. It doesn't matter if the power planer tramlines the surface as you're going to hand finish and I can and do handle wind with a power planer at times, it just takes a light touch.

Personally I'll stick to the band saw, power planer and over and under (planer/thicknesser) but I was made to go through the hand tool bit a long time ago and it builds........ well, exhaustion. Plus a bit of understanding.

Scrit

 

[jasonB]

appears that I cant get closer to the required thickness from the likes of SL hardwoods (no one closer to home seems to be able to help with the right thicknesses etc)..

What thickness do you want to end up with? SLH will prepare to whatever you need and even put it through their massive thickness sander, just because the thickness is not on the site does not mean they don't do it. If you still want it sawn they have a nice big TCT band resaw as well

Jason

 

[Chris Knight]

Personally, I wouldn't spend any money on a scrub. Take any ratty old plane, put a curve in the blade and you are good to go - mine is an old Millers Falls No 9 smoother. Aim to make the curve such that a shaving is about an inch and a quarter wide and one sixteenth to eighth of an inch thick - you can do the same with a carving gouge and a mallet -seriously! - but that requires a lot more skill.

I would and did spend money on a handheld electric planer, a Bosch. It is a very useful tool and I usually take my rough sawn boards straight down to a rough planed finish with this thing so that I can see what the grain is doing before I choose boards for my projects. It's no substitute for proper hand planing or a planer/thicknesser but it sure saves sore arms!

 

[Colin C]

It is good to know that i am not the only one that sees an handheld electric planer as a good idea