I loved woodworking - but I hated planes, or at least I thought I did. I have purchased $100s if not $1000s worth of tools, many just to avoid having to use the dreaded plane. I prided myself on a shop with no planes. Then a woodworking buddy of mine asked me, "Where's your plane(s)?" I told him I didn't own one. After pushing at me for about a year - he finally got me to go to an antique tool club and then just picked up a used "Bailey-type" plane for $10 for me. He suggested that my frustration came from just forgetting a few simple maintenance tasks (like proper sharpening and proper adjustment) and all I needed was an old "user" and a friend with a little knowledge. We spent an hour cleaning, sharpening, and tuning the #4. At the end of the hour, I set plane to wood and voila, a perfect full-width curled shaving appeared. In ten minutes, I loved my new, old plane. Now, I'm looking for a few more. Sometimes, we don't really need a new tool - just a friend, and a little knowledge, and some "old" tools will work just fine. Anybody else have a similar experience?
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You are indeed headed down on a long steep slope, no snow needed
Jim in Texas and Sicko Ryobi Cult Member © -
I know a lot of people feel the same way. That's usually before they grab one that's trued, properly tuned and sharp. Then, once those wispy, delicate curls start rainin' down, they're hooked for good.
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Wait till you push well tuned a #7 or #8 down the edge of a board!Don, aka Pappy,
Wise men talk because they have something to say,
Fools because they have to say something.
PlatoComment
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you're very fortunate to have someone to show you the way.....I'm still lookingComment
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Workman, it is indeed a slippery slope. I had the same experience as you earlier this year. Now I am seriously thinking of moving more to hand-tool woodworking but for a practical reason. My shop is underneath the bedrooms and with hand tools I could work at night.David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.Comment
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Although I have pretty much gone to power tools in the last 10-12 years... there has rarely never been a piece I have done over the last 35 years that did not see a low-angle block plane and shoulder plane. In the last 6 years you can add a low angle smoother to that and "most" projects edges are shot (as Pappy mentioned) with a #7.
Shooting two adjoining edges at once with that jointer results in a better glue up as the edges done that way are "butt kissed" without having to rely on the clamps to crush them together.Comment
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After thinking about this for a little while, I'm pretty convinced that every WW'er's ego takes a subliminal blow when he uses modern machinery to fabricate something. I don't mean it in a bad way, just that I think there is an innate desire in each of us to create and appreciate things done with one's own two hands. (Gonna keep usin' my hardware, though...
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Whadda y'all think?Comment
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Ahhhhh hand tools....
I agree 100%! There is something special about taking your hand to wood and creating that perfect edge. There is a deep feeling of being connected with the history of all those craftsman that went before us. The main thing to me is the focus and "in-the-moment" concentration that comes with using hand tools. When I use all my crazy power tools, of which I have too manyAfter thinking about this for a little while, I'm pretty convinced that every WW'er's ego takes a subliminal blow when he uses modern machinery to fabricate something. I don't mean it in a bad way, just that I think there is an innate desire in each of us to create and appreciate things done with one's own two hands. (Gonna keep usin' my hardware, though... )
Whadda y'all think?, the noise and the general chaos of it all becomes more about "getting it done". Don't get be wrong I love it, but it does lack the "SOUL" of woodworking craftsmanship. Therefore, it seems I always wind up taking "my hand to wood" at some point in all my projects. I love that moment of picking up a hand plane or chisel for the final touchup. Of course most of the time it is totally un-needed and slows down the project but I can't help myself. 
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I watch "The Woodwright's shop" to keep myself in check. Every once in awhile I think I can't continue without a jointer or drum sander, etc. I get a little wound up and use my digital calipers and try to get things down to .010" and start thinking I need a digital read out for my saw fence...
Then I watch Roy Underhill working with an adze, hand saws, chisels, and planes. He's laying everything out in reference to what it is going to fit into, not by ruler or digital calipers. This is the way the "masters" did it in the "good ol' days", the days of "craftsmen," the people we aspire to be in our hobby. That sets me back into the real reason I do woodworking, for the craft of it, not just to collect more tools (which is fun too).Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas EdisonComment
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re: plane truth
I studied woodworking at RIT in the early 80s, and the first thing they had us do was to plane a board so it was absolutely smooth and square on the top, bottom and edges. After that we were to cut it in two, reassemble it into a square and true it up again. Then we were to make a simple product out of it. Everything was to be done by hand with no exceptions.
They had us planing for three or four weeks. Nothing (it seemed anyway) but planing about six hours a day. When we thought we were ready, an instructor would take a steel edge ruler and sight down the board as he moved the ruler across the piece. If he saw any light at all between the ruler and the wood, you weren't done. About the fifth or sixth try you would be surprised how much you crave the simple idea of a flat board. Another test was done after the the board was cut in two. A drop or two of water was put on one piece and that piece was then placed on top of the other, then they were turned over while holding onto only the top board. If they were both flat, the bottom one would stay in place for a few seconds before letting go. It was incredibly satisfying to see it work.
Finally, to really drive home the point about how important hand skills are they showed us a video of Japanese woodworkers planing beams on site while building a temple. The ribbons coming off of the wood (I assume it was a softer species) were so uniform and light they floated above their heads. Before long, these guys were in shavings up to their waists. I wish I had a copy of the video. It was amazing.
It was very frustrating intially but by the end of those few weeks I was hand planing with the best of them. After many years of minimal woodworking I'm now in the process of putting a shop together which includes tuning up two Bailey #8s and a Bailey #7 all of which were made in the early 1900's I can't wait to put them to use.
So congratulations and keep up those hand skills!Comment
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I've got the planes, now I'm waiting for my friends to become knowledgeable about them so they can show me!
Happiness is sort of like wetting your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.
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Get on Amazon and grab a copy of "The Handplane Book" by Garrett Hack. Take some wood scraps and practice. Then, when your friends come over, you can show them a thing or two. And remember, you can't accomplish much without a sharp iron, so put your honing house in order at the same time...Comment
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