Woodcraft Purchasers

[Peter Bell]

I received my latest Woodcraft purchasers today, namely.

Woodriver Block Plane
Set of small dog leg woodcarving chisels, left & right skew and a straight.
Cheap set of small detail carving tools
Nicholson #50 smooth cut rasp
Groz deep throat fret saw
1000 grit King deluxe 207 x 66 x 34 mm Japanese water stone.

Plus other bibs and bobs etc.

The block plane is still in its box and I have not broken the seal on the plastic oil containing bag it is in yet but it sure does look impressive, at least to my untrained eye, that is.

The chisel and carving set will get a look over on the week end, I am not expecting much because they were cheap, but if they can help in my saw making and plane endeavors they will have served there purpose.

The waterstone is going to be a complete learning curve because I realize now, that to be a proficient woodworker you must have sharp cutting tools. I would like to do hand dovetails but have to do the preliminary rounds first.

The Nicholson # 50 was a surpise. I had only seen a #49 and briefly picked it up felt it and ran it across one of our hard eucalypts. I was not impressed with the cut as it was too agressive for what I wanted.

Some reports I had seen from TWWW I think, is that there was not much difference in the cut of the #49 and #50 and only the experienced would be able to pick the difference. I did not find this, and from the short play I have had it seemed like chalk and cheese between the two.

I was also surprised how light the #50 was compared to the #49 I saw. My #50 was made in Brazil and I have seen some reports where I thought they were made in Mexico.

I would be interested in others thoughts as to the differences between the #49 and #50 now and could it be possible a radical change to the manufacturing has been done over the last five years compared to the older rasps.

Peter

[george wilson]

A new Nicholson rasp can be real grabby.Too aggressive,as you say. Perhaps you could get a piece of real hard wood and rasp it till you take a bit of the sharpness off the teeth. Rasp it across the end grain. I am not sure how long it would take to break in the rasp. I have a grabby one,too,though still USA made. Haven't tried to tame the new one yet. I'd hate to get too extreme,and rub an abrasive on it.

[Peter Bell]

My inexperience and being on my own as far as hand tools are concerned leaves me with little personal neanderthal advice.

Because I have not seen or possibly could not afford the " Nirvana in hand tools " I really do not know what to expect and whether an outcome i produce is from my lack of knowledge or poor choice or quality of the tools I am using.

The fact that I am sticking and not giving up is my belief it is the quality of tools that are my number one problem and when I sort that out I can then concentrate on some quality of workmanship. ( Hopefully. )

[David Keller NC]

Peter, I'm not one to suggest that I don't value nice (and expensive) tools - I've a lot of them. However, I'm going to suggest that quality and price really matter a lot in just a few tools. Other types are "nice to haves".

In particular, dovetail back saws are sensitively dependent on the first tier of expense. In my experience, and having taught a few newbs how to hand-cut dovetails, the big-box store dovetail saws that typically sell for $20 are complete junk. They are simply unsuitable for the task unless a fair amount of tuning is done to them. The bottom-tier "luxury" dovetail backsaws made by Lie-Nielsen are night and day different, and it's very possible that the Lee Valley $65 saw is also (don't have one, so I can't say). The L-Ns will cut perfectly and track true right out of the box.

However, while I like my Blue Spruce paring chisels quite a lot, inexpensive new chisels will still cut very well, and I rather doubt anyone looking at a comparison of two pared joints, one with the BS chisels and one with the plastic-handled Bucks that I own could tell the difference. Here, the extra cost and higher quality of the BS chisels translates into considerably less maintenance and more aesthetic appeal. They will hold their edge far longer than the Bucks, but given good honing, both cut equally well.

Similarly, a $5 steel rule will measure an inch just as well as a $25 Starret. The Starret is just a bit nicer in surface finish and readability (because of the satin chrome finish).

So, I'd say that there are some tools that are worth saving your cash for, and buying high quality. Others, not so much - better to get something that will work and decide later if you want higher quality.

Regarding rasps, both the Nicholson 50 and 49 are quite aggressive compared to others that are available. In particular, the Aurious, or the Auriou clones made by former Auriou employees for The Best Things, can be purchased in quite fine tooth grades. If those don't meet your budget, you might look at TFWW's asian-made hand-cut rasps. They get good reviews as well.