Hand tool epiphany

[jim hedgpeth]

Just received a box of goodies from Veritas, and had a few minutes "play" time. I do OK with my old Stanley, and Sargent planes, but the first swipe with my new bu smoother I realized what I've been missing. The shavings are similar to all the rest I have made, the difference is in the "feel". My old planes often catch, are difficult to push steadily at a controlled pace, and finicky.The Veritas right out of the box was smooth and steady.

So what next, try the jack, yep same thing smooth and steady.

My epiphany, if you will is this,
There are good tools, and then there are SWEET tools.

Sorry if I'm ranting, these are my first high(er) end tools. I can't wait to see how they do after I sharpen them propperly.

Well, back to the shop to figure out that fancy card scraper thangy.

Later all,
Jim

[David Christopher]

congrats on the new tools Jim.. hope you enjoy them......I just ordered a veritas jack it should be here friday

[Garth Keel]

Veritas planes are another slippery slope (there seem to be so many darned slopes) :rolleyes:

[Jacob Mac]

I just got some new to me BU planes yesterday, and I had a similar epiphany. I struggled with some old Stanleys from "reputable" dealers for about three or four months. Last night after I put my new planes to wood, I started to see why people love well tuned planes so much.

A well tuned plane is really fun to use. I couldn't be happier with my planes. And I am glad you had a similar revelation.

[glenn bradley]

Veritas planes are another slippery slope (there seem to be so many darned slopes) :rolleyes:

I picked up a medium shoulder and a low angle block with additional goodies and stopped there. . . I can feel myself slipping though. Enjoy your LV's Jim. I have others but the LV's are my go to's.

[Ben Davis]

Just received a box of goodies from Veritas, and had a few minutes "play" time. I do OK with my old Stanley, and Sargent planes, but the first swipe with my new bu smoother I realized what I've been missing. The shavings are similar to all the rest I have made, the difference is in the "feel". My old planes often catch, are difficult to push steadily at a controlled pace, and finicky.The Veritas right out of the box was smooth and steady.

So what next, try the jack, yep same thing smooth and steady.

My epiphany, if you will is this,
There are good tools, and then there are SWEET tools.

Sorry if I'm ranting, these are my first high(er) end tools. I can't wait to see how they do after I sharpen them propperly.

Well, back to the shop to figure out that fancy card scraper thangy.

Later all,
Jim
Welcome to the club. You'll find yourself spending much less time over at the general woodworking subforum, and much more time over here with us neanders.

Just think of how much slower and how much more precise all of your mistakes will be!

[jim hedgpeth]

I have already fallen down the slope. It seems I forgot to order the jointer that they forgot to put in the box they sent.:D Oh well, I guess that means when I order their dovetail saw I'll order it as well. Then the side rabbet, mini scraper plane, and ... who knows.

Jim

[Richard Magbanua]

I'm right there with you. Rehabbing old Stanleys is important and saves cash and old, but good, tools. However, finally rewarding myself with Lie-Nielsen was an amazing experience. Such a big difference in quality and feel. I think that as I obtain more experience and educate myself in this art and craft I prefer to gradually obtain my own, new tools to leave my mark. I hope that after a few decades these tools will have as many stories to tell as the antiques I have.

[Sean Hughto]

I'm guessing your vintage planes might start working better now. Just a hunch.

[Matt Hankins]

I don't mean to be a downer, but..
Keep working on your old planes. Take a sharpening class. Talk to and learn from as many plane users as you can. Practice, practice, practice. The old Stanleys and Sargents are every bit as good as the LV and LN planes, when properly tuned. And fair warning, your new planes will need to be maintained. They won't always work as well as they do the first day out of the box. I have various planes from various manufacturers, old and new, and enjoy using them all, but my favorite is an old low tote Stanley # 3. I like the way it feels and it tunes up great. I love the way that LN makes planes that are either difficult to find or out of my price range and I really like LV's innovations, but I wouldn't trade my old Stanley's and Sargents for anything. I know those old planes aren't going to gather any sawdust on your shelves either, but trust me, they too can feel "fresh out of the box" good.

Happy planing!
Matt

[jerry nazard]

Matt,

Your's was a good post! Along those same lines, I find that tuning and sharpening are an evolving process. I can return to a plane that I thought was "super tuned" and find it lacking in comparison to one that I more recently tuned and set up. The more I use the tools and tweak them, the better they perform. As to the Stanley No. 3, I have a Type 9 set up with a Hock iron that is hard to beat... well, maybe my old Millers Falls 4 1/2....

-Jerry

[Billy Chambless]

I'm guessing your vintage planes might start working better now. Just a hunch.


I'd bet on that.

[Jim Koepke]

My feeling is with Matt & Jerry on this.

I am sure the new planes from LV are superb.

For the longest time, my experience with old Stanley planes was nothing near an epiphany. Once my sharpening skills improved, it was amazing how much the planes improved. Then learning about tuning a plane made them even more amazing.

Just recently learned a lot more by doing and documenting the rehab of an old plane. To paraphrase, when one attempts to teach, they can not help but learn.

Even some of my own long held opinions about lapping the sole have changed. Of course, finding a nice long piece of material to facilitate lapping has helped.

I am not sure if an old Stanley/Bailey can be made to work as nice as a new BU LA smoother or jack, but using the LNs at a show did not make me feel like my old planes should be traded in. The new LNs are fine planes, but a carefully tuned Stanley/Bailey can match it shaving for shaving.

jim

[Tom Vanzant]

We recently up-graded the bath, and the granite backsplash didn't look quite right. I now have two 36" x 5" x 1 1/4" thick dead-flat and smooth granite lapping bases. Funny how things work out... and the bath looks great with a tile backsplash. Tom