Two planes from my Dad

[Paul Cahill]

I am just back from visiting my folks in Ireland and I picked up a No. 4 from my Dad. He had already given me a No. 5 the last time I was home in 2009. He does remodeling, and uses planes but these were spares he had had for years.

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He had the No. 5 sitting around for over 20 years in its original box. He came across it when he was cleaning out a garage and the homeowner told him to keep it or trash it. The No. 4 had just been banging around the back of his work van for years – no idea where it came from.

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I did some dating on both planes. They are both old in people years, but youngsters in plane years. I see that the dating charts stop at Type 20 in 1967 so I don’t know what comes after that. Based on the Y under the frog both would appear to be Type 19. However, there are variations from this such as the Stanley on the lateral adjuster that is not vertical, and is earlier. Not that it really matters, but I must say that the dating thing is fun though.

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I have already tuned up the No. 5 and it works quite well. It does not make as fine a shaving as I can get from my Veritas LA Jack, but I do like the feel of the bench plane.

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I am in no rush for the No. 4, as I have the BU Smoother, but the No. 4 size was the next gap in my lineup to fill, so the timing is good. My Dad had ground a very pronounced camber on the blade he gave me. I don’t need that much camber but I am reluctant to grind it away seeing as how I came by it, so I may go with one of the new thick blade/chip-breaker combinations.

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Seeing as I didn’t pay for either plane, and have produced the requisite photos, I would imagine this qualifies as a gloat – my first official one?

Paul

[Jim Koepke]

Congradugloatations!

Free planes are always nice.

You can always use the cambered blade in the #5 for scrubbing rough boards.

jtk

[Paul Cahill]

You can always use the cambered blade in the #5 for scrubbing rough boards.

jtk

That's a thought. For rough boards I use my jointer and planer and for glue-ups I have been using my BU Jack with a toothed blade, and I have been very pleased with that approach. Before I discovered planes, I used to use a portable belt sander but I never liked it. It was hard to avoid gouging the wood, and the weight of the tool and the dust were problems too. I don't see myself using a scrub plane as part of my normal routine, but it would be an interesting exercise.

Thanks.

Paul

[Moses Yoder]

I hope you still have the box for the #5. On that #4 plane iron, I wouldn't sharpen it at all, I would simply replace it with a Hock iron and keep the original blade with the plane for future generations. I got all the planes my dad ever owned, which amounts to a big fat zero, so your acquisition is definitely gloatable.

[Paul Cahill]

I hope you still have the box for the #5.

Yes, I kept it. I was quite pleased that it was it such good condition. It had only been touched a couple of times in the last 40 years.

Paul

[Bill White]

It will take me about 6 hours to get to Nashville from Tupelo. I'll pick up those old junkers. I'm sure that ya don't want 'em around your shop.
I have my Dad's Nicholls framing square and his level. That's about it.
Bet that you'll take good care of those planes.
Bill

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Even if you use a powered planer and jointer, if your jointer can't handle very wide boards, but your planer is a bit wider, a cambered jack plane blade is nice, you can quickly get a board flat and true enough to send through the planar to thickness.

[Prashun Patel]

Paul-
Curious what yr using the toothed blade for. I thought they were more for difficult grain than flattening. A cambered blade in that #5 might do the work yr currently doing with yr toothed blade a little easier...?

[Paul Cahill]

Paul-
Curious what yr using the toothed blade for. I thought they were more for difficult grain than flattening. A cambered blade in that #5 might do the work yr currently doing with yr toothed blade a little easier...?

The thought of putting a serious camber on a blade seemed very intimidating. I asked Denab at a LN tool event I went to in Atlanta, and he suggested the toothed blade. I have used it for wide panel glue-ups where there is a slight mismatch between the surface of the boards. I planed diagonally across the boards. I also used it on the bench top I recently made once I exceeded the limits of my powered equipment. In the case of the workbench, I was more concerned about the weight of each section than the width. It worked very well at leveling and I was surprised how easy it was to clean up the teeth marks afterwards.

I am curious now to try the cambered #5, vs. the BU with toothed blade side by side.

Paul