The right tool really does make all the difference

[Steven Mikes]

I just got my first scrub plane, an E.C.E.
It's amazing to use it, effortlessly slicing off thick curls!
It's making surfacing roughsawn lumber sooo much easier.

[ken hatch]

I just got my first scrub plane, an E.C.E.
It's amazing to use it, effortlessly slicing off thick curls!
It's making surfacing roughsawn lumber sooo much easier.

Steven,

I've been preaching the utility of the ECE scrub for years, there are none better. Congrats.

ken

[Stanley Covington]

Hogging down roughsawn lumber is hard on a plane's sole. How does the ECE's sole holdup?

Likewise, roughsawn lumber often has embedded dust and grit that is hard on a scrub plane's blade. Does it chip?

Thanks.

Stan

[ken hatch]

Hogging down roughsawn lumber is hard on a plane's sole. How does the ECE's sole holdup?

Likewise, roughsawn lumber often has embedded dust and grit that is hard on a scrub plane's blade. Does it chip?

Thanks.

Stan

Stan,

Over time the sole gets pretty groddy but that seems to have little effect on its useably. The iron also holds its edge well with little chipping but then it needn't be too sharp to do the job, I've several other scrubs but almost always reach for the ECE because it is light and the front horn is comfortable.

Awhile back someone posted a photo of his ECE scrub that had been in service many years, it was even uglier than mine but was still functioning.

ken

[Stanley Covington]

Stan,

Over time the sole gets pretty groddy but that seems to have little effect on its useably. The iron also holds its edge well with little chipping but then it needn't be too sharp to do the job, I've several other scrubs but almost always reach for the ECE because it is light and the front horn is comfortable.

Awhile back someone posted a photo of his ECE scrub that had been in service many years, it was even uglier than mine but was still functioning.

ken

It sounds like the light weight and shape of the plane are the most attractive features. Correct?

I have never used a a horned plane before, but it appears that they would be easier to use hard for a long time, compared to a Bailey style metal-bodies plane, Japanese plane, or a Krenov style plane. Has that been your experience?

Stan

[ken hatch]

It sounds like the light weight and shape of the plane are the most attractive features. Correct?

I have never used a a horned plane before, but it appears that they would be easier to use hard for a long time, compared to a Bailey style metal-bodies plane, Japanese plane, or a Krenov style plane. Has that been your experience?

Stan

Stan,

I couldn't have said it better on all counts. Light weight and the horn just work, add in easy adjustment and you have a tool that would be hard to improve on. Then figure in its price point and I'm amazed that more folks are not using it.

ken

[Stanley Covington]

Stan,

I couldn't have said it better on all counts. Light weight and the horn just work, add in easy adjustment and you have a tool that would be hard to improve on. Then figure in its price point and I'm amazed that more folks are not using it.

ken

$90 at Highland. Helluva deal.

L-N is $165. LV is $130.

Thanks.

[Noah Magnuson]

A dedicated scrub is a great thing (any decent make). I have the LV, and it makes short work of ugly twists and cups in lumber. Not as light as some, but the momentum and a properly lubed/waxed sole let it take nice thick curls with ease. Also, even on a scrub, sharp makes a huge difference. If you get lazy and forget for a while, you won't realize how much more effort you are putting out until you sharpen it up.

[Patrick Chase]

I couldn't have said it better on all counts. Light weight and the horn just work, add in easy adjustment and you have a tool that would be hard to improve on. Then figure in its price point and I'm amazed that more folks are not using it.

IMO the wedged ECEs are a terrific bargain. I have the jointer with a "Lignum Vitae" (actually Verawood) sole and it has proven to be an outstanding plane in use. As you say they don't get as much forum love as they deserve. I don't have the scrub because I already have the LV, but it would be near the top of my list if I were looking.

As I've said a few times I'm not such a fan of their pricier "Optimus" planes. I think that they add cost and complexity far in excess of their incremental benefit, but others will weight such tradeoffs differently.

[Patrick Chase]

Hogging down roughsawn lumber is hard on a plane's sole. How does the ECE's sole holdup?

One thing to note here is that the ECE scrub's sole is boxed (in Hornbeam), so it should hold up better than a typical beech plane.

[steven c newman]

I have two scrub planes.....that H-F #33 was remade into a #3 sized scub, with a 3" radius grind on the iron.....then there is the Scrub Jack.....8" radius, #5 plane. Cheap ($6!) fairly light for a jack, and has a huge mouth. Then again....
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About any old, cambered Jack can do this sort of work....

[Jim Koepke]

About any old, cambered Jack can do this sort of work....

Or even a junior jack. Sometimes my #6 gets used like a scrub plane.

jtk

[Patrick Chase]

Or even a junior jack. Sometimes my #6 gets used like a scrub plane.

jtk

If you look far enough back the #6-ish "Fore" was actually the standard roughing plane in England. Smaller Scrubs were a Continental thing IIRC.

[Stewie Simpson]

Traditional wedge abutment planes rarely rate a mention on this forum.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/hollows%20and%20rounds/_DSC0244_zpsiblxcki7.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/hollows%20and%20rounds/_DSC0244_zpsiblxcki7.jpg.html)

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/hollows%20and%20rounds/_DSC0245_zps2oqeraqe.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/hollows%20and%20rounds/_DSC0245_zps2oqeraqe.jpg.html)

[John Gornall]

Took my tool tote and a couple of cedar boards out to the broken fence. Replaced some boards then the last board - old fence - crooked. The board needed to taper more than inch in 6 feet. Snapped a line which seemed to confuse the young fellows fixing their fence next door. They stared as I clamped the board in my workmate and trimmed to the line with my old Stanley scrub plane. Job done - young guys came and asked to borrow an extension cord. Scrub plane - the right tool for the job!

[Jim Koepke]

Traditional wedge abutment planes rarely rate a mention on this forum.

Mostly any item on this forum is mentioned as often as one shows up in someone's tool kit or someone finds one hunting rust.

In my neck of the woods the very few traditional wedge abutment planes to come across my path were not restorable.

However some of my shelves and a few boxes are full of wooden molding planes.

When it the time comes to build my own it will first be spent on building planes that do not already reside in my kit.

jtk

[Warren Mickley]

I made a 16 inch jack (fore) plane in 1978 and I still use it for all roughing. There is little danger of a sole wearing out in a lifetime of use. I prefer a jack plane to a scrub plane because the hands are farther apart which makes it easier to control, more leverage or greater moment. Using a scrub plane is like having a little steering wheel on a truck.

The term "scrub" was coined by Stanley tools around 1890. It was a short iron plane with a narrow curved iron. The English and American tradition used the longer planes. The terms jack and fore have been used somewhat interchangeably for more than three centuries.

The French used a short, horned plane called a rifflard. This plane is mentioned by Felibien (1667) for use when the wood is "bad", but he does not illustrate it along with the other planes. Roubo (1769) does not mention or illustrate this tool at all in his multi volume work. Diderot mentions the rifflard in the Encyclopedia, but does not illustrate it with other planes.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I made a 16 inch jack (fore) plane in 1978 and I still use it for all roughing.

My stanley scrub gets a lot less use since I found a wooden jack. It is a lot better for roughing than the Stanley No. 5 that I have. The scrub can take deeper cuts, but the jack does very well.

[Dave Lehnert]

My Scrub Plane I found at an antique store not too long ago.
Have not got a chance to tune it up and use.

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[bridger berdel]

I have had various planes set up to scrub- a coffin smoother, a #4, a #5. I got a Stanley #40 recently in a box of rusty tools. Much better.

[Patrick Chase]

My Scrub Plane I found at an antique store not too long ago.
Have not got a chance to tune it up and use.

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That's the same basic pattern as the ECE that was the subject of this thread. Should work nicely if all is in proper order (can't really tell from the pix, but's it's a pretty low bar for a scrub in any case).

[Rick Malakoff]

Here's my contribution, found at the "Swamp Meat".:D Seems to work well right out of the box so to speak. Cant make out the iron makers mark "K E M SCH" with BEST on the bottom.
rick
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