wooden planes

[Brandon Speaks]

Hi guys,

New to this type of wood working. I found a guy who had a bunch of old wooden planes that can be had for very little money. Irons in them look mostly good with very little rust and pitting. I grabbed one today that was auburn tool company.

Is it worth going back and getting a few more?

[Gerald Schram]

were they bench planes or moulding planes. i like wooden bench planes for preparing rough stock

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I like wooden planes. Don't know enough from your post to tell if it is "worth it." They take a little effort to get used to, but in my opinion the effort is well worth it. Auburn tool company is a good name.




Hi guys,

New to this type of wood working. I found a guy who had a bunch of old wooden planes that can be had for very little money. Irons in them look mostly good with very little rust and pitting. I grabbed one today that was auburn tool company.

Is it worth going back and getting a few more?

[Jim Koepke]

Just to keep this going, some of the members have complained that we do not talk enough about wooden planes.

Some folks prefer them to metal bodied planes for various reasons. Their feel/feedback in use is a bit different than metal planes. It is really a matter of personal preference.

All but one of my standard bench planes are metal bodied. Most of my molding planes are wood.

If the guy you are buying from has hollows and rounds, try to acquire matching sets. This means a hollow and round of the same size. Complimentary pairs do not necessarily have to be from the same maker, but that is better if possible.

For more on molding planes see my post on them:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?242156-Old-Molding-Planes-and-the-Rehab-Enthusiast

When purchasing wooden bodied planes you want to avoid planes with a split or warp in the body. Something with a bit of blade life is also preferable. This is especially true with molding planes. Over time molding planes often pass through unknowing hands. Blade profiles may not match the sole. Reshaping a blade can be a lot of work.

There seems to be even more to learn about wood bodied planes than metal bodied planes. Some are made to use a double iron and some will only use a single iron plane.

There was a double iron, round, ~3" radius, bottomed plane in an antique shop tempting my wallet yesterday. Almost went back to get it today. Then my thoughts wondered to trying to think of where it would be used. Hmmm, no answer came to mind. So if it is still there next time my travels take me across the river maybe it will come home with me.

jtk

[Terry Beadle]

Hello!

I have several wooden planes and a few transitionals. I've found the wooden planes to be a real
pleasure to use. The ones made by Steve Knight are exceptionally fun to use and very easy to
maintain. Great blades too.

The transitionals are my go to planes for jack work. The blades are easy to sharpen and the Hock blade
in one is like a smooth car....great to drive.

I also have a lot more metal planes. Yep, I'm happy with both!! ;-)

Mr. Koepke knows what he is talking about.

Enjoy the shavings!

Terry

[lowell holmes]

My Steve Knight planes are missing since Harvey came through Galveston County. I hope they turn up in a box of stuff that had items put in them to save.

[Archie England]

Brandon, I own and use both types (metal and wooden) of planes. I have a wooden plough plane that works beautifully, and it's very similar to what my LV RH plough plane does. The blade in the LV is better (much!), as is the fence mechanism and slitter; but both get the job done. I' enjoy the wood transitionals, too. These are much lighter than my vintage hand planes but have the same brass wheel adjustors. OTOH, the few razee pattern woodies are somewhat a hit and miss. For rough work (somewhat akin to a scrub plane), they work excellently; for fine finishing, I still struggle with all but one (and that one is very nice indeed). My wood shaves work equally as well as my vintage metal ones; I can't really tell much difference when each one is tuned.

Consequently, if you have the chance to purchase some "good" wood planes at a very good price, I think that could be great!!! That's just my 2 cents, however.

[Mike Buelow]

If they can be had for little $, go get them and have fun. All part of the process. I came to possess an auburn wooden jointer plane that had been in my family for four generations (my dad and grandfather never used it AFAIK). Put it to work this year, really handy actually.

[Jim Koepke]

Due to a power outage that was a part of a landslide that also closed our road into town we went out to the coast today and strolled around Astoria, OR. One of the antique shops had a rather well stocked selection of wooden jack and jointer planes at ~#20 ea. It was awful tempting to bring one home.

jtk

[Stewie Simpson]

Not much gets said on the benefits of a lighter weight within wooden bodied smoothing planes. The plane on the left is a 50 degree double iron smoother, and the other is a 50 degrees single iron smoother with a steeper back bevel.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0279_zpsgllvfvqy.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0279_zpsgllvfvqy.jpg.html)

[Pat Barry]

Not much gets said on the benefits of a lighter weight within wooden bodied smoothing planes. The plane on the left is a 50 degree double iron smoother, and the other is a 50 degrees single iron smoother with a steeper back bevel.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0279_zpsgllvfvqy.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0279_zpsgllvfvqy.jpg.html)
I suppose that you will expound on those benefits in your next posting??

by the way, they are very nice tools. Are they both your own making?

[steven c newman]

Put one of mine to use, today....was a bit too tired to push one of the iron planes..
375080
Stanley #31. 24" long, 2-3/8" wide iron. had so Ash that needed jointed..
375081
The two Ash stiles are about 35" long. Just about the right length.

[Stewie Simpson]

Pat; the German Horn smoothing plane is one of my builds. The single iron smoother is an early French maker that I refurbished back into service. The opening in front of the cutting edge is close to 1/4" but it doesn't seem to impede its performance. Its also bedded at 50* with an applied back bevel of 10* to raise its effective approach angle up to cabinet pitch (60*). I can work this plane in both grain directions and not fall fowl of inherent tear-out.

The following shows the results of using this plane against the grain on Kwila. (Merbau)

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0280_zpswgtrn1ns.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0280_zpswgtrn1ns.jpg.html)

Now it would be fair to say I am not a total die heart fan on using double iron planes to control tear-out. The following example shows a 50* double iron jointer plane that's had the leading edge of the cap iron backed off to around 1/8". A back bevel of 10* was also applied to the iron to raise this planes effective approach angle to cabinet pitch (60*)

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0281_zpschnz0tfe.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0281_zpschnz0tfe.jpg.html)

Using Kwila again as the demonstration wood, this plane was worked with and against the grain, with no signs of visible tear-out. Now before anyone makes the claim that a higher bevel down approach angle of 60* is much harder to push than a 45 degree bed with a closely set cap iron. That argument falls short within my own findings.
http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0282_zpsnxhjh3dr.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0282_zpsnxhjh3dr.jpg.html)

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0283_zpsp32vxxel.jpg

(http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0283_zpsp32vxxel.jpg.html)

[steven c newman]

Don't have time to show off skinny shavings. I USE a jointer like a ...well, a Jointer..
375118
And as soon a shaving runs the full length of a board being jointed, I stop. As the job is done. Even with the iron planes..
375119
Junior Jack vs 3 sticks of Ash.....When all three match, and the shavings are the entire length, I move on to the next phase of a build.

Would take all day, using them way too thin shavings, just to joint a few edges. Fine if all one is doing, is showing off....I haven't the time for that

[Derek Cohen]

Hi guys,

New to this type of wood working. I found a guy who had a bunch of old wooden planes that can be had for very little money. Irons in them look mostly good with very little rust and pitting. I grabbed one today that was auburn tool company.

Is it worth going back and getting a few more?

Hi Brandon

Are you able to post some pictures of the planes? Wooden planes can be wonderful to use but, as with everything, they become tired with age. Also, there are many different types of wooden planes, ranging from bench planes to joinery planes and to moulding planes. It is not evident what you have, or their condition. As I recall, Auburn were a decent company.

Regards from Cape Town

Derek

[brian zawatsky]

Would take all day, using them way too thin shavings, just to joint a few edges. Fine if all one is doing, is showing off....I haven't the time for that

I couldn’t agree with you more, although this is a bit off topic. When jointing & flattening I like to take the thickest tearout-free shaving that I can (within reason) to expediate the task. Even when smoothing I usually take thicker shavings than what most people seem to like to post pictures of...

[Jim Koepke]

Most of the time my shavings are as thick as is comfortable for me to make with the plane in use. For final smoothing the thickness is dialed down to produce the best surface.

Now days sandpaper is pretty much only used on the lathe or on metal.

jtk

[Stewie Simpson]

I couldn’t agree with you more, although this is a bit off topic. When jointing & flattening I like to take the thickest tearout-free shaving that I can (within reason) to expediate the task. Even when smoothing I usually take thicker shavings than what most people seem to like to post pictures of...

Steven and Brian; then study the photos before you aim those pointed arrows in my direction. That larger pile of thicker shavings were from dressing that board close to final dimension. That smaller pile of thinner shavings were from final smoothing of the primary surfaces. 30+ years in the trade as a Carpenter & Joiner, I don't need a lesson from you 2 on how to use a hand plane.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0279_zpsgllvfvqy.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/woodie%20shavings/DSC_0279_zpsgllvfvqy.jpg.html)

[brian zawatsky]

Stewie - take a Xanax and relax lol! I was not addressing my comments at anyone in particular, and certainly not at you. My apologies if it came off that way; it was not my intention.