Asian Hollow/Round Planes

[Steven Mikes]

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=64009&cat=1

Has anyone used these guys? I bought a pair recently (apparently just in time since they seem to no longer be available). My first reaction when unpacking them was "awww!" because they are sooo cute. The round cut alright out of the box, but needs sharpening. The hollow was too dull, spent forever (which is about 1hr in this case) flattening the back which makes it almost ok, need to work on the bevel now.

Anyhow I made some test cuts in poplar, pretty nice. Couple things, there is no fence on the plane so I assume the thing to do is clamp a fence to your work piece and ride it?
Secondly, they are pretty small and I have a hard time keeping all my fingers out of the way of hitting into the end of the work piece, especially on the start of the cut. Usually Asian style planes are pulled, guessing these are meant for pulling too?

Thanks in advance for any tips!

[Noah Magnuson]

If you search ebay for "12 pc hollows rounds planes set", you will see what I believe are the same ones LV sold.

[chris carter]

I have three sets of these. Mine sharpened up to working condition very quickly – couple minutes each. I found the iron very easy to sharpen. As for the size, it is a bit tricky. I’m 6’6” so I have huge hands, but after a few tries I found a way to hold them with my fingertips and get plenty of grip – it just takes a little experimentation. Grab some scrap and just go to town and you’ll figure it out. I should point out that I’m using them as molding planes, which isn’t EXACTLY what they are intended for in the Lee Valley description which is for coopering and running flutes and stuff. I’m not sure why it says that on their site because I’ve NEVER heard of anyone using them as anything but molding planes. To make them work properly as molding planes you do have to grab a smoother and plane down the edges of the hollows to a point otherwise you will have a hard time doing any molding that requires that sharp inside corners. Not required, but if you do that they will function just like European molding planes (only smaller to hold on to). Because I don’t use them for “running flutes” or whatever Lee Valley says, I have never needed a fence.

[Chao Dong]

those are made by mujingfang, try google Woodwell Tools Manufacturing Ltd. (http://www.mujingfang.com/) they have catalogs too

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Couple things, there is no fence on the plane so I assume the thing to do is clamp a fence to your work piece and ride it?


Not an expert, but have a set of western hollows and rounds I have used to make simple moldings. If making a hollow, I mark it, use a rabbet plane to remove most of the waste, and then use the rabbet to help guide, and work to the marks. There are some videos out there for the Woodwright's shop and others that show the technique.