An eye-opening mix of old and new tool use

[bill epstein]

Always get a kick out of watching Ishitani Vids but this one https://youtu.be/JBRrLGn9d2o is especially fascinating.

Don't know about you but I often wind up pulling a plane to get that last perfect pass. Whenever I see a Japanese plane in use as towards the end of this Vid, I start thinking about acquiring one.

Recommendations?

[Aiden Pettengill]

Wow thats really interesting! I have planes but I never realized that there were some you could pull towards you instead of push away.

[bill epstein]

Wow thats really interesting! I have planes but I never realized that there were some you could pull towards you instead of push away.

For those who don't already know, traditional Japanese craftsmen sit on the floor and use their feet to hold the work. That's why Japanes saws cut on the pull stroke and planes are likewise pulled.

I wonder if you have to pull Japanese chisels ;-}

[ken hatch]

Wow thats really interesting! I have planes but I never realized that there were some you could pull towards you instead of push away.

Aiden,

I will at times pull a western metal body plane and many of my wood stock planes work as well in either direction. In fact my shop made wood stock planes are designed to work either push or pull.

ken

[Jim Koepke]

For those who don't already know, traditional Japanese craftsmen sit on the floor and use their feet to hold the work. That's why Japanes saws cut on the pull stroke and planes are likewise pulled.

I wonder if you have to pull Japanese chisels ;-}

Another part of this is the spiritual philosophy of a society. The belief of all things having a spirit comes into play. Instead of pushing the spirit out of the wood, the worker is drawing the wood's spirit to themselves.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

In Japanese antiquity, was most of the work done onsite?

Rather than lug a bench, or build one before getting paid - perhaps it was better to just take a seat.

http://digitalwoodworker.com/2012/02/08/getting-started-in-woodworking-building-a-japanese-workbench/

[Jim Matthews]

I'm on the same kick. If you're like me, it's that glowing shimmer left by a perfect pass we pursue.

The unspoken complication is getting the optimal tune on a given Dai, with its dedicated blade, on a given day.

I suspect much of what we seek can be achieved with a Western wood body smoother set up the same way (see the article below for a primer) but with a wicked sharp double iron - without learning an entirely new (and expensive) sharpening regimen.

My early experiments into this approach are promising.

There's a hidden complication - getting that sort of finish on "interesting" figured or harder North American timber is difficult with handplanes alone.

This leads me to a presumptive conclusion:

Plane bodies, irons and sharpening media arose in response to the available *local* lumber. Best results for domestic timber come from using the traditional tools developed by people who were paid for results.

Here's the source that taught me what little I know.

https://brianholcombewoodworker.com/...anna-dai-prep/

[Jim Koepke]

Here's the source that taught me what little I know.

https://brianholcombewoodworker.com/...anna-dai-prep/

That brought me to this:

427050

jtk

[Bruce Volden]

Well I feel better now!
I share the same dust collection system.

Bruce

[Derek Cohen]

Always get a kick out of watching Ishitani Vids but this one https://youtu.be/JBRrLGn9d2o is especially fascinating.

Don't know about you but I often wind up pulling a plane to get that last perfect pass. Whenever I see a Japanese plane in use as towards the end of this Vid, I start thinking about acquiring one.

Recommendations?

I have been enjoying Ishitani’s videos for some years. I like the lightness of his designs, and that he combines power and hand tools.

Having said this, he is much more of a power tool user than a hand tool user, and he will use power tools where hand skills are needed.

He is not a good example of a traditional Japanese woodworker, and is closer to a Western woodworker in his methods. For example, he does not saw dovetails by hand, using a combination of table saw and bandsaw, and his chisel work is clumsy. He has some amazing, older machines, and space to work that I would kill for. Very nice shop, and a cute dog.

I can see many emulating Ishitani, which is a good thing, since blended methods of woodworking offer so much more scope. More hand tools for power users, and less “guilt” when using power for dominantly hand tool users.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Matthews]

Search "Kanna - Dai prep"
Brian has lots of blogs with excellent photos.