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View Full Version : What's a good plane to turn into a scrub plane



Brian Hale
01-10-2007, 7:24 PM
I'm thinking about getting an old Stanley and converting it into a scrub plane. Would a #4 be a good choice? They're certainly plenty to be had for ~$30.

Brian :)

Jim DeLaney
01-10-2007, 7:45 PM
A #3 or a #4, or even a 5¼, whichever can be gotten cheaper, will do nicely. But in the $30 range you mention, you're nearly at the price of a #40, which is a real scrub.

In the #3 or #4 size, you might look at Sargent, Millers Falls, or any one of the numerous 'off brands'. They'll likely be cheaper than Stanleys, and will function just as well for scrub use.

Andrew Homan
01-10-2007, 8:24 PM
Brian,
Check out eBay -- search for "scrub plane" and you'll currently get a handfull of nice possibilities.
-Andy

Tyler Howell
01-10-2007, 8:33 PM
I converted a garage sale #3
Not as good as the real deal but functional

Mark Stutz
01-10-2007, 10:30 PM
Brian,
Don't overlook the wooden scrubs. I have an ECE that works great. I have trouble with adjusting irons on wooden planes...I know Dave, more practice;) :D , but these don't have to be very precise. I have seen them on the auction site for $5 to $10.

Mark

Adriaan Schepel
01-10-2007, 10:30 PM
I have two scrubs. One is a converted No.4; the other is a converted European-style wood smoother (with the horn on front).

The No.4 is nice when you want a little heft behind the scrubbing, but with the much lighter woodie you can scrub and scrub and scrub and still have enough arm power at the end of your work to lift a cold beer to your grateful lips.

Regards,
Adriaan

Andrew Homan
01-11-2007, 7:05 AM
... to "convert" another plane, when scrubs are so readily available? It seems like a 40 1/2 would go for around $30. I found a used Ulmia scrub (similar to E.C.E. for around $30, too.
-Andy

Larry Rose
01-11-2007, 7:31 AM
I use an old #5 with a 3in radius iron and it works fine. I tried a #4, but I didn't it had the heft I wanted. I've never used a real scrub so I don't have a reference point.

Wendell Wilkerson
01-11-2007, 11:03 AM
Both the Jim Kingshott and Chris Schwarz videos use a wooden jack plane with a heavily cambered blade for the initial surface prep of rough lumber.

Wendell

Andrew Homan
01-11-2007, 10:14 PM
Both the Jim Kingshott and Chris Schwarz videos use a wooden jack plane with a heavily cambered blade for the initial surface prep of rough lumber.


I am familiar with the technique and do it as well; however, I don't think it's the same thing as "converting" a bench plane to a scrub. If that is all that is meant by "converting," then I agree that it makes sense -- but in that case, the "heavy cambering" should be on a #5 (or 5 1/4). I don't think of this as a conversion, but rather, as a traditional way to prepare a jack plane.

Bill Houghton
01-11-2007, 10:46 PM
If you're going to go to the trouble of converting a plane, why not buy an iron (about the price you're proposing to pay) and make a wooden body to hold it? I knocked together a butt hinge mortise plane, a similar tool, in an afternoon a few years back. If you go to Wood Central's articles section, you can find my article on how I did it and adapt to a scrub plane easily.

Derek Cohen
01-12-2007, 1:37 AM
It depends on the wood you most use or, of course, you can always have more than one scrub plane.

For soft wood, a #3 would be best. It has a more delicate feel and I like being able to adjust the blade. Grind a 3" radius onto the blade.

A #40 is closer to a #3.

For heavy, really hard woods, a #5 or #5 1/2 would be better. I like the #5 1/2 as the extra weight provides the momentum to drive it where lighter scrubs just skip and bounce over the surface.

The LV Scrub is closer to a #5 1/2 than a LN Scrub in size and heft. Both are good allrounders.

Here is a comparison of the LV, the #40 and a ECE-type woodie.

http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/dCohen/LVScrubPlane/index.asp

Regards from Perth

Derek

Brian Hale
01-12-2007, 4:22 AM
Thanks Guys!

I've not found a scrub plane on the usual old tool sites but #3 and #4's seem to be readily had for cheap so i was considering that route.

I've not warmed up to the ebay thing....

Brian :)

Mike Henderson
01-12-2007, 11:46 AM
If you're going to go to the trouble of converting a plane, why not buy an iron (about the price you're proposing to pay) and make a wooden body to hold it? I knocked together a butt hinge mortise plane, a similar tool, in an afternoon a few years back. If you go to Wood Central's articles section, you can find my article on how I did it and adapt to a scrub plane easily.
I agree that a woodworker can make a wooden plane fairly easily, especially something like a scrub plane that doesn't require a lot of precision. I put together a chairmaker's plane in an afternoon (see pictures) which is like a scrub but has a double curved sole. You would have to purchase a blade (I had this one from some swap meet).

But I generally agree with others here that you should look on eBay for a Stanley scrub plane. They're readily available and the prices are reasonable. If you ever decide to sell, they'll hold their value.

Mike

Bob Opsitos
01-17-2007, 12:38 PM
I made my modern stanley #4 into a scrub about a year ago once I got a LV BUS.

Had one of the machinists in our shop mill me up a hella thick blade (IIRC it's like 3/8" thick) with a radius on it of out A2. Then heat treated and I cleaned up the radius and bevel on a grinder, and then honed it and the back.

It works good, and I'm much happier with it in it's current form then I ever was with the plane in it's as delivered form as a smoother.

I'll try and remember to take a picture.

Bob

Richard Gillespie
01-17-2007, 8:24 PM
If I remember correctly, I used a Defiance #1440 which is a #3 size and sells for a very low price. The blade is adjustable but the mouth opening is fixed. The plane comes with the mouth wide open. Seemed to me to be the perfect candidate to become a scrub plane.

Richard Niemiec
01-18-2007, 10:16 AM
I just reground the blade of a #5, works pretty well for me.

Bob Hallowell
01-18-2007, 12:13 PM
I am just curios as to why? I am by no means an expert but I use a jack plane with a nice radius to hog off lots of wood and it works great for me. I thought the the scrub was more for curved edges.

Bob