the revelation of a new generation

[Clayton Masterson]

My name is Clayton and I am the new generation of finish carpenter. I have cut my teeth on power tools, but have recently begun to "listen" to the "old-school" craftsmen. I get to meet a lot of retired carpenters and other tradesmen while trimming their houses.

I have heard their stories of how it used to be when they didn't have all those "damned loud" machines. I thought for a long time that the age of fine hand made finish carpentry was over. However, after reading an article by Chris Schwarz of Popular Woodworking on combining hand and power tools, and lurking here at Sawmill Creek, I began to think.

Maybe I can blend power and hand tools on-site. Well, I beagn to keep my block plane "sharp"(well, ok, it is sharp for me but i'm trying to learn). And I began to use it more often.

WOW!

Why didn't I try this sooner? My quality has increased exponentially and I am faster every day using hand tools. I am amazed! Shocked! Proud of my new level of craftmanship.

Is there a manufacturer of tools, mainly chisels and hand planes that are construction grade? Mind you I do not abuse my tools, I feed my family with them. If I destroy my tools, I can't work.
Also, I do a fair amount of cabinetry, mostly built-ins. What size/no. planes should I get?

Thank you for your help.
Clayton

[Dave Anderson NH]

It's amazing how efficient you can be with hand tools once you get to the top of the learning curve. The difficulty about finding good tools for use as a finish carpenter would not be one of quality, but rather of respect for the tools. I'm not expressing myself very well, but what I'm getting at is the most common complaint I've heard from contractors. How to keep the other workers from misusing, abusing, losing, or stealing their tools? If you work alone, you can pretty much go for top of the line and not have any worries as long as you lock them up each night or take them back to your van or truck. If you work with other trades around, you might have a problem unless you have eyes in the back of your head. If we knew more about your situation maybe we could offer some suggestions.

[Richard Niemiec]

Last fall I just finished installing about $4,000 of millwork on the first floor of my house; a 5 1/4 inch crown/inverted base moulding cornice; a really nice two piece chair rail with frame panels underneath made of cap molding; casing out dining room entry ways with frieze board and top wrapped with 2 5/8 crown; new front door with same casing and crown wrapped cap (except for the front door I wrapped the top with 5 1/4 crown and boy that really looks impressive) and a set of french doors with the same cap treatment. I used no power tools except to pre-build the 70 or so frame panels in the shop, and air guns to nail. I used a 1950's vintage 9 1/2 Stanley block plane, a newer UK made Stanley 60 1/2 (low angle), a LN rabbeting block plane, Stanley Bullnose 90 and a 94 rabbet plane (some call them shoulder planes), a Stanley 79 side rabbet plane, a Japanese douzuki, an old Disston crosscut saw and a coping saw to cope all the corners. I might have used a Stanley #5 here and there, and maybe a #4, but that's about it. My bride refused to allow me to work with the chop saw upstairs, and I would be dammed if I was going to walk up and down the stairs into my shop with every cut I had to make. But I found it just as easy to use the hand tools, and yes, you have to keep them sharp, including the Disston, but it really does not take long to pick up the skill.

I'd suggest that for commercial use, look around for your basic USA Made Stanley 9 1/2 block plane, you can get one used for $35 at a flea, there is a bullnose cheaper than the 90 called a #75 which you can get new and will work pretty well for trim carpentry. #4s and #5s are pretty much available at fleas as well, or google Brass City Records, theres a guy who sells pretty good users for not a lot of money. All these planes are discussed in Patrick's Blood and Gore, google Blood and Gore and you will find it. Good luck on the slippery slope. RN

[Tim Nylander]

I went on this same journey and I have some things to say about "construction grade" hand tools.
They suck
If you want to do good finish work with power tools you use the best ones you can get to do the job. They last longer, are accurate, solid and become a part of the way you work. If you had to run a house full of crown molding would you use a Ryobi chop saw and expect it to cut accurately every time? Would you expect it to work five years from now? Probably not. I have found it to be the same with hand tools.
Just because we do finish work in peoples houses doesn't mean we have to use new stanley planes and buck bros chisels that we get at Lowes.
Yeah they work, but the are a pain in the ass to set up and keep sharp. They often don't feel good in the hand and half the time you want to chuck them across the room.
I use they same Lie nielsen planes and Stanley 750's or witherby chisels that everyone here uses and covets because I want to do good work every time. My LN 102 rides around in my apron pocket all day so I can grab it and use it. It stays set. My old stanley didn't. The LN butt mortise plane is the only tool for the job half the time so you don't blow someones house full of dust from a router. Its faster most of the time to from start to finish.
My chisels stay sharp because they are made of good old steel and I take care of them. Sure I crack a handle now and the but they are easy to replace and at least once a month you can find them at a yard sale pretty cheap.
Last week I hung 1000 ft of huge crown on long runs, but the only way to get it in the building was in 10ft lengths. We had a couple 40 ft runs to do, and the only way we could make it all work in the land of steel studs and crappy drywall(whats a square corner) was with wicked sharp hand tools.
I guess the old ways are still the best ways a lot of the time. The quest for high quality tools, not matter if you are building furniture or trimming a house, is the same. There is no contractor grade. Thats for guys who buy new chisels when theirs get dull.
I'm thinking about getting a scrub plane to bring to work. It might start a trend like my butt mortise plane did.....

[Don Bullock]

I took a sharpening seminar at the Woodworking Show this month. First, I'd suggest that you find someone that can help you with your sharpening skills. Perhaps one of those carpenters you've done work for would help you out. The guy I took the seminar from makes cabinets and does carpentry for a living. I saw some pictures of his work. Like you he started out with power tools, but has come to understand that hand tools can be better in many situations. While not all of his planes are Lie Nielsen, he said that he uses them most of the time in his work. You could also check out the Veritas planes that Lee Valley sells. No, I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

[James Mittlefehldt]

I would look at the Veritas stuff from Lee Valley, it is good quality and it isn't as pretty and shiny as the Lie Nielson so just maybe it would be less likely to go walkies.

You won't go wrong though with either as users.

[Brian Hale]

I can remember watching my father hang crown molding back when i was 8 years old or so and it was all done with hand tools. Cut the end on a compound 45* angle, use a coping saw to cut the back relief and a couple of different files to refine the profile. It took him all of 3-4 minutes to make a perfect joint, no caulk required. My mom had made him a belt pouch from heavy leather that held his small block plane, a 4-in-1 hand and 3 different files. He'd hone the plane blade on the back side of the pouch a couple times a day and sharpen it at home with an oil stone a couple times a week.

He can still layout and cut custom stairs and complex roof rafters with a tape measure, carpenters square and hand saw. A few years ago he helped a friend of mine build a shed (~10'x15') and after the walls were up he cut all the rafters at one time on a pair of saw horses, no test fits or recuts, just a couple measurements and maybe 45 minutes of layout and cutting.

The more i learn about and use hand tools the more i respect those finish carpenters of old. Maybe someday i'll be that good.

Brian :)

[Clayton Masterson]

Thanks for your input guys.
Tim, by construction grade I mean a high-quality tool, but one that wont make me cry if i scratch the finish. I am not interested in buying a shiny,highly polished plane, unless that one is the best. I just want a workhorse.

I hear about the old Stanleys a lot. Is there that big of a difference between the old and the new planes?

I would like to know what size/no I can use to plane the sides of cabinet stiles, a general purpose jointer( I have a fair amount of wall caps and wood tops to do), and one to flush cabinet face frames.


Brian, you have got one of the last remaining specimines of a "real carpenter". There are few like him left. The old guys used to frame a house and then trim it too. That makes a recipe for a finely built house. No matter what size it is.


Clayton

[Tim Nylander]

Clayton,
Not trying to beat a dead horse, but from my experience with the planes at work I think you would be best with the LN planes over the stanleys. You'll be able to pull them out of your box and work, with no screwing around. And don't worry about scratching them up. They are made to work hard, not hand out in a cabinet to be looked at. I would bet the folks who make them would say the same thing.

The old stanleys are nice for a shop environment. I used to use mostly those at work but they take a little too much time to get right to work. Plus I feel that the LN's are a little heavier duty for being in the field. I still use my 65 LA daily, but it goes back into hiding as soon as I am done with it.

For what you said you are looking for I would start with a low angle jack plane and a nice la block. These two can do most anything you are looking for on site and you don't have to baby them at all.

[Michael Schwartz]

I have the low angle jack and it is about the most versatile plane out there. I can use it to surface a board, flatten it out, smooth it, and finish it, only adjusting the iron about 3 times.

The Lie Nelson planes are virtually indestructible, however If you drop any stanely you will be lucky to escape with just a minor chip.






From the Lie Nielson website.

. What's so special about the Ductile Iron used for all your iron body tools?

Ductile Iron, also called Nodular, is a specific formula iron alloy, specially processed to produce castings of great strength, approaching that of structural steel, and ductility or elasticity. For the woodworker this means that the tool will not break if dropped on the cement floor, something that happens all too often.

I had heard good things about Ductile Iron and liked the way it machined, so I decided to see how tough our planes are. I took a machined No. 5 body casting out in the shop and threw it up to the 14-foot ceiling. The casting bounced on the cement floor but was not damaged. I did this many times but only succeeded in dinging it up.

Then I laid it on its side on the floor and went after the unsupported top edge of the side with a 10-pound sledge hammer, putting some effort behind it.

It did bend. A little.

These castings will not break. I guarantee it.

[Mike Henderson]

The Lie Nelson planes are virtually indestructible, however If you drop any stanely you will be lucky to escape with just a minor chip.
The cast iron Stanleys will crack, chip, or break if dropped on a concrete floor - or receive an equivalent blow in any other way. It's really upsetting to pick up an old plane after a fall and see a new crack down the side, usually leading to the mouth (since that's the weak point). Other than a few steel Stanleys, the Vaughan and Bushnell 700 series and 900 series have drop forged steel bodies and will not break - the 800 series is cast iron. I'm pretty sure that Lee Valley also makes their planes from ductile iron.

Mike

[Clayton Masterson]

Can't thank all of you enough.


Clayton