Japanese or ECE fillister planes - any experience?

[Jim Belair]

Anybody have any experience and/or comment on the wood body fillister planes like this one:

http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?s=JapanWoodworker&pf_id=01%2E218&dept_id=12939

I'm considering it or the ECE, shown here:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=55597&cat=1,41182

The Japanese version has skewed blade but no depth stop (could add one I guess)

Thanks for any input
Jim B

[Wilbur Pan]

I have a Japanese rabbet plane, which is just like the fillester but without the cutter or built in fence. I like it a lot, but then again I like Japanese planes. I'm sure that the ECE plane will do an excellent job as well.

The key with either plane is to make sure that the corner of the blade lines up with the corner of the body of the plane, and that the edge of the blade is evenly exposed across the bottom of the plane.

[James Owen]

Anybody have any experience and/or comment on the wood body fillister planes like this one:

http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?s=JapanWoodworker&pf_id=01%2E218&dept_id=12939

I'm considering it or the ECE, shown here:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=55597&cat=1,41182

The Japanese version has skewed blade but no depth stop (could add one I guess)

Thanks for any input
Jim B

Jim,

I've been using the ECE fillester plane for a couple of years. It is an excellent plane.

The skewed iron is somewhat thin (more or less the same thickness as Stanley factory bench plane irons), but well-made, appears to be properly heat treated, and holds an edge well.

The fence system is a bit clumsy to adjust at first -- it uses a couple of Phillips screws to hold the fence in place -- but gets easier and faster with a little use/practice.

The depth adjuster also uses the same system.

The iron is adjusted the same way as on a traditional wooden plane. If you already know how to adjust the iron on a wooden plane, then you're already good to go. If not, the learning curve is relatively short: light taps on the top of the iron to deepen the cut, and taps on the back of the plane body to lessen the depth of cut. Left and right adjustments are by tapping on the appropriate side of the iron near the top. FWIW, I use a small Japanese plane hammer (115 g) to tap the iron and a Japanese round wooden mallet (42 mm) [both from Japan Wood Worker] on the back of the plane body to retract the iron. A light touch works better than heavier hits, especially on the iron.

The cut surfaces are smooth and clean; light passes seem to work much better than heavier cuts.

A couple of things/techniques that make the plane work better/easier:

Make sure that the edge of the iron lines up with the edge of the plane body.

Rather than try to measure the width or depth of the cut, I usually mark it on the wood, place the right edge of the plane on the waste side of the mark and then move the fence over to the edge of the wood and tighten.

Using essentially the same technique for setting the depth stop also works well.

To get smoother cross-grain cuts, try running the nicker backwards over the cut line a couple of passes before starting your cuts (a using a marking knife to do the same thing also works well).

Pay attention to the starting and ending pressure on the toe and heel of the plane, respectively, when starting and finishing the cut (just like when you joint a board edge with a plane). Otherwise you may end up with curved/slightly rainbow-shaped fillester, with the ends lower than the center.

The written instructions on mine were in German (which, fortunately, I can read), but the drawings are clear enough that you shouldn't have any problems. Other than that, it works pretty much like any standard (wooden) plane....

Haven't tried the Japanese plane, so I can't provide any insight into it, but I can recommend the ECE, based on my experience with it.

Hope that this is of some use to you.

[Jim Belair]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll likely wait for the LV 289 offering (due this summer or fall) and then decide how much I want to invest in this style plane.

James, you said the ECE blade was skewed? It doesn't look that way from the photos. If it is skewed, please confirm as that'd definitely be another point for the ECE.

Cheers
Jim B

[Robert Rozaieski]

What about an old skew woodie. They can be had for relatively little $ and work very well.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2218/2377953054_b8f3a6d40e.jpg?v=0

[James Owen]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll likely wait for the LV 289 offering (due this summer or fall) and then decide how much I want to invest in this style plane.

James, you said the ECE blade was skewed? It doesn't look that way from the photos. If it is skewed, please confirm as that'd definitely be another point for the ECE.

Cheers
Jim B


Jim,

After taking a look at it, I found that the iron on the moving filletster is NOT skewed; I was thinking of the ECE dovetail plane, which does have a skewed iron.

My apologies for any confusion caused!!