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Thread: Okay, How About the Least Used Planes or Tools?

  1. #1
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    Okay, How About the Least Used Planes or Tools?

    Steven C. Newman's thread on the Daily Seven, my thoughts ventured out toward my least used planes:

    Least Used Planes.jpg

    There are a lot of planes that do not get used in my shop due to being redundant or not having been put into working order. My #55 was almost included, but it is actually used more than most of these.

    Starting with the #102 at the top left, it is likely the most used of these but doesn't get used a whole lot. Next is a squirrel tail plane similar to the Stanley #100. Its companion the #100-1/2 with the curved sole does actually get some use. The big plane is an Invicta wooden plow. It used to get used before my acquisition of my first Stanley #45 given to me by my father. It is a bit cumbersome and would likely improve with a bit of fettling.

    Second row on the left is a #95 edge plane. Okay it does its job, but a shooting board or a bench plane is easier for me to get a job done. The little grey plane is a Millers Falls version of the Stanley #101. There is another plane similar to this that is used regularly in the house to make shaving for the wood stove. Last, but not really the least used is a #140. Most of the time one of my other rabbet planes can do the work of this one. Many wooden rabbet planes have a skewed blade and can work from either edge.

    My next post on this will include other tools that are dust collectors in my shop.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  2. #2
    Biscuit joiner. Don't know why I ever bought that. And now that I have a Domino I'm even less likely to use it.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  3. #3
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    extras.jpg
    These just sit on the shelf....
    shavings.jpg
    First time I gotten shavings in a couple years......

    Have a Craftsman 13" Scrollsaw......just collects dust...
    .IMAG0096.jpg
    Maybe someday, I'll get to use it......

  4. #4
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    Have a Craftsman 13" Scrollsaw......just collects dust...
    Same with mine, both of them. My handheld sabre saw does get occasional use.

    There is also a 22" Sargent transitional plane that makes me wonder why it was ever purchased.

    There are also a few Yankee drills that are seldom used. Maybe it is time to set up a for sale box and then figure out if there are any tools needed in my shop.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  5. #5
    The one tool I put in storage is the sliding miter saw - great tool outside, building fences or framing but noisy and messy in the shop. In the shop I have a couple of Miller's Falls miter boxes, a Marsh miter machine, and shooting board with Veritas plane. I like the quiet and easy cleanup.

  6. #6
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    Although I've used it once, the Stanley 79 that I just had to have is second on the list. It was handy that one time, adjusting a hand-cut dado, but just that once.

    Tops is the Stanley 75. I've tried to use it, but a chisel works better.

  7. #7
    Bad F clamps and cheap cabinet clamps. I have spent more money on regret clamps than I have on the keepers.

    As far as planes go, it's a journey. So, while I now have no need for the Dunlap or cheap FrankenBaileys I shocked back to life 10 years ago, or the Ridgid Spindle sander or the ECE Emerich jack and smoother planes, they were all critical to getting me to how I currently prefer to work. Perhaps it will morph again over the next ten years.

    I do find joy in having a shop with only the tools I use frequently. So, I am in the process of gifting/selling the obsoletes. But that's not to say, like the Polaroid and record player, that they won't come back into vogue in a few years...

  8. #8
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    Well,
    Harvey came through Galveston County and my tools ended up in plastic tubs. With my old man's memory, I don't remember or know what tubs and containers my toys and tools are in.
    I am sure that looking at the number of containers they are all there.

  9. #9
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    I’m in the same camp as Prashun. My early on “go to” planes rarely come out...evolved from newer bevel up to vintage bevel down. My wooden planes rarely come out, but I’ll be spending some more time with them this winter and see how it goes. I also have a Stanley scraper plane that I had to have that I haven’t fiddled with enough to make it a frequent user.

    As hand tools become more the norm, the compound miter saw, biscuit joiner, skill saw, 10” disk sander, and jig saw see very limited use.

    Makes it all part of the fun.

  10. #10
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    I just yesterday decided that the last of my Stanley planes are going to SIL. I started using BU planes about two years ago but kept going back to the Stanley's. I decided to force the issue and commit to the BUs. I was preparing some rough cherry yesterday using my BU Jack and thought maybe I should get out my favorite #6 with a little more camber. I got it out and started to put it to use. The tote felt skinny the backlash was still there I had to get a little more over the top, which is terrible for my back. I put it down and went back to the BU Jack. Even though I had just read Ken H.s post about Norris adjusters I had no problem just reaching in with my left hand and giving it a little more iron. The decision was made right then. I haven't used a bevel down plane except for my 45 in six months. They are the orphans, time for them to go.
    Jim

  11. #11
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    Leigh DT jig. I taught myself to hand-cut not long after getting it, and that was that.

    Veritas BU Jack. It's a perfectly good plane and quite possibly the best of its breed, but I find myself using BD planes or my dedicated shooter instead, depending on the job. There are very few things the BUJack can do that one of those can't do better IMO.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Pallas View Post
    I just yesterday decided that the last of my Stanley planes are going to SIL. I started using BU planes about two years ago but kept going back to the Stanley's. I decided to force the issue and commit to the BUs. I was preparing some rough cherry yesterday using my BU Jack and thought maybe I should get out my favorite #6 with a little more camber. I got it out and started to put it to use. The tote felt skinny the backlash was still there I had to get a little more over the top, which is terrible for my back. I put it down and went back to the BU Jack. Even though I had just read Ken H.s post about Norris adjusters I had no problem just reaching in with my left hand and giving it a little more iron. The decision was made right then. I haven't used a bevel down plane except for my 45 in six months. They are the orphans, time for them to go.
    Jim
    Why not switch to BD planes that have Norris adjusters and similar totes to your BUs?

    Modern BU planes are wonderfully flexible and easy to use, but IMO you're leaving a fair bit of performance on the table by giving up the cap iron. If you actually found the cap iron to be too difficult/finicky/unwieldly then that might be a reason to go the BU route, but that doesn't seem to be the case?

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by steven c newman View Post
    Have a Craftsman 13" Scrollsaw......just collects dust....
    Whereas mine gets used all the time. Just used it yesterday in fact. Have some more work today to do with it.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Chase View Post
    Why not switch to BD planes that have Norris adjusters and similar totes to your BUs?

    Modern BU planes are wonderfully flexible and easy to use, but IMO you're leaving a fair bit of performance on the table by giving up the cap iron. If you actually found the cap iron to be too difficult/finicky/unwieldly then that might be a reason to go the BU route, but that doesn't seem to be the case?
    Patrick, In truth I have no problem using the cap iron. The problem I have is the body mechanics. I can get really low on the tote of a BU plane, so low in fact that I often nick the lower part of my forearm on the sharp edges of the work piece. I can't seem to get there with a BD plane. I have no complaints regarding the use of the cap iron, it works great. It's a mater of inches for me. Two inches lower on the bench is a no go for me. I just have found a work around and I'm sticking to it for now.
    Jim

  15. #15
    Probably that $88 Delta Tabletop Scrollsaw I bought for one project and never used again. I really hate the blade change mechanism. But of course, "I might need it some day and it's already paid for." So it sits on the shelf. Right next to a really nicely prepared Tom Bussey #606 that I got second hand, that hasn't been used since I bought my LV LAJ [Sigh].
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

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