Turning from power tools to hand tools

[Bill Sutherland]

I have a Jointer, planer and drum sander SawStop to help prepare my boards for box making. I found I use my Jointer occasionally and then my drum sander to get to thickness desired. I wondered how many of you folks use hand planes to dimension? I’m thinking of selling the planer since I use the drum sander and selling the Jointer and use my LN 62 to edge joint. The 62 will do a ok job of planing to rough dimension and the drum sand to finish. I also have a LN scrub and router plane. What other hand planes do you folks use? I have a router setup in a nice table with all th Incra gear but I’m finding I enjoy handplanes. I could replace a lot of power equipment with planes and enjoy the process. Wondered how many of you build boxes with hand tools exclusively. At 74 I want to enjoy the process rather than worrying about what I end up producing. I found I thoroughly enjoy planing.

[Jim Koepke]

Hi Bill,

Planing can be mesmerizing watching those shavings spill out. We have had a few comments at times about how someone got so entranced by the shavings they ended up almost going too far on the piece being worked.

Some of my boxes have been built without any power tools. My most recent box build only used a bandsaw to resaw the wood to a desired thickness:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...-From-Firewood

With the #62 and a scrub plane, all you may need to add is something like a #3 or #4 smoother.

If you work with longer stock, you may want a longer plane like a #7. For me, a #6 works fine for edge work on anything that is four feet long or less.

Another plane that is handy for making boxes is a plow plane for cutting the grooves to hold the tops and bottoms.

jtk

[Derek Cohen]

Bill, how would you feel giving away both the planer AND the drum sander at the same time. Giving up only one does not change the game at all.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Bill Sutherland]

I’ve loved my drum sander since the day I got it. What would replace it plane wise?

[Bill Sutherland]

Thanks for the link to the box/Dovetails. I found after using my Incra LS and all the Incra /Jessem Router setup that it wasn’t all that satisfying and doing it by hand seems so much more relaxing/enjoyable. I sold my Festool track saw for the same reason.

[Jim Koepke]

I’ve loved my drum sander since the day I got it. What would replace it plane wise?

Most of the time after planing a piece it doesn't need any sanding. There hasn't been a need for me to purchase sandpaper in years.

As to what plane(s) would replace a drum sander:

Plane Wall.jpg

Any of these would help.

To make it easy, my philosophy is to have at least one of each.

jtk

[Bill Sutherland]

LOL My wife accuses me of being a tool collector but you’re inspiring me to a whole new level.

[Jim Koepke]

LOL My wife accuses me of being a tool collector but you’re inspiring me to a whole new level.

Compared to some my accumulation is just a good start. Often when something comes along to tickle my fancy there is a flurry of activity selling off extras to raise money for the shiny new toy. Buy 'em low, fix 'em, use 'em and then sell them to raise money when needed.

Often to get the wife on board while perusing a tool in a shop or wherever a tool is found she is told, "this one could be sold for more than this," but only if it can.

jtk

[Bill Sutherland]

Another plane that is handy for making boxes is a plow plane for cutting the grooves to hold the tops and bottoms

Any recommendations on a good ploug plane?

[Mark Rainey]

I used hand tools to mill rough cut lumber to finished dimensions for years. I loved planing for hours in pouring sweat up to my ankles in shavings. As I get older the heavy thicknessing is not much fun anymore. I am glad I have my DeWalt 735 planer. I would enjoy planing but keep some power back up in case you just get tired of the bull work or get a sore muscle.

[Brandon Speaks]

I started really diving into hand tools recently. I had done carving and stuff like that but had not used a plane in ages. My band saw, table saw, router, sanders, etc had always seen the bulk of the other work. In December I finished a wooden board game project and the part that bugged me is the edges rounded over on the router just didnt look how I wanted, by chance a few days later i found an old hand plane that I had bought somewhere years ago for nearly nothing and for some reason sharpened the iron and started playing with it. Darned if within a few minutes I had the scrap piece rounded over the way I wanted with the plane and without the tool marks.

So I dug out any hand tools I had and bought a few more and challenged myself to ask "can I do this with a hand tool" before going to any power tool. A universal advantage I expected here is less noise, lest dust (also allowing me to use the basement shop instead of the garage shop). An unexpected benefit is that many times it seems quicker and easier.

Need to bread down a few 2x4s, they are cut with a handsaw quicker than I could have gotten out and set up a circular saw or miter saw. Quick smoothing plane or card scraper had it done before I could have set up the palm sander. Heck, I was building something with 2x4s where I wanted the round over corner knocked off and decided to use the plane rather than table saw (I never did have an electric joiner) and I had both sides done in 10 minutes. If the TS had not happened to be out already for a project it would take that long to set up, and nevermind that I would have still had to smooth it.

It was really a revelation that hey there is another way to do this, and one that is quiet, does not require dust protection, and is frankly just more enjoyable.

That being said, none of my power tools are going anywhere just yet. I will keep asking myself though is there another way to do what I want before I reach for one.

[Jim Koepke]

Another plane that is handy for making boxes is a plow plane for cutting the grooves to hold the tops and bottoms

Any recommendations on a good ploug plane?

That would depend on you and your budget. For a dedicated single purpose plane it isn't too hard to build your own. At the other end, If you can afford it, would be a Veritas Combination plane. For most of my needs on a small box or 1/4" groove a Stanley #50 works fine. For bigger work my choice would be a Stanley #45.

jtk

[Allen Breinig]

Bill
It is fairly easy to figure this out for yourself. Go out in the shop and unplug every power tool you have. Throw a board say 5'x6"x3/4" on the bench. Give yourself about 2 hours to turn this board into two boards 4.5'x2.5"x1/2" exactly. See how you feel about the process and go from there.
Allen

[Bill Sutherland]

Just said goodbye to my Jointer and the Dewalt 735 is next. Thinking of getting the LN 8 or 7, LN 4 1/2 and Veritas Combination Plane. What do you think? I want to do hand cut dove tails so my Incra LS plus router table and Jessem Lift and Incra Clean Sweep setup may be next on the chopping block if I can master hand cut dove tails. I have the Bridge City Tools JMP that I will use for dove tails as well.

[David Eisenhauer]

I found that I was not using my router table hardly ever, so it went a while back. More to create space in a crowded shop, but I find I have not missed it at all. As someone above said, I would lose the sander before the 735. I believe the 735 is a lunchbox type planer? If so, it can be put aside and taken out as required. Working rough timber from scratch obviously works but is a slower process than some folks are ready for. Have you tried what Allen suggested re turning one board into two? Hand cutting dovetails instead of using a router jig is an easy and fun step, taking tons of rough timber to a consistent, finished state is a little more daunting. I would go ahead and look for some joinery saws and chisels as hand planes are but one piece of the puzzle. Noticing that you have an 8, 7 and a 4-1/2 in mind, you may want to look at a 3 or 4 so that you have a narrower blade on hand. A 4-1/2 can be lots more work than a 4 to push (more so than whatever a "half" might be thought to be). A first step into hand tool working for many folks is to ease into it by using power machinery to help with the main milling and hand tools to perform the joinery and final surfacing with. It will all go better with a decent hand tool oriented workbench and a dedicated hand tool iron sharpening setup that you are not fighting when you use it.