Rob, this is good… this gives me some latitude. I’ll aim for furniture quality and not fret as I fall short. (This is my second build ever.)
One thing the first build made clear… reading knowledge is excellent, but incomplete. I made so many mistakes and learned so much… even little things like, “Glue will leak out in ways you cannot imagine or predict. Prepare for it with wet rags and examining from every possible angle !” Sheesh… we’re not talking squeeze-out… drips. Unreal how hands-on is such a new dimension.
Rona, when I was first starting out, an old man told me something that I haven't forgotten. He said, "You can build something real fast, in your head."
Yup. Hands on is where the real learning happens. In a prior post I made a flippant remark about being a guy in a basement shop trying not to suck at woodworking. While I've been at this a while, I excel at finding new ways to make mistakes. Usually because I'm rushing things. The silver lining is that I've become real good at fixing mistakes. I've also learned my lesson (mostly). Take your time and work methodically. I tried to expound on the benefits of a methodical (plodding) approach in this post (Link). Other members wiser and more experienced than I added some sage words worth reading.
Sharp solves all manner of problems.
Just remember that most tasks can be completed many ways using many tools. One tool may work great for you and poorly for me. As an example, you can probably use sandpaper, a chisel, or a plane to fix the fit of something. I own a router plane and a butt mortise plane
https://www.lie-nielsen.com/products/butt-mortise-plane
I own the large and Medium and they both fit in the box; I like the box.
https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop...t?item=05P3892
I have used both and they both work. I can do things with the router planes that I cannot do with the but mortise plane.
I own a bunch of block planes but I do not find use for them often; but I am also not usually cutting mortises in my work.
BTW, you had me at "pulled a bunch of wood from a dumpster" (my rephrase).
Lol it’s always faster in my head. I mean, what can go wrong?
I looked at the butt plane. Wow! I want one, just because! Really nice tool. And the box… yes I would love that. The problem is that then one wants to fill in the blanks. (Well, THIS one wants to.) 😂 Thank you.
Yeah, that wood. Old growth, rings only a sixteenth apart… amazing stuff under a few hundred pounds of brick. Never nailed, climate controlled building for decades. Will need to be really careful I get all the brick and mortar shards out of it.
Last edited by Meryl Logue; 06-04-2021 at 3:33 PM. Reason: Adding info
I had one of those butt mortise planes. They're really only useful for making hinge mortises on doors - at least I never found any other use for them. I eventually sold mine. If you're not doing a lot of doors I wouldn't recommend it. If you only do a door every few years, there are other ways of making the mortises using tools you probably already have.
When I say "door" I mean passage doors, not doors on furniture.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Well, as the original poster, I thought I was done. Another update… I did order the LV DX block plane, foregoing the extra potential versatility of the LN 60 1/2R. Then yesterday I revisited a CL listing for an AC ATKINS saw set, quite old, for $10. I drove out (past two wrecks that added a lot of slow-n-go to the trip but hey… with jazz on the radio…) and it was an older gentleman who was cleaning house. Garage. He’d had it for over 50 years. I asked about anything else. I wound up with a Stanley 78 missing only the fence, and a Disston & Sons (plural) rip with 5 1/2 stamped on the plate (TPI? PPI?). All for all the cash I could scrounge from cubby holes in my car… $69 total. So point is: That 78 will help me not miss the LN 60 1/2R so badly, and a bit cheaper.
Makes me wonder if I purchased yours since I got mine used years ago!
I have used it on furniture doors only. I have not yet used my router planes to do this since they are a recent acquisition. For certain the butt mortise plane worked better for me then just a chisel. I still did use a chisel, but not for all of it. I do not, however, build a lot of doors, and my last door was made from plywood; another rarity for me.
The one nice thing about the butt mortise plane is the cost. I have used it much more often than my dedicated shooting plane that I finally got rid of because, well, I never used it. My friend who bought it apparently loves it and uses it often.
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.