Forrest Addy
Diamond
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2000
- Location
- Bremerton WA USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvZFOyo63Ks
Here's a video made by a guy who spent many hours "gold plating" a Stanley block plane. I don't wholely approva of all his methods nor the efficacy of his results. However, the fellow spent a lot of time and thought to determine his course of action. His narration detailed each step and his reasoning behind it.
I have some experience detailing hand planes to make them perform better. Under contract to local guitar maker, I accurized his Stanley #7 jointer plane to his specifications: he wanted it flat and perfect. I balked at lapping on glass but instead scraped all surfaces flat to 30 spots per square inch, detailing the mouth, bluing in the frog, making a number of thick plane irons (before the days of Hock and clones). The plane was perfect on the granite surface plate but unmanageble in practice. Once started in a chip it was almost impossible to disengage. You were committed for the length of the board: the chip curling up through the mouth anchored the tool in its cut. Since then I've cooked up a number of theories about how to profile and contour hand plane soles for efficient woodwork and I think I can show that dead flat AINT best.
I'm sure this video will excite some comment and controversy. But remember this fellow's objective is the perfect hand plane for wood musical instruments and he may have legitimate reason to depart slightly from scraping traditions as understood by us cool guys. Therefore, make allowances.
BTW, look carefully at what he's using for a surface plate. A stove lid? Whatever works so long as it's FLAT.
Here's a video made by a guy who spent many hours "gold plating" a Stanley block plane. I don't wholely approva of all his methods nor the efficacy of his results. However, the fellow spent a lot of time and thought to determine his course of action. His narration detailed each step and his reasoning behind it.
I have some experience detailing hand planes to make them perform better. Under contract to local guitar maker, I accurized his Stanley #7 jointer plane to his specifications: he wanted it flat and perfect. I balked at lapping on glass but instead scraped all surfaces flat to 30 spots per square inch, detailing the mouth, bluing in the frog, making a number of thick plane irons (before the days of Hock and clones). The plane was perfect on the granite surface plate but unmanageble in practice. Once started in a chip it was almost impossible to disengage. You were committed for the length of the board: the chip curling up through the mouth anchored the tool in its cut. Since then I've cooked up a number of theories about how to profile and contour hand plane soles for efficient woodwork and I think I can show that dead flat AINT best.
I'm sure this video will excite some comment and controversy. But remember this fellow's objective is the perfect hand plane for wood musical instruments and he may have legitimate reason to depart slightly from scraping traditions as understood by us cool guys. Therefore, make allowances.
BTW, look carefully at what he's using for a surface plate. A stove lid? Whatever works so long as it's FLAT.
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