Author Topic: Hand Planes  (Read 321530 times)

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Offline Papaw

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #480 on: November 15, 2014, 03:41:11 PM »
I am not much of a woodworker, but I was always happy to just use some sandpaper or a scrubbing block to round edges.
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Offline Jim C.

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #481 on: November 15, 2014, 06:54:02 PM »
I am not much of a woodworker, but I was always happy to just use some sandpaper or a scrubbing block to round edges.

Hi Papaw,

Thanks for stopping by.  You're not alone when it comes to your choice of tools for rounding over the edges of a board.  Low tech and simple is often the best method.  As you saw in the post, Stanley's #144 series planes didn't stay in production for even twenty years.  There's a reason for that.  Block planes and sandpaper are still going strong.  There's a reason for that too.

Jim C.   
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Offline johnsironsanctuary

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #482 on: November 16, 2014, 08:55:36 PM »
Great stuff guys!  I have not read every thread, but I am working at it.  Here is a link to an ebay item.  It was made by a friend of mine, Russell Beebe.  Planes can be fun projects too!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-hand-carved-vintage-hand-planes-by-Russell-Beebe-/181582863625?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a472e9d09
« Last Edit: November 16, 2014, 08:59:20 PM by johnsironsanctuary »
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Offline Jim C.

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #483 on: November 16, 2014, 09:49:04 PM »
^^^^^  WOW!!  What a great way to customize a hand plane, and what an amazing artist your friend is.   Thanks for the link John.

Jim C.
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Offline Billman49

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #484 on: November 17, 2014, 04:54:53 AM »
Ref my post on another topic - the ebay link and image will soon disappear, so for those who come across this post in the future, her's the plane in question:

Personally I have a phobia for snakes, so will not be buying it - and certainly not at $2000.... Now if it was a nice dragon.....

Offline gibsontool

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #485 on: November 23, 2014, 11:41:59 AM »
This is a portion of some planes I've picked up over the years.

Offline Jim C.

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #486 on: November 23, 2014, 05:16:32 PM »
^^^^^^ Here's the understatement of the day...... "I get the feeling you've been holding out on us."
Okay gibsontool, now that you've teased us with a portion of what appears to a GREAT collection, you're going to have to post a few more pictures of your planes.  I hope you'll occasionally feature them here in the Hand Planes thread.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of what you have on those shelves!

Jim C.
« Last Edit: November 23, 2014, 05:21:21 PM by Jim C. »
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Offline Chillylulu

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #487 on: November 23, 2014, 07:22:20 PM »
& so many original boxes....

Offline gibsontool

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #488 on: November 23, 2014, 07:34:44 PM »
You will have to excuse the second picture it has no planes,today is my first attempt at posting pics without help from my wife, kids or others. I'll try to get some more detailed pics when I have some time.

Offline Jim C.

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #489 on: November 23, 2014, 07:37:28 PM »
You will have to excuse the second picture it has no planes,today is my first attempt at posting pics without help from my wife, kids or others. I'll try to get some more detailed pics when I have some time.

GREAT!!  Now that you know you can post pictures on your own, we'll be looking forward to more!  Thanks for stopping by. 

Jim C.
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Offline gibsontool

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #490 on: November 23, 2014, 07:50:49 PM »
I have been paying attention to your post since you started and it's full of great info. I will, as time permits ,post some detailed pics.
  Jim.

Offline Jim C.

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #491 on: November 23, 2014, 09:34:07 PM »
I have been paying attention to your post since you started and it's full of great info. I will, as time permits ,post some detailed pics.
  Jim.

Thanks.  We're anxious to see more of your collection.

Jim C. 
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Offline Branson

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #492 on: November 24, 2014, 07:05:53 AM »
You will have to excuse the second picture it has no planes...

Like we might be disappointed?  Hah!  More good tools, a lot more.

Offline Jim C.

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #493 on: November 24, 2014, 09:13:17 AM »
You will have to excuse the second picture it has no planes...

Like we might be disappointed?  Hah!  More good tools, a lot more.

Right!!  Yes, I'd like to keep the thread primarily dedicated to any and all hand planes.  That being said, if someone wants to post pictures of their planes, and those planes are just a portion of a much larger hand tool collection, you won't hear a single complaint from me if some non-hand plane collection photos make it into the thread.  I love good hand tools, particularly if they're vintage, so I'm always fascinated by extensive tool collection photos.  I'm also hoping to see a lot more of gibsontool's hand planes, as well as those belonging to others who stop by the thread.

Jim C.   
« Last Edit: November 24, 2014, 04:18:52 PM by Jim C. »
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Offline Jim C.

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Re: Hand Planes
« Reply #494 on: November 24, 2014, 10:21:58 PM »
It’s fairly common that I will receive an old hand plane from someone I know.  Pretty much anyone who knows me knows that I have a serious interest in them.  Some are in better shape than others, but I always accept them.  At the very least, there’s usually a part on them that can be used to fix up another plane that may be missing the same part.  Anyway, the plane depicted below was a cast off from a fellow co-worker.  I think he said it belonged to his great-grand father.  I probably would have hung onto to it for that reason alone, but I guess people express their sentiments in different ways.  So, the plane was mine, or on its way to the dump.  On its surface it may look like it’s beyond saving or even worth the effort.  I think that was my co-worker's thought.  Okay.  Yes, it’s a little rough around the edges, but with some attention and the acquisition of a couple common parts, this one can go back to work… and it will in my shop.

Stanley #180:

The #180 series of planes were some of Stanley’s earliest rabbet planes.  There were three sizes (iron widths) starting with the #180 at 1½”, the #181 at 1¼” and the #182 at 1”.  Stanley manufactured the 180s between 1886 and 1918.  The latest versions are almost 100 years old!!  They were simply designed having few parts that consisted of the main cast iron body, the cast iron pressure cap and screw, the cutting iron, and a cast iron depth adjustment stop that mounted to the right side of the plane with a thumbscrew.  Unfortunately the plane was given to me without the depth adjustment stop and thumbscrew.  (It should be noted that the depth stop and thumbscrew depicted below were borrowed from a Stanley #190 for purposes of showing the missing parts.)  On the positive side however, that little depth stop and thumbscrew were used on MANY other Stanley produced rabbet planes in the decades that followed, to include the 190 series of rabbets and the extremely popular #78 to name a few… and there were other less common models that also employed those same two parts.  I’m sure even back then, Stanley had accountants.  Interchangeable parts meant production savings.  I don’t usually like to chase parts, but in this case, they’re very easy to come by and relatively inexpensive.  In this instance, I say “Thank you Stanley accountants.”  (I’m sure the original designers and engineers factored in cost and production efficiency too.)

To use the #180, a thin scrap of thin straight stock had to be tacked to the work piece to act as a fence.  Once a few passes were made and the shoulder of the rabbet joint was established, the temporary wooden strip/guide could be removed and the shoulder of the joint itself acted as the fence.  With the stop set for a desired depth of cut, the #180 and its two narrower siblings (#181, #182) were easy to use and pretty accurate.  So why were the 180 series of planes discontinued by Stanley.  Well, Stanley also designed and produced a slightly different version with a scoring nicker (also known as a spur) for cutting across the grain.  (See photo below comparing a #190 with the spur to the #180 without it.)  The three legged spur was set into the body of the plane and rode just ahead of the iron, thus scoring the wood fibers before the iron got to them.  That innovation greatly reduced  tear-out and produced a smooth shouldered cross-grain cut.  Instead of adding the spur to later versions of the 180 series planes, Stanley, created a parallel product line that included a spur, the 190 series of rabbet planes.  Again, the 190 rabbets (#190, #191 and #192) were sized exactly as were the 180s listed above, and manufactured by Stanley from 1886 into the early 1960s.  Basically, the introduction of the 190s, which also functioned exactly like the 180s, but with the spur, eventually led to an early end for the 180s.  Perhaps another Stanley accounting department decision?  Both the 180s and the 190s filled the same market niche.  Adding to the demise of the 180 series, was the introduction of the Stanley #78 duplex/rabbet/fillister plane a couple years earlier in 1884.  (See page 15, reply 220 above)  It included two different seats for the iron, a spur, the same depth stop and a fence, thus eliminating the need to tack a strip of wood onto the work piece as a guide.  The #78 was in production well into the 1980s and eventually outlasted the 190 series by approximately twenty years.

So why would anyone want to use a 180 series rabbet plane when other potentially better models are readily available?  Well, that’s an easy answer for me.  With just a little TLC, and the addition of a couple easy to find parts, I’ll be using a 100+ year old plane that’s covered with honest patina.  The trademark (type J, 1874 – 1884) on the iron, and its other parts indicate that the plane was likely manufactured at some point not too long after its introduction into the market.  I'd guess about 1890 to 1900.  I probably won’t do much to clean any of the "history" from the plane’s surfaces.  I’ll get to enjoy the process of re-grinding and sharpening its original iron for the first time in probably decades.  They just don’t make common tools like that any more.  Notice the handle of the plane with its ornately cast design.  It’s just a great tool that deserves another chance…..

Jim C.
« Last Edit: August 01, 2019, 08:56:57 PM by Jim C. »
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