When I started woodworking in 2016, I really knew very little and lacked a lot of confidence. Yet, money was tight as well. I didn't want to use vintage tools as they might have needed to be tuned up and I simply had not idea how to do that. I wanted tools that would work so if there was an issue, it was me and not the tool. I decided to go with vintage tools and sold my beloved 1990 5.0 L 5 speed LX Mustang to make it happen.
LieNielsen once a year comes to the San Francisco Bay Area and puts on a tool show and has other vendors. What I really like is that the instructors there, from and hired by Lie Nielsen, don't push the tools. They let you use them and answer any questions you have. As such, there is a lot of teaching at these events. The byproduct is that folks but tools. I left with a solid set of tools the first year. I confirmed I really wanted to woodwork as much as I thought I did. I went back in subsequent years and have bought more tools. Their tools work well and I was happy I was woodworking.
So why, 7 years into woodworking am I changing? It all has to do this inexpensive No 4 Craftsman plane I bought from Hyperkitten about 3 years (dates are a bit fuzzy in my mind) into my woodworking. I put it on a shelf and six months or a year later I finally got around to getting it ready for use. It cost $25 or $30 and it looked like it was basically never used. The plan was to camber the blade to use it as the initial plane to remove the bulk of the wood and then use the LieNielsen tools. By doing this, I could preserve the sharpness of the planes that take the final shavings.
I did this (and still do this) approach. It works well. As such, the lowly No 4 Craftsman plane has touched just about every project. Also, it probably gets more use in my hand that my other planes. At some point, due to frequent use, I started to like this Craftsman No 4. It went from like to love to it being my favorite hand plane. If the garage were on fire and I could only grab one hand tool, this Craftsman No 4 would be it. I'm quite serious about this. Some of the things I became to like was its lighter weight than my premium planes. I liked the simply O1 tool steel and thinner blade. The plane worked very well. As best I can tell, just as well as my premium hand planes. I mean this. Oh, no doubt the Lie Nielsen is more refined and has tighter tolerances. However, the shavings and surface on the wood is the same for both.
This has gotten me to think, if I like this vintage plane so much, how about other vintage tools? Well, over the years, between HyperKitten (best place I think to buy good user tools), Jim Bode, Timeless Tools and Treasures, and EBay, I have built up a collection of vintage tools. I'm not sure why I bought them (other than to have them) as at the time I had no intention of using them. If some of the greatest furniture ever has been made with vintage tools, what would I discover by using them myself. So, I have decided to use vintage tools. How vintage is vintage?
I'm going to go with what I have right now. The Stanley hand planes and the Marple chisels are likely 1930s (a guess as I'm not an expert). As for the saws, the Disson dovetail saw is from 1850 and the others are in the range of 70 to 100 years old. I prepared the backside and sharpened the chisels. I took apart the No 5 and No 3 hand planes, flattened the soles, flattened the back of the blade and sharpened it. I prefer using my No 4 Craftsman with a highly cambered blande, then No 5 to get all straight then No 3 to smooth. As for the hand saws, Tim Plavin for reasonable fees sharpened and set up the ones I had and purchased some other vintage ones I needed.
I'm all set and have started using these tools. No, I'm not selling my LieNielsens as I like them. Also, I'm not replacing everything I have as that would be expensive. Over time, maybe a switch to woodie hand planes, maybe I stick with the vintage ones I have, maybe I go back to the LieNielsens. For now, I just want to use the vintage ones I have and see what I think about them. So far, I like them but I will use them for a year or two and then see what I think. That Craftsman No 4 didn't win me overnight and I want time to see what I think of these. I'm guessing I will probably like them very much.
I know how you feel. If you can try an ECE jointer it is so worth it. I have a Stanley 8 and it works great, I still use my LN bronze No 4 and love it, but the ECE is so light and so smooth I haven't gone back. Enjoy your vintage tools.
ReplyDeleteI've been debating to get an ECE as well. Probably will at some point in the next year.
DeleteHey Joe, thanks for your post! I have a similar Craftsman smoother and was thinking of doing the same thing. I'm not sure if this is unique, but mine is 9 1/2 inches long, like a #4, but the iron is 1 3/4" wide. Really, this seems to be the perfect candidate for a scrub conversion. What did you grind your camber to on your scrub? I was thinking of three to five inch, but I'm worried that's just too extreme. Again, thanks for your post, I really enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteHi Dwain. Up until a few months ago, I didn't have a grinder, as such, little by little I have been aggressively cambering it on my stones. Slow process for sure but I didn't have a lot of options at that time. If I were to use a grinder, I'd probably go initially for an 8 or 9" radius. I do have also have a genuine vintage scrub plane that has a very aggressive camber so the No 4 I use doesn't need to be as agressive. Hope this helps.
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