Calling all the Spinny guys to come on over

I know the spinny guys call it a vortex, well there is not only one type of vortex. I finally got stuck into the tune up of my Dads handed down WW2 Stanley and got so carried away i nearly planned all the wood away.

There is no sweeter feeling than a scary sharp plane blade cutting through wood.

Boy did I have fun but mind you Larry warned that this would make a man of me and sure it did. I got stuck in my shop from late afternoon Sat to aroun 9:30pm that night. Just making curlys and trying out different settings on the plane. Getting to know one another you might say. Being the impatient type i could not wait to finish my bench and wait for the delivery of my jointer. So in anticipation of another tune up when that arrives and to start to get those muscles that are needed some excercise i got stuck into the smoothing plane.

Dont think i have had that much fun since highschool shop. Now i know they did not have anything like a sharp plane at my school.

Who said this plane stuff was addictive? But boy my shoulders and back were stiff yesterday and today again but it was all worth it.

So Spinny guys give the old Neader stunt a try there is more than one way to make curleys and when you finished this wood needs no sanding or CA to make it smooth.

For the picture police before you issue a summons take a look.

Before a piece of rough Cherry then after

Here is some ash did not have a before pic only the after

Then the plane sole all tuned up (you think it has scratches you should have seen what i started with . Ooh curlies so thin you can see the cells.

And hey who says you have to wait till your workbench is finished. My Tom Clark cabinets stand in while the bench awaits the jointer arrival.


And the evidence of fun is all around


But wait as they say in the commercials I am only getting started. This relationship is still at the dating level and i am going to kick it up a notch yet. I want more from that plane but need to work on the frog and my own knowledge.

Oh and i nearly forgot. I think it was Mike Henderson that mentioned putting some paste wax on the sole. To any newbie like me out there, try it but be ready for the ride of your life.

Seems like many of us were enjoying this pastime over the weekend and discovering the pleasure of a sharp iron. You certainly dont need any fancy tools to sharpen a blade. I just used sandpaper and a leather strop.
Of course you need to grind the angle proper but that is taken for granted.

Now a question for the pros.....what is the best angle for a smoothing plane 4 1/2 Stanley.

And Larry you are so right you dont need a new blade in these old planes ya just have to treat them with respect.

Me thunks you inhaled to much dust/curlies!
Glad to hear you had fun. Have a #4 Bailey made by Stanley, can't get it to do anything. Thought about throwing it in the truck and taking it with me to Larry's.

ain`t it fun!
i don`t use any type of angle gauge to grind my irons, steeper for soft woods tighter for hardwoods.

Rob,

What you need is a jack or foreplane to take the rank cuts (make all the rough cuts), so that you can set that 4 1/2 to take a much finer cut. Close that mouth down and with a very small projection of the blade and it will really cut nice and smooth.

You see, in no time flat, you will have something like 20 planes.

Shhhhhh!!! dont tell him that bill ,,he is already competing against us on ebay

Boy - IT don't take much to make you flat boarders happy!

9 Hours and THAT's ALL the curls you made?

We get that much in 10 minutes or less.

And we get MORE AROMA Therapy, too.

(Glad you're havin' a little fun.)

Bruce

Ain't it fun. When I sharpen I use the Scary Sharp method. I have a 12"x12"x2" piece of marbel and sand paper grits to 10,000. I tape em down and go to town. Make my planes and chizels scary sharp..

F!@t work in a spinny shop? Not bloo... um, ahem.

I had a call to turn some 7' pencil bed posts. Guy shows up with the 4 blanks, and no drawings (mumble, mumble). By the time we had it down on paper the spinny things were tapered 'n f!@t 4 sides (mumble, mumble). Oh well. They still had to be cut in 2 & doweled.

Ed, what is that jig in the first picture?

Mohammad,
Thats a steady rest. There are wheels on the arms that ride on the round part to support the piece when he spins it.

Don Baer said:

Mohammad,
Thats a steady rest. There are wheels on the arms that ride on the round part to support the piece when he spins it.

Click to expand...

Don, unless there are little wheels we can't see at the ends of those arms (and there may well be), he's using it differently than any steady rest I've seen. The wheels usually point toward the center, not away from it.

I think he's got small wheels inside the tubes for small dia and the bigger ones are for larger dia. Thats what the bolts one the ends of the tube are holding in place. Otherwise the friction of the metal against the plywood would rub a groove in it.

I like how that one is made.

There's a new thread in the Spinny section with a few pics which might answer some of your questions. The arms are double ended, ball bearings for accuracy and blade wheels for a softer touch.