Rob Keeble
Member
- Messages
- 12,633
- Location
- GTA Ontario Canada
Ok so you a newb to the world of planes.
You one day acquire through hand me down or first ebay purchase your first old plane. Lets for the want of a reference say an old No4.
The bug has bitten.
Out comes the vaporust and you go to work on the new learning curve.
Step 1 is the clean up.
Step 2 is the tune up.
Step 3 gets you into the world of sharpening .....wow thats a cause for diversion on its own.
Step 4 has to now testing out your refurbished plane.
Your buddies throw out all the tips and advice and you follow it diligently.
Wow finally you taking translucent thin shavings on your test board. What a delight.
But this is still in your mind an old plane. Old casting, old machining old tech and old materials. YOU are a product of the technology age and tech has come along way in any field. (as you get older you dont think so anymore but thats another story)
So on your next visit to the worm/heaven store (lv) (yeah its full of worms boring a hole in my head and then my pocket) you happen to stop by the glass plane cabinet.
I challenge anyone that has been to one of these stores thats a woodworker to tell me they have not done this and stared into the glass cabinet like tiny Tim in the Chrismas Carol story.
You see the various options and you see the price. Yup there in all its finest dress is the No4 Veritas plane in the same area is the option of new blades and even new chip breakers.
Now Mr. Fud (that gremlin sitting on your shoulder) (fear uncertainty and doubt) begins to whisper in your ear. (the worm comes alive).
What if .........that plane is such an improvement over my Stanley.
.......that i got it wrong on my tune up and even though i have the product of my labor in front of me.......it really could be even better.
.......that this plane with all its new tech has just got to be better no???
........ok what if i just settle for the new technology in terms of blade because you know what they really copied the Stanley casting....yeah right
Heck the middle ground in this internal discussion says why not try the upgrade router. Heck its a cheap way to get into the water and experience the huge difference that new tech steel blade will bring. And hey remember all the issues you had with that old chip breaker trying to get it to be flat to the blade and polishing the curved top side.
So you jump in the water...you get the blade and eventually the chipbreaker but still the never ending Mr. Fud is telling you it could be better. The only thing that will put this to rest is buying the plane.
But then the next worm starts. Which one?
Is it to be a LV (Veritas) or a LN (Lie Neilson) heck what about a "new premium" Stanley or the "new revision x premium" Woodriver (woodcraft) or hey cross the channel and go for broke an try the "premium" (hit and miss) Clifton planes still made in the UK, and and and there are probably many more i cannot even recall right now.
So my question is can any of my esteemed members of the Neander community shed some light on the merits, quantify in terms of say 1-10 the benefits of the routes in this path other than following it for the sake of following it or as a collector.?
I would love to hear your views help me to silence Mr. FUD once and for all.
Have you bought and tried a new plane blade in an old plane?
What was your objective experience of the benefits/result?
Did you feel the cost was worth the benefit? Why?
Have you compared the old plane to upgraded plane to new plane of the same size/category?
What do you think is the merit of following the path?
If you finally broke down and bought a new one did it live up to the expectation and do you feel it was worth it?
Does your old one still get used.....if so when and why?
Help me crack this nut once and for all.....or leave me suffering.
You one day acquire through hand me down or first ebay purchase your first old plane. Lets for the want of a reference say an old No4.
The bug has bitten.
Out comes the vaporust and you go to work on the new learning curve.
Step 1 is the clean up.
Step 2 is the tune up.
Step 3 gets you into the world of sharpening .....wow thats a cause for diversion on its own.
Step 4 has to now testing out your refurbished plane.
Your buddies throw out all the tips and advice and you follow it diligently.
Wow finally you taking translucent thin shavings on your test board. What a delight.
But this is still in your mind an old plane. Old casting, old machining old tech and old materials. YOU are a product of the technology age and tech has come along way in any field. (as you get older you dont think so anymore but thats another story)
So on your next visit to the worm/heaven store (lv) (yeah its full of worms boring a hole in my head and then my pocket) you happen to stop by the glass plane cabinet.
I challenge anyone that has been to one of these stores thats a woodworker to tell me they have not done this and stared into the glass cabinet like tiny Tim in the Chrismas Carol story.
You see the various options and you see the price. Yup there in all its finest dress is the No4 Veritas plane in the same area is the option of new blades and even new chip breakers.
Now Mr. Fud (that gremlin sitting on your shoulder) (fear uncertainty and doubt) begins to whisper in your ear. (the worm comes alive).
What if .........that plane is such an improvement over my Stanley.
.......that i got it wrong on my tune up and even though i have the product of my labor in front of me.......it really could be even better.
.......that this plane with all its new tech has just got to be better no???
........ok what if i just settle for the new technology in terms of blade because you know what they really copied the Stanley casting....yeah right
Heck the middle ground in this internal discussion says why not try the upgrade router. Heck its a cheap way to get into the water and experience the huge difference that new tech steel blade will bring. And hey remember all the issues you had with that old chip breaker trying to get it to be flat to the blade and polishing the curved top side.
So you jump in the water...you get the blade and eventually the chipbreaker but still the never ending Mr. Fud is telling you it could be better. The only thing that will put this to rest is buying the plane.
But then the next worm starts. Which one?
Is it to be a LV (Veritas) or a LN (Lie Neilson) heck what about a "new premium" Stanley or the "new revision x premium" Woodriver (woodcraft) or hey cross the channel and go for broke an try the "premium" (hit and miss) Clifton planes still made in the UK, and and and there are probably many more i cannot even recall right now.
So my question is can any of my esteemed members of the Neander community shed some light on the merits, quantify in terms of say 1-10 the benefits of the routes in this path other than following it for the sake of following it or as a collector.?
I would love to hear your views help me to silence Mr. FUD once and for all.
Have you bought and tried a new plane blade in an old plane?
What was your objective experience of the benefits/result?
Did you feel the cost was worth the benefit? Why?
Have you compared the old plane to upgraded plane to new plane of the same size/category?
What do you think is the merit of following the path?
If you finally broke down and bought a new one did it live up to the expectation and do you feel it was worth it?
Does your old one still get used.....if so when and why?
Help me crack this nut once and for all.....or leave me suffering.