Old 2nd hand wooden planes

**IanW** · 28th July 2013, 12:43 PM

I agree with Peter - wood is just wood, and many of the old wooden planes I've seen lately are irrecoverable, and certainly far from rare, so why not put the wood to use if you think it worthwhile!?

As others have said, a solid Box plane body would be a rarity, so if you thought you had one of those, it would be worth getting a second opinion before putting under the knife..

I have to add that I'm not a great fan of European Beech for anything, much. It's ok, and one of the few woods over much of Europe that can be used successfully for plane bodies, but it's neither particularly stable nor particularly durable in the grand scheme of things, perhaps average on both counts. We are spoilt for choice when it comes to woods for tools, plenty of much more attractive, & far more durable woods to choose from! Woods like Box, Pear and Apple are lovely to turn & make pretty good handles, but are not stunningly attractive, imo.

I'd take She-oak: She_oak.jpg

Or Mulga: Mulga handles.jpg

over anything Europe has to offer....

Cheers,

**ozhunter** · 28th July 2013, 01:53 PM

Ian, that's interesting re stability and durability. Maybe that's why there aren't so many good user woodies left from days of old.

I have to agree with the She-oak. It's a very nice timber. How does Blackwood handle being a handle. I've got some nice stuff here from Mapleman.

**IanW** · 28th July 2013, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by ozhunter

...... How does Blackwood handle being a handle. I've got some nice stuff here from Mapleman.

Adam, I don't know firsthand, having never tried it for chisel handles. I've used it for bowsaw arms because it will tolerate bending stresses very well. I reckon it should be ok if you select your blanks carefully. If your stock is highly figured, I would recommend you avoid bits that have too much grain running at an oblique angle to the axis of the handle, because they are likely to break when belted. I've found Blackwood to have very variable physical properties, depending on the tree or area it came from. Most I've struck was of medium density & quite nice to work with, some was as soft as pine (that came from the Otways, & I don't know if it was a local thing, or just the particular trees it came out of). Other bits can be dense & tough, and it would be that sort I'd choose for chisel handles, but the medium stuff would probably be fine, too. Blackwood usually takes on a lovely deep lustre when polished, so your handles should look good!

Where I grew up, there were a couple of local species of Acacia (one of which is either Blackwood or a very close relative), were much favoured for brush-hook and hoe handles. Apart from being tough, they are easy to smooth & far less apt to produce the nasty splinters that Eucalypts tend to make.

Cheers,

**Heavansabove** · 29th July 2013, 10:15 AM

If you want to see what old boxwood looks like pick up an old moulding plane with boxing - and give it a thorough clean. There won't be enough for a chisel or file handle.

If you have a garden, harvest your own Camellia, Privet (I had heaps of that until recently in an obscure corner, oops), Rhodo, Crepe Myrtle, Bottle Brush, Lemon, Cotoneaster ( think I have got rid of it, hopefully), Mango ...

Cheers
Peter

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