ozhunter 25th July 2013, 06:38 PM Hello
Round these parts there are always a few buggered wooden planes on the shelves.
Some of them appear to be boxwood to my untrained eye.
I have often wondered how an old dead plane would go for making replacement chisel handles and such, but don't have the skills to identify boxwood.
Are there any signs to look for that might indicate whether a plane is made from boxwood or not, apart from the honey'ish colour?
DaveTTC 25th July 2013, 07:13 PM seems a waste of a plane .... how dead is the plane?
ozhunter 25th July 2013, 07:19 PM I don't have one ATM. I call dead as having large splits, chunks missing etc. I'd never do it to a plane that appears even close to salvage.
Just a thought bouncing round in my head.
DaveTTC 25th July 2013, 07:21 PM well in that case wood is wood, if it has a large enough section it should be fine
ozhunter 25th July 2013, 07:25 PM Wood maybe wood, but I'm specifically talking about boxwood (not Yellow,Red,White box or Brushbox) Buxus (sp) for tool handles.
Might have to put in a little plantation somewhere.
orraloon 25th July 2013, 08:09 PM Old wood rulers (rules) are usually boxwood so that is what european boxwood looks like. That said chopping up old planes for chisel handles is bordering on criminal tool abuse. Chisel handles can be made of all sorts. Fruit woods are good.Apple cherry and the like also in local woods spotted gum is good for these that get bashed with a mallet. Mulberry is really good and the best i have tried is osage for looks and peformance.
Regards
John
Fuzzie 25th July 2013, 08:18 PM I'm no expert but I suspect that any plane that is solid boxwood in any condition is worth more as a plane than a chisel handle. Not many around, most woodies I've ever seen have been beech.
(edit) Typically a beech moulding plane may have a slip of boxwood as a wear strip. For example beading plans usually have a boxwood strip that keeps the plane aligned with profile being struck.
ozhunter 25th July 2013, 08:58 PM Thanks Fuzzie, that satisfied my curiosity and answered what probably should have been my second question.
The gallows and noose can be put away. I never said I had the knife lines on a plane ready to saw, I was just wonderin.
jimbur 26th July 2013, 12:07 AM If the plane is of any size, the chances are it is beech - lovely golden finish especially after years of linseed oil. As suggested by others, solid European box is top of the market stuff and should only be cut up as a last resort.
You can tell beech by the medullary rays.
jimbur 26th July 2013, 11:09 AM As a ps, I did once cut up an old wooden jack plane (beech) but it really was finished; huge cracks filled with rubbish especially seeing it came from landfill. The amazing part was that the inside still smelled of linseed and there was still a fair amount of useable wood in it.
lightwood 26th July 2013, 02:17 PM Pretty decent wooden planes can have no commercial value at all. Users are VERY hard to find, collectors can be found, but they want the very rare, or the mint condition ones.
The ones seen in junk shops seem to be aimed at the decorator types, and big prices on junk is the norm.
Have a look at what actually happens out there. May 8th.
D Malloch SON Smoother | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/D-Malloch-Son-Smoother-/330914778509)
Look at the description this seller typed, he/she took 10 pictures, probably answered a couple of vacuous questions about it as well, probably packed it, posted it as well...and risks a negative feedback from one of the dirt-bags that hang around eBay For all that effort it sold for $0.01.
I would rather stay warm than put up with what that seller got. I've burned more than fifty wooden planes....also given plenty of the away.
If my opinion is worth anything, if you find an old beech bench plane, even in OK condition...cut it up and use it for whatever you want.
Regards,
Peter
pmcgee 26th July 2013, 03:54 PM Fruit woods are good.Apple cherry and the like n
On the (rural) news over the last few weeks they have been discussing uprooting something like 750 000 pear and (?) peach trees in the eastern states because ... ardmona?? ... contracts haven't been renewed. Can you imagine it?
Paul
FenceFurniture 27th July 2013, 09:47 AM Have a look at what actually happens out there. May 8th.
D Malloch SON Smoother | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/D-Malloch-Son-Smoother-/330914778509)
It says "The plane can be picked up from Hurlstone Park NSW". Exactly how would the purchaser pay the ripoff price of $0.01 in this case, I wonder? Probably have to leave a 400% tip.:D Just as well the seller used a digital camera - hate to waste all that profit on film.
....if you find an old beech bench plane, even in OK condition...cut it up and use it for whatever you want.Yep, better than seeing them go to landfill, or warming up Peter :q.
ozhunter 27th July 2013, 04:05 PM That is the sort of thing I was talking about recycling, something absolutley useless for what it was originally made for. When I find a couple that I can give a new purpose to, I'll report back.
As for primary production going down the toilet, don't get me started. The vast majority of us do it now, out of some sort of tradition driven need, my brother and I are 4th generation on the same farm (my family has been on our place since 1909) or way of life, very few are in it for the money now-a-days.
FenceFurniture 27th July 2013, 04:20 PM When I find a couple that I can give a new purpose to, I'll report back."Yes" to a highly pictorial WIP please. :stirthepot: :D
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: 278770
Or Mulga: 278772
over anything Europe has to offer.... :U
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 ...... 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
| |