New twist

[orraloon]

This guy has taken the infill plane and given it a new look.
http://juanvergara.net/
Shining steel, brass and wood is always worth a look at. Think I prefer the more traditional infills but if one of those were under the chrissie tree I am sure I could find a place for it.
Regards
John

[rob streeper]

I think it's great that we have so many different custom toolmakers to choose from these days.

[NCArcher]

Personally, I think they are butt ugly. Not to my taste at all.

[D.W.]

Personally, I think they are butt ugly. Not to my taste at all.

that's pretty vague...I'm not sure I can tell how you feel about them :)

Juan has been posting on SMC for a while, and I can definitely say I've never seen someone as late in life as he is (I believe he's retired) dive so far in (in terms of making gobs of planes....just gobs) so fast.

He's definitely got his own style. Some of the things look like they might present some structural issues, but whether or not handle design actually presents one in practice is hard to tell until you actually break a handle off!!

Juan's a heck of a nice guy, but at the same time, I'm all for people stating exactly what they feel - otherwise, we're working from censored information when we talk to each other. So I'm not suggesting I find anything at all wrong with you stating your opinion straight up!

[IanW]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

While I wouldn't say I found the planes "butt ugly", I think I'm more on NC's side. The words I might use would be more like "fussy" or "over-done. They appear to be beautifully constructed and finished to a high degree, but a bit over-done to my eye. From a practical point of view, those sharpish points on the side might become an uncomfortable irritation in a long planing session where you shift your grip around bit. But that's just from looking at them, in use they may be fine.

By 'structural issues', DW, do you mean those front croissants (you couldn't call them 'buns' :U)? I wonder if, like me, he's found the bun like Norris made to be quite uncomfortable to use with a flat-palm grip because of its sharp back edge. The one he's made solves that problem, but that sticky-out curve of mostly short-grain does look like it could have a rather short life in a busy shop.....

Cheers,

[D.W.]

Yes, that, and the scallop that's taken out in front of the handle that makes the area fairly thin. That's one that I wouldn't know if I could break it without using it, but as you've alluded to, handles that I've broken have been due to dropping, and few planes are 100% immune to breaking when dropping.

I'd suspect that 90%+ of the old woodies with broken handles were broken not in use, but in dropping.

[issatree]

Hi All,
They can definitely be left with me.
I wood not quibble about the finish, it is as long as they work to your liking.
I like shiny.

[IanW]

......I'd suspect that 90%+ of the old woodies with broken handles were broken not in use, but in dropping...

Yep, in my case, one plane, and one saw handle - one little fall was all it took! :C

Concrete floors + gravity = a lethal mix! :~

Cheers,

[IanW]

Hi All,
They can definitely be left with me.
I wood not quibble about the finish, it is as long as they work to your liking.
I like shiny.


I'm not agin 'shiny', issatree, it's the fussiness. But agreed, if they work very well, you might overlook a few faults...... :U

Cheers,

[rob streeper]

I'm not inclined to criticize on the basis of styling until I have a chance to try one or read an intelligent review by somebody who knows hand planes.
The "classic" Stanley, Norris or whatever metallic plane designs work well and look good because they are familiar but I allow that there's always room for improvement. Workmanship, utility and style are separate issues in my estimation.