Thread: Wood planing competition in Uwajima 2012

Doesn't look like all that much fun.

Pam

That is astonishing.

Looks like hard work ....... but amazing result.

Bill

That's one woodworking tool that I feel no need of...

However, according to Stu, that sized plane is still used by temple (re)builders in Japan. See the comment below the large plane image in this blog entry of his visit to the Tsunesaburo plane workshop.

I wonder if the plane, or at least the blade, is a Tsunesaburo that they are using in the video clip. There would be very few kanna makers left that could make a blade that wide (and perform so well). Tsunesaburo still make some very wide blades.

Neil

Originally Posted by NeilS

That's one woodworking tool that I feel no need of...

However, according to Stu, that sized plane is still used by temple (re)builders in Japan. See the comment below the large plane image in this blog entry of his visit to the Tsunesaburo plane workshop.

I wonder if the plane, or at least the blade, is a Tsunesaburo that they are ing in the video clip. There would be very few kanna makers left that could make a blade that wide (and perform so well). Tsunesaburo still make some very wide blades.

Neil

Yep, they still do make planes like that, new, for actual work not play.

Was talking to an old fellow about his son/grandson () who'd just ordered a 150mm () wide plane to do 'a job'. The younger fellow's ears would have melted if he knew what we were saying...

Most of the wider, single pass smoothing is now done by supersurfacers. They're common enough that they'll smooth out a beam, wrap it up in foam and take it to site. Install it, and then unwrap it. All done, takes less time and the result is the same. Kind of.

(Some places insist on actual humans doing most/all the work. At the extreme, they have to cut the wood by hand as well. If the incentive is there, why the heck not?)

Now, a lot of folks think that these are just a bigger plane, how hard can it be?

Because the blade is a lot wider, there's more mass and material in it. Because the backing iron is recycled, the bigger the chunk the more chance of a defect in it. The bigger the lamination weld, the greater chance of a missed spot. The bigger the blade, the more time it takes to heat/work/heat. And there's also the need to keep such a long blade relatively straight, which isn't 'that' big of a deal, but the fellow hammering out 30-70mm blades for the past 10 years isn't going to do a great job right off the bat.

Also, the size causes all manner of other hurdles. None of their standard 'stuff' works, so it's a bit of a hassle.

Now the blade is made, and it costs 2-3 times as much as two blades that make up the same width. Folks baulk at that, but if it was simply making a standard blade wider and the stuff was cut from a sheet of steel, then yeah, priced by the inch/cm/sun is fine. Folks don't pay attention that a small plane, half the width of a big plane has a price that's less than half what the twice as wide plane costs...

The body, yes, these guys do all kind of things to keep the wood stable. But as standard, it's just an extra wide chunk of wood, and because of the width, the adjustment of everything is more critical. You need to make sure it's perfect, and over a much bigger area than with a standard size plane. It's not a case of 'twice as wide, 2 times the trouble', it's closer to 4 times the trouble. And because of the extra width, the dai is a lot more likely to move around, needing more adjustment, more frequently.

And those big chunks of wood don't just grow on trees. Well, they do, but as a rule, dai are 'made' at a standard width and left to season at about the right size. Something this big needs to be planned for.

After getting the blade and dai made at great effort and expense, you now have a lovely, extra wide plane.

And you've got to sharpen it. Good luck with that, because again, it's not just 'twice as big, twice the trouble', that blade needs to have a pretty straight edge all the way across, and that doesn't just happen by magic...

Lots of trouble, lots of money, but as you can see, about as cool as it gets when everything is working just right.

(That weekend was a wet one IIRC, so to get that performance in unfavourable weather was impressive. I would have been there, but we had a busy weekend before that one, and another 8 hour round trip in the car was too much.)

Not for me. If I happen across one, I'll snap it up and have a play, but like Neil, I have zero desire for one of these monsters.

A serious time and money pit from conception to when you offload it. I suppose it's kind of like a boat?

Stu.

Thanks Stu for that very interesting exposé on the challenges of making those big kanna.

I did see a 180mm wide Tsunesaburo (Togo Reigo) blade on offer (from a competitor, so I won't mention any names), which had a price tag worth about the same as my old car, so another reason why I don't need one...

However, I do admire the deep level of craftsmanship they demonstrate.

Neil

I was all ready to buy one of the ultra wide blades 4 or 5 years ago, but couldn't find a big enough dai blank. I mean, really, the dai weren't available; so I gave up on it.

Pam

Originally Posted by Pam

I was all ready to buy one of the ultra wide blades 4 or 5 years ago, but couldn't find a big enough dai blank. I mean, really, the dai weren't available; so I gave up on it.

Pam

That may be the reason that one of the participants in the Okanna events has resorted to laminating his dai to get it wide and stable enough, see here.

I'm curious Pam, what type of work are you doing to consider an okanna?

Neil

Originally Posted by NeilS

That may be the reason that one of the participants in the Okanna events has resorted to laminating his dai to get it wide and stable enough, see here.

I'm curious Pam, what type of work are you doing to consider an okanna?

Thanks, Neil, maybe I can just grab my cutting board and slice a hole in it. I have to amend my lack of availability statement: I think Inomoto-san could have provided an appropriate dai, particularly with blade; but I wanted to make it.

As to my work, I can't say I'm building any temples, so I probably don't need a 12" wide version; but it would be real handy to handle 3-4" cabinet frames in single passes, and the like. I mostly just wanted to make one to play with, see where it might benefit.

Pam

Originally Posted by Pam

....maybe I can just grab my cutting board and slice a hole in it.

.... but, perhaps not with your good Japanese kitchen knives.

I think Inomoto-san could have provided an appropriate dai....

No doubt, with consummate ease .......e.g. here

As to my work.... cabinet frames...

Would love to see some pics, any chance of that some time?

Neil