Thread: Bill does nice work.

Hi Derek,

Any chance of some comparison photos to show the difference between the two handle types. How do these new handles compare, angle wise, with the Veritas handles?

Cheers
Pops

Well, Derek, you know my opinion of Veritas totes. I've never for a moment regretted chucking the fugly, uncomfortable things off my BU smoother & scraper planes.

Their crude finish can be remedied to some extent by a half-hour of rasping, scraping & sanding, and that's just what I did with the first one. It looked a bit better when I was finished with it, but still didn't cut the mustard. For starters, it's unnecessarily tall, and even with a 4-fingered grip, my hand doesn't know where it should be. However, the fatal flaw for me is the too-upright stance - it just doesn't work for my wrist when planing a board held on the bench top. As I've theorised before, it may be that people are building their benches (relatively) higher, and this makes more upright handles less uncomfortable.

With a more forward-leaning "Stanley" style tote (I think the style may have been around a century or three before the Stanley Rule & Level Co. was ), and flat-topped front knobs, I reckon it's easier to get a well-balanced planing stroke, provided the bench top is at the optimum height. The 'traditional' angle of the tote allows me to put most of my effort into pushing the plane forward, and transmit just a little downward force on the plane to keep it firmly engaged in the cut without any conscious effort.

For those who use mostly power tools, it probably makes sense to build benches higher than mine (relative to the height of the user, that is). The best height for hand planing and sawing on a bench hook is too low for some other tasks, unfortunately. However, since I do a lot of both, I reckon I'm better off keeping my bench at the optimum height for those operations. When marking-out and doing jobs that require close vision, I can usually sit down to them, which I'm finding increasingly welcome as the years take their toll.....

Originally Posted by Pops

Hi Derek,

Any chance of some comparison photos to show the difference between the two handle types. How do these new handles compare, angle wise, with the Veritas handles?

Cheers
Pops

Hi Perry

Here is a pic from a blog ...



link: Heartwood » Blog Archive » Great replacement handles for Veritas bevel-up and scraping planes

Regards from Perth

Derek

Hi Derek, what was the cost & freight, and the delivery time please?

Derek,
On the blog you directed us to, there is this tantalising statement:
" Furthermore, he came up with a simple, effective solution for the Veritas mounting system that permits a more curvy, friendly handle than the OEM."

I noted the single stud, & wondered what had happened to #2, so what IS the 'solution'?

I wrestled with this when I re-made my handles, & the 'solution' I came up with, as you know, was to bend the studs forward slightly from the boss on the sole. But I couldn't accomodate the 'full' curve of a traditional tote with two studs, so had to settle for a compromise. Bill seems to have gotten round it, partly by doing away with one stud, but I think you would still need to bend even a single stud to fit the curve of his handles. Is his "simple, effective solution" a bent stud too?

Anyway - good to se I'm far from the only old carmudgeon who detests the Veritas totes......

Cheers,

Hi Ian

I may have later versions as the rod is used straight.

Of course, I would never change the handle on my LAS - since that was an Ian-made model!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Hi Derek, what was the cost & freight, and the delivery time please?

I don't recall the shipping costs (email Bill), but a knob/handle combination is$40.

This took about 2 weeks to arrive.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

......Of course, I would never change the handle on my LAS - since that was an Ian-made model!

Well, Derek, I would be the last person to mind if you did! Of course I'm chuffed that you value it, but I'm also a great believer in customising tools, as you well know, so if you found something else suited you better, I would certainly not be offended in the least. My replacement tote is somwhere between the more forwardly-curved Rittner replacements and the originals, so you have a range of totes to compare. As you say, it takes a bit of use before one can figure out which style is the most suited to your own tastes.

I must re-look at my own efforts at re-handling my Veritas models, sometime, in light of this thread. At the time, I held a template of a standard Stanley-type tote against the bare studs, & decided there was no way I could use two studs withjout one or the other breaking through. I guess I didn't consider using just one. Don't quite know why I was stuck on using two, other than thinkng it would be sturdier than a single stud. But when forced to think a little more about it, IS there any significant advantage in two vs one? An awful lot of plane totes have gotten by successfully enough for a long time with a single stud.

Hmmmm.......

Cheers,

Thanks for the link Derek.

Looks like some close tolerances between the handle curves and the single retaining pin. Bill has done a fine job.

Cheers
Pops

They certainly look better. Is there much obvious instant difference in the way they feel?

cheers,
B-D

Hi BD

The handles do feel different, as one expects. My immediate impression is that the area of pressure is under the horn with the new handles and between the web and forefinger, while the Veritas handles place the pressure lower down the tote and hand. They are comfortable at this stage. Time will tell.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Hi BD

The handles do feel different, as one expects. My immediate impression is that the area of pressure is under the horn with the new handles and between the web and forefinger, while the Veritas handles place the pressure lower down the tote and hand. They are comfortable at this stage. Time will tell.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I must confess that the one thing that puts me off the Veritas planes has been the handles. Also, one rarely (if ever) reads complaints about the Stanley/LN/Woodriver style of tote (other than those with a hand of unusually large size). If the grip is comftable, you've really improved the plane in looks alone!

cheers,
B-D