Thread: A lovely Tutorial of hand planes, But wait till the end WOW.

Originally Posted by IanW

Graeme, I believe from what I've read (& Jim Kingshot said as much in the video), that the tool chests were a fairly standardised design which had evolved over quite long time to serve a cabinetmaker's needs. Tool chests had been around since at least mediaeval times & probably well before that, though the couple I've seen pictures of had far simpler interiors than 18th & 19th century examples. I don't know when the elaborate interiors were first made on a regular basis, but I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it became fashionable in England in the early Georgian period, so it would have been well-established by the time your uncle served his time. That would make sense as it was a time when cabinetmaking was developing into a very highly skilled business with the likes of Chippendale, Sheraton & Hepplewhite setting some high hurdles & the tradesmen would have access to offcuts from a wide range of imported & local woods . The Seaton chest is dated at 1796, and is remarkably similar in concept to Jim's, though the details vary. I imagine the more ambitious apprentices would always want to put a few personal touches on their chests...

Cheers,

That all makes a lot of sense, Ian, the classic form follows function argument. I just hadn't thought it through.

The lineage of Uncle's chest from the Seaton is evident, plus a bit of evolution. Variances include:

• two rows of slides, a la Jim Kingshott,
• "stepped" inside walls to provide the drawer slide runners,
• saw till at bottom,
• single piece red cedar lid - spectacular grain on inside.

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Jim Kingshott wrote about the Stanley #51/52 copy he built in his book “Making and Modifying Woodworking Tools”. Plans available .... Now out of print ... a few years ago a copy was selling for $1200! (I have a copy ).




Regards from Perth

Derek

I was wrong - it's that particular book that I have, and I haven't yet sold it. it's also $45 on abe books now (fortunately) and $95 on amazon here.

I do remember in the special planes video (I think that was the name of it) he mentioned just "making a pattern and taking it to your local ironmonger to have a casting made", along with putting together a set of hollows and rounds for "a bob or two" and leave the nice pristine matched sets to collectors.

somehow, I creased the cover of my book without using it much, but it may have been rough handling moving it around. I'll have some downtime this weekend and perhaps read it through the lens of a little bit of past toolmaking vs. none of any relevance when I'd first bought it.

On the subject of the video itself, I found the most fascinating snippet was the explanation of the derivation of the 'face' mark at 37/38 mins. I had no idea it came from a cursive 'f' being split.

I have always found pleasure in seeing a true master of any manual/dexterity task at work. One of the most obvious pointers is how 'lazily fast' they are. Master craftsmen, top surgeons, expert pilots - they all seem to make -and implement - decisions about 5 times as fast as the amateur, with that sense that they are about 5 moves ahead. ( I once sat in on a surgery - I will never forget the casual speed and certainty with which the surgeon made the first cut into the patient's abdomen...) Muscle memory, unconscious mastery, combined with stupid hours of practice, and some innate talent....

Of note, if people have missed it, this is a lovely tongue in cheek one from Christian Becksvoort. Although not as 'instructional', if you know what you're looking at there are some great tricks and short cuts from a master craftsman who actually makes a living from production furniture. With reference to my last post, check out the way he's using his chisels to knock out waste - that's someone who's done this once or twice...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qDW...ineWoodworking

I’ve just finished watching his hand plane video. Was fantastic. The kind of knowledge and experience that I could have only wished about being an apprentice to when younger. About to watch the dovetail video after some F1. Great mix for the weekend

Great video. I would guess this fellow would have been of the generation that taught the likes of Paul Sellers in the UK . While many might consider Jim Kingshott to be a little more refined than Paul Sellers in his work and possibly his production work they both have something that is rare , the ability to teach in a clear easy to understand manner . I suspect this comes from having taught many apprentices along the way of their extensive careers, teaching in the UK technical college system too. A clarity of understanding that come from years in a craft rather than 5 years working in a rip, dip, 'n ship cabinet factory and tooling around in the home workshop then deciding to share your "wisdom" on a youtube channel. Even people that have excellent skills can't always pass them on well and it is great to have this video of someone who can.