Thread: Razee Jack Plane

Nice old plane that has survived a long hard life. As you suspect the razee could be a later mod as the handle did not look great and the attachment sounded a bit ordinary. Perhaps a striker button on the top would help prevent more damage in the front. Have not heard of Malcolm Bros but there were more plane makers than you could poke a stick at in the UK. Is it working well enough to be a keeper?
Regards
John

Hi John. Flattened the sole and sharpened the blade. Mouth is close ish and the chip breaker is tight. Tested on quarter grain Oregon and face grain pine and both cut nicely. The balance is unusual. After finishing installing the handle (which is copied from my favourite plastic Stanley handle - with a slight flourish on the top), I was worried about the hang. Being positioned closer to the bench than a normal woodie could be a problem but then that's just like a metal plane. But it is different. As to striking blocks, I tend to hit the heel of the plane to retract the blade. But I would prefer it to look better.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Hi John. Flattened the sole and sharpened the blade. Mouth is close ish and the chip breaker is tight. Tested on quarter grain Oregon and face grain pine and both cut nicely. The balance is unusual. After finishing installing the handle (which is copied from my favourite plastic Stanley handle - with a slight flourish on the top), I was worried about the hang. Being positioned closer to the bench than a normal woodie could be a problem but then that's just like a metal plane. But it is different. As to striking blocks, I tend to hit the heel of the plane to retract the blade. But I would prefer it to look better.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Nice handle addition repacement- I would likely plane the top down a tad but strike but could contrast with that black.

I make use a wooden foreplane. Used tot taking cup and twist out of boards, via traversing. The blades has more camber than what I gather from your photo and the blades pretty rank. The blades sometime is too deep, but all going well , flattens pretty quick. Its handy having a lighter / longish plane for that job.

MA, I was thinking "user mod" just from a glance at the picture, & not surprised you reached that conclusion yourself. I've only seen a couple of (old) razeed woodies, so it's dangerous to draw any conclusions, but the way the back is cut so abruptly looks a bit un-factory-like and the handle is definitely an amateur production, imo. Of course it could've been a later replacement, but the factory-made handles were set in a (usually) very neat mortise, certainly not screwed & nailed to the surface.

Not sure what I'd do with that front damage - like Martin, I'd be tempted to try cleaning it up a bit, but it looks like it will need a good 5mm or so off the top to get rid of it all.

I can understand why someone might wish to razee their plane if they started out with Bailey planes. I was well rusted onto Baileys many years before trying my first woodie. The experience was very strange, the rear handle seemed far too high for comfort & I felt as if the plane was constantly wanting to tip over (it would have been worse if it was a pre-~1800 model, with their handles offset from the centre - that would have really thrown me!). Dropping the handle down gets the balance a bit closer to the feel of a metal-bodied plane, though I'm still never quite sure how to place my left hand on the nose - the traditional twisted-wrist grip shown in old instruction books looks (& feels!) extremely awkward to me.

But of course it's what you get used to - there are enough devotees of woodies to convince me they have their merits. I had a "Bismarck" for a while, but rarely used it 'cos the beech sole was a bit too soft for rough ironbark & the likes, the Veritas scrub I have is a lot more rugged & able to cope with rough, hard surfaces. So I gave the woodie away, but there are times, like when cleaning up an 'easy' wood like jacaranda that I wish I'd kept it, the Veritas is twice the weight, which matters more to my ageing body than it once did....

Cheers,

Thanks Martin and Ian. At this stage the blade is sharpened at 90° to the edge. I have 2 metal scrub planes (modified #4's) and 1 wooden body, plus my very 1st wooden body attempt has a cambered blade too. Do I need another version?.....yeah probably! I thought of cleaning up the damage but was worried about the eyes. I can probably carve new ones.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Thanks Martin and Ian. At this stage the blade is sharpened at 90° to the edge. I have 2 metal scrub planes (modified #4's) and 1 wooden body, plus my very 1st wooden body attempt has a cambered blade too. Do I need another version?.....yeah probably! I thought of cleaning up the damage but was worried about the eyes. I can probably carve new ones.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Hi MA

I use 2 planes for scrubbing wood ,particularly if there a bit take off. Ones more aggressive than the other. The aggressive one a 30mm blade and tight radius camber. It will blast away wood quickly- very spicy that one. Then I switch to a foreplane similar too one similar in size to yours , still cambered but has chipbreaker cause I don't what take out chunks in tearout. I like the longer plane for this work as the longer base assist in arriving at "flat enough"

PS - I think the planes original - the radius chamfer looks to be the same radius all the way around- not that I can be sure from a photo.

Cheers

Originally Posted by MartinCH

....PS - I think the planes original - the radius chamfer looks to be the same radius all the way around- not that I can be sure from a photo.....

Martin, you could well be right, there's probably no way we'll ever know for sure, but the fact that the handle wasn't let into the body (like this one) is a strong indication to me it was an 'amateur' job.

It's hard to find much info on razeed planes - google doesn't seem to know much about them and the couple of books I have (both British) don't even mention them. My impression is that they were more common in the US (but still not 'common') than the UK, but that may be a false impression.

I don't know why they weren't more common - lowering the back like that seems to me to make it much more ergonomic. I'll be very interested to hear what you think of it, MA, after you've given it a good workout or two...

Cheers,

Any ideas on why makers marks are stamped upside down?

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Any ideas on why makers marks are stamped upside down?.......

Because they think we'll be able to read them easier in the southern hemisphere?.....

It just seems to happen sporadically. Several batches of Norris planes had the name stamped "upside down" on the lever-cap, while the majority were stamped "right way up". That makes some sense, actually, because you can read the stamp when holding the plane ready for work (though why you would need to constantly reassure yourself you are holding a Norris I have no idea!). And it doesn't explain why the stamps were inconsistent.

On narrow moulding planes where it wouldn't fit sideways, the stamps are usually oriented 'vertically, but I've seen 'vertical' stamps on planes which had plenty of room for 'horizontal' orientation, and a few with thestamps any old which-way as if someone was just whacking them at random.

P'raps the best suggestion is that the new boy was put on stamping duties in his first week on the job & nobody bothered to show him which way the stamp should be placed?

Cheers,

Hi MA

Took a look at my Woodies, only one was marked upsidedown- a Matheison try plane. 3 or 4 had no marking I could find , few where sideway- one was creative arrowhead of names and rest Right? way round- about 3 to 4 planes.

Random seems to be the standard of the times.

Regards

I refurbished a razee jack a couple of years ago. I took pictures of the refurb steps.

J. Hussey jack plane - Google Photos

I don't know anything about the maker or when it was made. If I recall correctly, at the very least it does not choke when used. The blade needs a bit more camber to make it a more desirable to use.

Really nice! Did you use beech for the resole?

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Really nice! Did you use beech for the resole?

Yes, beech. I added about 1/4", enough to "close" the mouth. Unfortunately I chipped the mouth while cutting it.

On your plane, the handle has a European flavor, it looks a little crude too. I'd guess a Scottish-made plane would have followed a more English pattern, like my plane. I'd say your plane was user modified.