Needs Pictures: 0
Picture(s) thanks: 0
Results 16 to 24 of 24
Thread: Two “Restored” Planes
-
25th October 2020, 10:19 AM #16
Lance
The Mary Rose is a fascinating subject and has many facets. the skeletons were one of which I was not aware. I first was aware of the wreck when I saw the hand planes that I thought had been salvaged from the ship. In fact they were reproductions made to look old. I have mislaid the pix, but am still searching for them. The planes that were salvaged are basically only bits and pieces.
One little piece of trivia I picked up was that, like most ships of the period, it was built out of oak and 600 trees were used in the construction!
Regards
PaulBushmiller;
"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"
-
25th October 2020 10:19 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
- Join Date
- Always
- Location
- Advertising world
- Age
- 2010
- Posts
- Many
-
25th October 2020, 11:25 AM #17GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Oct 2018
- Location
- Dandenong Ranges
- Posts
- 1,893
Thanks Ian. I think my dream job would be to work on the types of homes I only really see in the USA, the incredibly ornate gingerbread homes. Being someone who is depedant on tools to earn an income (and more specifically what I can do with them) in a way also creates a vulnerability. Relying on something that I can't fix should it break (power tools) can be a little unsettling. But this rediscovery of handtools is empowering because I regain some control. Learning to sharpen handsaws was such a pivotal point. Hand tools rely far more on me to maintain them and that is a real comfort. And this is even more tangible when I am using hand tools that I have made.
Or maybe I just have control issues
-
25th October 2020, 01:53 PM #18
That's an interesting insight, MA. It's akin to the feelings I had back in the 70s as analytical procedures became more & more automated. You just pop a little dollop of blood or whatever into a huge black box replete with knobs & flashing lights, then stand back until it spits out reams of figures. You have only the vaguest notion of what's actually going on in there, and not a hope in hell of fixing it should it decide it doesn't want to play for you any more, which the temperamental early machines frequently did!
And yet, just like power tools, they rapidly got better, smarter & more reliable, and boy, do they save the techs a power of tube-shaking & all the other tedium of the old days. I'm very much in favour of machines for the boring, repetitive stuff that is part of almost every job, but like you, I feel like I'm back in control (well, sometimes!) with hand-tools and enjoy the quiet, contemplative approach. But most of all I like the creative freedom that hand tools give us - you are not held back by the limitations of rotary cutters when you know how to use a simple scratch stock or moulding planes that can build up complex profiles. I see so much supposedly "fine work" where a router or shaper and a limited choice of bits has produced a pretty ordinary, hackneyed thing that might have been a really nice piece of work if the person had ditched the tailed tools and used a scratch stock or some hand tool and made more appropriate profiles.
James Krenov used to wax lyrical about this sort of thing, & at first I didn't understand quite what he was on about. I think I do now......
Cheers,IW
-
25th October 2020, 02:19 PM #19GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Oct 2018
- Location
- Dandenong Ranges
- Posts
- 1,893
I think I should check out more of this Mr Krenov
-
25th October 2020, 05:33 PM #20
I'm a fan of Karl Holtey https://www.instagram.com/karlholtey/
Lots of machines there
-
25th October 2020, 06:11 PM #21
-
25th October 2020, 06:23 PM #22
True, he used machinery where he could, so did Tom Norris, tho' he didn't have the benefit of CNC so couldn't mechanise to quite the same extent as Holtey (which should've made Holteys comparatively cheaper ). But someone still has to bash those dovetails down!
I have conflicting responses to Holtey's work. I admire the sheer perfection of his workmanship, yet many of his planes look too much like the work of a machine (that is/was his primary training). Quite a few of his planes make me think "Karl, you are clearly not a big user of these things!". Many strike me as somewhat soul-less precious objects to be displayed in a glass case, not rattled about on a bench. Anyway, who could use a $12,000 plane on a daily basis? You'd be in perpetual fear of marking it & diminishing its value.
My hero is Konrad Sauer. His stuff is gorgeous and to my eye looks more hand-made, but by a consumate craftsman (yeah, I know he uses some machinery too, but a lot less than Holtey did). He has a knack of adding that something extra to old designs that stop me in my tracks. Yet despite their beauty & build perfection, they still say to me "pick me up & put me to work". I know he is/was a woodworker & does use his planes quite a bit, and I reckon it shows in his products. And yes, his prices are way beyond what I can afford, but only half Holtey's.....
Purely my opinions, others may take a completely opposite view, which is as it should be....
Cheers,IW
-
25th October 2020, 07:43 PM #23
Ian
It is difficult to argue with a time saving device, particularly when your competitors are using such tools and bashing out ten to your one. I had an ancient uncle who was a cabinet maker, which I believe was a level or two up on the basic chippy. He has been in the workshop in the sky for a long time now, but I remember him telling me that as a young apprentice he was given the task of making a door (I got the impression it was a framed, ledged and brace style or the front door equivalent). He told me it would take him a week to make it. I do know he built some of the cabinetry for the Houses of Parliament (Westminster).
Today you need to have the complete frame of a house up in a couple of days complete with trusses. Times have changed. We have the luxury of indulging in old style tools.
Regards
PaulBushmiller;
"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"
-
26th October 2020, 07:18 AM #24GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Oct 2018
- Location
- Dandenong Ranges
- Posts
- 1,893
Hi Ian. Just yesterday I saw a YouTube video on Konrad. He was demonstrating his K 13 plane. Thought it might be a bit inspirational for the plane challengers making infills. Nice plane too!!
Similar Threads
-
N.S.W. restored hand saw
By woodsurfer in forum WOODWORK - Tools & MachineryReplies: 2Last Post: 19th September 2020, 07:42 AM -
Hercus 260 - restored/new?
By sacc51 in forum THE HERCUS AREAReplies: 7Last Post: 28th April 2015, 04:37 PM -
Did anyone on ebay just sell 3 block planes..shortly to be restored if possible....
By TomH in forum HAND TOOLS - UNPOWEREDReplies: 3Last Post: 10th May 2008, 12:52 PM -
Restored Toy Box
By Phil Spencer in forum WOODWORK PICSReplies: 5Last Post: 14th July 2006, 02:15 PM