Thread: Two “Restored” Planes

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

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

.... 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.

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,

I think I should check out more of this Mr Krenov

Originally Posted by IanW

... There are still a few things (like dovetailed plane bodies ) that can only be done by hand...

I'm a fan of Karl Holtey https://www.instagram.com/karlholtey/

Lots of machines there

Originally Posted by woodPixel

I'm a fan of Karl Holtey https://www.instagram.com/karlholtey/

Lots of machines there

Whoa so nice. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by woodPixel

I'm a fan of Karl Holtey https://www.instagram.com/karlholtey/

Lots of machines there

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,

Originally Posted by IanW

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,

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
Paul

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!!