I succumbed ...

**Afro Boy** · 17th October 2010, 07:23 PM

I'm joining the crew here now! I had it in my mind to buy a hand plane at the wood show this weekend. I came home with three!

The only hand plane I'd ever used was a crappy Bailey plane from the Big-B. I could get it working okay but it always felt like too much work. So before the show I did a heap of research and decided I was going to get the Lie-Nielsen Low Angle Smoothing Plane.

I tried it out at the stand and absolutely loved it. It's so terribly easy to use and exactly what I was after.

On my way out I thought I'd drop by the HNT Gordon stand. I ended up chatting with Terry for a good 45 minutes going through smoothers, try planes, shoulder planes, spokeshaves and other goodies. I tested a couple of them and ZOMG they are truly beautiful to use.

To be honest, I was always reluctant to get wooden planes. One because of the wear on the sole and two because it didn't have any cool screwy contraption to make adjustments with.

Terry showed me his own smoother which is 16 years old (I think) and has barely no wear on the sole at all. He then taught me how to adjust the blade using a small mallet and I was shocked at how easy and refined it can be.

At the end of this, I came home with another smoother and a try plane.

So ... what do I do with two smoothers now? Is there a real reason to have the two? Can I set one up to do a slightly different job or something?

Attachment 150519

Cheers,
Af.

**elanjacobs** · 17th October 2010, 08:23 PM

Nice buys, wish I had the disposable income to do the same

I would think that the HNT smoother may be better for really nasty grain due to the high bed angle

**ian** · 17th October 2010, 10:09 PM

Originally Posted by Afro Boy

So ... what do I do with two smoothers now? Is there a real reason to have the two? Can I set one up to do a slightly different job or something?

AF
two smoothers is only the start
typically you want to use the plane that is the easiest to push while not causing tear out.
so set the LN to the "normal" 45° cutting angle -- with the 12° bed angle that means a 33° micro bevel on a 30° primary bevel (say)
from memory the cutting angle on Terry's smootehr is set at 60°

so you'll be good to go
what I've found is when planing table legs, two of the leg faces coule be planed using a "normal" 45° plane, the other two needed a higher 55° angle.

in time you'll find yourself chasing longer and shorter smoothers !!

**IanW** · 18th October 2010, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by ian

AF
two smoothers is only the start.........
........ in time you'll find yourself chasing longer and shorter smoothers !!

Yeah - what t'other Ian says is true, or at least typical of the journey we all take. At one stage I was in danger of filling my entire tool cupboard with planes, but about 10 or 12 years ago, decided to do a bit of serious & sensible culling. I still have 7 or 8 bench planes, which all get regular use. These include 3 smoothers, two Bailey styles, one set a bit wider for 'coarser' smoothing, & the other (a Clifton) set up with a very fine mouth for ultra-fine finishing; and a home-made 60 degree for gnarly woods the others can't handle.

It's good that you have discovered so early in your handplane career that you don't need a lot of shiny brass bits & knurled wheels to make a plane work! Took me many years to discover that 'secret' - I was convinced that more brass & more knobs meant a better tool.

I doubt you will ever truly regret your decision to join the sweaty club of hand tool junkies, though you may wonder at times.....

**Afro Boy** · 18th October 2010, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by ian

two smoothers is only the start

Sounds like the beginning of another expensive addiction!

Thanks for the tips too. As I start to use them in ernest I'll take on adjusting the blade angle as suggested.

I had a good play around with the planes last night and soon noticed I will need to build a better bench. It's always been on the cards but now I have a good excuse.

"LOML, thanks for letting me buy these beautiful planes. Now to ensure I get the most of the investment, I need to spend some more money to build myself a better bench." - How successful has this been for others?

Cheers,
Af.

**kman-oz** · 18th October 2010, 11:57 AM

Welcome to the darksiders mad house!

Originally Posted by Afro Boy

"LOML, thanks for letting me buy these beautiful planes. Now to ensure I get the most of the investment, I need to spend some more money to build myself a better bench." - How successful has this been for others?

Ah, 2 1/2 years later I'm still working on it in secret, using recycled/free materials. That answer your question?

**Poppa** · 18th October 2010, 12:02 PM

You can never have too many planes. This is a simple fact of woodworking which is never understood by SWMBOs but no less true...

**groeneaj** · 23rd October 2010, 10:56 PM

Nice planes

Are the HNT planes only suitable for tricky grain? Or can you buy HNT irons that is suitable for other tasks?

Andy

**Phil Spencer** · 24th October 2010, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by Afro Boy

So ... what do I do with two smoothers now? Is there a real reason to have the two? Can I set one up to do a slightly different job or something?

Af.

Congratulations, you only have 44 more to go, to get to catch up to me.

**elanjacobs** · 24th October 2010, 05:53 PM

Right, with all due respect, no-one likes a smart-ass

But can we see some pics of them all lined up..pretty please

**Phil Spencer** · 24th October 2010, 07:23 PM

Think this is most of them, Would it be impolite to say my wife buys most of them for me.

**kevjed** · 25th October 2010, 11:32 AM

Planes, chisels, marking knives, squares, bevels, marking gauges, cutting gauges, awls dovetail guides and saws of all shapes and sizes.
The list goes on...and on...and on
you don't need them but by golley I want then and I some times have a hard time stopping myself.
welcome to the club
all the best
Kevin

**Beetle Shirt** · 25th October 2010, 04:17 PM

Originally Posted by Phil Spencer

Think this is most of them, Would it be impolite to say my wife buys most of them for me.

Absolutely! Not only impolite, but very unkind.

Judging by the second last pic though, you're far too big for me to hold it against you.

Or is that not a #3 that's being engulfed by your hand?

Seriously, that's a very nice collection. You must be far gone in your addiction, so you have my sympathy. Hmm. Seems the seriousness didn't last long. Oh well, what can you do?

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