So there I was last night. Down in the shop putting the finishing touches on a piece of cherry that would become a part of the desk I’ve been making for my daughter Madison. The pieces are all cut and dimensioned so now I’m just using my smoothing planes to put that sheen on the face that only a sharp blade can achieve. I have nothing against sanding, but I promised myself a long time ago to keep on practicing when and where I can with the hand planes. I’ve come a long way since the days of trying to true up an bowed board with a block plane…I now own two working block planes and an assortment of smoothers, jacks, and a jointer.
So I have my favorite smoother, a brand new No.4 1/2 by Veritas. She’s be tuned up and ready to go on another project and just waiting to be brought down off the shelf. I mainly use her as a final smoother. Only light delicate wisps of shavings flow through her mouth and onto the bench. Just a few passes into the final board and I’m thinking I’m in the clear. The next step is assembly and glue up.
Maybe that was the problem, my mind was a few steps ahead of where I was. Because the next thing I knew, SMACK!!! The toe of the No. 4 1/2 plows in to the metal head of a clamp. I knew it was too close for comfort, but I was so near the last stroke that I didn’t heed the screaming voice in my head. I tried to shake it off. You know, “it happens all the time”, kind of talk. But what happened next…I still shutter about it as I’m writing this.
So I take that final pass…after I move the board a little ways up from the clamp head. There on the board was what I feared the most. A trail mark left by a dinged up toe. The collision had been so hard that a small dent forced an even smaller fragment of the edge down below the sole of the plane. And the result was a scar across the face of the board, of course it had to be the final pass.
I hit the roof, well the ceiling of the basement workshop, but you get the idea. How could I have been so stupid?? The scar on the board, came out with the help of my old No.4 smoother. But I felt like I let my No.4 1/2 down. She trusted me to take care of her and let her do her job all the way to the end, but instead I led her smack into an immovable object.
So tonight I spent a little time with a fine file, a little sweet talk and a lot more attention to the details. She’s back, as good as new and her scar? It’s still there, but now we both have something to talk about.
-- Straight grains & sharp blades
16 comments so far
David
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1822 posts in 626 days
posted 546 days ago
Matt – What a story. I was reading along almost hearing and smelling the whisps of cherry p[eeling out of the plane when disaster strikes. Hope you and the 4 1/2 are doing well!
-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com
WayneC
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5685 posts in 584 days
posted 546 days ago
Ouch! You might want to make a planing stop. Christopher Schwarz has on in his latest issue of Woodworking Magazine. It’s on page 4. It basically mounts in the vice on your bench and can be ajusted for different thicknesses of materials.
Also the approach in this link could be useful. I could see this mounted to a piece of 3/4 MDF instead of the bench.
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov
oscorner
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4573 posts in 798 days
posted 546 days ago
I too love the finish left by a hand plane compared to sanding. I’ve bumped my clamps when planing,but without damage to the sole.
WayneC, thanks for the link.
-- Jesus is Lord!
MsDebbieP
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11931 posts in 648 days
posted 546 days ago
a sad story with a happy ending. “She” has become even more dear to your heart.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Wooder
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163 posts in 673 days
posted 546 days ago
Matt, been there, done that…makes yer heart hurt, don’t it? Glad you recovered and got “her” back to square one.
Jimmy
-- Jimmy
Greg3G
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641 posts in 573 days
posted 546 days ago
I feel your pain. Sometimes, Life just makes you want to cry….you handled yourself well and probably learned a valuable lession. And now you have that distiquishing mark on your tool to remind you. Grandpa use to say, ” A tool without signs of use is not being used.”
-- Greg - Charles Town, WV
Thomas Porter
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113 posts in 618 days
posted 545 days ago
Like grains of sand… so are the days of our lives.
If Norm was a soap star, this would be his pilot episode.
-- Thomas Porter, Phoenix, AZ, www.thomasporter.com
MsDebbieP
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11931 posts in 648 days
posted 545 days ago
backpacks with the logo on them so when we are travelling, we’ll be spreadin the word. (haha I typed WOOD instead of word hahaha)
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
MsDebbieP
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11931 posts in 648 days
posted 545 days ago
and what about the good old fashioned wooden yardsticks /metrestick with the logo on it.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Drew1House
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421 posts in 575 days
posted 545 days ago
Ouch… just got my first lie-Nielsen plane and i can understand having personal feelings for your tools…
Drew
-- Drew, Pleasant Grove, Utah
scottb
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2945 posts in 814 days
posted 545 days ago
Hey, theres this podcasting guy who’s been talking about planes and how to tune them up… perhaps he can give you a hand with getting than one back from the DL ;)
Oh, and Happy Birthday Buddy!
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/
Matt
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107 posts in 903 days
posted 545 days ago
Thank you for all your kind words and the concern you have shown me and my dear No.4 1/2. The experience has brought the two of us closer than we have ever been. I now have more of an excuse than ever to check up on things down in the shop.
-- Straight grains & sharp blades
Texasgaloot
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348 posts in 187 days
posted 171 days ago
I’ve converted to the Galoot techniques of holdfasts for when the board needs hogging or dogs for the fine stuff (this is beginning to sound more like a barnyard…)
Of all my flock, or collection, or harem of handplanes, I have one (1) new plane, a Lie-Niesen No.-97 chisel plane that I skrimped and saved for until I could pay cash (I may have sold a car, I can’t remember.) What a beautiful piece of art… er, tool. You can now imagine how I felt when I looked down at it heading iron-first toward the concrete floor… Angels where there and guided this girl… er, tool, to land on one corner of the iron, taking a 2mm chip out of it. Okay, that’s easy to repair, a little grinding, a little sandpaper, and we’re scary sharp again. But she (definitely a she) has personality, and wouldn’t talk to me for a month after that. I don’t blame her. I’ve since signed up for a 12-step program that helps those who abuse their hand tools. “Hi, my name is Mack, and I dropped my LN-97.” (Gasping sound from audience followed by a tense silence…”
-- There's no tool like an old tool...
Matt
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107 posts in 903 days
posted 170 days ago
Mack I hate to say it, but you’re absolutely not alone in this horrible crime against good tools. At least once a month I find myself on the edge of a near catastrophe. You’d think by now I’d know better, but it just seems to happen.
I guess I need to spend a little time in that 12-step myself. Perhaps the next time you see me I’ll be standing at the podium saying “Hi my name is Matt and I’ve hurt another loved one again!”
Thanks for not judging me!!
-- Straight grains & sharp blades
mzmac
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47 posts in 154 days
posted 122 days ago
I feel much better about talking to my own tools now. I’m not alone
Matt
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107 posts in 903 days
posted 121 days ago
You’re never alone in a shop! I just can’t convince my wife of that fact when she asks who I’ve been talking too down there…
-- Straight grains & sharp blades