Let's Educate Matt on Hand Tools

I just got a set of Narex chisels from Highland Hardware. It’s a set of 6 for $49.

They were best value in Fine woodworking 2009 tool magazine. They look pretty good

Beats paying about 5-6 times the price for a set of Lie-Nielsen chisels.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I’d second Gary, I was going to get the same Narex set from Leevalley. I ended up getting a good deal on a set of German chisels on craigslist, – which is another good option to check once in a while (craigslist.org) but if you’re looking for a specific tool -today- your best bet is the online/local stores.

As far as “building a collection” I’m not a true believer of “collecting” stuff… just get the right tool for each current project you have in front of you to make things easier for you. the so called “collection” will grow as you and your projects do.

Dont forget to budget for sharpening materials (jigs/abrasives/etc) as this will make the difference between a tool you reach for, or a tool you lock away.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I picked up a set of Marples I think you can get them at Lowe’s. I tried to use them right off the shelf and thought I just got the cheep ones that’s why they dulled so quick and did not give good results (on the first project) not even thinking what made them cheep. As time went on I learned more about sharpening and practised on these chisels WOW what a difference! They cut like a razor and did better then when they were new (Lesson Learned) NOT yet. I found that the cheep one at Lowe’s verses the Hi dollar have a big difference in the type steel they use to make them. So my advice is get the cheapest ones you can at first. The only difference is you will have to sharpen them very often, which is a good thing because you will need the practice before you put a $30.00 chisel to a stone. Where you should not skimp is on stones which by the way are more expensive then some chisels Do some reading on sharpening at the same time. I have a jig I use with a roller and go down to 8000 grit stone starting with 1000 on the micro bevel.

-- Sell it here> http://woodworkerslist.com

Amazingly, I still just use my Stanley and Buck brand chisels. I sharpen them on my belt sander and then lap them on my strop board. They will peel the hair off of your arm.

My background is that of a remodeling contractor and I lean heavily toward the power tools because of it. But that does not mean I am against hand tools.

It may be the skills that need to be developed which is cheaper than buying tools. Although I love buying tools, and I love using them even more.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

If i had to pick something to make the switch from power to hand tools, it would be a card scraper and a fine cut bastard file to sharpen it with. I like the bacho scrapers because most places sell them, and they are fine steel.
some people get fancy with sharpening them, not necessary for them to work.
the speed at which they prep a surface instead of sanding, and the lack of airbourne dust, will make you wonder why you would ever sand again.
chisels are mostly personal preferance for the type of work you do. I have three sets, and they all do very specific jobs. starting out i would try to find a used set, and sharpen them. don’t spend too much money until you are certain hand tools are going to be a major part of your woodworking.
I always try to buy tools I would buy used , meaning if i outgrow them, someone else would want them.

whatever you decide i hope to see more of your projects in the future
best of luck

-- Junior -Quality is never an accident-it is the reward for the effort involved.

Hi Matt,

Like you, I have been using almost exclusively power tools for all of my woodworking projects. I only used hand tools as a last resort and with mixed results. I have recently restored a Stanley Bailey #5 I got from my father. I flattened the sole and really sharpened the blade properly for the first time in my life. WOW; what a difference. It will shave hair as well as take full length whisper shavings off of oak.

This success encouraged me to look for a couple of other planes. I have recently purchased a Stanley Bailey #4 and #7C. I have the #4 working as well as the #5 but haven’t tackled the tune up on the #7 yet. Not only do you get the joy of using the tool but the pleasure of taking a neglected tool and turning it into a gem.

I am still trying to get a reasonable deal on a good shoulder plane on eBay but they have been pretty pricey of late. Good luck with your venture.

I come from the other direction. I was trained to use hand tools by my father and grandfather (both finish carpenters). I transitioned to power tools to make things faster and eaasier, but not necessarily better. I have come back part way over the years.

If I was building a kit from scratch, I would have:

A good set of chisels and a way to keep them sharp. I use waterstones for almost 90% of my sharpening. I like Robert Sorbys and Crown for fine work and Stanleys for rough work and outdoor projects.
Some good hand saws. I like the Japanese razor saws and dowetail saws. A coping saw or fret saw comes in handy for hand cut dovetails.
A set of files and rifflers and scrapers.
A set of planes low angle block, block plane, shoulder plane a #4 and a #5 bench plane.
A few carving chisels and gouges come in handy for adding details to projects.

Learn to be the wood.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

I agree with the Narex reccomendation; my brother in law got them last year. I was lucky enough to get several of my grandfathers chisels, and I’ve picked up one or two off ebay as well, despite being leery of buying used tools without handling them.

-- Chris

I have a set of Marples they work fine for me.

-- WOOD/DON (...one has the right to ones opinion but not the right to ones own facts...)

Books:

Japanese Woodworking Tools, Toshio Odate….nice book about Japanese tools
Choosing and Using Hand Tools, by Andy Rae, all around, Hand Tools…..good book!
The Handplane Book, by Garrett Hack…..Collecting and using hand planes
Hand Tool Skills, The Best of Fine Woodworking (Magazine) Tauton press.

Web Sites:
leevalleytools.com…...ask for the catalog, good reference
www.lie-nielsen.com….Nice tools
www.japanwoodworker.com

As a reference of most esential tools…..Yeung Chan tools…

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

Bob, that link was stinking awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

I really like the shoemaker too!

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Ok, I’ve been using searches and filters on eBay to see all the various vintage, new, cheap, and expensive hand tools. You can learn a whole lot from simple ‘window shopping’ and reading the more thorough descriptions. Wow, what a world. We have talked quite a bit about chisels. Would you guys mind talking about planes and saws now?

I want to make some nice boxes for my twin 8 year old girls this summer. The thought of making them with hand tools sounds very appealing to me. If you had to recommend a first plane and saw for this purpose, I would really appreciate it. They can be new or used. However, I think used tools are a little risky for me, right now, since I can’t distinguish the good ones from the bad ones. That is, until I do a lot more reading!

If you guys give me enough leads, I’ll compile my education and discoveries all in one spot for all the new ‘Jocks’ to use.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

-- Matt - My Websites - http://www.bestinwood.com - Hand Tools :: http://www.workshopgarage.com - Small Shops

Matt,
Three Handplanes to start with,could be:
1.Block Plane. I like Adjustable mouth, Low Angles like Veritas, Lie Nielsen.
2.Smooth Plane, #3 or #4…..........Lie Nielsen, Veritas, Clifton, Ulmia.
This Used Stanley “Sweet Heart” is in great condition…
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320349751959
3.Jack Plane…......#5, same brand names above

Saws.
The big question here is: Japanese or Western Style Saws?????

Japanese.
There is a brand name I really like, its GYOKUCHO. A couple of Dosuki saws, rip and crosscut would be a good start.
www.leevalleytools has a nice selection as well.

Western Style Saws.

Lie Nielsen. for small work like boxes or dovetailing, consider a Dovetail Saw.
Adria

Wenzloff & Sons

Handtools might seem expensive at first glance, but they are an excellent investment, they retain the value incredibly.

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

I can suggest:

The Handplane Book by Garrett Hack
and
Hand Tool Essentials by PopWood

I’ll leave the brand names to others, and avoid the intergalactic pissing contest. <g>

The Hack book is the defacto handplane primer. The PopWood book is a recently published no-nonsense overview of hand tool usage.

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

Here is a good site that should help push you along the slippery slope of handplanes. Lots of good info and links to other sources including books.

-- Computer programmer by day, fine woodworker by night. Custom made joysticks for Console Systems and Personal Computers.

If going to hand tools, I would suggest the first book you buy to be “The Complete Guide to Sharpening” by Leonard Lee. Many tools you buy will need sharpening before you can use them. All will dull as you use them. None will work well if they are dull.

Its not just a read and put on the shelf book, as it covers many different tools, but will be a good go-to reference for years as you pick up different tools. It will guide you on the best way to determine how you sharpen a tool (a chisel for instance) based on its intended use, and how to alter the sharpening if you find the metal is not holding the edge as you thought it would. Or, in the case of a saw, will tell you how you can make it easier to start if you are a novice, or more aggressive if you are experienced.

I am not saying there aren’t other quality books on sharpening, but this is the best I have, and I give it a strong “thumbs-up” for both novice and experienced hand tool woodworkers.

Go

-- Go http://ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=730

Did this give you any ideas?
-Welcome to LumberJocks.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Yes! Yes it did. Thank you so much, LJ’s.

I’m thinking about buying a plane and a book just to dip my toes. If anyone could suggest a single, good, first plane for someone who is simply ‘curious’, that would be great. I see some things out on the net but really don’t know exactly what I’m looking at.

Gofor: You said, ‘going to hand tools’. I haven’t decided to switch over to hand tools. I’m simply interested in seeing what hand tools are all about. Like turning, I’m betting it would be a very ‘zen like’ experience that would allow me to work quietly, at times, and get lost in the process. I don’t plan on getting rid of any of my power tools because I love them. However, I don’t want to miss out on any fun or benefits associated with the art.

I’ve also given a lot of thought to perhaps trying to make a plane. I think there could be a lot of satisfaction there. This is a set of plans I found on Popular Mechanics that looks like an enjoyable and, maybe, rewarding project.

How To Build 3 Basic Hand Planes

I have some nice dense exotic wood that would be nice for the soles and I have a ton of cherry and walnut to use for the bodies. However, for a project l like this, I may seek out some thick exotic stuff on the ‘For Sale’ forum here on LJ. I could probably utilize my CNC router (aka 'The Duchess) to assist me with some of the precision work.

-- Matt - My Websites - http://www.bestinwood.com - Hand Tools :: http://www.workshopgarage.com - Small Shops

Look …. if you can’t put gas in it or plug it in … throw it away.

-- Odie, Confucius say, "He who laughs at one's self is BUTT of joke". http://woodstermangotwood.blogspot.com/ (my funny blog)

A handplane is not as simple as it seems. Its not something that somebody learn in one week. Edge Hand tools can be a lot of frustration and discouragement if we don’t take the time to underestand and learn from them.

if someone has never flown an aircraft, much less will have the skills to build one.
Im not saying this is rocket science, but neither is the “Crafty” project of Popular Mechanics

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

Did you notice the guys in the video learn to be the wood still had all there fingers?

-- Sell it here> http://woodworkerslist.com

Please do not think I assumed they were easy. I simply thought making a ‘crafty’ plane seemed like an interesting thing to let me experiment with hand planes as well as learn a little bit about what makes one good or bad, etc. I learn a lot when I build anything for the first time. I posted this topic to get some ‘direction’ regarding their use, maintenance, etc. For me, it has paid off in spades.

I’m a book worm so I pulled the trigger on the Garrett Hack book from Amazon and I look forward to its arrival. I’m also watching the live Ebay feeds for hand planes and bench chisels. If you don’t use them, you should. Email me and I’ll help get you started. I’ll probably start a few blog posts to document the progress of my ‘education.

Thanks guys!
Matt

-- Matt - My Websites - http://www.bestinwood.com - Hand Tools :: http://www.workshopgarage.com - Small Shops

My comment sounded a liitle humdrum, sorry about that.
Definetely, Building a Handplane will help to underestand the mechanics. Ron Hock from Hock tools sell Irons and kits for wooden planes.
Keith Cruickshank in his blog WoodTreks, has interesting videos about Handplanes, will help you tons.
I collect, buy and sell planes at ebay and can give any advise as well.

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

No sweat. I’ve learned a lot from this thread. I’m glad I posted it. I didn’t feel it was humdrum. I just didn’t want the LJ’s to think I was taking the subject for granted. i.e. I’ll just build some and start doing amazing things or become an overnight expert. Man, those Wenzloff saws are gorgeous. I woudn’t mind taking a crack at CNC’ing some handles like that. Hey, there’s an idea!

Thanks Moai!

-- Matt - My Websites - http://www.bestinwood.com - Hand Tools :: http://www.workshopgarage.com - Small Shops

Off-topic: Moai, do you mind PM’ing me with your ebay user name. I wouldn’t have a problem giving you a link and driving you a little more traffic. Heck, I might end up purchasing from you. haha

-- Matt - My Websites - http://www.bestinwood.com - Hand Tools :: http://www.workshopgarage.com - Small Shops

Thanks for everything guys. You rock!

-- Matt - My Websites - http://www.bestinwood.com - Hand Tools :: http://www.workshopgarage.com - Small Shops

This might be of interest to you in your hand tool quest… http://lumberjocks.com/Blake/blog/7693

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com

Thanks a ton. This is fascinating stuff. I’ve been reading up on the Stanley company, different manufacturers, sharpening, etc.

Blake, what kind of chisels are those and where would someone purchase those? Not saying that I’m going to. ha

Thanks guys. I should ‘buddy’ all of you. hahaha

-- Matt - My Websites - http://www.bestinwood.com - Hand Tools :: http://www.workshopgarage.com - Small Shops

Well guys, the plane arrived in 3 days. I was pleasantly suprised. I’m keeping the seller in my favorites. I really like it when folks on Ebay take pride in the customer service part of the transaction.

I’ve created a blog post with links to a bunch of pictures in my Flickr Sets if you want to take a better look.
Here is the post.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with it. As soon as my books arrive and I get the shop put back together, I can give her a test run.

Thanks for everything!

-- Matt - My Websites - http://www.bestinwood.com - Hand Tools :: http://www.workshopgarage.com - Small Shops