Exciting News! The Melbourne Tool Company has landed

[Wood Workers Workshop]

We are excited to announce the long-awaited arrival of the Melbourne Tool Company in the UK. Hand tools designed and developed in Australia for woodworkers who appreciate the simplicity of bevel-up planes.

Their Low Angle Planes, hailed for simplicity and functionality, efficiently plane all wood types without faffing around with chip breakers and frogs.
The range also includes spokeshaves, cabinet scraper and router planes.

12 degree bed
The blades are set bevel-up in the milled plane bed at 12 degrees providing you with a very low angle of attack.

M2 High Speed Steel blades
M2 HSS blades have high abrasion resistance which means it will hold a sharp edge much longer than many other steels.

Easy blade adjustment
Easy to adjust, precise depth and lateral blade adjuster. Twist the knurled knob to set the depth of cut.

Adjustable Mouth
The plane mouth is fully adjustable. Twist the front handle knob to release the toe.
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Introductory offer​

Get 10% OFF using the code MTC10 at the checkout
Ends Midnight 23rd May
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Melbourne Tool Company Low Angle Block Plane​ NOW £89.95​ Normally £99.95​ Buy Now​	Melbourne Tool Company LowAngle Smoothing Plane​ NOW £170.05​ Normally £188.95​ Buy Now​	Melbourne Tool Company Low Angle Jack Plane​ NOW £179.96​ Normally £199.96​ Buy Now​
Melbourne Tool Company LowAngle Jointing Plane​ NOW £224.95​ Normally £249.95​ Buy Now​	Melbourne Tool Company Flat Sole Spokeshave​ NOW £77.36​ Normally £85.96​ Buy Now​	Melbourne Tool Company Round Sole Spokeshave​ NOW £77.36​ Normally £85.96​ Buy Now​
Melbourne Tool Company Cabinet Scraper​ NOW £53.06​ Normally £58.96​ Buy Now​	Melbourne Tool Company Small Router Plane​ NOW £67.45​ Normally £74.95​ Buy Now​	Melbourne Tool Company Large Router Plane​ NOW £152.96​ Normally £169.96​ Buy Now​

Preparing your Melbourne Tool Company Plane by Vic Tesolin

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[RobNichols]

Interesting. Nice to see a variety of blades available for the router planes.

I'll have to scratch my low angle plane itch one day but I'm resisting for now

 

[Sachakins]

Interesting. Nice to see a variety of blades available for the router planes.

I'll have to scratch my low angle plane itch one day but I'm resisting for now

"Resistance is Futile"

 

[pgrbff]

A friend brought me back the small router plane and spokeshave but I haven't used them yet.

 

[deema]

Look great, are they physically made in Australia?

 

[BucksDad]

Look great, are they physically made in Australia?

Their website says designed in Australia, manufactured in Asia

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Start by smoothing/relieving edges (the vid.) - possibly not the best advert.

 

[Peter Sefton]

Interesting. Nice to see a variety of blades available for the router planes.

I'll have to scratch my low angle plane itch one day but I'm resisting for now

I will be demonstrating them at our Tool Show on 8th June, come and take a look.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Peter Sefton]

Start by smoothing/relieving edges (the vid.) - possibly not the best advert.

Not something I usually do but each maker sets up their own kit to their own liking, but as planes get used and edges get nicked on the bench it's something that usually ends up needing doing at some point.

Cheers

Peter

 

[RobNichols]

I will be demonstrating them at our Tool Show on 8th June, come and take a look.

Cheers

Peter

I was planning to come along to the open day so that's another reason to attend.

 

[Peter Sefton]

Great, Clifton and Veritas will be here as well for comparison.

Cheers

Peter

 

[RobNichols]

It has happened - the itch has been scratched and I bought Melbourne low angle smoother at the Wood Workers Workshop open day.

I've only had a shortish play with it. It's easy to set up. I was a little concerned that there wasn't much capacity in the adjustment screw. I seemed to be almost fully out and the blade was only just at the mouth. However, on closer inspection I saw the adjustment screw has a double screw and that I could move the main lug up the smaller screw and thereby get a lot more capacity. Once I worked that out everything went swimmingly.

After sharpening the blade I used the plane on an oak offcut which had an awkward grain pattern. It cut really nicely. Nice continuous and consistent shavings.

I bought both the additional blades. So I tried the the 50Deg blade next. That felt really strange to sharpen. The high angle was so much different to the usual angle I sharpen my blades to. Too be honest, it felt a little awkward, but was easy enough. Using the 50deg blade was hard with more resistance from the wood. I've read that blades at the resultant angle act more like a scraper, and it felt like that. The shavings were concertinaed, and I struggled a little. This was my first try at using a blade at such a high angle. I'm looking forward to working out how best to use this blade - and identifying the circumstances where this blade will come into its own.

I then tried the 38deg blade. That cut fine - not quite as nice shavings as I'd got with the default 25deg blade, but still good. Again, I am looking forward to experimenting with this blade on different woods and grain patterns.

What I really like about the plane is how easy it is to adjust. The main blade height adjuster is close to the back hand, but so also is the cap iron screw, making it very easy to back of fthe cap iron screw to make adjustment easier and then cinch it up to hold the blade tighter in the chosen position. I also like the visibility you get of the month as you are using the plane. It makes adjusting the mouth width really simple.

So I'm really pleased with my purchase.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

All hand planes, whether BU or BD need a cambered blade. The amount of camber depends on the type of plane.

I had the great pleasure to have road tested all the BU planes for Veritas since they began producing them. Cambering a high angle BU plane blade was condered to be a daunting task since a 50 degree bevel has a lot of steel to waste away. In 2008 I published a method which makes the process painless, and about as much work as a BD blade. Strangely, the message gets lost, and so I will repeat the formula again.

ONLY use blades with a 25 degree bevel. Add a 50 degree microbevel with a honing guide. Add in the camber at the same time. All this required little effort as there is so much less steel to remove from a 25 degree bevel compared with a 50 degree bevel.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[RobNichols]

I'm only on the start of a bevel up journey (excepting my block plane which I've had about a year). But my experience of bevel down has led me away from secondary bevels.

I like to hone by hand. I like how quick it is and how quickly I can return to work. I find it encourages me to sharpen often.

With hand honing I think it is hard to maintain the secondary bevel. There's no reference. The result for me being that after a few honings I end up with a convex bevel.

So I have found hollow grind works best for me. I like that it gives me an easy to feel reference and via hand honing I seem to maintain a consistent edge for longer.

I've also learnt that, as in most tasks in woodwork, there are different ways of doing things, and part of the fun has been finding the ones that work for me.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Rob, I hollow grind all my blades, BU and BD. BD plane blades get ground at 30 degrees, and I hone freehand on the hollow. However, unlike a BD plane, the bevel angle on a BU plane needs to be specific - a little here or there .. when tearout control is important ... makes all the difference in the world. Therefore I take the time and make the effort to add a secondary micro bevel with a honing guide.

If you are serious about using BU bench planes, you will need to camber them to avoid tracks in your work. Good luck doing this with a single, 50 degree bevel.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[RobNichols]

Thanks Derek.