Here's a wish list

[Waka]

Having spent the last few hours going through the advice and reading about the various items (should really be working), this is the list I have come up with.

Please pull it to pieces:

Clifton scrapers
Veritas variable burnisher
Veritas scraper holder (anyone used one of these and are they worth it?)

Boggs spokeshave flat
Boggs spokeshave curved

LN Carcass Saw
LN Dovetail Saw

Cliffton Smoother #4
Cliffton Jointer #7

LN Low angle block plane
LN 1/2 shoulder plane.

Need some advise on the diamond / whetstones, what grit etc.

Also should I fork out for spare blades for the planes?

careful consideration has gone into this list and beleive it or not I think 90% will get used on my nest project thats in the pipeline, so they won't stay idle on the shelf.

deffinately won't but the planes until Philly lets me loose on his.

Please keep the advise coming.

Waka

 

[Alf]

Please pull it to pieces:

To hear is to obey... :wink:

Clifton scrapers As good as any other I s'pose. No particular reason to pay the premium for them though. My absolute favourite scraper is a no-name 3" jobbie that came free on the cover of a mag years ago.
Veritas variable burnisher Users report it works well, but learn to do it freehand too, otherwise when you start using curved scrapers you'll be in a pickle.
Veritas scraper holder (anyone used one of these and are they worth it?) Can't comment, never used one. I think I'd be making one out of wood before I stumped up the £24 for it to be honest.

Boggs spokeshave flat Seems an awful lot of money for a first spokeshave to me, but I'm sure it's very lovely. (Hmm, possibly sour grapes creeping in there... )
Boggs spokeshave curved Curved soled shaves are a bit of a 'mare to learn the knack of using I reckon, so I'd be inclined to hold off on that until you're comfortable with the flat, unless you know you've got inside curves to deal with of course.

LN Carcass Saw Hmm
LN Dovetail Saw Tsk, tsk. (Well Eddie, I tried.)

Clifton Smoother #4 Nope. Get the bigger 4 1/2, makes a world of difference. (Can't remember - have you got one of each for him to try, Philly? Just the excuse if you haven't... :wink: )
Clifton Jointer #7 Yippadee do dah

LN Low angle block plane Surprise :wink:
LN 1/2 shoulder plane. Hmm... A little bit narrow to be your only "blade right to the sides" plane IMO. Pretty though. Now if only there'd been a Veritas one at Yandles things might have been so different... :roll:

Need some advise on the diamond / whetstones, what grit etc.
I find a coarse/fine DMT stone, a fine natural oilstone and a tin of neatsfoot oil to be an elegant sufficiency. However oilstones are currently out of fashion, so I imagine I'll be in a minority.

Also should I fork out for spare blades for the planes?
Not until you feel the need for one, or know there's difficult grain in your next project that might benefit from a high angle.

It's a pretty good list, and all quality goodies. As is you'd be a happy chappy; I'm just being picky.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Anonymous]

missing a jack plane? Or already got one?

No chisels? Don't need any?

 

[Philly]

Alf,
Yes I like to keep a wide range of hand planes in my shop especially for times like these- #4 and #41/2 to try for Waka! (amongst others......)
Here's a question- L-N saws vs Adria. Now, I have the L-N dovetail saw. A beauty no doubt. But I had a look at the Adria stuff recently (in the interests of science, of course :lol: ). Now, these saws are identical (maple handles on the L-N, Bubinga on the Adria aside). Same with the tenon and carcase saws. Whats going on? They are identical.
Answers on a postcard please........
Philly

 

[Chris Knight]

Don't bother with the Veritas scraper holder or the variable burnisher (unless you mean the elliptical/triamgular cross-sectioned rod one.)

It does not take long to learn to use a scraper properly and the artificial aids will only hold back the day when you realise what a powerful tool a scraper is.

I second Alf on the DMT stones - by far the best. I keep a very fine 8000 grit slipstone (of the waterstone variety) on the bench when I am paring delicate work with chisels (where is your chisel list?) just to touch up the edge as soon as it loses its ultimate keenness

 

[Alf]

Sounds like you've got all the possibilities covered, Philly.

Here's a question- L-N saws vs Adria. Now, I have the L-N dovetail saw. A beauty no doubt. But I had a look at the Adria stuff recently (in the interests of science, of course :lol: ). Now, these saws are identical (maple handles on the L-N, Bubinga on the Adria aside). Same with the tenon and carcase saws. Whats going on? They are identical.
Answers on a postcard please........

Well it's interesting that both saws have their roots in the Old Tools List. I haven't searched to check, but I believe the L-N saw (originally made by the Independence Toolworks -hence the name- run by Pete Taran) came first, and it may be that Eddie Sirotich started making his after IT had sold out to L-N, but I'm really not sure. But anyway, as they were both based on the perceived "best model" as regarded by galoots, and on historical precedence, it's not surprising they're so similar.

But let's see, just how similar are they? We'll use the dovetail saws; Adria first then L-N:

Blade size: 8"x2" v. 9"x1 5/8"
Kerf size: 0.025" v. 0.026"
Blade thickness: 0.020" for both
Blade hardness: RC52 for both
Teeth: 15Tpi rip v. 15Ppi rip
Handle: Bubinga v. Curly maple or rosewood
Best price UK: £94 v. £93.41 (for maple)

Not a lot of difference, but it's there. You pays your money... Adria don't do a carcass saw though, but then hands up who's felt the sudden need to cry out "good grief, a carcass saw is the only tool that'll fit this task!"? :wink:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Chris Knight]

Adria don't do a carcass saw though, but then hands up who's felt the sudden need to cry out "good grief, a carcass saw is the only tool that'll fit this task!"? :wink:

Cheers, Alf

Messrs Burke and Hare almost certainly!

 

[Waka]

Decisions Decisions

Let me answer the easy ones first, yes i have chisels, very nice set from LV, Bob will be pleased because I've more LV tools than anything else.

Alf, I get you point on the shoulder plane and have further looked at the larger LN.

I have taken a look at the LV LABP, looks very nice, I notice Brimarc are changing extra for the little knobs. Do like the side grips, maybe get more control with that one. See if Philly can pursuade me to stay with the LN after our demonstration.

can't seem to find the Clifton 4 1/2 smoother at Axminster (who I usually deal with), looked in a few other places but can't find one.
Question with its lone base could the Clifton #5 Jack plane substitue?

Good advise on the scraper holder, should follow your lead and make one.

What a busy day I'm having.

Waka

 

[Alf]

ROTFL, Chris! :lol:

Waka, point your browser to Classic Hand Tools for the #4 1/2; Mike Hancock got them before anyone else. Might also be worth mentioning, as you're basing your info on Axminster, that Tilgear have better prices on the L-N planes and also stock the L-N tenon saws.

Funnily enough a recent post to The Porch sums up very nicely my feelings about substituting a jack for something else. The whole text is here but the extract I'm referring to is:

As noted above, a jack is not a jointer. Neither is it a smoother. This is not just the SGFH talking here - you really need different planes for different jobs. When I started, I had a modern (blue) Stanley jack plane that I did everything with. It didn't take me long to realize that no matter how I adjusted it to make it do all the jobs, it was never going to be very good at being anything other than a jack plane. It was way too short for jointing, and couldn't really be tuned enough to make a decent smoother (and it was a bit long for that as well). You can get by with it for a while, but when people talk about the glass smooth surfaces that they are achieving with their planes, it's not a jack plane they are talking about.

It'd do as a stop gap, but you can't beat an out and out smoother for smoothing. And as this is a wish list I say "pish tush" to stop gaps. :wink: Not, of course, to disuade you from a jack plane as well, and I wonder if Axminster still have the reduced price on the Clifton #5...? (I love the smell of greased slopes in the morning. Or afternoon. The evening's good too. Not so bad at night come to think of it.)

Cheers, Alf

 

[Chris Knight]

Tilgear have better prices on the L-N planes and also stock the L-N tenon saws.Cheers, Alf

The 14 inch model is the Magnum 44 of backsaws. On paper it's not a heck of a lot larger than the next one down but it feels like a completely different beast. I tend to get out my tablesaw when I need this kind of firepower

 

[Midnight]

re veritas scraper holder.....

it's a nice piece of kit.... well worth it if you're into preventin charcoal fingertips and severely knackered thumbs.... lets you focus on the job.... rather than the pain you're inflicting on yourself..