Plane advice

[WoodStoat]

I've been commissioned to make a double bed - the customer wants the corner posts made out of sawn railway sleepers which have had the splinters planed away but don't look as though they've been machined. The ones at the foot of the bed are 2', the ones at the head 4'.

Would a straightforward smoothing plane be adequate for this (the corners still need to be square, this isn't a 'drunk-peasant-with-an-adze' sort of finish), or ought I to invest in a jack plane? I'm a bit reluctant to spend the money as I usually use a thicknesser, but looking at the timbers, and then at the rinky-dinky smoothing plane, I think it might be a good idea. Not that I'd be buying an L-N or anything of that price.

 

[Colin C]

Hi WoodStoat,

I would say a smoothing plane would do it but some might say different
Plus you can pick up an old one for a go price on Ebay or Here

I hope it helps

 

[WoodStoat]

Thanks. I've already got block and smoothing planes so I think I'll just use the no 4 for the job. These older planes on Ebay would make great projects in themselves, so I think I ought to just stick to what I've got or I'll find myself collecting them for the sheer pleasure of it.

 

[DaveL]

I'll find myself collecting them for the sheer pleasure of it.

I can't imagine anyone doing that............. :^o :wink:

 

[Pete W]

Just a quick thought, but those posts are going to be about 56 linear feet of planing. Given the state of the average railway sleeper that's a hell of a lot of work with a smoother.

I think I'd start with a jack...

 

[bugbear]

I've been commissioned to make a double bed - the customer wants the corner posts made out of sawn railway sleepers

Err.

Tar and creosote issues?

BugBear

 

[Colin C]

BB

I think you can get them before they are treaded but I could be wrong

 

[woodbloke]

I think I'd tend to go for a 2" wooden jack first of all and then finish with a No4 smoother, on the other hand if its made from railway sleepers :shock: this is a job I might decline or try and persuade the client to have it made from something half decent. I was in my local builders shed some time ago and saw some new beech railway sleepers - Rob

 

[WoodStoat]

Unused, and freshly sawn, I should have said. I've cut them to length with the chainsaw and they're drying out a bit in the workshop. I am taken with the idea of getting a larger plane, but I do have a budget to consider, so things which will last me through a lifetime of hard use are out, I'm afraid. But by the same token I don't want rubbish.

Rutland do an 'Anant' no 6 for thirty quid, but given the astonishingly low price I assume that this is more Chinese junk, and after my recent unfortunate experience with Record Power I don't want to make that mistake again. The Veritas is £166 and that would be pushing it a bit. Any suggestions? Secondhand ones of those sizes seem a bit thin on the ground.

Are the Stanleys any cop, or would I be better biting the bullet and getting a Veritas?

 

[ike]

Could you not achieve the same effect more easily using a belt sander?

Ike

 

[Colin C]

WoodStoat

Have a good look through the links I posted and you will see some old #6's that go for peanuts as people seem to go for the #7-#8 more

You can get a good one for £20-£45 on a good day

 

[WoodStoat]

WoodStoat

Have a good look through the links I posted and you will see some old #6's that go for peanuts as people seem to go for the #7-#8 more

You can get a good one for £20-£45 on a good day

\/

Thanks Colin. And I did consider the belt sander but the bloke especially wanted it planed, with a few ("but not too many", he said) plane marks showing. Perhaps he collects tool marks.

 

[Mittlefehldt]

Perhaps a scrub plane would be the thing, or would the marks from that one be too much of a rustic look for your customer?

 

[Alf]

Hmm, how about a nice wooden jack? Plenty of them about and awfully cheap.

Cheers, Alf

Who's sold her first and last wooden bench plane - too much hassle for too little reward

 

[bugbear]

Who's sold her first and last wooden bench plane - too much hassle for too little reward

You mean you made a plane for sale, or just "moved on" a purchase?

BugBear

 

[George_N]

Perhaps he collects tool marks.

Tool marks on the bedpost :?: .....No, don't go there [-X .

 

[WoodStoat]

Does anyone have any strong opinions one way or the other about Sargent planes? Used to be made in the USA about 100 years ago.

Edit: VBM 414 I should have said

 

[Clinton1]

VBM (Very Best Made) was a marketing slogan used on Sargent planes between 1910 and 1918, thus dating your plane.

The only 'trouble' with the 400 range is that the blade and lever cap has to be removed to adjust the frog. Not really an issue though.

The VBM's have a thicker casting than the ones made previously, which I think is better. Thats only a preference, I've never noticed a difference.

I have a few 422's, a 424 and a 410 (the last two numbers referring to the length of the plane).
Nothing wrong with them, and they usually sell for less than a Record or Stanley, so thats good.

Sargent also made planes for other companies - Craftsman, Dunlap, Keen Kutter, Winchester and Zenith and others .... which may be worth a look as well as the price will be even lower. I don't know anything about these brands though.

If you buy a Sargent, make sure that it is complete as parts can be difficult to obtain (and usually expensive). Often its better to buy another plane and strip it for parts.


Have fun...

 

[WoodStoat]

This is the one I got in the end

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=200055208951&rd=1&rd=1

Thanks for the help everyone, I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[Clinton1]

Looks like a good one.
Other than doing some work in it to make it work, it looks like it will be a good looker as well.
Goodonya!