I was in the woodworking industry for 38 years when I stumbled across Rob Cosman. I took his class at the Ventura California Woodcraft and I thought I knew how to do hand tool woodworking. The lessons I learned from Rob changed me forever!!! Thank you Rob!!!
I’ve been a weekend woodworker for a long time with a very small shop in the back yard. I’m 60 and this Friday I will be receiving the woodriver 5 1/2 thanks to all you videos I feel I have made a great choice. Very excited. Thanks again for all you do.
Rob, thanks for an interesting video. I've been a professional woodworker for 55 years. Originally trained to use a Stanley #5 for everything. I started making wooden planes 23 years ago out of scraps just for the fun of it. I now use a mix of metal and wooden planes, taking advantage of the best characteristics of each. For hogging off a lot of material to flatten a large, wide board I reach for my 16" wooden razee style fore plane made using the Krenov method. Even though it's lighter than an equally sized Bailey 5 1/2 it glides through the cuts and is less fatiguing to use. My preferred jointer is a Lie-Nielsen #7. My smoothers are now mostly wooden planes, but I recently bought a Woodriver # 4 1/2 to smooth large panels. It does a beautiful job. Adjusting my wooden planes with a small light hammer is quick and easy and takes no more time than adjusting a Bailey metal plane, but I've been doing it for 20 years and it's become intuitive. I still use my old Stanley #5 as my go to utility plane out of familiarity. I upgraded it with a Hock iron and chipbreaker over twenty years ago. If I could only have one plane that Stanley #5 is the one I'd keep. It all comes down to personal preference and what gets the job done with the least amount of fuss.
Great Comment. An old wooden jack plane with a curved blade is a great fore plane to hog off material if you prefer using a plane to sawing off the material
Having used wooden planes, Stanley and others of that style, finally getting a 5-1/2 WoodRiver, I totally agree with you. I've made a couple of rebate planes, purchased a small 7-1/2-ish Japanese plane, (which works very well), the WoodRiver is my favorite. Setting them up is a challenge, though as you said, gets easier and faster the more often you do it. I did cringe a bit when you smacked your wooden plane as hard as you did, I figured the blade probably dang near removed itself from the bed. As usual, good info.
I've played with those wooden planes and still have to say that I prefer the 5 1/2. Thanks again for sharing the knowledge and thanks to Frick for the youtube handling! (Or Jake if it's you)
I grew up primarily using wooden planes, the continental European kind with the horn-shaped handle at the front of them. And just like you said in the video, when you use wooden planes regularly, you know just how hard you have to tap the iron or the plane body to advance and retract the blade for the type of shaving you want. I still have and love to use all my wooden planes, even my big wooden jointers, but I 100% agree with the convenience of metal planes. I bought a #5 1/2 from your website a few years back because I wanted to see what it's like using metal planes and I don't regret it. It was soon followed by a #7 and a vintage Record #4 1/2 and I find myself reaching for them for 90% of my planing work. I still keep my wooden smoothing plane as well as my wooden scrub plane close to/on the bench but I leave them set up for a wispy thin and a super aggressive shaving and never change them until it's time to sharpen. But really, I more or less keep using them in memory of my late father who left them to me and showed me how to use them as a kid. Other than that, it's the convenience of metal planes for me.
It's always a joy to watch (and listen to) your most instructive videos. You are an inspiration to a myriad of woodworkers; I see your name come up often in plenty of woodworking sites and groups. You are actually one of the very few who has had the privilege of a proper grounding and genuine training. Therefore you belong to the real cabinet making school, and can be considered- prematurely- as one of the future "old boys" (I say that affectionately). There are a hell of a lot of amateurs out there, posting stuff as if they really knew what they were talking about. I watched one of your comparison videos, where in fact you compared two no. 5 1/2's: the Lie Nielsen and this one you use here: the Wood River, which did not get 1st prize. Is that still your view? I live in France- an expensive and isolated place to live in- and I decided to call the Lie Nielsen firm directly, because I entertained the idea of acquiring the superlative no. 5 1/2. Every other European country was out of stock. They would sell direct to a private customer (one Dollar less than 500$ US), but I would have to pay half again in Customs Tax- the highest on the planet. So no go. When I looked up the Wood River model it looked like it wasn't available any more. You claim that you sell them, but i didn't find any link to a tool catalogue under the video. Could you kindly point me to your site? Do you ship to Europe? Once again, thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. I really appreciate fine souls like yourself, who enrich the woodworking world with their extensive knowledge. By the way, I'm a woodworker myself (41 years of cabinet work and a very intense experience in Antique furniture restoration (17th, 18th, 19th and some 20th century)). I also have a fondness for wooden planes, but agree with you on the practicality of the metal plane (that's why they were invented, right?) Greetings from France. Ralph
I have a wooden plane that I made specifically for my shooting board. To get some heft in it I bored one inch holes through the center section and glued in steel plugs during the glue up. Comes in at just over seven pounds. Works great on the shooting board. Otherwise I use my metal body planes that are around 100 years old. Once I learned your method of sharpening they became a joy to use.
I recently made a Krenov style plane for dealing with cranky Australian timbers. It had a high bed angle of 55 degrees, and thick HNT Gordon smoothing plane iron with no chipbreaker. The body was made from Messmate (a straight grain Eucalypt) and the sole made from Mulga (one of the hardest wood). It is amazing on cranky grains like a figured Queensland Maple. As an everyday smoother, the lack of a chipbreaker and the chunky cross pin make it unsuited, and it is finicky to set the iron as you report. Fun project to make, but it is not the all-purpose everyday plane.
Thank you for the educating video. I am following your lessons for already several years, pretty much all my woodworking skills I learned from them. Even though I tried not to miss any, I haven't seen you talking about a scraper plane. Recently I got one (Veritas) as a present, but havent' found a good application for it. Will it be possible for you to discssus this type of planes, the use, the pluses and minuses? Hope to see your review. Sergey
As a shipwright in my formative years, I used wooden planes a lot. Fact is, they and their metal counterparts were used for different tasks. The wooden jack was peerless for plank making. As was the coffin hand plane for dressing the hull. Steel planes were mostly for fitting out joinery.
I have a British wooden plane. I never have used it, but it cost £1 from a junk shop. I wondered how you could ever set it up! No doubt once you get the hang of it, it might become second nature, but no doubt for most of us, it would be finicky! I have a nice made in Britain really old Stanley, about eight inches long [do not know the model], which even an amateur like me can use, and keep working nicely! Really only used for adjusting sticky doors, but that is okay. Love your videos. Always an education! Best wishes from George
Nice video. If one is going to discuss weight, shouldn’t Rob’s wood plane be compared to a something like a Woodriver #4.5 plane? That one is 10.375” long with 2.375” wide blade.
Hi Rob, first of all the most important thing, prayers go your way for Beau....... I didn't know how to contact you with this, I have just excitedly received 9 wooden mould planes and have bought 4 more that arrive over the weekend, would it be possible to do a fortnightly 2 hour spot on using and sharpening the various types of plane moulds. Best wishes Ron Bingham
I can only speak for myself here. Having partially torn tendons in both shoulder area's. Using Japanese pull saws and hand planes, makes woodworking much easier. Less strain on my shoulders.
@ I do enjoy some of the Japanese pull saws though I haven’t tried that style of hand plane. I will say after trying a premium conventional dovetail saw I will be ordering one of Rob’s it made cutting dovetails much easier.
@ChristiannTyler I don't remember the gentleman's name but I believe he teaches the proper method on using Japanese hand saws. It is the two hand method and, it does take a lot of practice to get them down. Just remember, use what works best for you. Cheers
Having such a small length of the sole behind the blade compared to the front is probably one more reason. I've not tried those but having a big reference surface on the front makes more sense in terms of flattening something with it. Them being so blocky and unergonomic would probably make it really uncomfortable to push. It's always easier to pull than to push something though, so it makes sense
I've made two wood bodied planes, one that can be adjusted like a metal plane and one traditional style. Like Rob said, for certain applications a wood plane is nice. Being able to make a plane is useful just in case you should ever need to build a civilization from scratch. Don't forget how to Smelt your own Iron and learn how to forge as well...
Well, I am about 2 years into learning how to use hand planes. It has been a journey. I have both metal and wood planes. Most of my wood planes are pull type, but I do have some that need to be restored that are push planes. While the mouth on a wood plane is not very adjustable, adjusting the iron is pretty simple. However, if I lay off of them for a while, it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. Just picked up a Chinse style plane from Heartwood tools which can be used as a scraping plane or a smoothing plane. The slip through handle is removable for push or pulling. I do use an upholster's tack hammer for adjusting the blade. A hammer that is too heavy does tend to drive the blade too deep on one tap. I will make some wood ones eventually, but I think I prefer the more traditional rather than the thicker ones. All of the antique planes I have have lots of cracks and checks in them. I figure it is because they are so thick the wood never reaches equilibrium and that is why the cracks happen. Pretty sure I can make a push plane out of 6/4 stock. Always experimenting....
If you think this comparison is bias, you are correct. This is Mr Cosman's opinion and from his experience. There are wood planes with blade adjustment mechanisms, but wood will move more than a metal body plane over years. You can get the body resin infused to gain more weight and stability, but buying them will cost more than buying good metal body ones.
Yes my oppinons are all biased based on my woodworking experience. I question anyone who says they are not biased. I always say my oppionons are mine based on my experience.
Metal planes entered the picture as woodwork was in decline, not as a means to reach it's Zenith. The technology to make them was mass production, and that has it's eventual consequences. As Rob points out, it is hard to avoid them. Though I would tend to disagree with the edge that Rob puts on some of his points, all fair to be sure. - Sure, wooden planes tend to be more task specific, while with metal planes you have a plane that does a lot of things less well. But is that to be preferred? Isn't it easier to grab a plane that is specifically set for a given task, no adjustment required, with the blade designed for the specific task? Particularly if it takes 45 minutes to assemble such a plane, and the total cost can be 10 dollars? -Does it take too much time, or is it too involved to adjust a wooden plane? For starters, backlash is a standard in mechanical adjustments also. In general though, I find it much faster to adjust wooden planes. One example is a Japanese plane I enjoy a lot. It only takes 10 seconds to cycle for sharpening (blade out, and back in, cutting). That gets one back to where it takes a useful cut. If i want a specific cut, it takes about 20 seconds. Japanese planes bottom out in the mortise, they can't fall through, so just dropping the blade in finds it at near the correct position. A few taps does the rest. Have I ever fiddled with a plane to get it to cut as I want it to? Of course. With both metal and wooden planes. - Sure sewer pipe iron planes are heavier, they don't have a choice. I once set up an indicator to measure beam deflection under load, and was surprised to find that both iron and wooden jointer planes had very similar deflection. I guess it makes sense because they are both designed to do the same thing. But the wooden plane weighs about a quarter of what the iron one does. That isn't because it is optimal either in net weight, or in distribution. It is the bare minimum for functionality. The superior option is to have all the stucture you need, and then to add weight in places you may need it. So as an example, you can have a 36" jointer plane in wood, and still have it much lighter. But such a plane would be too punishing in iron. There are uses where extre weight is an advantage, you have the option to add it to wooden planes, but iron planes are stuck with their overweight ways. As Rob said, you can't really avoid the wooden planes. If there is always going to be a drawer plane, or a molding plane, or compass plane in your future, why waste time on becoming expert with metal planes when they can eventually fall away?
Thnaks for your great comments. Having prefessionally used both wooden and metal bodied planes I prefer metal bodied planes for general work. and woodbodied planes for moulding and some specialty woork. For me the heavier weight of the metal plane over wood planes does make a big diffrence. But thats why comments are great becuase we can expose folks to diffreneces of oppinons.
And the shavings on the 5 1/2 were that thin they were annoyingly sticking to his hand. Yes, you can do that with a coffin smoother, but you have to be an enthusiast for working with old tool technology. And that's a whole nother thing.
Agree Rob. However, I never understood why to use a metal scrub plane. The main argument of an easy adjustment does not match here as one takes big shavings. A wooden scrub plane is cheaper and slides beautifly on the rough wood.
To each to their own. I like my scrub plane to have more weight, cause it's a scrub plane. For jointing I like to use my wooden plane. For smoothing I would like to use wooden but I use what I got, and that is Frankenplane #4, for jack plane I use my Frankenplane #5, and for smaller stuff etc I use my Stanley 220. And yes, the 220 is great (for me and my jobs), no matter what some woodworking guru says. When you're not made of money and don't like the idea of throwing money towards the problem when you have one. Work what with you got, make do. Do you understood now? Even a tiny little bit?
@@kimmosaarinen2780 Well, I think generally I understand quiet well. And of course I agree: to each to their own. I just never understood why they made this metal version and argue at the same time that the main reason for the metal body plane is the easy adjustment. Personally, the weight is nothing I missed on my wooden scrub plane. And if it boils down to this aspect, I come to a different conclusion.
Its just another plane choise amoung 100's of planes. You are correct that a metal scrub plane does not have an adjustment mechanism and most new woodworkers find it a bit difficult to adjust. A woodned jack plane with a curved blade makes a good fore/scrub plane too
I've heard a few guys talk about the desire for momentum with a metal plane. This is utter nonsense. Any momentum you get is is imperceptible in the extreme. It is purely in your mind.
@@RobCosmanWoodworking Measure it then, I'll eagerly await that video. Pretty easy to rig up a downward slope, get your plane started, remove your exertion and measure how far it travels when you stop pushing.
Merry Christmas Rob! Thank you again for the cross cut saw that I won and for all you do with the Purple Heart Project!
Merry Christmas to you too and thank you for supporting the Purple Heart Project!
I was in the woodworking industry for 38 years when I stumbled across Rob Cosman. I took his class at the Ventura California Woodcraft and I thought I knew how to do hand tool woodworking. The lessons I learned from Rob changed me forever!!! Thank you Rob!!!
Just because I introduced you to Luther!
@ Since that happened I have never been the same…..!
I’ve been a weekend woodworker for a long time with a very small shop in the back yard. I’m 60 and this Friday I will be receiving the woodriver 5 1/2 thanks to all you videos I feel I have made a great choice. Very excited. Thanks again for all you do.
You’re welcome! Enjoy and have a prosperous new year!
Rob, thanks for an interesting video. I've been a professional woodworker for 55 years. Originally trained to use a Stanley #5 for everything. I started making wooden planes 23 years ago out of scraps just for the fun of it. I now use a mix of metal and wooden planes, taking advantage of the best characteristics of each. For hogging off a lot of material to flatten a large, wide board I reach for my 16" wooden razee style fore plane made using the Krenov method. Even though it's lighter than an equally sized Bailey 5 1/2 it glides through the cuts and is less fatiguing to use. My preferred jointer is a Lie-Nielsen #7. My smoothers are now mostly wooden planes, but I recently bought a Woodriver # 4 1/2 to smooth large panels. It does a beautiful job. Adjusting my wooden planes with a small light hammer is quick and easy and takes no more time than adjusting a Bailey metal plane, but I've been doing it for 20 years and it's become intuitive. I still use my old Stanley #5 as my go to utility plane out of familiarity. I upgraded it with a Hock iron and chipbreaker over twenty years ago. If I could only have one plane that Stanley #5 is the one I'd keep. It all comes down to personal preference and what gets the job done with the least amount of fuss.
Great Comment. An old wooden jack plane with a curved blade is a great fore plane to hog off material if you prefer using a plane to sawing off the material
Very helpful comparison. Thanks, Rob.
Happy new year
Great informative video as usual, merry Christmas and happy new year from the UK
Happy New Year to you
A very well-made and informative video.
Thank you!
Me srprendio abrir el video y aparesca con el audio es castellano que grande rob! Feliz año nuevo!
It's great to reach a wider audience.
Having used wooden planes, Stanley and others of that style, finally getting a 5-1/2 WoodRiver, I totally agree with you. I've made a couple of rebate planes, purchased a small 7-1/2-ish Japanese plane, (which works very well), the WoodRiver is my favorite. Setting them up is a challenge, though as you said, gets easier and faster the more often you do it. I did cringe a bit when you smacked your wooden plane as hard as you did, I figured the blade probably dang near removed itself from the bed. As usual, good info.
I probably had my wedge set to tight. Great comment thnaks. Happy New Year
Thank you so much Rob!
You are most welcome!
Great video as always. Thank you for sharing. Take care!👍🏻
You are most welcome!
Great. Thanks
Thanks Rob, merry Christmas to you and yours,
Thank you and best Christmas wishes to you as well!
Always love your advice
I am glad you find it helpful!
Thank you Rob
Happy New Year
Thank you for this information. It is very helpful.🙂🙂
My pleasure 😊
I've played with those wooden planes and still have to say that I prefer the 5 1/2. Thanks again for sharing the knowledge and thanks to Frick for the youtube handling! (Or Jake if it's you)
Thanks for seconding the 5 1/2 motion!
I grew up primarily using wooden planes, the continental European kind with the horn-shaped handle at the front of them. And just like you said in the video, when you use wooden planes regularly, you know just how hard you have to tap the iron or the plane body to advance and retract the blade for the type of shaving you want. I still have and love to use all my wooden planes, even my big wooden jointers, but I 100% agree with the convenience of metal planes. I bought a #5 1/2 from your website a few years back because I wanted to see what it's like using metal planes and I don't regret it. It was soon followed by a #7 and a vintage Record #4 1/2 and I find myself reaching for them for 90% of my planing work. I still keep my wooden smoothing plane as well as my wooden scrub plane close to/on the bench but I leave them set up for a wispy thin and a super aggressive shaving and never change them until it's time to sharpen. But really, I more or less keep using them in memory of my late father who left them to me and showed me how to use them as a kid. Other than that, it's the convenience of metal planes for me.
Amen!
Hello Rob, greetings from the low countries. I enjoy watching your video's. Jan van der Linden
I enjoy making them so it is nice to hear the audience benefits! Happy new year!
Happy holidays Rob!
Merry Christmas to you and happy new year!
Merry Christmas Rob.
Thanks and merry Christmas and happy New Year to you yours!
Great video Rob. Like hearing of your early days. I'd love to hear more from your time with Allen Peters, cheers.
I’ll have to dig up some more stories about those days!
Rob, if you've got the time would love to see a video of making one of these.
Good idea!
It's always a joy to watch (and listen to) your most instructive videos. You are an inspiration to a myriad of woodworkers; I see your name come up often in plenty of woodworking sites and groups. You are actually one of the very few who has had the privilege of a proper grounding and genuine training. Therefore you belong to the real cabinet making school, and can be considered- prematurely- as one of the future "old boys" (I say that affectionately). There are a hell of a lot of amateurs out there, posting stuff as if they really knew what they were talking about.
I watched one of your comparison videos, where in fact you compared two no. 5 1/2's: the Lie Nielsen and this one you use here: the Wood River, which did not get 1st prize. Is that still your view? I live in France- an expensive and isolated place to live in- and I decided to call the Lie Nielsen firm directly, because I entertained the idea of acquiring the superlative no. 5 1/2. Every other European country was out of stock. They would sell direct to a private customer (one Dollar less than 500$ US), but I would have to pay half again in Customs Tax- the highest on the planet. So no go.
When I looked up the Wood River model it looked like it wasn't available any more. You claim that you sell them, but i didn't find any link to a tool catalogue under the video.
Could you kindly point me to your site? Do you ship to Europe?
Once again, thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. I really appreciate fine souls like yourself, who enrich the woodworking world with their extensive knowledge. By the way, I'm a woodworker myself (41 years of cabinet work and a very intense experience in Antique furniture restoration (17th, 18th, 19th and some 20th century)). I also have a fondness for wooden planes, but agree with you on the practicality of the metal plane (that's why they were invented, right?)
Greetings from France.
Ralph
robcosman.com/collections/planes/products/woodriver-no-5-1-2-jack-plane-with-prep
I have a wooden plane that I made specifically for my shooting board. To get some heft in it I bored one inch holes through the center section and glued in steel plugs during the glue up. Comes in at just over seven pounds. Works great on the shooting board. Otherwise I use my metal body planes that are around 100 years old. Once I learned your method of sharpening they became a joy to use.
Great comment. Happy new year
I recently made a Krenov style plane for dealing with cranky Australian timbers. It had a high bed angle of 55 degrees, and thick HNT Gordon smoothing plane iron with no chipbreaker. The body was made from Messmate (a straight grain Eucalypt) and the sole made from Mulga (one of the hardest wood). It is amazing on cranky grains like a figured Queensland Maple. As an everyday smoother, the lack of a chipbreaker and the chunky cross pin make it unsuited, and it is finicky to set the iron as you report. Fun project to make, but it is not the all-purpose everyday plane.
Sounds like you've created a real workhorse! You guys in OZ have concrete for trees!!!!
Thank you for the educating video. I am following your lessons for already several years, pretty much all my woodworking skills I learned from them. Even though I tried not to miss any, I haven't seen you talking about a scraper plane. Recently I got one (Veritas) as a present, but havent' found a good application for it. Will it be possible for you to discssus this type of planes, the use, the pluses and minuses? Hope to see your review. Sergey
As a shipwright in my formative years, I used wooden planes a lot. Fact is, they and their metal counterparts were used for different tasks. The wooden jack was peerless for plank making. As was the coffin hand plane for dressing the hull. Steel planes were mostly for fitting out joinery.
Different tasks for different planes. I agree
Where can I get "better tools make the job easier" boxer shorts?
I have a British wooden plane. I never have used it, but it cost £1 from a junk shop. I wondered how you could ever set it up! No doubt once you get the hang of it, it might become second nature, but no doubt for most of us, it would be finicky!
I have a nice made in Britain really old Stanley, about eight inches long [do not know the model], which even an amateur like me can use, and keep working nicely! Really only used for adjusting sticky doors, but that is okay.
Love your videos. Always an education!
Best wishes from George
Thanks George, Merry Christmas to you!
My latest wooden plane has a 90* fence for edge jointing. I wish I’d made it 50 years ago.
Good add-on. You can get those (or make one) for metal planes too. I dont use them
Nice video. If one is going to discuss weight, shouldn’t Rob’s wood plane be compared to a something like a Woodriver #4.5 plane? That one is 10.375” long with 2.375” wide blade.
For a true comparison, yes, but it still wouldn’t make it a close bout.
Man, you've sold me on those adjustars ...I'm in the uk, and use old refurbished stanleys ...would they fit mine? Can I get them here?
Should fit, Classic Hand Tools carry our goods.
Hi Rob, first of all the most important thing, prayers go your way for Beau.......
I didn't know how to contact you with this, I have just excitedly received 9 wooden mould planes and have bought 4 more that arrive over the weekend, would it be possible to do a fortnightly 2 hour spot on using and sharpening the various types of plane moulds.
Best wishes Ron Bingham
I’ll take it to the crew Ron. We appreciate the prayers on Beaus behalf.
Is there any consensus on why the Japanese style saws and planes cut on the pull and western styles cut on the push stroke?
I can only speak for myself here. Having partially torn tendons in both shoulder area's. Using Japanese pull saws and hand planes, makes woodworking much easier. Less strain on my shoulders.
@ I do enjoy some of the Japanese pull saws though I haven’t tried that style of hand plane. I will say after trying a premium conventional dovetail saw I will be ordering one of Rob’s it made cutting dovetails much easier.
@ChristiannTyler I don't remember the gentleman's name but I believe he teaches the proper method on using Japanese hand saws. It is the two hand method and, it does take a lot of practice to get them down. Just remember, use what works best for you. Cheers
Having such a small length of the sole behind the blade compared to the front is probably one more reason. I've not tried those but having a big reference surface on the front makes more sense in terms of flattening something with it. Them being so blocky and unergonomic would probably make it really uncomfortable to push. It's always easier to pull than to push something though, so it makes sense
@Kiskobold In Japan I believe they hold a competition for the thinnest shaving with hand planes. It's a sight to see. :)
I've made two wood bodied planes, one that can be adjusted like a metal plane and one traditional style. Like Rob said, for certain applications a wood plane is nice. Being able to make a plane is useful just in case you should ever need to build a civilization from scratch. Don't forget how to Smelt your own Iron and learn how to forge as well...
Not to mention that making your own plane is fun!!! But I still reach for my metal planes for general planing
Stanley made a 2 3/8 " #5 1/2 , it wasn't a Bedrock though i have one in my shop .
Yep, the bedrock was 2 1/4”
@@RobCosmanWoodworking Also another alternative would be a Stanley transitional plane , i have several and i enjoy them .
Well, I am about 2 years into learning how to use hand planes. It has been a journey. I have both metal and wood planes. Most of my wood planes are pull type, but I do have some that need to be restored that are push planes. While the mouth on a wood plane is not very adjustable, adjusting the iron is pretty simple. However, if I lay off of them for a while, it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. Just picked up a Chinse style plane from Heartwood tools which can be used as a scraping plane or a smoothing plane. The slip through handle is removable for push or pulling. I do use an upholster's tack hammer for adjusting the blade. A hammer that is too heavy does tend to drive the blade too deep on one tap. I will make some wood ones eventually, but I think I prefer the more traditional rather than the thicker ones. All of the antique planes I have have lots of cracks and checks in them. I figure it is because they are so thick the wood never reaches equilibrium and that is why the cracks happen. Pretty sure I can make a push plane out of 6/4 stock. Always experimenting....
Do you know anyone who can turn that wooden hammer for you??😂 Merry Christmas sir!
I have 6 lathes.... I need to make one out of some lignum I have. Last one had a mountain mahogany head on it. Numerous carver's mallets too.
Sounds like you’re on the right track.
Sounds like you’re on the right track.
If you think this comparison is bias, you are correct. This is Mr Cosman's opinion and from his experience.
There are wood planes with blade adjustment mechanisms, but wood will move more than a metal body plane over years. You can get the body resin infused to gain more weight and stability, but buying them will cost more than buying good metal body ones.
Yes my oppinons are all biased based on my woodworking experience. I question anyone who says they are not biased. I always say my oppionons are mine based on my experience.
@ that’s why I watch your videos because I want your opinion and experience.
Metal planes entered the picture as woodwork was in decline, not as a means to reach it's Zenith. The technology to make them was mass production, and that has it's eventual consequences. As Rob points out, it is hard to avoid them. Though I would tend to disagree with the edge that Rob puts on some of his points, all fair to be sure.
- Sure, wooden planes tend to be more task specific, while with metal planes you have a plane that does a lot of things less well. But is that to be preferred? Isn't it easier to grab a plane that is specifically set for a given task, no adjustment required, with the blade designed for the specific task? Particularly if it takes 45 minutes to assemble such a plane, and the total cost can be 10 dollars?
-Does it take too much time, or is it too involved to adjust a wooden plane? For starters, backlash is a standard in mechanical adjustments also. In general though, I find it much faster to adjust wooden planes. One example is a Japanese plane I enjoy a lot. It only takes 10 seconds to cycle for sharpening (blade out, and back in, cutting). That gets one back to where it takes a useful cut. If i want a specific cut, it takes about 20 seconds. Japanese planes bottom out in the mortise, they can't fall through, so just dropping the blade in finds it at near the correct position. A few taps does the rest. Have I ever fiddled with a plane to get it to cut as I want it to? Of course. With both metal and wooden planes.
- Sure sewer pipe iron planes are heavier, they don't have a choice. I once set up an indicator to measure beam deflection under load, and was surprised to find that both iron and wooden jointer planes had very similar deflection. I guess it makes sense because they are both designed to do the same thing. But the wooden plane weighs about a quarter of what the iron one does. That isn't because it is optimal either in net weight, or in distribution. It is the bare minimum for functionality. The superior option is to have all the stucture you need, and then to add weight in places you may need it. So as an example, you can have a 36" jointer plane in wood, and still have it much lighter. But such a plane would be too punishing in iron. There are uses where extre weight is an advantage, you have the option to add it to wooden planes, but iron planes are stuck with their overweight ways.
As Rob said, you can't really avoid the wooden planes. If there is always going to be a drawer plane, or a molding plane, or compass plane in your future, why waste time on becoming expert with metal planes when they can eventually fall away?
Thnaks for your great comments. Having prefessionally used both wooden and metal bodied planes I prefer metal bodied planes for general work. and woodbodied planes for moulding and some specialty woork. For me the heavier weight of the metal plane over wood planes does make a big diffrence. But thats why comments are great becuase we can expose folks to diffreneces of oppinons.
❤🙏
If you wanted more weight, couldn't you put some shot/bearings/sand in it like a dead blow hammer?
That would take some extra work but yes you could do that
Yes you could, takes a bit mote work
And the shavings on the 5 1/2 were that thin they were annoyingly sticking to his hand. Yes, you can do that with a coffin smoother, but you have to be an enthusiast for working with old tool technology. And that's a whole nother thing.
Happy new Year.
Agree Rob. However, I never understood why to use a metal scrub plane. The main argument of an easy adjustment does not match here as one takes big shavings. A wooden scrub plane is cheaper and slides beautifly on the rough wood.
To each to their own. I like my scrub plane to have more weight, cause it's a scrub plane. For jointing I like to use my wooden plane. For smoothing I would like to use wooden but I use what I got, and that is Frankenplane #4, for jack plane I use my Frankenplane #5, and for smaller stuff etc I use my Stanley 220. And yes, the 220 is great (for me and my jobs), no matter what some woodworking guru says.
When you're not made of money and don't like the idea of throwing money towards the problem when you have one. Work what with you got, make do.
Do you understood now? Even a tiny little bit?
@@kimmosaarinen2780 Well, I think generally I understand quiet well. And of course I agree: to each to their own. I just never understood why they made this metal version and argue at the same time that the main reason for the metal body plane is the easy adjustment. Personally, the weight is nothing I missed on my wooden scrub plane. And if it boils down to this aspect, I come to a different conclusion.
Its just another plane choise amoung 100's of planes. You are correct that a metal scrub plane does not have an adjustment mechanism and most new woodworkers find it a bit difficult to adjust. A woodned jack plane with a curved blade makes a good fore/scrub plane too
I've heard a few guys talk about the desire for momentum with a metal plane.
This is utter nonsense.
Any momentum you get is is imperceptible in the extreme. It is purely in your mind.
I have to disagree with you on that but thats what makes life interesting…..different perspectives
@@RobCosmanWoodworking Measure it then, I'll eagerly await that video.
Pretty easy to rig up a downward slope, get your plane started, remove your exertion and measure how far it travels when you stop pushing.
Merry Christmas Rob
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!