John Economaki is widely known amongst fine tool aficionados for his wonderfully crafted woodworking tools, made from brass, steel and exotic rosewoods, which he first started to produce as a one-man enterprise way back in 1983. Since then the business has grown from strength to strength and both collectors and users have coveted the squares, bevels, scratch awls, gauges and other tools that Bridge City Tool Works have produced. A number of years ago now Bridge City decided to move into the, somewhat obvious (we think), field of hand plane manufacturing — and woodworkers the world over have been the better for it. These innovative and distinctly different looking planes are some of the most beautiful and finely crafted tools you’re ever likely to encounter. While they’re not cheap – no tools of this sort of calibre could be produced cheaply – the planes compare favorably, money wise, to the great British infill hand planes of generations past. Likewise they are equal or better than anything Messrs Spiers, Norris or Slater could have produced in their era. How do Bridge City Tool Works know what to make and when? How do some of those complicated and intricate looking planes go [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Interview With Plane Maker John Economaki

Knight Toolworks smoothing plane with adjustable mouth, made from cocobolo, oak and ebony. If one were to do a quick check of the various hand tool forums that abound on the net, one thing would soon become evident – the planes made by Knight Toolworks generate a heck of a lot of interest from woodworkers near and far. It seems virtually everyone loves a Steve Knight plane! So much so that I can’t recall a bad word being said about them at all. If you ever have the chance to try one out it soon becomes apparent why. I mean what’s not to love? They look great, they work great and they feel great in the hand. Probably one of the best things though is that they’re very affordable! Steve Knight had been a furniture maker for about 5 years before he decided to try his hand at planemaking. Since then he’s made around 3000 planes – yes, you heard right, 3000 – and there doesn’t seem to be any signs of slowing down just yet. In fact Steve Knight is busier than ever, as each and every plane is hand made by Steve himself in his one-man workshop in [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Interview With Plane Maker Steve Knight

To the novice, planemaking may appear to be full of secrets, hidden pitfalls and mystique. Some feel that it’s in a realm similar to violin making or gilding, practiced only by a few select “masters” who have learned the ways and guard these secrets closely. The reality, however, is far from this. Planemakers are, in my experience, very open about what they do and how they go about it. I find that they are quick to help with advice, ideas and practical experience on basically anything, and I can honestly say that i’ve never met a planemaker who is secretive to any great degree and, over the years, I have met and corresponded with quite a few planemakers. It’s good to see that the new makers are continuing this “tradition” of open-mindedness, and recently I was able to ask two planemakers, Philip Marcou and Malcolm Macpherson, some questions about starting out with making hand planes. We had Philip’s interview a week or so ago but, this time, it’s Malcolm’s turn to tell us about how he got started in planemaking, how he does it, what he’s made and what’s next up on the horizon. Malcolm Macpherson graduated from the University [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Interview With Plane Maker Malcolm Macpherson

Many woodworkers are aware of the more “well known” contemporary planemakers such as Tom Lie-Nielsen, John Economaki and Karl Holtey – but what about the makers who are just starting out? Will some of these be added to the list of household names (amongst woodworkers) in the coming years? Why do they make planes, how do they make planes and where did they learn to make planes in the first place? Philip Marcou is a new maker who makes beautifully crafted hand planes modeled, stylistically, on Stanley Bedrocks, but injected with his own innovations, ideas and methods incorporated within the designs. In his native country of Zimbabwe Philip was a professional cabinet maker, running his own woodworking business for 12 years. His work was highly sought after and Philip earned a reputation with the German Embassy for making finely-crafted furniture. A number of years ago Philip emigrated from Zimbabwe to New Zealand, taking all of his woodworking tools and machinery, along with some of his country’s native timbers and some exotic hardwoods from the Americas. He continues to make furniture, but now also makes high-quality woodworking planes on the side. Handplane Central talks to Philip about his plane making and [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Interview With Plane Maker Philip Marcou

After spending most of his working life as a carpenter and cabinetmaker, forty-eight year old Bill Carter decided that he would like to make handplanes for a living from his home workshop in Leicester, England. That was in 1987 and although he had made many wooden planes before this time, almost all of his planes since have been dovetailed in metal or cast – and all of them are completely hand made. Since turning to planemaking full time, Bill Carter has made and sold some 700 planes – an impressive number for a one man operation! Most of Bill’s planes are box type or original pattern mitre planes, although he has made other styles including 28-1/2 inch jointers. Bill uses mostly reclaimed materials for his planes including brass tenon saw backs, old boxwood chisel handles, rescued Cuban Mahogany door rails and any other suitable material that comes his way. He also uses older cutting irons for almost all of his planes and often antiques the finished planes with various chemical concoctions to make them look more authentic. In 1992 Bill Carter was featured in the February edition of the British magazine “Woodworking Today” (issue number 28). It was in this [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Interview With Infill Plane Maker Bill Carter