February 2006 - Page 4 of 5 - Handplane Central

DID YOU KNOW…

The descriptive terminology used by planemaker’s and collectors can be somewhat confusing to the beginner. For example there was never any real standardization of the various parts of a plane as such, but the names tended to follow the same general pattern.

Woods Used In Making Infill Planes

The Lore Of Timber Many different kinds of timber can be used for planemaking in general. Most of the old wooden planes of past generations have been made from timbers such as beech, hornbeam, maple, boxwood and birch. I have seen some fin examples of…

Planing Plastic Laminates

While you don’t need any sort of “specialty” plane to use on plastic laminates the issue is mainly one of blade longevity. A blade ground at the normal angle of of 25 to 30 degrees soon becomes quite dull when used on these materials. What’s…

Stanley 1902 Catalog

The scans below are from the Stanley Rule And Level Company catalog of January 1902 As always there were a few changes to the list and a few more hand planes added, which. I’ve included in the introductory piece below. NOTE: For the purposes of…

Anderson Planes – Traditional Style Infill Planes

Anderson Planes is a one-man operation run by Wayne Anderson from a modest basement workshop in Elk River, MN. Each and every plane that has come out of the workshop over the years has been crafted by hand at almost every step of the way….

Ashby Tool Company – Infill Block Plane Review

Ashby Low-Angle Block Plane Reviewed by Bob Howard The inspiration for this tool is the legendary Norris plane. With that as his guide, Phil Ashby, a longtime Adelaide-based woodworker, has set out to make a plane which has, as he puts it, “the excellence of…

Specialty Wooden Planes And Scrapers

This is the final installment regarding the description and purpose of woodworking planes by W.F.M. Goss in the book “Bench Work In Wood: A Course Of Study And Practice Designed For The Use Of Schools And Colleges”. This book was first published by Ginn &…

Iron Planes – Their Types And Uses

“Wooden bench planes have had their day, and are going out of use…” …So wrote W.F.M. Goss in the 1888 book “Bench Work In Wood: A Course Of Study And Practice Designed For The Use Of Schools And Colleges” published by Ginn & Co, Boston….

Truing The Soles Of Wooden Planes

This article has been transcribed from the book “Bench Work In Wood: A Course Of Study And Practice Designed For The Use Of Schools And Colleges” by the writer W.F.M. Goss. which was first printed by Ginn & Co, Boston in 1888. W.F.M. Goss was…

Wooden Bench Plane Basics

The following passages have been transcribed from the book “Bench Work In Wood: A Course Of Study And Practice Designed For The Use Of Schools And Colleges” by the writer W.F.M. Goss. which was first printed by Ginn & Co, Boston in 1888. W.F.M. Goss…

Norris 1928 Catalog

This is the second Norris catalog addition to the site and is a reproduction of the 1928 catalog. The main difference you will note is that most of the images of the bench planes feature the Norris adjuster, whereas in the 1914 catalog the adjuster…

Perfect Pitch – Bedding Angles Explained

It’s no secret to anybody familiar with using hand planes that different blade angles produce different results. A lower blade angle is generally better for end grain work while a very high blade angle is great for scraping. Is there a perfect blade angle that…

Metals Used In Making Planes

The Stuff Of Metal When it comes to the materials that can be used in planemaking it can sometimes become quite easy to “lose the plot”. This is especially true when you consider the vast array of metals available – both ferrous and nonferrous. In…