Comments on: Tools you don't need

By: Grandpa 580

Grandpa 580 — Sun, 06 May 2012 19:44:32 +0000

Adam, I think you made a serious mistake in your article. You are telling me what I don’t need when you should have been telling this to yourself. You don’t need those tools. You don’t know what I need because you don’t know what I do. You are correct when you say I don’t need those because I don’t own most of them. They are hand tools and I like power tools. There are some things that can’t be done as well with power tools so we have to resort to hand tools and they did in the old days. Some people like to begin there and not go to the power tools. Fine by me. Just don’t try to tell me what I need and don’t need. I have some friends on the list above and I respect their way of doing this. I often wish I could do some of those things the way they do them but I don’t own those tools so you and I will probably never learn the skilled methods they employ. You have raised a stink in the areas I read. Don’t lose your job over it. Apologize now before it is too late. By the way, I do own and use a block plane. Why not? I works.

By: bertha

bertha — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:07:49 +0000

I must be a real sucker, as I have every tool on your list. I can’t comment on the witty earring transition, as I think it’d look pretty smart with that mock turtleneck. Maybe you could get a itty bitty woodbodied smoother on a post; that’s clearly all that’s needed. I wonder why many of the tools you list are so prized and desirable. It must be those nasty collectors whose planes rest within glass cabinets and not the bench. I’ll hazard a guess that you have an amazing stationary mortiser, wide helical head planer and jointer; and an exquisite dado set in your cabinet saw. Clean lock mortises can surely be executed with the proper machinery. I feel sorry for all the traditional woodworkers who carry these tools in their sets. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion and both of ours are found here.

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 15:57:44 +0000

Thanks good info.

By: The Village Carpenter

The Village Carpenter — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 10:44:45 +0000

Adam, that’s correct–I use my block plane for one-handed operations. My wooden smoother plane is fairly light, but is a little too bulky to hold in one hand.

By: Adam Cherubini

Adam Cherubini — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 08:56:38 +0000

Jorge,

You raise some great points.

"… some things are not worth the time and aggravation to learn how to do the old fashion way."

I agree (hopefully not surprisingly). The trick is knowing what is on offer and what we loose when we turn our backs.

In this particular case, sharpening freehand is probably the most obvious example. If one can learn to hone freehand, one will be able to hone and use carving tools, and lathe tools. If one can only hone with a jig, these doors will be closed. Maybe you don’t want to carve or turn. And that’s fine. I’d prefer that be a choice one has, not a consequence of one’s tool choices.

Adam

By: David

David — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 15:27:45 +0000

I’m with you on a lot of things, but I really think this is an incomplete picture.

1. Block plane – So much easier to use than a #4 or larger on really small stock (draw dividers, wedges, etc.). Good for chamfers too (I now have a dedicated plane for chamfers).

2. Mortise chisel. I just purchased some Japanese mortise chisels (don’t have them yet). I have the Ray Iles chisels but find them overkill for most of the mortising I’m doing, which includes a lot of through wedge m&t. I want something lighter, shorter, and that I can hit with a small brass head hammer (glen drake). I don’t like a wooden mallet. I find them awkward to use compared to my glen drake hammer.

3. Sharpening gadgets – Totally agree with the hand sharpening thing. So much faster and more efficient, and really not that hard to master. There are definitely cases when I’m glad to have the MKII for establishing the primary bevel of a new plane iron (I don’t use secondary bevels btw).

4. Dovetail chisels – Total waste. Don’t buy them. They offer no advantage over bevel-edge chisels. They might if there was no land (I believe that’s what you call it). I thought they would be sharp on the edges. They’re not. They’re just hard to hold because of the point on the top. Skew your chisel to get into the corners. Problem solved.

5. Fishtail chisel – I have one. Hardly ever use it. Makes the half blind job a little easier. Get a paring chisel version (long handle) and not a striking chisel.

6. Low angle planes – Do yourself a favor a get a low angle plane for shooting. So much better than a 45 degree plane. I sold my LN no. 9 and got a philly plane shooting plane. BTW, wooden is so much better for this job. Less friction and lot’s of surface area.

7. Swan neck – Love mine. I find them way easier than levering out waste with the mortise chisel once you’re in deep. They’re not expensive (leevalley.com).

8. Jointer fence – Never owned one. Kind of embarrassing to be honest. Learning to square an edge with a cambered iron is not easy. It takes practice. I tried to skip learning this skill for a while. Glad I gave in and finally just learned how to do it. Much better than any fenced tool (I was using an edge trimming plane for a short while).

9. Shoulder plane – I didn’t use mine for a long time. I now use one to clean up the shoulders of tenons and think it’s the best way to get perfect shoulders. Which is also the best way to get a perfectly square m&t. So bottom line, if you can do this from the saw cut or with chisels more power to you. I couldn’t, but I can with a couple passes from a shoulder plane and some checking with a double square.

By: Jorge

Jorge — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 13:24:08 +0000

hmmmm…..Let me check my list..

Block plane…got it
Shoulder plane…got it
Low angle planes…yep, jack, jointer, smoother, miter
Sharpening gadget….yep, Veritas MKII guide
Marking gauge with measurements on it….check
Jointer fence…..check,
Side rabbet plane….yep, LN 98 and 99
Scraper plane….got it…

So let see, as a novice woodworker (3 years and counting) I should learn how to woodwork in this manner.

I should learn how to balance a wide plane on a 3/4 or 1/2 inch side of a panel instead of grabbing a block plane, put a knuckle under the edge and guide it just like a fence to get a straight 90º edge.
I should learn how to adjust tenon shoulders with a rabbet plane instead of of a SHOULDER plane.

I should have bought 6 or 9 planes, some with York pitch and gotten used to hassle with them 5 minutes each time I wanted to change the mouth opening instead of buying 3 planes I can just change the blade for the required angle and spent 30 seconds to open and close the mouth.

I should ruin the edge of my expensive japanese and mortise chisels while I spend a couple of months learning how to sharpen them free hand instead of spending a couple of more minutes while I put them on a sharpening guide and get a perfect edge every time… and all so I can say I can sharpen free hand…uh huh, check.

I should get used to using a pencil and a ruler to mark my tenon shoulders instead of a marking gauge with measurements and then practice using my rabbet plane to trim the shoulders.

When making a table I should hire and assistant to help me make sure I get perfect jointed edges on the jointer, and if we mess up I should learn how to balance a 22 inch jointer plane on an inch an a quarter edge and possibly never getting an invisible joint instead of grabbing a fence. Still with you.

Instead of using a table saw or a router table to make grooves and dadoes and then shaving just a tiny bit with a side rabbet plane I am stuck using a plow or dado plane forever to get a perfect fit. Bummer….

Suffering is good for the soul, instead of using a 4 inch blade on a scraper plane I should use a 1 3/4 inch cabinet scraper blade to scrape a 10 feet by 4 feet table top.

I know I am being sarcastic, but perhaps you should consider that some things are not worth the time and aggravation to learn how to do the old fashion way.

PS. I have another tool I bet my bottom dollar you think it is useless as well…a compass or ship plane…

By: Adam Cherubini

Adam Cherubini — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:26:07 +0000

Sorry for the confusion Auguste. Try me again on the next blog entry. Clifton/Clico make the S#45.

Adam

By: Auguste Gusteau

Auguste Gusteau — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:59:56 +0000

Please replace
"like Christopher Schwarz, Editor, and others that are not, like you." with
"like, for example, Christopher Schwarz, Editor, and others that are not, like, for example, you".

Regards,
Auguste

By: Auguste Gusteau

Auguste Gusteau — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:53:13 +0000

So, Ada+, if this time I hit the point, with this post you are critiquing the industry because… Why? Because they design and produce tools that you don’t need but someone else find usefull? And you want to convince people not to buy their products or you want to convice who find their product usefull to throw them away? I really do not understant this critique. Anyway, just for information, could you tell me which is the industry who still produce Stanley #45, #55 and #46?
And however, don’t you feel hypocritical to criticize the advice coming from magazines and then write for a magazine that, like most other magazines, can’t wait for new tool so to fill a few more reviews pages?

And I still have something to say and then I’ll leave you in peace.
This is just an information for you.
I read many english woodworking related and not related blogs, forums and websites.
There are people who are easy to read for a foreigner, like Christopher Schwarz, Editor, and others that are not, like you.
I repeat that this is only an information for you, it is not a criticism, probably your English is perfect, I’m just explaining you the perspective of a foreigner who knows English, but not as a mother tongue one.

Regards,
August*