He makes from mahogany, brass and stainless steel with kid leather bellows. Sweeeeet! Give a look, even if you aren’t a shutterbug, a fine woodworker will appreciate the workmanship. AND check out those prices! And they are worth every penny.

always,
J.C.

Isn’t it intersting that we as a society eschew standardized parts. Even if only when looking at collectable items. Perhaps it is our association of standardization with "mass produced" or perhaps it goes deeper, conjuring images of Socialist conformity.

When this plane was produced I am guessing Mr. Wisener considered alternatives, but custom manufacturing is expensive and he probably had to balance asthetics with cost. I do agree that a slotted fillister, pan or binding head screw would have been a nice alternative to the socket flat countersunk head he chose. But when you are just starting out there are copromises to be made.

Imagine if Stanley had standardized on and stuck with a single type of screw for the frog or chip breaker. Though it would give the typification folks fits, it would certainly ease the proper reparation of a neglected plane.

Are custom made and large scale manufactured truly mutually exclusive terms? Can a unique design that is also mass produced hold it’s value? Is conformity to Schwarzism inevitable? The Wives Against Schwarz at least provide some balance for the last question. But I think the premium hand tool makers have been relatively successful (at least measured by the price they command) at threading the needle on the other two.

An interesting story about the fraternity of woodworkers came out of another Wisner plane that appeared on Ebay last November….

Another Wisner shows up, and it includes the original Garrett-Wade "Instruction" sheet. I didn’t win that plane; I don’t know if I even bid. However, I emailed the Ebay winner and asked if he would be willing to scan the instruction sheet and email it to me. This fellow Wisner owner (I only know him as TOM) did indeed scan the wrinkled Garrett-Wade page and email it to me.

(I did a quick post that includes a copy of those instructions over at my blog.) Feel free to copy and paste it if you want…. or you can surf over to my place and see it.

I don’t have any Wisners, but I do have a few rare .pdfs which I’d be willing to digitally sign and send to you on a commemorative writable CD. With a few Auriou rasps and my .pdf files, you’d be all set.

My god I need coffee.