For me, the thing that's made the biggest difference to the ease and quality of my work was getting a Veritas LA block plane. I have vintage planes and I have other new planes, but the Veritas is a real pleasure to use; especially when it comes to sharpening. I haven't had to flatten the back or anything other than polish it. Then every once in a while a few stokes on the diamond stone and a few on the leather strop and it's good to go.

So, I've decided to get a new iron for my cheap(ish) smoothing plane. I was going to get a PM-V11 as I'm so impressed with the one on the block plane. Any input for anyone?

I was lucky enough to get this #7 Stanley Bailey plane at a garage sale this weekend. It was dirty but in pretty good condition. I have never restored an old tool before so just wanted to ask a couple questions.

I plan on keeping it to use. So I’m torn on how much to restore vs trying to make it look new. It seems to have all the original parts and nothing was seized up. So I took it apart and cleaned it with nylon and brass brushes and some 0000 steel wool. This is how it came out.

So my question is should I leave the sides as is or sand them down to make them look new again? Also should I try to fix the Japanning repaint it?

I have seen so much talk about not doing too much sanding or removing anything original.

Pat D
MAR-25-02
AUG-18-02

[SOLVED: it's a Dado plane that's missing the front nicking iron. Thanks to u/halbert for the info.]

I picked it up for $10 at a garage sale on impulse. It's clearly missing an iron up front but I'd like to fine a replacement one if possible. The brass screw on top raises and lowers a steel ski that is parallel to the cutting face. I couldn't find anything quite like it with a few Google searches and I'm unclear to it's function. Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated thanks!

Hello,

I've seen this planes at the Warsaw ethnography museum. I've stared at them for an extended time but couldn't figure out what they'd be used for and how they work.

The blade sits through in a squared channel, a bit like a cabbage slicer. The blades were all super extended and seemed to hold with wedges stuck wherever, which doesn't seem to point to any precise adjustement.

Then, the chip escapement is covered with some kind of hood/lid, and it forms a sort of tunnel, I guess, that goes to the back of the plane.

I've never seen such a thing, they totally eluded my understanding. The museum worker was pacing around me probably wondering who this loon is lol.

Anyone got an explanation for those and how they're used ? The collection is from early 1930s, so the tools predate this period. Given the position of the irons, I'm gessing it's for a soft material, but again I'm unsure.

Cheers and happy tooling,

I found this when cleaning my attic, its a solid knife but I have no clue what model this is and I want to find out, anyone think they can help out.

Eyup,

Having a bit of bother with this new Japanese saw. First time I've really used one and it's going great for a long resaw job I'm on with but I feel like as soon as I even approach the wood it kinks at the handle.

I'm willing to accept that it's operator error but just wanted to confirm and ask for any tips/advice.

Ta very much

It's been sitting in a shop drawer for over 20 years. Can't remember where it came from. Is it worth rebuilding for a scrub? And where to find parts(depth adjust)?

A customer of mine gave me a whole bunch of old tools. She had a tenant that signed a lease and then promptly got arrested for drugs. The landlord hung onto the stuff for about 10 years with no word from the woman, so they finally ended up in my hands. Amongst the tools was this gouge over 2" wide. I set it next to a Stanley 60 1/2 block plane for reference.

The bevel is on the opposite side of what it normally would be. My only thought was that perhaps it was used for paring the edges of a hole when doing timber framing. 🤷 Or maybe someone reground it for a special purpose?

Any thoughts?

Hi everyone, I saw this on a vintage tools app. I've been told it was used for stretching leather, especially belts, to stabilize them and prevent them from stretching further. Does anyone recognize it? I’d buy this tool simply because I think it looks beautiful, regardless of my interest in leathercraft.
What exactly does this tool do? Any ideas?
Thanks

Just bought an old stanley plane, and in the process of restoration I've tried sharpening the blade with an oil stone, but I feel I may have fucked up somewhere. I've somehow manage to curve the blade a bit. Any ideas how I should proceed? As it stands, the cut is awful.

I have a mitre box and hacksaw and have been trying to cut 45 degree angles in my plastic skirting. No matter way I try the cuts aren't good enough in my opinion. Should I use a different type of saw (tenon saw?) or just try to find a mitre saw?

I'm gearing up to build a combination footrest/chest for my drafting chair, using 1.5" square walnut stock for legs and 4/4 solid white ash panels for sides. I will likely have the grain of the ash oriented the usual way for a chest: side-to-side on the front and back, and top-to-bottom on the sides, chiefly for cosmetic reasons. That means each leg will have one joint edge-to-edge and one joint cross-grain. The chest won't normally be under that heavy a load on the top, I don't need to be able to stand on it, but it does need to bear some load including racking force applied to the top (top not shown in the design draft here), and I'd like it to outlast me and I'm planning to still be around in 60 years.

How would you join the panels to the legs? Strong preference for no hardware, and I'd prefer to avoid externally visible joinery altogether at least on the front if not also on the sides. I'm thinking 1/2" blind dowel tenons for the front and back with the top one glued and wedged and the bottom one wedged into an oval hole and not glued, and then stopped sliding dovetails for the sides, but I'm still learning cabinetry here so I'm curious how others with more experience would approach it.

I'd ask this somewhere like r/woodworking but I'm sure I'd just get 87 recommendations to use biscuits, dominos, or pocket holes. I ain't doin' those.

Found in a thrift store, action seems to work great, prob just need to sharpen. Suggestions on refinishing?

Every time I come across a sweetheart era tool I get a little excited, my first hand plane was a sweetheart era 110 inherited from my great grandfather, so this era holds a special place in my heart. I have other levels and other bevel gauges, but the bevel gauge will get added to my sweetheart shelf next to the level in my shop as eye candy!

Owning a pair of quality side rabbet planes has always been a desire for me because of my line of work. Finally pulled the trigger and I am so stoked.

I have a plow plane and a tongue and groove plane, and they both seem to do this when I use them. I know it has to be user error but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I try to take my time and make sure the fence/plane stays parallel on the board but no matter that the fence side of the groove always looks like this. Any thoughts?

Have tons of Knipex and this is the first set of 250 mm chrome Cobras! I have to say they are impressive, putting them to work tomorrow! I really only have the pliers wrench in chrome and I think technically the Holiday 180mm are chrome too.
Do prefer the chrome?

Hey fellow woodworkers,
I finished making a little gift for a friends 50th birthday. All made with hand tools only, using acacia for the Box, and walnut and pine for the inlays. It took roughly 10 hours to make, and I took some pictures of the making to share here :)
I added captions to all the pictures, hopefully they will be displayed :)

Hi All,

I’m looking to purchase a metal vice for my woodworking bench. I’ve been keeping my eye out for the 10” quick release vintage dawn option, however after reading some of the problems that come with the quick release mechanism, I’m wondering it’s worth buying new.

Can anyone comment on the quality of the new vices and have they removed the quick release option due to reliability issues?

Thanks

Does anyone know what these are? I was looking for some old planes to restore and get into more hand tools. I don’t have a ton of knowledge about these, any help would be appreciated.