Super-Tune a Hand Plane with Christopher Schwarz

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Sun Apr 27, 2014 11:27 am

This is an excellent DVD, especially if you're just getting started with hand planes. Experts could also benefit from watching another expert at work. There are a couple clips on youtube to give you a better idea of what to expect from this 2.5 hour DVD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYCGQz0wqTk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlYDipD_5s4

fixit · Post by **fixit** » Sun Apr 27, 2014 12:47 pm

Interesting stuff! So much to learn - - so little time! This looks like something I'll probably study during my recovery period after my back surgery next month.

Thanks for posting it.

nuhobby · Post by **nuhobby** » Mon Apr 28, 2014 9:10 am

There has been a lot of chatter and controversy recently about Christopher Schwarz posting the following.... as though he has turned his back on the "tune up the oldies" philosophy:

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodw ... handplanes

I posted in another thread lately that I just picked up a used Lie Nielsen No. 2. It does work very very nicely.

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Mon Apr 28, 2014 10:07 am

Good luck with your back surgery Leonard. Here is a breakdown of the DVD:

Intro, 2 minutes
Chapter 1 Choosing the Plane to Tune, 3 minutes
Chapter 2 Purchasing a Vintage Plane, 11 minutes
Chapter 3 Disassembly & Cleaning, 15 minutes
Chapter 4 Flattening & Adjusting, 37 minutes
Chapter 5 Iron Sharpening, 8 minutes
Chapter 6 Assembly & Fine Tuning, 23 minutes
Chapter 7 Trouble Shooting, 27 minutes
Chapter 8 Super-Tuning Your Plane, 25 minutes
Chapter 9 Conclusion, 4 minutes

I was just putting the DVD on my ipad (what a pain but it will be nice to have there) so I had this info available. It shows the great detail he goes into. He is very interesting to watch and listen to. Very knowledgeable and passionate. He takes his time to patiently and clearly explain everything he is doing.

Chris, if Chris Schwarz has had a change of heart I'm sure glad he put this video out first! Glad you like your Lie Nielsen. I just don't see many of them for sale used. I've got my eye on a shoulder plane.

fixit · Post by **fixit** » Tue Apr 29, 2014 11:12 pm

Hi tomsalwasser,

Thanks for the detail on the DVD contents. I just ordered the last copy of the current supply on Amazon (they say they have more coming).

If you can explain the process of putting the DVD on your iPad I'd appreciate hearing how that's done. I hadn't thought about that but in your post it sounds like a great idea.

Thanks for the info. I'll be needing info on small projects (like turned items, scroll saw stuff or shop jigs) while recovering. And thanks for the good wishes on this surgery. I'm a bit apprehensive but fed up with living in constant pain - worth the small risks involved to get it fixed.

Mike907 · Post by **Mike907** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 1:51 am

process of putting the DVD on your iPad

Get a copy of Handbrake, or some other DVD ripping software, put it to work on the DVD, and then add to your iPad through iTunes.

I have an iPad 1 that I like to put woodworking videos on, so that I can use it in the shop. You can put the iPad in a Ziplock bag and still use the touchscreen.

Mike

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:08 am

You're welcome Leonard. I know where you're coming from. I was in constant pain from herniated disks for a long time. The pain killers didn't do much but make my head fuzzy. I really thought my life was over. I was fortunate to finally get relief from a Guided Epidural Steroid Injection. Surgery was next if that didn't work.

As far as putting the DVD on your ipad, Mike is exactly right. Here is a video which gives you the big picture. Mike uses the handbrake software mentioned here. I use format factory, also mentioned. It is a whole can of worms but useful to know once you get it all working.

If you use format factory, be careful where you download it from and be careful when you install it. I downloaded it from CNet. When it installs it asks your permission to install a tool bar on your browser. Be sure to click cancel for that, it will mess up your browser. It's great free software but that's the price.

I would also consider a portable DVD player to watch DVD's on your lap while you recover. Then you won't need to mess with copying them to your ipad. And some things are copy protected and won't copy anyway. You can also use your laptop computer to watch DVDs.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 9:00 am

This thread has given me a new goal to pursue. A task that will likely take me quite a bit of time to complete.

I have three old hand planes that were my fathers. I used and abused them when I was a teenager taking wood working classes in high school. Two of them are Stanleys and the other looks like a Stanley but is not so marked.

I have sharpened them but that is all. I don't know if the critical surfaces are flat. I just know that, when sharp, they seem to work pretty well.

Wish me luck.

For now, I gotta go find a few more videos to watch.

terrydowning · Post by **terrydowning** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 2:23 pm

I dig the old iron and regularly use several vintage tools. It's a real joy using tools that were owned and used by previous generations.

That being said. I would love to have some of the newer planes. (They are technically superior to many vintage planes)

Reasons:
New high end planes (Lie-Nielsen and Veritas also Bridge City and some others (NOT NEW STANLEY) are manufactured from the get go to much higher tolerances and quality standards than any of the vintage planes. (These guys know their niche market and have the technology and tooling available to make a superior product).

Stanley tool works is and always has been a mass manufacturing enterprise tool maker. Every penny spent in mfg increases their cost, affects profitability, and is tracked ruthlessly. This is in fact why we have cast iron planes with thin uniform thickness cutting irons with a cap iron in the first place. Leonard Bailey designed his planes to be mass manufactured at a lower cost to goods sold than wooden bodied planes period. He was solving a manufacturing problem not a wood working problem. While Leonard Bailey did re-invent the modern hand plane and did a fine job of it as well, ask most hand tool craftsman and they will tell you that a properly constructed and tuned wood body plane with a thick tapered iron is superior to cast iron in most regards.

New high end planes are ductile iron (or bronze) vs gray iron. this means they are less brittle and more forgiving when they hit the floor (as mine have been known to

). This also imparts a tiny bit of spring so they retain their factory shape and flatness longer than a vintage plane.

The blades are a bit thicker and high quality steel, the mouth openings are cast and machined for those thicker irons. Once you file a mouth opening on a vintage plane there is no going back. Filing a mouth opening by hand is never as accurate as precision machining at a factory.

The Veritas planes have interesting features and are more innovative. I kinda like the idea of set screws to retain the lateral adjustment. I often bump that damn lever and send the lateral adjustment off.

Depth adjusters have much less backlash than vintage adjusters.

But I have more time than money so finding and tuning the vintage stuff works for me and has become part of my hobby as well.

For some planes a new one is actually less expensive than vintage.
Plough planes

Low angle jack and smoothing planes. Try pricing a vintage Stanley 62 or 64 and compare to the modern equivalent. Vintage is almost double.
There are no low angle jointers in vintage stock. (They just didn't make them)

High angle planes are very rare and pricey on the vintage market. high angle frogs are readily available from lie-nielsen (Very useful for planing highly figured and difficult to plane woods The alternative is to alter the grind on your iron)

Many of the block planes especially skewed iron block planes. Stanley 140 planes (and equivalent) regularly go for more than $100 in poor condition.

Whether new or vintage I'm personally happy to see a revitalization of hand tools and it's good to know that high quality hand tools are still being made.

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 2:55 pm

Good luck with your planes Dusty. How fortunate you are to be able to use your father's tools again. Looking forward to some pictures. Have you ran them through the dating flowchart to see just what you have?

Good points Terry. I do want to treat myself to a brand new Lie Nielsen shoulder plane. And I think I will! I enjoy your photo galleries.