Popular Woodworking 2000-12 № 119, страница 38

Introduction

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When I was first revving up my new woodworking hobby I bought a table saw and ran a 100-amp electrical service out to my shop. After all, I planned to build a table for my wife and assumed I would need a planer, a band saw, a drill press, a jointer, a router and a dust collection system to go with my bright new table saw. Then I got sick. At least that's what some would say. Actually I just stumbled onto my first old hand plane and haven't bought a power tool since. Despite my illness, my wife has her table along with a few chairs and accessories that have since come from my hand-tool-only shop. Oh, I still use the 100-amp service — that's where my coffeemaker is plugged into.

Now I know I'm in the minority when it comes to using hand tools exclusively. Not many folks will use only hand planes to thickness plane rough stock. It's my choice and I stick with it because I like it, and therapy sessions to get over it are too expensive. Still, there are a lot of uses for hand tools even in a powered-up shop.

Of all hand tools, planes are probably the most symbolic and recognizable. Planes come in so many varieties that entire books have been written just about them. Let's look at some basic hand planes that can get a budding hand tool enthusiast started or fit nicely into the arsenal of a power woodworker.

The Stanley Rule and Level Co. dominated the hand plane industry in the 19th century. Consequently, Stanley's competitors adopted its hand plane numbering system. Even today, ordinary garden-variety bench planes carry these traditional numbers to designate their size. Stanley #1 through #8 include the most basic of

by Dale Lucas

Dale Lucas is a manager of product development for an internet development company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. While his profession is high-tech, his passion is for low-tech hand tools and the old ways of working wood.

56 Popular Woodworking December 1000