Popular Woodworking 2001-06 № 122, страница 12

Toolbox Dozuki Affordable and Handy, if a Bit Rough Around the Edges

Lee Valley offered this tool more than 15 years ago, and it's back by popular demand. A Japanese pull saw is desirable for many applications, but the improved performance usually means a somewhat fragile tool that requires special care. With this folding version, the blade is f olded inside the handle to protect the teeth from the jostling encountered in a toolbox. The blade is sturdier than normal, and while the cut isn't as perf ect as a high-end dozuki costing $ 100 or more, it's rugged and performs well in anything from a pine 2 x 4 to figured white oak.

We were intrigued to notice that the handle \ / on our test saw was made from highly figured curly

maple, but was covered by a dark stain and a poor-quality finish. With a little lacquer thinner and some elbow grease the figured wood shone through as nicely as any piece of finished furniture. For the luxury of having a fine-cutting dozuki handy at all times (without having to baby the tool) this is a great buy for the toolbox at $19.95.

—Jim Stuard

For more information, circle #151 on the Resource Directory Coupon.

New Clifton Bench Planes Designed forYears of Hard Use and to Compete with Lie-Nielsen

SPECIFICATIONS: Clifton Bench Planes

Street price: #3,#4 and #5: $200, #6: $280, #7: $300 Blade: I/8" thick, hand forged Blade hardness: Rc 60-62 Handles: bubinga Performance: ••••• Value: ••••◦

Robert Larson: 800-356-2195, or www.rlarson.com

For more information, circle #152 on the Resource Directory Coupon.

After many cross-country phone calls and trans-Atlantic faxes, we had the privilege to shop test one of the brand-new Clifton bench planes from Clico Tooling Ltd. in Great Britain. These well-made beauties are aimed to compete with the expensive-but-worth-it planes from Tom Lie-Nielsen in Warren, Maine. After a few weeks with the Clifton #3, all we can say is: Watch out Lie-Nielsen. At its core, the Clifton #3 is a lot like the Lie-Nielsen bench planes. Both have a frog that seats on a fully machined section of the base casting. This feature, which was pioneered on the Stanley Bed Rock series of planes (1898 -1943), was expensive to pull off (and it still is), but the results have always been worth it. Like the Lie-Nielsen's, the Clifton's frog can be adjusted forward and back to tighten the throat without dismantling the frog, something you have to do on most Bailey-style planes. Instead, you merely loosen two screws at the back and turn the center frog-adjusting screw. Check your depth of cut, and you're good to go.

OK, so how did this thing do out of the box? The sole looked a bit bowed when checked with a straightedge, so I lapped it. To my surprise, however, the sole needed very little attention to become perfectly true. The blade is a ^1/8ⁿ-thick hand-forged job that comes with Clifton's two-piece Stay-Set cap. Clifton sells these blades with the cap for more than $80 in some catalogs, so getting one on this plane is a nice bonus. The face of the blade was perfectly flat out of the wrapper — something I have never seen. The primary bevel was also ground true. I honed a secondary bevel on the edge and put her back together and got out a cherry board. Yes, the plane is nice. Yes, you need one. Yes, you can afford it if you start saving your money right now. It's worth every bit of the $200. In fact, the Cliftons are a bargain because some of them are priced significantly less than the comparable Lie-Nielsen models. Supply of Clifton planes is limited now; good luck if you want one tomorrow. To buy one, we recommend you contact the Robert Larson Co. for a supplier in your area.

— Christopher Schwarz

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