In this guest perspective from Bill Rainford, traditional joiner, we learn a powerful method for analyzing today’s tool prices and thinking about which tools you really need in your shop. This article is about woodworking hand tools, but as someone who has visited Bill’s shop, I can tell you that he is no hand-tool purist. You’d love some of the machinery, new and old, he has acquired and cared for over the years.
We have a small dining room area in our farmhouse that is separate from the living room and kitchen. The area is much smaller in space than our last house. I was little confused that our typical rectangular farmhouse table was not going to cut it. So, I walked in I came to know that we needed to build a round dining table. So, I searched for a plan design idea and build a very own round farmhouse dining table. I was an amazing DIY plan, I just love it!
As someone who finds hand planing a challenge the minimalist approach seems like the best way to truly learn a tools quirks and develop the skill required. So the Veritas BU planes are going along with the Tormek required to sharpen those gargantuan irons and a diamond plate and oil stone are on the way to get my old Stanley no 5 humming. I never found a sharpening routine that didn’t look a ball ache to keep the BU planes working well and being a stick thin wimp the weight of the buggers for anything more than controlled smoothing shavings knackered me out.
Dan, I’m worried about you. The stress must be getting to you. Somehow you’ve lost your ability to count. By my estimation, your list has at least 29 items, some of which are actually “sets” of items, like chisels or crayons, which I only counted as one item. Perhaps you need a break from all that blogging, and time to get back to basics, like counting. I can help. Come over to my shop and we can count things like parts, items on the honey-do list, and for extra credit, screw holes. Don’t worry about making mistakes, I’ll guide you through it, and we can round up if necessary. Ha!
For very many years (since the early 70’s) I built furniture, that I still have and use, with a Stanley No4 as my one and only plane – and only one blade for it. I still have, and use, that same plane. I now have other planes, but the first one is still my ‘go to’ plane. I have just given away my set of chisels, to my son, as I have collected a few old wooden handled ones which I now prefer, but those old blue plastic Marples set did me well for about 25 years.
