What rope is best for pulling planes??

[Kees Heiden]

Indeed, that's new for me!

I can see how it starts, pull the plane back a bit and the rope gets tight around the shaft and starts winching. But how do you stop? Dropping the plane on the floor? Or is the end of the resistance of the plane stroke enough to release the tension on the rope?

[phil harold]

Hemp is required on Colorado planes

[harry strasil]

the fellow with the end of the rope puts tension on the rope and the friction grabs the rope and pulls the plane, to stop the fellow with the end of the rope slacks offf and the shaft or cat head spins inside the rope turns which lets the plane handler move back to the starting point and it repeated till the correct size is achieved. there is a picture of the process in one of the older WWing books, not sure which one tho.

[Bill Houghton]

The related question is where you get a teenage apprentice to pull the rope.

[Michael Mahan]

The related question is where you get a teenage apprentice to pull the rope.

Tell him your gonna send him on Colorado Vacation if they help !

[Kees Heiden]

Thank you Harry, I understand now.

[Judson Green]

Its obvious that you have never seen a cat head in use? Its a friction drive, when you pull on the end that's wrapped several times around the shaft it grabs and thus does the work, quit pulling and it stops, no friction to grab the shaft. In the old days before fully mounted carnival rides, that's how the Ferris Wheels were assembled and disassembled. Its also used on oil well drilling rigs.

In the sailing world its called a capstan winch.

[Maurice Ungaro]

I hear that Lie-Nielsen has developed a special blended artisinal rope for this purpose. I'm going to the Raleigh Tool event next week - hopefully they can demo it there!

[Dave Anderson NH]

The largest plane I've seen cut an 8" wide swath. It was about 2 feet ling and about 10" wide overall. It was built for the USS Ranger Foundation to plane deck boards for the planned building of a replica of John Paul Jone's ship. It weight about 80 pounds and was rolled around on a modified shipping hand cart. They used 3 strand laid nylon line 7/16" diameter. This was donated by Plymouth cordage back in the day they still made "Goldline" and were located in Plymouth MA.

[Ryan Mooney]

Na, you got it all wrong. It's horse hair

Ah horse hair. I've been on the twisting end (I was the unmotivated force unwittingly motivated into motivating the motion of the twister) of a whole lot of horse hair ropes as a young whipper snapper. Mane hair is much much softer, but also a shorter staple and thus not nearly as strong as tail hair. Tail hair on the other hand has the prickly advantage of being a superlative snake barrier when placed in a circle around your bedroll on the high prairies lessening the probability you'll wake up with a little buddy with a rattle coiled up next to you. It does little to deter the crawlier forms of critters though so make sure you still shake out your boots in the morning.

It is strong enough that we used to tuck a long (25-30') coil of it into our belts that was the long end of the fiador rope on the hackamore when riding less-than-broke colts out and about. That way if you got thrown off into the toolieweeds you had a chance of getting a hold of it and pulling them around and not having to walk the several miles back to the ranch.

I don't believe it would make a very good tow rope for hand planes for a number of reasons I will forebear to bore you with here.

[Adam Cruea]

I made a 6"
wide crown and bed molding planes for the housewrights in the museum when they were building a building completely by hand. They just used ordinary old rope as they could not find real hemp at the time. The planes had a dowel on each side so someone could assist by pulling. I made the irons too. They planed 130' of molding without re sharpening,they said.

The "This Old House" guy(what's his name?) was visiting one time. They cautiously let him handle the plane. He is well known off camera for just carelessly tossing things down after he looks at them. Another "Hollywood" woodworker. I don't know how they do it. Somehow he was cautioned to be careful.

Perhaps some plane makers could be induced to produce planes with mini "tow hooks" down low on the plane's body for attaching the requisite towing cable.

Bob Vila? Norm Abram?

[george wilson]

Bob Vila,thanks for the jog.

[Brian Ashton]

Ah horse hair. I've been on the twisting end (I was the unmotivated force unwittingly motivated into motivating the motion of the twister) of a whole lot of horse hair ropes as a young whipper snapper. Mane hair is much much softer, but also a shorter staple and thus not nearly as strong as tail hair. Tail hair on the other hand has the prickly advantage of being a superlative snake barrier when placed in a circle around your bedroll on the high prairies lessening the probability you'll wake up with a little buddy with a rattle coiled up next to you. It does little to deter the crawlier forms of critters though so make sure you still shake out your boots in the morning.

It is strong enough that we used to tuck a long (25-30') coil of it into our belts that was the long end of the fiador rope on the hackamore when riding less-than-broke colts out and about. That way if you got thrown off into the toolieweeds you had a chance of getting a hold of it and pulling them around and not having to walk the several miles back to the ranch.

I don't believe it would make a very good tow rope for hand planes for a number of reasons I will forebear to bore you with here.

Ah but you see that's where you went wrong - you need the hair from the unicorn.

[Gary Viggers]

I hear that Lie-Nielsen has developed a special blended artisinal rope for this purpose. I'm going to the Raleigh Tool event next week - hopefully they can demo it there!

I'd put off buying it if I was you. Lee Valley is coming out with one and it will be sold at a low introductory price.

[Rick Markham]

Ah horse hair. I've been on the twisting end (I was the unmotivated force unwittingly motivated into motivating the motion of the twister) of a whole lot of horse hair ropes as a young whipper snapper. Mane hair is much much softer, but also a shorter staple and thus not nearly as strong as tail hair. Tail hair on the other hand has the prickly advantage of being a superlative snake barrier when placed in a circle around your bedroll on the high prairies lessening the probability you'll wake up with a little buddy with a rattle coiled up next to you. It does little to deter the crawlier forms of critters though so make sure you still shake out your boots in the morning.

It is strong enough that we used to tuck a long (25-30') coil of it into our belts that was the long end of the fiador rope on the hackamore when riding less-than-broke colts out and about. That way if you got thrown off into the toolieweeds you had a chance of getting a hold of it and pulling them around and not having to walk the several miles back to the ranch.

I don't believe it would make a very good tow rope for hand planes for a number of reasons I will forebear to bore you with here.

My ten gallon hat is off to you sir!

Ha! Toolieweeds