The right tool really does make all the difference

[Jim Koepke]

Traditional wedge abutment planes rarely rate a mention on this forum.

Mostly any item on this forum is mentioned as often as one shows up in someone's tool kit or someone finds one hunting rust.

In my neck of the woods the very few traditional wedge abutment planes to come across my path were not restorable.

However some of my shelves and a few boxes are full of wooden molding planes.

When it the time comes to build my own it will first be spent on building planes that do not already reside in my kit.

jtk

[Warren Mickley]

I made a 16 inch jack (fore) plane in 1978 and I still use it for all roughing. There is little danger of a sole wearing out in a lifetime of use. I prefer a jack plane to a scrub plane because the hands are farther apart which makes it easier to control, more leverage or greater moment. Using a scrub plane is like having a little steering wheel on a truck.

The term "scrub" was coined by Stanley tools around 1890. It was a short iron plane with a narrow curved iron. The English and American tradition used the longer planes. The terms jack and fore have been used somewhat interchangeably for more than three centuries.

The French used a short, horned plane called a rifflard. This plane is mentioned by Felibien (1667) for use when the wood is "bad", but he does not illustrate it along with the other planes. Roubo (1769) does not mention or illustrate this tool at all in his multi volume work. Diderot mentions the rifflard in the Encyclopedia, but does not illustrate it with other planes.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I made a 16 inch jack (fore) plane in 1978 and I still use it for all roughing.

My stanley scrub gets a lot less use since I found a wooden jack. It is a lot better for roughing than the Stanley No. 5 that I have. The scrub can take deeper cuts, but the jack does very well.

[Dave Lehnert]

My Scrub Plane I found at an antique store not too long ago.
Have not got a chance to tune it up and use.

scrub plane (3).jpgscrub plane (5).jpg

[bridger berdel]

I have had various planes set up to scrub- a coffin smoother, a #4, a #5. I got a Stanley #40 recently in a box of rusty tools. Much better.

[Patrick Chase]

My Scrub Plane I found at an antique store not too long ago.
Have not got a chance to tune it up and use.

scrub plane (3).jpgscrub plane (5).jpg

That's the same basic pattern as the ECE that was the subject of this thread. Should work nicely if all is in proper order (can't really tell from the pix, but's it's a pretty low bar for a scrub in any case).

[Rick Malakoff]

Here's my contribution, found at the "Swamp Meat". Seems to work well right out of the box so to speak. Cant make out the iron makers mark "K E M SCH" with BEST on the bottom.
rick
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