Originally Posted by
James Pallas
Because of some recent posts I started thinking about the real costs involved with hand tool work…
Jim
I bet I know which posts those were. I often find myself frustrated when people seem to suggest that the solution to every problem is to run out an buy another newer, better, more expensive tool. I worry that newbies will get the impression that a fortune has to be spent to get started, and your post suggests to me that I'm not wrong to worry about that.
It may seem weird for a guy who makes expensive tools to think like that, and obviously I'm not opposed to people spending as much money as that want, but no one should ever feel like they have to spend a lot to do good work. Money can't buy you skill. I read that Mike Siemsen teaches a class where he cuts dovetails with a hacksaw and a sharpened screwdriver. That's awesome. Recently on Chris Schwarz's blog, Mike wrote:
Build a good solid foundation of skills rather than a tool box full of tools you don’t know how to use, you cannot buy your way in.
On the other hand, I don't think anyone should get the impression that it's a piece of cake to get started with absolute bargain basement tools. It's an arduous road to refurbish a bunch of basket case planes and chisels and saws when you are just starting out and don't know what you are doing. When I see a guy with thirty planes that cost $5 each, I wish he would have spent that money on two good planes instead. When I look around at woodworkers who are both productive and proficient, what I most often see is a relatively small kit of high-quality tools.
Getting back to your specific case for a moment, if I were in your situation, I would get a WWII or earlier Stanley no.5, in great shape, from a reputable seller. I'm thinking that would cost $50 to $80, but I haven't priced Stanleys in a long time, so I could be off. I'd get a second blade, so I could have one heavily cambered iron for roughing, and another for finishing. I would get a medium or fine India stone, less than $20, and a hard black ark. You mentioned freehand sharpening, so you could use a 2 x 6 stone, which would cost less than $50. For periodic flattening of the stones, get a pound of 60-80 loose silicon carbide grit off ebay, $10 shipped, and a piece of glass from a local glass shop, $5 or less (mine was free). Add some wd40 and you're set. This isn't for just flattening a board; it will cover virtually all your bench plane needs until you're ready to diversify a little. I calculate $150-200 for the whole setup. Of course you could go cheaper, but this is an easy way to be in business right away, with virtually no time spent fettling or refurbishing. That's not so bad!
"For me, chairs and chairmaking are a means to an end. My real goal is to spend my days in a quiet, dustless shop doing hand work on an object that is beautiful, useful and fun to make." --Peter Galbert