Reply To: Buying Woodworking Tools is Becoming Stupid
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Most people mistakenly want to find the full set of ‘bells & whistles’ with each one.
Before they own one, they feel they might be losing functionality if they don’t have them.
There’s a good reason for missing fences/gauges/shoes. They were never any use.
It was a sales gimmick. Everyone took them off. Most got lost.
Ever seen Paul using any of that?
The ‘fence’ is 1″ in length. Wouldn’t keep you straight.
The ‘guide’ doesn’t prevent you veering to the sides.
It’s not a good plough-plane.
It is an excellent router – without all that ‘stuff’.
A smooth-running sole is ruined with lateral groves against the direction of travel.
The ‘depth-stop’ isn’t a stop of any kind. Its a poor visual aid.
Closing the throat with a ‘shoe’ is unnecessary. A wooden sole & two screws did that.
Calling it ‘open’ is misleading. Your view’s obscured by the bracket & bridge.
If you want an open throat, turn the iron around. It’s as open as you’ll ever need.
They never were cheap. Even in the 1920’s. That’s why people went to all the trouble of casting their own copies in bronze. Who would do that for a tool today? I think Paul said his cost him a weeks’ wages fifty years ago. £76 today doesn’t seem too bad in comparison.
Premium prices are for all cutters, original boxes, instructions… because it’s a collector’s investment. Any woodworker worth his salt makes a wooden box. If you want a router for woodworking, they’re a lot cheaper. When I sold one last year, one buyer said “I only want NEW. Boxed. Under £35”. They’re 50-120 years old. If you’re popping back to 1923, get me a couple!