Plough plane – advice on buying
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- This topic has 35 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 7 months ago by markh.
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I like an old record no44, I picked mine up off ebay for less than £10, mine came with no blades so I got some ray isles blades and it’s been great, with a set of blades though expect to pay a lot more. The Record 043 is good as well but only for narrow grooves, at some point I’d like one because of its smaller size. Also, best of luck with your woodworking projects! It can get addictive.
- This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by btyreman.
Hi Kirsty,
I have to say, I bought the Veritas Router Plane as it’s fantastic, and the second-hand Stanley ones go for crazy money on ebay.
Saying that, I did manage to pick up a second hand Stanley eventually, but I had to keep an eye on ebay for months and months before I could get one at a reasonable price, so if you can justify the cost I would get the Veritas one.
I used the EZE-LAP diamond stones from the start, and have just switched to using the DMT diamond stones. I Haven’t replaced my EZE-LAP, just bought DMT ones to complement the EZE-LAP I have. I bought an XX-Coarse and and XX-Fine. So far the DMT seem to hold up better, but I’m better at sharpening now than I was when I first bought EZE-LAP.
I also found the Veritas Honing Guide very useful. It’s not cheap, but I think it’s worth it.
One thing I was lucky enough to get in the early days (and it is expensive, even for the entry-level model) was a combo planer-thicknesser. I got this one:
https://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-hobby-series-ah106pt-planer-thicknesser-101142
You don’t need it, but it will make your projects easier, quicker, and higher quality.
If you are able to get one it will make all your projects a LOT more enjoyable, in the sense that you can focus more on the project rather than having to focus hours on getting stock straight and square.
DM me if you have any specific questions that don’t fit this thread. Always happy to help, as many people were very helpful to me in my early days and I’m happy to pay it forward! 😀
Regards
Darren.
26 August 2018 at 11:53 pm #550604Hi again,
Well I think I’ll just go for the Veritas router plane. I had already set my sights on it some time ago but have been holding off as it’s quite an investment when I’m still in the early days of my new found hobby. However I’ve noticed the same as you mention with the used planes on eBay – there are many to choose from but the ones in particularly good condition or with a set of blades are not so far in cost from a Veritas router plane.
I’ll have a look at the DMT stones before buying anything, it seems other people have said the same about them holding up better. I can see why a planet thicknesser would be a good investment – although I’m taking over a portion of the garage to set up my workspace so space is at a premium! Not to mention the fact that power tools do scare me just a little bit… 😉
Thanks also for the offer of advice. Everyone seems a friendly helpful bunch on here! There is one thing I’ve been pondering lately and that’s the practicalities of storing hand tools in a garage (in cold and wet Lancashire I should mention). I’m using an uninsulated single brick wall garage, and although my tools are indoors now, once my workspace is set up im hoping to make the tool chest on Paul’s videos. But I’m Not sure how sensible it is to actually store my hand tools in a wooden tool chest in he garage, particularly in winter. Any thoughts on this? Probably one for another thread I know.
Thanks again,
KirstyHi,
I store my tools in a similar, single skin garage. I have a recurring damp problem in there that I have been dealing with for a couple of years. I’m in Wiltshire, and it always seems to be raining here!
Here’s what I did to address rust as much as possible:
i. If you want to hang anything from the walls clad them first with water resistant chipboard. I put 1 inch batten on to the wall, then screwed the chipboard to it. Then I hang French Cleats to the chipboard, and hang my stuff on that. It stops the damp coming through, and that prevents (or slows) down the rust. I’ve done a couple of walls in my garage, and I hang everything on those walls.
ii. Line the floor with interlocking rubber matting. I use something like this:
This is great stuff, and really keeps the damp from seeping up from the floor. I put this under my workbench, and anything else that will be sat permanently. Also, it is great for those times when you drop a tool! I have dropped a couple of big tools on the floor (including my Veritas Router Plane) and both survived without a scratch, which they wouldn’t have done if they’d landed on concrete.
iii. Oil / wax everything. I recently discovered Alfie Shine. It works amazingly well. Just rub a little bit all over your tools, and it will stop rust forming.
http://www.alfieshine.com/Welcome.html
iv. Saying that, if you get any rust forming, sand it off straight away and apply more Alfie Shine. In really cold weather, just blowing dust off a tool will cause condensation, and encourage rust, so bear that in mind.
v. I have some tools in an old tool chest I bought second hand (originally I think from just before WWII). I have it sitting on the floor on some of those rubber mats, and that keeps the damp out. Saying that, if you can, keep as much off the floor as possible.
vi. Plug any gaps around doors, windows, air bricks in your garage. I went around and mastic-ed every gap. It made a lot of difference.
vii. Go around the outside of your garage and make sure nothing is piled up against the walls ABOVE the damp proof layer. I had soil above my DPC on one side, and that really made the garage wet. Removing it helped a lot.
viii. Don’t cover things up. I used to cover all my machines and tools with dust sheets to keep the dust off them, but that encouraged condensation. When I stopped, the rate of rusting on those tools dropped like a stone.
ix. Fit a dust barrier under the garage door. That stops leaves, dust, rain and damp air blowing in. This also helped me a lot.
I got some from here, and it works really well:
https://www.weatherstop.co.uk/
x. Lastly, keep as much off the floor as you can. I have built a saw till and a plane till, and hang both from the walls (using the French Cleat as above).
Regards
Darren.
Congrats on the plane, Kirsty. I have a couple of those that I got on eBay when I was hell bent on getting a plough plane. My biggest complaint (but something that these planes are all prone to) is how easily and frequently the mouth gets clogged and must be cleared. If you follow Paul’s technique (start near the front and work your way back before trying to take a full-length shaving), they are not difficult to use.
That all said, your plane appears to be missing the depth stop. It’s nothing more than a short piece of metal with a perpendicular pin that comes out and screws into the hole where the thumb-screw is on the right-hand side. It looks like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STANLEY-45-OR-55-COMBINATION-PLANE-SLIDING-SECTION-DEPTH-STOP-N-O-S-UNUSED/222025025076?hash=item33b1b90634:g:WbkAAOSwDuJWwifY. But $25 is a lot to pay for that part!
Also, as it pertains to your question about keeping hand tools in the garage (I live in Atlanta, GA which is very hot and humid during the summer months), I keep all of mine there and while I’ll notice if something that hasn’t been used in a while is showing any rust or whatnot, I’ll just nip it in the bud on the fly. My mental rationalization is that if I’m regularly doing woodwork in the garage, my regular use and maintenance of the tools will keep them in good operating condition. I think I’d be more concerned if I lived say, by the ocean, where the corrosive salt in the air seems to present a more clear and present danger to steel.
- This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by David B.
27 August 2018 at 7:40 am #550610The depth gauge and beading stop are both there. They show in one of the photo’s. I wish there was some way to avoid that “birds nest” buildup too, but it just happens with all the plough planes. Just be careful that none of that material gets between fence and the work piece. If you push it too far without removing the shavings, it will clog up to the point that yoh have to remove the cutter to get the waste out.
to protect your tools, nothing beats a tool chest or tool box in my opinion, I live in manchester and it’s very humid and wet here most of the year, I have been building the joiners toolbox out of pine and it’s a good project, only time will tell if it keeps the rust at bay, but I’ll know by this autumn/winter, that’s usually when rust is at its worst, I am about to finish off the box after 6 months making it.
[quote quote=550610]The depth gauge and beading stop are both there. They show in one of the photo’s. I wish there was some way to avoid that “birds nest” buildup too, but it just happens with all the plough planes. Just be careful that none of that material gets between fence and the work piece. If you push it too far without removing the shavings, it will clog up to the point that yoh have to remove the cutter to get the waste out.[/quote]
Where are you seeing them? Either I’m blind or I’m looking at a different set of photos! I just see the rods and the fence that slides on them.
27 August 2018 at 1:59 pm #550616“Where are you seeing them? Either I’m blind or I’m looking at a different set of photos! I just see the rods and the fence that slides on them.”
Ebay isn’t showing the original listing now and the one that comes up may be what you’re seeing too. The original listing clearly showed both the depth gauge and the beading stop in the second or maybe third photo laying among the disassembled parts. On the one that comes up now, which is not the same plane, the beading stop is laying loose in the next to last photo and the depth gauge is installed (I think) but hard to see. The description lists both as being there.
- This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by harry wheeler.
27 August 2018 at 7:34 pm #550626Hi again,
Firstly, thank you very much Darren for all the very helpful info on getting my workspace damp free (or less damp!) Is it worth putting some insulation between the brick and the chipboard I wonder? If nothing else might make it more comfortable to work in during the winter evenings? I’m thinking a heater would cause condensation issues but again I’m just guessing there. The rubber matting looks great too, for the safety aspect you mention also. My garage floor is ridiculously uneven and the concrete is coming up along one side so I haven’t even started thinking about how I’m going to work around that…
Anyway, I’ve taken on board all the info you’ve given and it’s all a great help, so many thanks again for that.David, Ive looked again at the ebay listing and I think the depth stop is included – I’ll try to attach a picture if I can. I assume as Harry mentioned it’s not showing all the images now that the listing has ended. It’s a good point you mention about regular use keeping tools in good condition – and never a better excuse to get out and do some woodworking!
Btyreman, you’re not far from me in Preston. We will have the same luck with the weather! It would be great to know how the tool chest works out for you. That’s definitely on my list of projects to do. And should be good practice before I start on furniture that I’ll want to have in the house.
Thanks Harry for the tip on using the plough plane too. I’ll be sure to look out for that and stop it getting clogged up. I’m itching to get started now. I was bought a power router a couple of years back but then discovered Paul Sellers and decided to go the hand tools route, so I’m trying to sell my unused power router to help fund the Veritas router plane! Everyone has been very helpful and welcoming on this forum so thank you again to everyone who has taken the time to reply.
Kirsty28 August 2018 at 1:24 am #550652Hi Kirsty,
Have fun with you plough plane. I have one which I have used for rabbets and dadoes and whilst it is a bit fiddly, it does work quite well. I do find the metal a bit uncomfortable to use though and watch you fingers on the vice etc! I recently bought an old wooden plough plane off ebay for £12.50 and have found it much faster to set up, a lot more comfortable to use and if anything, better quality results. You should look out for them on ebay, they can go quite cheap.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.28 August 2018 at 8:35 pm #550695For what its worth I live up in Newcastle and my workshop is in a 11×8 shed with no insulation and until recently a leaking roof! It probably comes as no surprise that this winter I had a problem with tools rusting due to condensation. It was mainly the planes that were badly affected as they were on open shelves.
Half way through the winter I cleaned the rust off and nipped to a charity furniture shop and bought a second hand vintage chest of drawers with ply bottoms to the drawers for strength. I put all the planes in there and not one has rusted since. I didn’t bother oiling them but this would have been a belt and braces approach. It seems to me that if you want to stop rust, get your tools under cover in a chest or a tool cabinet (top of my list for my next project).
I did fit a greenhouse tube heater running off a thermostat but I think its questionable how effective it has been. I have also used those single use de-humidifier tubs and they have helped take moisture out all year round. Oh and fixing the roof may have helped a bit too!
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