Yea mate, another good one thanks, I prep all my timber by hand, got no planer thicknesser, jointer, old fashioned kinda guy me! have a great weekend dude, thanks for posting, keep 'em coming
I’ve just picked up a beat up wooden fore plane - 17 inches long with a relatively narrow cambered iron and wide mouth. After planing the sole and honing the blade I have to say the thing is a revelation. Like a scrub plane it’s quick but the length means you are leveling without really thinking too hard. Take care of twist first, obviously, as on longer boards even a long plane might ride through a twist. It’s a lot lighter than a similar size metal bodied plane so good for long sessions.
Oh-dude… I hear you. RU-vid was where I started out and learned the basics, there’s a ton of BS here and costly BS too, what’s worse is I had to try and see if it worked, then try something else and so on, till I pretty much taught myself and what worked for me, all said and done dude, that’s what you must keep in the forefront of your mind, “what is it that works for me” there’s no one rule, there’s a lot of peeps here that show you something that’s a so called ground breaking idea for clicks, but it’s absolute bs.
Top tips mate as I start to get interested in hand planes. Yep, a thicknesser was always going to be first on the list, but I'm in no rush. Lots of workshop project before then.
I haven't seen that edge guide stabiliser doowhackey before, but it looks uber handy. I _always_ end up with an angled edge after the first passes with a handplane, and I end up spending way more time getting it square than I should. Same as hand sharpening, freehand just doesn't seem to work for me. I don't blame the tools though....I blame the uneven workshop floor 😄Couldn't possibly be me...
To tell you the truth I can't remember how I came about it either I only remembered I had it when I was filming this vid, shame you're not closer mate, you could have it!
Great video man! Good advice that is actually accurate. I’m beginning to see that so many of these YT videos are very bad information. Watched a ton of barn door build videos that are just gonna warp like crazy. Just like when you mentioned the Mdf sled. You’ve tried it. Doesn’t work. I followed one of those videos and had a very pretty door that will warp like crazy come winter. As someone who is about to try to buy his first rough lumber and mill it, this was a super helpful video. Thanks!
Thank you Jeremy for the complement mate! Its like watching people make herring bone tables with the wood glued to an mdf sub straight most days on YT! Hope youre having a nice weekend!!! 🍻🍻🍻
Thank you for your compliment mate, one thing I though was I need to me sod what peeps think... So nice to read your complement mate, especially when I get comments putting me down cause of outside factors like depression.. Hope yore having a wicked weekend mate!!!
Mat loved the video, and you’re so right, it doesn’t take much to hand plane a board relatively flat then whack it through the thicknesser. Although my thicknesser bed works a treat and I’ve had no problems with it, all my stock comes out very square and it’s made from MDF 🤷🏻♂️🙈😂
Thank you Nathan! I think mainly cause the metal, some irons are made of crap and sharpen fast but blunt fast, or they had A2 that takes for ever to sharpen but keeps an edge, I personally hate sharpening with a passion too!
Good advice! I got rid of my jointer and built a dead flat assembly table. Flatten one face of a board so it doesn't rock on a flat surface, run it through the thickness planer, and you're golden! Shoot, I don't even have a table saw anymore.
@@HewAndAwe I sold my table saw to the woodshop at my job. I have visitation rights. At my personal shop I have a Bosch track saw. Not as convenient to use, but the dust collection is far superior.
Great video!! I need to get some of those hand planes. I don’t know how many hours I’ve spent hot gluing and then lifting it and running it threw the planer or drum sander. Works your arms out , that’s for sure. Any good kit or set you could recommend for a beginner? And hello 👋 from the states , I’m Tyler From Iowa 😃.
Hi Tyler! I’d say start with the cheap Stanley plans, see how you get on with them. If you find them a paint to use I’d suggest you try low angle planes not all are made equal mind you, you pay for what you get. I think the veritas are a good middle ground of value and quality. 👍
@@HewAndAwe By cheep Stanley I take it you meen modern and not vintage. Then provided you put in the work to set them up the modern ones can do a good job. It is just a lot of work to set up a modern Stanley.
Nice one Ben. Some very useful information and advise. Love a bit of hand planing. Maybe a run through all your Hand tools would make an interesting future vid. Just a thought.
Cheers Derek, to tell you the truth I'm well stuck for ideas of what to film, especially build vids. Materials are thin on the ground too. I'll put that on a list to do mate!
I use an old timber jack plane belonged to my great great uncle it'd be around 140 years old fuckin lovely thing to use, then it's a trip through the thicknesser it's a cheap Ryobi but it does a good job for what it is and what the timbers I work with are (Australian hardwoods mainly blackwood atm). Just got a old 10" planner that I'm restoring.
Old Mae West Quote: When I'm good, I'm very good. But when I'm bad I'm better. New Ben's Quote: When i'm funny, i'm very funny. But when i'm serious, i'm dead serious. Or is fun serious after all???? 👍 Great one Ben, thanks a million mate.
@@HewAndAwe This is one of my classic "english" jokes: "Are you serious""? "Yes. I'm from Syria!" 😂 PS Glad to know this mate, got many friends from there. There is a connection between Crete-Syria too, there are some "Cretan- origin" villages, where they still speak some Cretan language/words. Pity this beautiful country is so messed up in the last years...
Hi Ben. Love watching you use your hand planes but I'm one of those who hates a nice little workout lol, It's not me it's my arms. I must say though I enjoyed watching you use them and looking at your fantastic collection, some types I've never even heard of. I agree with you if your on a budget and preparing wide boards that's the way to go. Well demonstrated. You shown two really hard timbers for hand planning beginners to avoid. Brilliant Ben, enjoyed watching. Tony
This is how I do it. I'm not looking for perfection with the hand plane. I don't try and fix any bits of tear out. If I flip it "clean" face down and it feels flat. I run it through my cheap planer... Before I'm done planing, both sides will be go through the planer. Like you said in the video. The jig doesn't work for long boards... I glued the MDF together for a sled too. I found it rigid, but just to heavy and I'm pretty fit. I do my edges with a jig on the table saw, but you definitely get a cleaner edge then I do with a hand plane. PS: if I could do it again I would have bought an electric hand plane for this task. I will when I have more money. Thanks for the great content! I hope lots of people correct themselves to take this path before wasting as much time as I did.
@@HewAndAwe I get ya, and I see that your right. That being said, I would use a combination of both an electric hand plane and a No. 7... Just eyeball the high spots the way some people on RU-vid do with a scrub plane.... I'd love to learn to use a scrub plane too(I've got an old no 4 that I can't manage to use as a smoothing plane), but with only so many hours in a day.
Hi Ben, another great video, as usual. As a relative newbie to woodworking I hear people say all the time to get your boards somewhere near to final size, and then let them acclimatise before finishing to the final size. My question is how near is near? Is it 5mm on the length, width, height or is it more or less than that? Having not really had the experience of boards shifting to date any advice, will I'm sure, save me some hard earned in the future.
Morning Jon. Normally I’d say just a few mm, the length I usually leave 40mm ish to be honest cutting to length is pretty much done last thing, especially if it’s a panel glue up cause there’s a good change it’s not square.
I don't have any of the things in this video, and am on the brink of going down this pathway so this video couldn't be better timed. I've been tempted by one of those cheap combo machines but the more I think about it I'm concerned they're just gimmicky garbage that will end up on marketplace, having barely been used. Thanks for the solid advice
Do you mean like the TITAN, no way would I waste the money on that, heard enough bad about it, its too short anyway, for really small stuff. Cheers Sam, hope you're having a cracking weekend!
You're talking about the most extreme use case for a planer thicknesser. Not many people are making 2.2m long dining tables with them. These things are incredibly useful for many tasks - dining tables, not so much, but I'd dare say that's obvious.
Only here in north America (U.S and Canada) is a planer called a jointer or a thickness planer/thicknesser is called a planer. I'm not sure but I think it was a marketing decision to distinguish the two during the early DIY boom somewhere around the 50's. Or maybe a woodworker saw a 6" or 8" planer and said, "You can't plane anything on that, it's only wide enough to joint on". Anyway, I prefer Planer/Thicknesser myself. All the Best, Chuck
Oh man thank Chuck! I always wondered this, cause it make NO sense anyone calling it a jointer. A planer/jointer is pretty much a hand plane turned upside down, a planer doesn't joint anything either... And then there's the rabbet, rebate... why we can all just get on the same page I dont know, its so confusing for any newbies...
@@HewAndAwe You look all dejected at the end of your video. 😢 I bought a Felder AD-531 and haven't back. I get not everyone can jump in and afford a planer and a thicknesser especially in the beginning, but it is surely worth the investment. Just remember, in woodworking, there's nothing money can't fix, no wait, it's you only cry once! Crap, it's one of those, or is it both? 🤦♂ All the Best, Chuck
@@toolchuck Depression is a cruel mistress fella. I look back mate and think I should of just held out till I could afford what I wanted, the money I wasted buying crap only to then sell on at a loss - If I was god I would give everyone a planer thicknesser combo, on one condition they make chair!
Ive yet to buy a jointer or planer, ive been doing it by hand. I would give into a shelix planer to speed up the process of milling, but id still like to face joint one side by hand.
Yeah planet and thicknesser is the way to go, but while peeps are saving up for the planer they can get by with the above idea. The helix head doesn’t speed anything up, but boy is quieter!!! Merry Christmas! 🍻😊🍻
@@HewAndAwe im thinking of getting the Oliver 12 1/2", woodcraft has it for 1000 right now. When i buy a jointer itll be a 12", no messing around. Hand planing is fun actually. Happy new year.
Price of some of these hand planes you can buy a cheap second have planner jointer for like a TITAN TTB579PLN lol. I have the same Axminster as you an love it 👍
Really, I'm not in love with mine! The fence when set then moved forward or back its out of square, oh and dont even get me started about setting the beds, what an awful system the bolt and nuts are!
@@HewAndAwe I got mine second hand beds was set well and haven't touched it and never have a issue with the fence being out of square but it is a bit flimsy when planning large timber and trying to hold it square against the fence. But I guess all 12" planer thicknesses are gonna have some pros and cons.
Ben, this is awesome. So you know, I've seen a lot of your content lately, but mainly at work ( :) ) and there I can't comment... Anyway, I love this how-to/teaching content. I agree with everything you said. Two questions: One: how would you approach a board that's about say, 80 inches long with this technique - I'd love to see a video on that Two: Your scrub plane has a hella huge camber to it... any comments? - I understand the 'why" of the camber, but why do you have THAT MUCH?
Howzit Matt! 😊 I’d approach it exactly the same I’d have it clamped in place along the face of the bench shooting the plane diagonal across the board. With a board that long I’d make sure I’ve read the board really well first. The plane came like that from veritas, that’s kinda what I was showing that’s ridiculous camber and a normal flat grind blade pardon the pun will cut it. Sawn boards from a good supplier should never need that kinda camber. Also did you see how thick the iron is 🤯 A2 steel works just fine doesn’t need to that thick. In short that scrub plane was an unnecessary buy. 👍
We recently lumbered a 36" maple, a 36" white ash, and a 32" pecan. After drying, we tried planing with a Rigid (Home Depot) 13" planer with 2 HSS knives ru-vid.comUgkxIzvvTi3_Qc8JnVdYYRJCvuoDC4QjTzeL . This job was clearly too much for that machine. The pecan was particularly difficult, due to heavy mineral deposits, and a sharp pair of HSS knives would be consumed by a mere 3 boards. We were also having lots of problems from chip bruising, due to poor dust collection. The shavings came off like straw and jammed in the 4" hose.We bought the DW735 simply to be able to run carbide blades, which worked brilliantly for the pecan. However, we found it to be a much, MUCH nicer machine. It was far more rigid than the "Rigid" planer, and far more accurate as well. But what I liked most about it was the dust feed. This machine has its own blower, which shreds the "straw" like shavings as they come off the cutting head and helps boost the shavings into the dust collection system. No more clogs! It's also nicely sealed so that the internals stay quite clean. This is just a well tempered machine that's a delight to use. It literally cut the labor in half. Just another example of getting what you pay for.
What you're saying makes sense, but there's a little more to it, especially for the novice, who is likely the type of woodworker who is asking the question. They are just as likely to not have the hand tools and/or an adequate workbench. One might think they can save money by not having to buy a jointer (aka planer, lol), following your advice, but they're still looking at buying decent hand planes, a sharpening system and possibly something to firmly hold any size board they would typically be trying to mill. I'm not knocking your advice. I think it's very sound advice. You just missed the reality of what the novice woodworking probably lacks trying to follow it.
Fantastic video, spot on. So much RU-vid content is about how this or that jig is going to work wonders, when often just getting out the hand tools and putting in a bit of graft is actually quicker, builds skill and is endlessly versatile. Keep it up, really like your style
Lmao yeah ok.... let me spend an hour on a little board and physically wear myself down instead of running it through the machine for a minute maybe 2.....
Great video Ben but I'll disagree with your advice at 5:20 in the video re tilting the plane to fix a slight angle on the edge of the board. All the old hands I worked with years ago just moved the plane over slightly so they were only taking a pass on the angled area of the board, then go back and have one more full length pass to get it true. Angling the plane is too prone to moving and creating a bigger problem, especially with the bigger/heavier planes. Paul Sellers has a great video on the subject.
Brilliant; this is captivatingly shot, edited, accompanied. I actually rewound the beginning 3 times alone. It helps too that the content says exactly what you and many of us think and feel. It’s so satisfying (and often faster) to mill one’s own timber. ❤
I’m not sure if you’re asking about the hand plane or? The hand plane I used was a number 5, I’m not sure what you’re asking cause it’s in the vid so wondering if you meant something else like make maybe?
how is 20 minutes with a hand plane quicker than a couple shims and a piece of MDF? I'm not against getting the same results with hand tools... but you're not gonna convince me that knocking down high spots with a scrub is quicker than a pass through the planer.
Great video. Timely too. I just made my son a desk from old scaffold boards I had laying around. They had a nasty twist . Bought melamine sled. Used a ton of hot glue and shims to stop it rocking and whacked it through the thicknesser. Then flipped it. Trying to clean that glue off was a job. As you said it was over long and heavy. I’m making myself a work bench next with no sled. Only thing is snipe. Guess I’ll just have to lose a few inches from each end. Thanks again great video.
Brave to use scaff boards mate 😬 With snipe on lunch box planers you either lock off the out feed and in feed tables so they’re rock solid with absolutely no give/play in them or make a jig with a piece of melamine running through the planer and built so it’s supported 100% in and out feed sides Hope that makes sense? The machine also needs to be bolted down so it can’t move. Then you shouldn’t have any snipe. 👍
Uh, a sled is not a waste of time if you're a noobie, don't own any planes and don't want to, and have access to a planer and narrow jointer. Just saying.
