Knight Plane Users

Re: Knight Plane Users

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>I live in Silicon Valley where the temperature and humidity changes are moderate, but do exist (temperature range is about 25 to 110 degrees, though the days at the extremes are very few).

I have on hand:

several Mujinfang planes of rosewood and ebony,

an HNT Gordon plane of Australian Ironwood

Knight planes of purpleheart, padauk, oak, and some other wood I can't think of,

Four ECE Primus planes of Pearwood and Beech

and one antique Ohio Tools plane of Beech

None have moved significantly within the seasons in my region. However, there was significant movement when I received the Mujingfang planes from Lee Valley, when the came from a Canadian Winter. None since though.

So, I can't speak for sure for your area, but overall, I've found wood planes to actually be quite stable when kept in my unheated and uncooled garage.

Re: Knight Plane Users

William R. Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Todd, you don't know how lucky you are. You need to study a couple of charts in Robert Hoadley's Understanding Wood. These charts are at the beginning of Chapter 5, titled "Coping with Wood Movement". They show maps of the United States. One map is overlaid with Average January Temperatures, which are strongly correlated to the approximate yearly minimum household woodwork moisture content. The other map is overlaid with Average July Minimum Relative Humidity, which is strongly correlated to the approximate yearly maximum household woodwork moisture content. The difference between the two moisture content values is directly related to the amount of wood movement you can expect in your wooden woodworking tools and the furnture you build with them. All of peninsular florida has a value of about 1/2%, which is just about the best in the whole country. A few miles inland of the lower Texas coast is better, but not right on the coast, so Galveson, Corpus Christi, and Brownsville don't count. Colorado and Wyoming are really stable too. An example of places that are really bad, about 6%, are Kalamazoo, Michigan, northern Minnesota, and as expected, by extrapolation, lots of places in Canada.

You have not much to worry about, and air conditioning makes your conditions even better than they would be in a garage shop.

Re: Knight Plane Users

Wiley Horne--Glendora CA

>Hi Todd,

I'm in an inland valley of So. Calif., and we have very considerable temperature swings. My planes are kept on a utility porch, which I keep pretty well heated and cooled. This shields my woodies from the full swing of the weather, but they still know when it's 90-100% humidity outside, compared to when it's minuscule in the late summer.

I have a Knight ebony coffin smoother, several Japanese woodies of white oak, and several C&W woodies of beech and one cocobolo. Also an old Mathieson 17" beater of beech, which I use as a scrub. Also an ECE Primus smoother of (I think) European cherry and lignum vitae sole. None of these planes move much. "Not much" means that I do a test lap of 'em every coupla three months on a surface plate with 30 micron abrasive film (which is about 320grit), and it doesn't take more than a few strokes to flatten em.

I had been thinking that the indoor location was the reason I'm having good luck, until I read Lyn's post. So now I don't know.

Whatever, my experience with Florida climate is that the variability is low enough that you should be able to manage woodies very well. Maybe one initial adjustment, and then very little movement after that. The C&W's adjust very readily from Arkansas to So. Calif., maybe because the beech equalizes so quickly.

By the way, the Knight ebony moves less than anything. It just doesn't move. I don't think it knows there's weather going on.

Wiley

Re: Knight Plane Users

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL

>I don't know Jacksonville, but down here at the lower end of the state we are known for our high humidity. I have found that wooden planes from elsewhere may move once, on arrival (it takes while), and then they settle down.

I have an Original Knight Smoother (the squat blocky kind), and the only thing that happened with it is that the mouth adjustment block expanded slightly more (just a hair) than the body of the plane. I just loosened the screws, and lined it up with the sole again.

The only real problem I have had was with a Sandusky jack plane. After resting here for a couple of weeks, it twisted, a bunch. I have not tried to fix it yet. (I am concerned with keeping the sole square with the mouth opening and the iron)

I`d think you`d be good to go

Bob Hackett

>As opposed to up here in your old stompin` grounds.All the wood I have around here(and there`s alot)measures 11% by my moisture meter in mid summer.In mid winter it all(or all that`s in the heated house and shop)measures between 5 and 6%,due to the "heating season".I find that things rust during the summer but not during the winter in the shop.I do notice that my purpleheart smoother doesn`t move as much as the old time,single piece woodies I have.Could be the built up construction and different woods make it more stable.

I`d just go for it ,Todder.If you find Steve`s planes are too much for you down there,I`d be glad to mind them(they`d have plenty of playmates)till you get back"home".;^)

I`m sure you don`t miss the sub-zero windchills we`ve had lately though,do you?Not much snow,but wicked cold chummy!

Mainely,Bob

Hi Todd-

Dave Anderson Chester, NH

>Just yesterday I did a slight resurface on my 55 degree Clark and Williams coffin smoother. A quick check with a strightedge showed me why it wasn't working correctly. The ends had lost some moisture and shrunk away from the flat plane of the middle of the sole around the mouth. My bench room has been unusually dry this winter. Even with an open humidifier pot on the top of the woodstove I'm running an average of 22% relative humidity in the bench room. It only took me 5 minutes with some 320 grit and some Butcher's Wax to get it working fine.