Shepherd Plane Delivery

Re: Shepherd Plane Delivery

Ted Owen, Pittsburgh

>Ben and Doug have been on the road a lot lately, giving demo's around the U.S. and Canada, so they may be a little slower in responding than normal or even a little behind in production. Perhaps I shouldn't speculate that way. In any event, don't worry; they're unquestionably reputable folks and will get you all fixed up.

If you add your email address here--which is one of our WoodCentral rules, but as Moderator I don't jump on folks about it--they may get to you even quicker.

Best, Ted

Re: Shepherd Plane Delivery

Alan Hamilton

>Ted,

I have no reason to question their honesty; I've heard nothing but good things about them and their products. But I think billing the customers credit card account several weeks or months before shipping the merchandise is a very poor business practice. If nothing else, it can justifiably make the buyer very nervous--especially because of the amount involved.

Alan

Re: Shepherd Plane Delivery

Fred in Virginia

>Ted,

Sorry I did not post my e-mail address, did not not know this was a requirement. I hope that Ben or Doug will let me me know what is happening with my order here as they have not with normal e-mail. I would like to receive my order but I must admit I am a bit worried.

Fred

Re: Shepherd Plane Delivery

Jim Shaver Oakville, Ont

>Hi Fred,

I can vouch for the credibility of Ben abd Doug, I spoke with Doug a number of weeks back, they are on the road quite a bit right now...I know they will come through...

Take care,

Jim

Re: Shepherd Plane Delivery

Paul M in San Diego

>I'm still waiting on my thumb plane kit too (check sent in mid Feb). I ping them an email every couple of weeks to check the status, and I guess I'm about due to try again. But to be honest, I've been so busy lately that I wouldn't have been able to play with the kit, so I haven't been too worried about its arrival date.

They are good people who are just suffering from their own success by being overworked. I'm sure this is merely a sign of growing pains. All small businesses wish they had this problem. We've just got to be a little patient to allow them to get through this.

Re: Shepherd Plane Delivery

Brian Gray in Sandusky, OH

>I'll vouch for Ben and Doug also...

They'll come through, and I'm sure with an apology and a good reason.

And when you finish the kit, you won't regret it.

Re: Shepherd Plane Delivery

Mark Nowicki

>Hello Fred

I have no experience with Shepherd Plane Company, nor do I know much about them, but if you are concerned you could call your credit card company and have the charges reversed.

In addition, you might post your concerns on www.sawmillcreek.org. I have seen recent posts about Shepherd Tools on that forum.

I agree with Alan that charging for products before they are shipped is extremly bad business practice. Lack of feedback to your inquiries is also disturbing.

Regards Mark Nowicki

All is well (was Shepherd Plane Delivery)

Paul M. in San Diego

>I just wanted to let everyone know that Shepherd Tools came through and sent me my thumb plane. It looks like it will be a fun project. The instructions sure are thorough!

Fred, did you get your plane yet?

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL

>

Re: All is well (was Shepherd Plane Delivery)

Ted Owen, Pittsburgh

>Please let us all know how it turns out, Paul.

Best, Ted

Re: All is well (was Shepherd Plane Delivery)

Brad in Ottawa

>What wood will you use for the infill?

Re: Fred, did you get your plane yet?

Fred in Virginia

>Yes I received it this past Thursday. I spent the weekend assembling it. Everything is together, all I lack is applying the finish to the wood. The kit is very well thought out and is relatively simple to assemble. The Shephard guys apparently have been on the road conducting workshops on building their kits which explains the delays. Ben and Doug both contacted me and sent the kit after returning from their road trip.

Now I am wondering which Shepherd plane to build next.

Re: All is well (was Shepherd Plane Delivery)

Paul M in San Diego

>The infills on the thumb plane are tiny. I have some 5/4 red gum that is hard as a rock. It looks great with an oil finish, so I was thinking about giving that a try.

The directions for the wooden pieces have measurements with 4 digits to the right of the decimal point. And they aren't just 0's or something that rounds to 8ths or 16ths. That's just not gonna happen anywhere near my shop. I'll give it an approximation, and trim to fit. Wish me luck!

-- Paul M.

Re: Decimal Places

Doug Evans

>Hi Paul:

Thought I might add something here about dimensioning, as it comes up relatively frequently.

The reason Shepherd uses decimal point dimensions in a number of places is that the planes are built around some basic fractional dimensions (ie. 2 1/4" blade) with materials (ie. 10 gauge sidewalls) that are not readily fractional. There are also clearances that are not fractional. In addition, there is an unknown quantity which averages about 0.030" of plastic deformation created by the side-peining the sole plate. At one point, I actually started to render this to closest fractional equivalents however, the tolerances required were left in the dust.

In the case of the thumb plane, I may actually re-write the instructions and modify diagrams to use the componentry, as a "story stick." For example, mill your wood to the dimension of the inside of the lands of the dovetails on the sole plate (and show a corresponding Dimension "A" on the diagrams).

Of course, we are also considering jacking the price to $99 and supplying wood to avoid the problem altogether (the Dimension "A" is provided solution).

As another hint of the breezes to come, expect our finished plane prices to take a stiff jump...

Regards,

Doug

Re: Decimal Places

Paul M. in San Diego

>In the case of the thumb plane, I may actually re-write the instructions and modify diagrams to use the componentry, as a "story stick." For example, mill your wood to the dimension of the inside of the lands of the dovetails on the sole plate (and show a corresponding Dimension "A" on the diagrams).

Hi Doug,

I had already decided to persue that path. I do have calipers that can measure down to the accuracy specified, but I just can't see that this situation warrants that kind of accuracy. If you are milling wood with CNC machines then go ahead and specify whatever sizes and tolerances you desire, as it literally costs you nothing. But for a user one-off kit, I'll trim to fit. If I get it wrong, then I'll have to scrap what I'm working on and use another whole board-inch of wood (is that what you call a small fraction of a board-foot?).

As another hint of the breezes to come, expect our finished plane prices to take a stiff jump...

Is there likely to be a jump in any of the kits soon, or just the finished planes?

-- Paul M.

Re: Decimal Places

Doug Evans

>Paul:

I am with you there but, we have quite a range of expectations out there (some guys are pulling out the mic's and reverse-engineering everything before they start - forcing me to go into all kinds of explanations as above).

We may re-think some of the shoulder kits but, by-and-large it's going to be finished planes.

Cheers,

Doug