scrub plane recommendations?

Re: skip it

paul womack

>skip the scrub. You don't need it. Your #5 is every bit as effective IME.

While there's a whole spectrum of planes from normal jack to fully committed scrub, I cannot concieve of a #5, be it ne'er so modified, performing as well as a more custom scrub.

My nearest approach to a scrub is a old Marples coffin, with a rather thin body, which opens up the mouth nicely. I ground a 4" radius on the blade, which is 3/16" parallel, and a shaped the rear of the body to allow more forceful use that a coffin smoother normally permits.

In use I take chips, not shavings. The only thing I have to watch is removing too much, too fast. I change to a cambered blade wooden jack, then a just-cambered Bailey #5.

But I'd hate to try and match the stock removal of even my semi-scrub with any thing start started life as a Bailey #5. And I could survice wihout my scrub - the wooden jack is pretty effective.

But I know you like minimising your tool count - maybe that affect your choices.

Me - I like tools :-)

BugBear

Re: with all respect

Christof Hartge

>Hello Adam,

sorry that our shops are quite far apart. Otheriwse it would be easy to come around with scrub and jack an see what happens.

But I try to dig something out.

Here are some pics what larch looks like when it is scrubbed http://www.woodworking.de/schaerfprojekt/brett1-5.html. After scrubbing the wood shows cannels, which are about one inch wide. After working with the Jack the surface is shows asoft structure of waves, little tearout is left. That was a board of larch I planned. Now every Sunday morning I meditate over the same traces of an unknown woodworker of the 18th century. The backside of the bech I usually sit in is left just scrubbed. He stopped with one inch wide strokes alomg the grain. When I step out and look back I see the front side in parts smoothed very evenly, in parts left with those soft wavy structure a Jack plane left.

On the pics you also see my scrub. It has flat sole but a crowned plane. This allows to produce really thick chips without much effort. I'm confused by your information that the sole of your scrub is round. Does that mean edge and sole are parallel? Isn't this one of those rougher molding planers joiners still use on timber framed houses?

Last to the plane systematic. In modern workshops i. e. 20 th century five planes are normed: Scrub (Schrupphobel), Fore plane (Schlichthobel), Jack plane (Doppelhobel), jointer (Fugbank/Rauhbank) and smoother. Fore plane and jack are unfortunately similar in size.

In fact the older workshops new a wide varitey of planes. Emerich sold his longer bench planes in 1906 between 12 and 30" going up in 2" steps. He sold them withou the iron. Most probably because irons were bought from another source and accustomed to the task.

I personally prefer for rough work a continental scrub with a 1,4" crowned blade, 9" long. And an old namless English for plane, 2 1/4" blade, 17" long blade medium crowned.

Christof.

Re: skip it

Tim of Livermore

>I think this has a lot to do with work style.

IIRC, Adam doesn't like to thickness boards to uniform thickness....and rather just likes them flat and 4-square and at least the show face needs to be smooth. Again, IIRC.

In that case...and assuming you're a decent sawyer or you're supplied from a decent sawyer....I can definitely see the lack of need for a scrub. I use a power thicknesser quite often - yup, quite guilty of employing 'lectric routers and other modern ammenities in my projects ;- ) - and for jointing, I often don't need a scrub.

The few times I've been brash enough to hand thickness, a scrub is a wonderful tool. Also great for working "funky" boards to 4-square.

Tim

Re: scrub plane recommendations?

SamW

>I decided on the ECE scrub after all. I ordered it from Adria Tools. It came in the mail last night. (Fast service!). What a great tool! It's like an *eraser* for wood. Zup, zup, zup. The board is roughed down! Thanks to all for the advice.

Ditto

Roger Nixon

>I've tried using #5, #4 & #5 1/4 planes but they are no subsitute for a real scrub. A wooden jack plane can take off much more wood than a Bailey.

My sequence is a #40 with 1/8" camber, #5 with 1/32" and #5 1/2 or #7 with a few thousandths camber.

I like tools too :).

Re: Ditto, and again

Ted Shuck, Centennial, CO

>I agree completely. I use a scrub plane whenever I have more than about 1/16" to remove. Two swipes of the scrub is worth about a dozen using a strongly cambered #5. I follow the scrub with the jack, then with a #6 with less camber typically.

Maybe we are just arguing about terminology/semantics here? Is Adam's jack plane more like what the rest of us are calling a scrub plane?

Ted