bitten by the bug

Re: bitten by the bug

Victor Parisian

>Welcome to the slippery slope...

Why do I have visions of you trying to polish the corrugations out of a number 7 or 8 Stanley? Forget it. Those are supposed to be there.

Victor - waiting for the bug man to get here.

haha

frank_shic

>victor, you're right in assuming that i'm slightly anal retentive, but no, i think that trying to lap the corrugations out of a plane would take me the next 10 years! i'm just wondering if the corrugations really help that much with this size of hand(arm?) plane.

Much less time with an angle grinder

Gerry Doll

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Re: Much less time with an angle grinder

Jonathan Kaplan (OR)

>As Gerry hints, there are a number of stories about why corrugations are there... One of them is that they in fact are there to make getting the bottom flat easier (less metal to remove). Another is that they reduce friction. Perhaps they do both...

My understanding -- and it is very limited so I'd advise waiting 'til someone more knowledgeable chimes in rather than takeing my advice -- is that it is rather hard to actually lap a #7 or #8 flat if the sole is convex. It is easier if the sole is slightly concave, but still not easy. There are other ways of getting the soles flat on larger planes that other people know more about and can advise on, such as scraping, but I think the key is probably to get one with as flat a sole as you can...

I wouldn't worry about the corrugated / non-corrugated question... Rather, I'd focus on getting one with as flat a sole as possible at the lowest cost, whehter corrugated or not.

Just my $.02!

jk

Re: bitten by the bug

Jack Guzman from Maine

>I don't believe the corrugations make a whole lot of difference either way.As far as 7 or 8,the 8 is a little harder to push but either one will do the job(jointing).Some people prefer 8s and some prefer 7s.I think the 7s are more common.Get one and try it then when curiousity gets to you get the other.The longest plane I've ever needed for jointing is a 6.I'm pretty new at this though.---Jack

Re: bitten by the bug

dave caudill

>I for one have personal experience flattening a couple of these and it sure does take some time. I much preferred flattening the corrugated #7. The #8 was a bugger to flatten. I went through a lot of sandpaper as the #8 has some serious acreage. One thing nice about the #7 is you can use the blade in the #6 and #4 1/2 as well. And the #8 is just one big hunk of metal and it can be a job to push all that steel. I have one #8 just because I thought I should have one and I am glad that I do. But in all likelihood I wil be reaching for my #7 when I need something for jointing.

I'm not sure what the prices are right now on #7s. I had one at the tool show this weekend for $50 and no one even inquired about it and it was a very nice Millers Falls model in great shape. I bought my user #7 a few years back at one of my tool shows for $30 and thought I stole it. I couldn't even bear to dicker with the guy. I think most people already have them and they are not used as often as a #4 or #5. I did see a couple nice #8s as well one being a Bedrock that sold for a bit over $100 which surprised me.

Well good luck. There are a lot of nice ones out there waiting for some TLC and the chance to do some woodworking.

Dave

you guys are HILARIOUS!

frank_shic

>how did you know that i just happened to order a 5" angle grinder - to bullnose granite tiles NOT to flatten a handplane!

good points

frank_shic

>jack and dave, thanks! didn't realize that you could swap blades on a #7 jointer plane. sounds like you've had good results with the #7 and it does seem to be the more common one on ebay. $30 for your first jointer plane? i think i would have asked the dealer, "are you sure about that?" wish they were that cheap on the internet!

i personally don't mind the amount of time that lapping takes as i thrive on performing BRAINLESS, monotonous, repetitive tasks - hey, everyone needs to KILL some time every once in a while, right? 30 minutes here, 30 minutes there, after about five or six hours it should be ready, no?

Re: Old Wives Tale

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Corrugations definitely do not reduce friction! It's against the laws of physics.

There is one minor drawback to corrugations. If you use old candle stubs to wax your plane soles, the corrugations chew them up, wasting a lot of free paraffin that would otherwise be thrown away.

I have no argument with the rest of the advise you have been offered. I have a #7 and a #8, and use them both.

If you are building very long trestle tables, for example, and need to match joint planks for the top from 6/4 stock, you will need a #8. For most smaller cabinetry work, I think a #7 should suffice. Also, #7s are generally easier to find and less expensive.

Re: bitten by the bug

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>Not everyone agrees with me on this, but I'm not very fond of corrugations, although my No. 8 (and my old Craftsman No. 6) is corrugated. A couple of times, I have had the corrugations "steer" the plane - it feels like riding a motorcycle over one of those steel gridwork bridges in the Midwest, except you don't worry so much about dying with the plane.

thanks a million!

frank_shic (walnut ck, ca)

>loved the input from everyone. i'll start shooting for the next #7 UNcorrugated jointer plane that i see on ebay!

PS: i'm a user NOT a C........!

Re: thanks a million!

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>If you find a good deal on a #7C, don't shy away from it just because it's corrugated. Like hang holes and % Japanning, the corrugations don't make that much difference. Mostly, they're esoterica that are fun to argue about. What is a lot more important is whether the sole is flat, and whether the sides are perpendicular to the sole, and whether the plane is damaged.

Before you go to eBay, did you ask Dave if he wanted to sell and ship the MF that didn't move at the tool show? Of course, it's probably gone by now.

Re: bitten by the bug

Dan Clermont in Burnaby

>Dave,

YOu are giving me fits!!! A Bedrock 608 went for just over $100??? Plese tell me it wasn't a Flat Top.. Please, please tell me it was a Type 1, 2 o4 3 ;)

Think I may have to convince my wife to do some shopping in Seattle sometime in Sept ;)

Did ya see any Berg's???

Dan Clermont

Corrugations RULE!

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>I think the corrugated planes are easier to push. No I do not have any scientific evidence. They also look way cool!

Re: Corrugations RULE!

paul womack

>I think the corrugated planes are easier to push. No I do not have any scientific evidence.

Should be easy to check. Retract the blade, clamp a coupla' weights on to provide down force, and pull along a board using a spring balance.

I don't suppose they'll be any difficulty finding a "pair" of planes for the trial in this hallowed company.

BugBear

Re: you guys are HILARIOUS!

paul womack

>how did you know that i just happened to order a 5" angle grinder - to bullnose granite tiles NOT to flatten a handplane!

IIRC "Woodburn Bob" flattened a vintage Spiers infill with an angle grinder.

BugBear

the eternal debate: Corrugations RULE!

frank_shic (walnut ck, ca)

>seriously, i think this would be a great test that some magazine like fine woodworking should try to attempt - after all, they're testing blade honing jigs, so why not throw in corrugated vs uncorrugated?

personally, i prefer the untainted, pristine surface look of plane soles!

Re: bitten by the bug

Ernie Miller

>Frank I am not going to be like every one else here Sure you could just get either the 7 or the 8 but don't start off with this limitation on your self face it befor long and it won't be all that long. You will have at least one of each and a #3 & 4 1/2 also. so my advice which is what most of the others would have given if they where honest with them selves. Is to get which ever of them that comes up first at a good price and condition while continue looking for the other and if somthing els comes up along the way get it also because some day you will want one of them also even if you never realy do use it. Be honest with your self you want them both.

kinda like pokemon, right?

frank_shic

>gotta catch 'em all (even if you don't neccesarily use all of them!). ernie, you're probably right - it would give me GREAT joy to just gaze upon my planes organized sequentially from 1-? after all, if i'm ever going to be relied upon for any future advice, i really should KNOW what i'm talking about when i compare #7 to #8, right? and there's no way i would really know if i don't ACQUIRE both, right? yeh, yeh, that's the ticket!

let's see now... 1d 09h 13m $23.82... hmm...

Re: the eternal debate: Corrugations RULE!

dave caudill

>Frank Send me a personal e-mail as I may be able to help you out in the #7 department.

Dave

Re: kinda like pokemon, right?

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>if i'm ever going to be relied upon for any future advice, i really should KNOW what i'm talking about when i compare #7 to #8, right? and there's no way i would really know if i don't ACQUIRE both, right? yeh, yeh, that's the ticket!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh nothing like seeing Male Rationale coming into full bloom. won't be ,omg before you'll be able to justify ALL SORTS of tool related activites and expenses.

Ernie, Loved your little "Lay-it-out-like-it's-gonna-be speech. Classic, very classic, and you have set another soul free. ;~)

Planes are like Lay's Patato chips--you can't have just one. Or is that Planes are like getting lay------------oops, best not eh. ;~)

Todd O.

Todd O.

Re:the real answer!

Ernie Miller

>It all depends on which workout video you listen to the #7 is for you every day work out and the #8 is if you have a little FAS (fat ass syndrome) I should probably throw my #7 away. I grab my #7 most often. whic hasn't been often enough this summer.

now i just have to pick out the SPANDEX!

frank_shic

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STOP!!!!!!!

Steve Kubien

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