Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Alert for Fans of Stanley No. 6 planes
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>The latest issue of "Woodwork" magazine has a picture of Kerry Pierce, a furnituremaker whose name shows up in the journals now and again, using a wood plane to mold a panel. Unless my eyes deceive me, on the bench beside him is a Stanley No. 6. So, I wonder - is he one of the few, the faithful, No. 6 believers - or did the photographer just think it was a pretty nice plane to put there?
Re: Alert for Fans of Stanley No. 6 planes
Bart Leetch
>I have a 5 1/2 & a 6. The 6 works great I still have to sharpen the blade for the 5 1/2.
I "inherited" a #6
Denis Ch�nard, Orl�ans, Ont.
>When my in-laws moved to a retirement home there was a plywood tool box that nobody seemed interested into. I brought it home and de-rusted the contents. In it was among a number of things a Stanley #6C, most probably post-WWII. I ended up giving it to one of my BILs, the one most likely to use it. After all, it was his grandfather's...
DC
Re: Another fan
paul womack
>David Charlesworth is a big fan of the #5 1/2, a plane really rather similar to the #6.
BugBear
Furnituremakers trained 5 1/2 or No 6 as bench pla
Andrew F in Australia
>HI Bart,
Just to repeat our training, furniture makers use a No 6 or 5.5 as the bench plane - I ran about 4 feet of 1/4" chamfer on endgrain today using the plane - I haven't touched a block plane in ages.
Derek once suggested that the higher number of No 5 planes could indicate that they were used in cabinetry in reasonable numbers. I'd say that this would be due to the fact that the No 5 is more a carpenters plane and that every home owner tended to buy a No 4 or 5 in days gone by.
Case in point is that the old wooden bench planes were 18" or more long for use on a cabinetmakers' bench.
Cheers,
Andrew
I'm a fan
Paul Kierstead
>I actually find it is a very useful length for medium scale things. I have planes (of one make or another) from #4-#8 and find them all pretty useful, actually ... I generally find it is better to match the plane size to the work rather then be dogmatic about it.
Fore plane
Wiley Horne--So. Calif.
>It's a useful length as a short jointer, because so many pieces of a typical project are two feet long or less--dividers, drawer parts, drawer runners, etc. Good all round bench plane.
But the true beauty of the No. 6 (or any other plane in the 18-20" ballpark) is where we go back to the fore plane concept, put about a 1/64" camber on the blade, and use it for preparing roughsawn lumber ahead of the try plane. I think what happened to the No. 6, and what accounts for Mr. Leach's famous treatment of it in his blood and gore pages, is that with the advent of the machine planer, people kinda forgot what a fore plane was used for.
Wiley
Bad press for No. 6 planes
jim reed @ tallahassee
>I think Patrick's B&G is responsible for the bad press. Hey, lighten up, he was just kidding. It's really a nice plane.
I don't know Jim...
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>I take it as he doesn't care for it too much. Kinda like the 193-195 series for Stanleys.
I realy like mine...
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>I have it set up as a panel plane (big smoother). It does a wonderfull job on smoothing large panels. I think it's a bit short to use as a jointing plane for most of what I do, but them again I do use a 5-1/4 as a jointer for thin short boards. Go figure...
My 5.5 is set up as a jack or fore plane. It's sweet too.
Re: I realy like mine...
Verne in NJ
>I was talked out of a #6 by the Lie-Nielsen guy at the Woodworking Shows a couple of years ago. He suggested the 5.5, since I already had a #7. I really like the 5.5. I have it set up as a smoother/short jointer, and it's one of, if not the most used plane I have.
If I were to get a true fore plane, I've had my eye on the C&W woodie fore plane. It looks really sweet.
Re: Alert for Fans of Stanley No. 6 planes
Greg B�tit, Vergennes VT
>My #6 story is really a MF #18 story. (That's Millers Falls version of the #6.) I brought a shaving horse to a class at Windsor Institute, feeling like an apostate in recruiting mode. (They teach doing draw knife and spoke shave work using a vise, and I was out looking for shaving horse converts.) When Mike Dunbar left early one day, Dan Faia came out to watch me at the shaving horse. I put on a show & mentioned that the horse was an extra for me. He asked what I would take in trade. I went cheap- told him I could use a fore plane for jointing hand hold pieces to the arm bendings. He had an MF # 18 he was probably itching to get rid of (didn't have MF's patented lever cap, just a no-name one piece job). I snapped it up, since my real goal was to preach shaving horse liturgy to the WI sect.
As it turned out, that plane was a real worker right out of the chocks. I love that plane. It caused me to coll^H^H^H^H acquire several other Millers Falls planes. But that franken-type-two #18 (replaced the lever cap with a MF type 1 one) gets used more than the rest of them. I like the size.
greg
The Rest of the Story...
Greg B�tit, Vergennes VT
>I heard later that Dan Faia was doing shaving horse demos at North Bennet Street School. It almost makes me feel like a prophet.
greg
Jim, I totally agree with you
Wiley Horne--So. Calif.
>that Patrick's tongue was firmly pinned to his cheek, and he was just living large with us. Still, the man's influence is such that his writing leaves an impression, even when you know he's joshing.....
Wiley ..... happy customer of Patrick
C&W Fore plane!Ohhh... Ahhhh... Ooooo...
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>Maybe one I'll own 1 or 2 of their planes. My shop has way too many mood (i.e. temp. humidity) swings for wooden planes.
Re: C&W Fore plane!Ohhh... Ahhhh... Ooooo...
Wiley Horne--So. Calif.
>Scott,
Just to 'third' what you and Verne are saying....that Clark & Williams fore plane will make you plain happy. I mean, you use it and you get a big dumb grin on your face. Way more fun than see-through shavings. This thing flattens roughsawn lumber right now and doesn't wear you out, and makes a great sound while its peeling those straps off.
Wiley
Re: C&W Fore plane!Ohhh... Ahhhh... Ooooo...
Verne in NJ
>I'm lucky enough to own a C&W jointer.
Even if I don't have a project going on I'll edge plane with it just for fun.
Kinda crazy but I really enjoy using it...in combo with a C&W fore plane -oh man - my eyes are glazing over! :-)
Re: I realy like mine...
Dan Donaldson
>I have the C & W Trying plane and it is a real sweetheart. As was said earlier, they are a blast to use. I also have their large and small smoothers and they are also fun to use. Works of art.
The large smoother was a birthday gift from my oldest son and there is a bit of a story to go with it. My son had talked to Bill and set me up. I got a card from my son with nothing in it but a phone number and instructions to say "My name is Dan Donaldson and it is my birthday". I did it and Bill answered the phone and gave me a "So what are you calling ME for?" and some other stuff in fun. After that, he asked a couple of questions about bedding angle and mouth opening that I wanted, and It arrived in the mail a week or so later. Great birthday present. Larry and Bill are not only fantastic plane makers, but general all around good guys to boot.
Re: I realy like mine...
Kevin French, Antrim, NH
>I've got 3 and use them, not as much as my 3 #7s but more then my #8. I call them my poor man's jointer, the first ones I got in the catagory. They are, (were), cheap, (found one) and they do work. Their 'Keepers'.
Re: Alert for Fans of Stanley No. 6 planes
Jim Shaver - Oakville, Ontario
>I have two bailey #6's and a 606, now how did that happen??
In the Course, Meduim Fine Lingo I use mine as a small jointer or in the course-medium aspect of wood preperation.
I do have a C&W Try Plane.....I use that for medium-fine work...Thanks Wiley for the tip!
take care,
Jim
Any one want a #6??
:-)
Re: Alert for Fans of Stanley No. 6 planes
Kelly Anderson
>I might if you are serious and the price is right.
You need to get that C&W, it is wonderful.
Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX
>
Re: Patrick SOLD me mine
Glenn Madsen near San Francisco
>A really nice, practically new old stock #6. I've used it quite a bit, actually.
A # 6 is a better"Jack" plane than a # 5 ....
#6 Fan
>unless your some pencil necked girlie-man who thinks "why it's just to heavy,it just tires my little ole arms right out". Just kidding, (sort of), but for a larger person like myself (6'4" & 280 pounds)the extra width combined with the shorter than a jointer plane length make the #6 feel less like toy than the smaller bench planes and I can get more work done quicker. Plus it's the perfect size for smoothing panels and table tops. The whole following the hills an valleys smoother plane argument just doesn't fly with me, If your work has that many hills and valleys then in my opinion you've been pretty sloppy in your prep work!
Everyone's mileage varies
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>Some people are larger than others - but conversely, some are smaller. A No. 6 is a pretty hefty plane, so people with smaller hands might find it awkward as a daily user - I myself find I can move faster sometimes with a No. 5, even though, at 6 ft. 2, 180-85 (depending on how well I've resisted chocolate lately), with large hands, I find the No. 6 a good fit. My 5 foot nothing wife, however, if she took up woodworking, would love my No. 5-1/4 plane, and do right well with it. Thank goodness, in hand tools, there are enough variable sizes that almost everyone can play (as a side note, I think Lee Valley's decision to offer two sizes of add-on totes for their low angle block plane is both brilliant and thoughtful in this regard).
I've found that a No. 4 smoother can find shavings on wood that I would swear I'd turned dead flat. I think they have their purpose in life, for sure.