This month brings part two of my Hand Tool Techniques video review that I began last month. The two videos together demonstrate sharpening and usage of hand planes. Last month taught us sharpening, this month gives us a chance to see how well we did! The videos are taped sessions held by David Charlesworth, an European teacher and cabinetmaker with over 25 years experience. The bulk of the instruction takes place at his shop in Devon, but more about that in a minute...

Stop Shavings and Straight Edges bears mentioning because it presents a foundation for additional methods in subsequent planing operations. In this segment he demonstrates techniques that retain the outermost bit of wood on a planed edge, effectively hollowing out a board over it's length. But it's important to note this hollowing is anything but perceptible. This is proven at the end of each operation with a straight edge and slips of paper between 1/1000" and 4/1000" thick. His logic for hollowing is consistent with his conviction towards a "rounded" plane iron; i.e., a slight curvature actually serves to produce straight stock. I admit, this whole approach seems like one big conflict, but I became convinced after I watched him dress a board. Bumps, Face Edges, and Wind all refer to removing imperfections in a piece of timber before true square can be achieved. And, these aspects of dressing timber are largely dependent on the tooling at hand. It's imperative that squares be square, that straight edges are manufactured straight, etc. Tooling need not be purchased though; e.g., winding sticks are always made by the craftsman (he comments that he's never seen them advertised in catalogs, as it should be).

Thicknessing to a Gauge Line, and Placing a Knife Line both refer to scribing with sharpened cutters. I'm sure many of you have seen and/or take this approach to dimensioning. There's really no surprises in the video for these, but I mention them because of their importance. You just don't get the same crisp line from a pencil that you get with a scribe. It really becomes apparent as you plane to the line; a pencil line is there, then it's gone. But a scribed line allows you to remove wood until a feather-edge remains, then seemingly dissolves, signaling you've hit your mark.

David stresses that marking out is, or should be three-quarters of the job. Any less attention and you won't realize results worth the task. Dial calipers are employed to emphasize his point. Throughout his demonstrations he consistently produced shavings around 2/1000" thick, and in this video he finishes a beautiful piece of sycamore with less than 1/1000" deviation over a length of 17" - the man is a machine! Actually, David might take offense to my last statement - he mentions he loves to plane, loves the sound of a finely tuned plane as it whisks away shavings. He finds the tranquility of it all very therapeutic. His shop is no less evocative of his predisposition to calm; it is presented as a very serene place. Clean, uncluttered, and quiet. He stresses at several points in the video about being slow and deliberate. I can't help but think that he arranged his shop to facilitate that mode of work, to create an environment wholly opposed to mechanized production.

I feel this tape is every bit as good as the first. If you have any interest in, or need for an efficient hand plane, this tape completes excellent instruction on how to achieve it. As with the first film, this was shot at both Lie-Nielsen Toolworks in Maine, and the Charlesworth shop in England. Video quality is on par with the first; it tends to hop and skip at times, but his skill more than makes up for the flaws in filming. I hope you find his tutelage as educational as I did. This video will be available for check-out at the next general membership meeting.