Restore your wooden PLANE to outperform all others.

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Mark, now you see the brilliance of these vintage tools. It's nice to have something bright and shiny but, tried and true is still the best the way I see it. It reminds me of when the wife and I were in our twenties and now are close to seventy. We did a lot of stuff when we were first married, but it's way better now (except for one or two things, if you know what I mean).

Great video, I have a similar plane which belonged to my Grandad who during the WWII made the propellers for the spitfires. Now I will try to bring it back to it’s former glory Thank you again for the video.👏

For western wooden hand planes, to remove the blade you hit the striking button on the front, which is different from japanese wooden hand planes. You can see the striking button on your plane at the very front where you might have thought a tote used to be that "broke off", but that's actually the original design and that's what you hit to remove the blade. Just make sure you're holding the back of the plane when you strike it and allow the plane to basically go towards the ground, the inertia of the blade will loosen it as you strike it. Rex Krueger has some good videos on these traditional western wooden hand planes.

Great job with restoring the plane- you can tell how satisfying it is to use it. Well done!

Hi, Mark. Wow. Now That is how a plane is supposed to work. I think the pleasure comes from using some thing so simple and inexpensive (except the time and work to make it), to get such perfect results. So, now, when someone is bragging to you, about their collection of expensive planes and asks you what kind you use, you can reply, "Me?, oh, I use a block of wood." 😁✌🖖

I was always taught at school woodwork class and by my father who was an engineering pattern maker. Never put a plane face down on the bench, always lay it on it's side.

Nice job on the restoration, particularly since you got better results than you had expected. Now you have another fine tool to work with in the years to come. I don't own any old wooden planes to restore but I sometimes think about making a small wooden plane just so I can say I did.

Welcome to the wonderful world of old wooden planes. They are an absolute joy. Be warned, they can become an obsession, and once you start with moulding planes, plough planes, rebate planes etc, you'll be happily lost for ever. Your surprise is something I've seen on the faces of many who use a well set up example for the first time. While there is much talk as to why they feel so different, I'm convinced that it's the comparative lack of friction from the sole of a wooden plane compared to a metal one.

You've done a really nice job bringing that plane back to life- and tbh those diamond stones are worth their weight in gold for sharpening all blades- especially tough ones like this plane. Graet Video.

Thanks for the video and your thoughts on restoring a hand plane. After restoring a basket case coffin smoother I found, I really prefer using wooden planes over the metal ones. I hope to one day to move away from metal bodied planes, though I do plan to keep some of them, and use wooden body planes almost exclusively. I would eventually like to make all my own planes with some vintage ones to round out my hand plane arsenal.

Great video on your process to get the plane to great working order. Extremely & oddly satisfying angles you were able to capture while demonstrating how well it worked 👌 👏 . Thank you once again, for your content! I've been enjoying your content 💪! Tony 🇺🇸

There are 2 main difference between wooden and metal planes. The wooden sole glides across wood much easier than a metal hand plane. You don't really need to lubricate the sole on a wooden plane that much, maybe once in a long while wax the bottom. Also, wooden planes are much lighter than a metal bodied plane. Which is often contrary to what many modern plane makers do with making really thick casting or even bronze castings. They of course look beautiful, but are contrary to practicality. If you only use hand tools to dimension lumber, you don't want heavy planes, which will tire you out quickly. You actually want lighter planes that you can use for longer. A truly sharp blade overcomes any benefit gained from the increased momentum of a heavier plane. So, wooden planes are lighter, and glide across wood much easier than metal bodied planes. That is what gives you a completely different experience than using a metal bodied plane. The main difference of course is learning how to adjust the blade with a hammer, which seems very intimidating compared to the ease of adjusting a bailey pattern plane. But, like all things it just takes some practice to get the hang of it.

I have a nearly identical wooden plane, blade and all. It was made by Mathieson in Glasgow. Is your plane branded ? If so, it would have been a stamp on the rear vertical face. There is no tote at the front in mine, and there is no problem withdrawing the iron, although the wedge in mine seems longer than in your plane. I vouch for the ability of the plane and the quality of the iron. We share the satisfaction of using a very capable vintage tool.

Great job with that hand plane!

Great result mark

I have been having issues getting my hand plane (transitional, #29 I believe) sharp, but after watching this, it appears I just need to take more time. Your results seem worth the effort! Great shavings.

Nice work!

You went meta on us planing a plane with a plane. That's just plain briliant. :D

Thanks for the video on restoring an old wooden plane. It demonstrates that it can be done with good results. Also points out that sharpening is critical. I notice you have a new layout for your sharpening stones. Well done.