Prepping oak legs with planes

Yesterday I prepped my wood for planing and crosscutting and today I sized them further using the bandsaw and a series of hand planes including a Stanley #4 with the cambered cutting iron, my Sorby #5 ½ and my low angled Veritas jack plane in that order.

It’s important that every stage is checked for square so in alternating between the bandsaw and the bench planes I constantly check each adjacent face for square as I work to establish the final size of my hope chest legs.

Now here’s an interesting point I want to make. Joiners in their 40s and 50s regularly pass through workshop, look at my saws and comment that no one uses “those saws” any more.  They go on to ignorantly boast that they “just throw ‘em away when they dull.” Sickening to think that they believe this to be progress.

 

The bandsaw makes light work of resawing

 

Imagine throwing away good steel with impulse-hardened teeth when they could have been made like the one I was using today that was made in 1846 by Henry Disston in the USA and I would match against any modern-day manufacturers for speed of cut and accuracy.