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Recent Bios FAQ

259637 "yorkshireman@y..." <yorkshireman@y...> 2016‑07‑20 Re: Block Plane - 1864 reference
Great question - the thread will run and run…

So we have the choice of

printing blocks
butcher blocks
floor blocks
pulley blocks

any of which could use a low angle plane.  

Personally, I discount pulley blocks, as there isn’t a straight line on one.
Ditto butcher blocks (after some use)  and a fine surface isn’t needed.  The
chaps in Alley 3 of Grainger market  use a scraper most of the time, and I can’t
see them taking the time to flatten a block with a plane, nowadays or in the
past.
Floor blocks is more hopeful, but again, would a small plane be used for
something that big?  and if being manufactured, surely a saw to cut to length at
90 degrees, and maybe a floor scraper when they’re down (and a large mallet)
so my vote goes to printing blocks,  coming from the home of Thomas Bewick’s
prints, I can see the need for a fine surface finish to be cretaed, used, planed
off and repeated, in a size that is conducive to bench work and a fine set
plane.  Any blemish is instantly visible on the page, so perfection in the
surface is  requirement.


and that musing is worth exactly what you paid for it.  

Richard Wilson
Yorkshireman Galoot in Northumberland
Alnmouth Rowing - off to the Skiffy Worlds in Ireland next week

Recent Bios FAQ