OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

63863 Steve Jones <STJONES911@p...> 1999‑06‑11 Re: The ideal moving filletster
At 06:30 AM 6/11/99 -0500, Scott wrote:

>What makes the perfect filletster?
>
> Fence:
>    - fence attached to bottom with screws?

Not recommended for you sinister (Latin for left-handed) types.
Reverse-threaded wood screws are hard to come by and I'd worry that you'd
constantly unscrew it trying to tighten it.

> Depth stop:
>    - simple slotted stop screwed into side of plane (ala Stanley #78)?

Not recommended for gauche (French for left) folks like you. Same reason as
above.

Besides, since you're not adroit (French for right-handed), maybe you
shouldn't be playing with sharp objects anyway.

BTW, which way are the floats skewed? If you find that you can't use them,
maybe I could take them off your hands.

Steve Jones
Kokomo IN
one of the soiled masses - the one holding your HT infill hostage


63860 "Scott E. Post" <spost@n...> 1999‑06‑11 The ideal moving filletster
Pretend for a moment that you're one of those fortunate souls that was born
left handed.  Yes, you can console yourself with the fact that you are
naturally more intelligent, handsome, and just generally superior to
your right handed brethren, but sometimes that's not enough.  Sometimes you
yearn for a filletster that allows you to hold it the way God intended.
You search high and low, but your search is fruitless.  You decide to make
your own.  You procure a set of skew floats from some dudes in Arkansas
and sign up for a class with a guy in Indiana.  Now all you need is a design.

You decide to incorporate the best features into this plane, but lacking
experience with filletsters (since they are all made backwards, you've avoided
using them) you turn to the soiled masses for advice.

What makes the perfect filletster?

 Fence:
    - wedge arm?
    - fence attached to bottom with screws?
    - bridle style?
    - screw arm (never heard of one of these in a filletster)?

 Depth stop:
    - simple slotted stop screwed into side of plane (ala Stanley #78)?
    - screw stop mortised into the plane (see fig. 5:16 of Whelan's book)?
    - some other arrangement?

 Knicker:
    - dovetailed?
    - held with a wedge?

 Boxing:
    - full?
    - just the corner?

How about the width of the plane?  Is there a width you find particularly
handy?

Other things you love about your favorite filletster?


63867 Joe and Rhonda DiPietro <laws@m...> 1999‑06‑11 Re: The ideal moving filletster
GG's:

Have enjoyed this thread, even though I've never had the pleasure of using a
filletster...a neophyte I truly am...
Not many things manufactured for lefties (the gauche and sinister)...on early
Honda Accords, the right side wheel nuts were reverse threaded tightened
counterclockwise...let's see, tolls booth receptacles and water closet flush
handles...
Sorry, couldn't resist...oh yeah, one of the meds we use in pulmonary medicine
(racemic epinephrine) the gauche molecular isomer is the active one...

And besides, us 'southpaws' (from baseball) are in our 'right' mind...now you
know my problem ...He He He...

Have a super day...

Joe (on the left) DiPietro

Steve Jones wrote:

> At 06:30 AM 6/11/99 -0500, Scott wrote:
>
> >What makes the perfect filletster?
> >
> > Fence:
> >    - fence attached to bottom with screws?
>
> Not recommended for you sinister (Latin for left-handed) types.
> Reverse-threaded wood screws are hard to come by and I'd worry that you'd
> constantly unscrew it trying to tighten it.
>
> > Depth stop:
> >    - simple slotted stop screwed into side of plane (ala Stanley #78)?
>
> Not recommended for gauche (French for left) folks like you. Same reason as
> above.
>
> Besides, since you're not adroit (French for right-handed), maybe you
> shouldn't be playing with sharp objects anyway.
>
> BTW, which way are the floats skewed? If you find that you can't use them,
> maybe I could take them off your hands.
>
> Steve Jones
> Kokomo IN
> one of the soiled masses - the one holding your HT infill hostage
>
> --


63900 Steve Jones <STJONES911@p...> 1999‑06‑11 Re: The ideal moving filletster
At 09:36 AM 6/11/99 -0400, Joe (on the left) DiPietro wrote:

>Not many things manufactured for lefties (the gauche and sinister)...on early
>Honda Accords, the right side wheel nuts were reverse threaded tightened
>counterclockwise...let's see, tolls booth receptacles and water closet flush
>handles...

There used to be a left-handed store near Fisherman's Wharf in San
Francisco. My significant other of the time (30 years ago) was a leftie and
loved it. I remember she bought some left-handed scissors (30-year-old
scissors = OT content). A very liberating experience for her.

>And besides, us 'southpaws' (from baseball) are in our 'right' mind...

Touche (French for "ouch!").

Steve Jones
Kokomo IN


63915 "Bill Taggart" <ILikeRust@w...> 1999‑06‑12 Lefties, was Re: The ideal moving filletster
>There used to be a left-handed store near Fisherman's Wharf in San
>Francisco. My significant other of the time (30 years ago) was a leftie and
>loved it. I remember she bought some left-handed scissors (30-year-old
>scissors = OT content). A very liberating experience for her.

Just remember: everyone is born right-handed, but only the greatest can
overcome it.

- Bill Taggart
- At home and left-handed, in Califon, NJ, USA


63925 Don McConnell <Don.McConnell@a...> 1999‑06‑12 Re: The ideal moving filletster
Scott E. Post wrote:

Snip of Scott's fruitless search for a left-handed moving
filletster and decision to make his own. Which leads him to
ask a series of questions:

>What makes the perfect filletster?
>
> Fence:

The common fence affixed to the sole of the plane with screws is
relatively unobtrusive and effective. And relatively simple to
make.  The one difficulty I've experienced with them is that
tightening the screws will sometimes shift the setting. This can
be kept to a minimum by cleaning the brass plate and screw heads
of any irrregularities.

If you were to consider one of the alternatives, I'd suggest either
a bridle or sliding fence type plane so that you don't have any
arms projecting on the working side of the plane.  This may not be
totally critical, but keeping the arms to the off-side of the plane
will give you more clamping/holding options - especially for
smallish pieces.

You might be surprised how many times this becomes a consideration.

Also, consider the fact that an "armed fence" type plane will alter
your grip at the toe of the plane.  Without the arms and fence, you
will be able to grip the plane much as any rabbet/rebate and/or
moulding plane. With the arms and fence, you will likely wind up
gripping it more like a plough plane. Both work, but you may want
to consider which grip is more comfortable for you in the long run.
This is of some concern as the "toe" hand [I'm trying to avoid
left-right references :-) ] provides your primary vertical
orientation.

> Depth stop:
>    - simple slotted stop screwed into side of plane (ala Stanley #78)?
>    - screw stop mortised into the plane (see fig. 5:16 of Whelan's book)?

Both will work, though, of course, the simple slotted stop is
easier to install. The main advantage of the mortised screw stop
is that it can be adjusted without any tool. Again, the simple
slotted stop may tend to shift slightly as the screw is tightened
down.

I'd avoid any arrangement which might risk impeding shaving
clearance. While having a depth stop is handy, it's almost always
best to rely, in the final analysis, on working to a gauge line.
Speaking from "bitter" experience on this one!  ;-)

> Knicker:
>    - dovetailed?
>    - held with a wedge?

I haven't worked much with the dovetailed knickers, but have to
admit that I don't much care for them.  In part, I guess this is
because the small amount of wood left holding them seems very
fragile. Also, I don't like the idea of having to fiddle with the
fit as it's shortened through use.

The cranked/wedged type is probably more difficult to fit, but
that would be my personal choice. It does need to be carefully fit
so that it can't shift (as the holding of the wedge is some
distance from the edge), but the fit shouldn't need to be fiddled
with once the initial installation is accomplished.

> Boxing:
>    - full?
>    - just the corner?

How big a piece of boxwood (or other suitable wood) do you have? ;-)

While full boxing would obviously give more wear protection, I guess
I wonder to what extent this might introduce more of a tendency for
the entire stock to warp due to differential expansion/contraction?
For what it's worth, my primary moving filletster (Varville & Son,
York) was boxed at the corner. The boxwood had deformed over time
(needing a bit of attention) but the stock had remained fairly true.

What have others observed regarding this?

>How about the width of the plane?  Is there a width you find particularly
>handy?

My Varville & Son is about 2 1/16" wide, with a maximum width of
cut of 1 1/4". This size feels "just right" to me -- possibly
because I've become accustomed to it.  I also have an Auburn Tool
Co. moving filletster which is about 2 7/16" wide which can take
about 1 1/2" width cut. It's not bad, but feels somewhat unwieldy
by comparison.

If you anticipate wider rabbets/rebates, you might want to make
yourself a "lefty" panel plane as well.  :-)

Don McConnell
Knox County, Ohio


63929 "Scott E. Post" <spost@n...> 1999‑06‑12 Re: The ideal moving filletster
> Don McConnell wrote:
>
>> Scott E. Post wrote:
>
> >What makes the perfect filletster?
> >
> > Fence:
>
> The common fence affixed to the sole of the plane with screws is
> relatively unobtrusive and effective. And relatively simple to
> make.

What kind of screws are used on these?  Simple wood screws or machine
screws?  Do they just screw into holes in the sole or is there some kind
of threaded insert?

Another question that has arisen: do folks prefer toted filletsters?  They
sure do look nice.  Are they also nice to hold?


63948 Gary Roberts <groberts@s...> 1999‑06‑13 Re: The ideal moving filletster
>Another question that has arisen: do folks prefer toted filletsters?  They
>sure do look nice.  Are they also nice to hold?
>
>--
>Scott Post   spost@n...  http://www.netusa1.net/~spost

I was gonna say that my favorite user is a toted DR Barton. The tote makes
it a breeze to use when the going gets rough... or for that matter when the
going is smooth. Whichever way you use it.. the totes adds control and
power.

Gary Roberts 
Dedham, MA...Antique tools, Art Pottery, Hong Kong cinema, what else is there?


63986 ralph.brendler@a... (Ralph Brendler) 1999‑06‑14 Re: The ideal moving filletster
Scott Post asks about Wooden fillisters:

>What kind of screws are used on these?  Simple wood screws or machine
>screws?  Do they just screw into holes in the sole or is there some kind
>of threaded insert?

I've seen both-- I think it just depends on the vintage.  If you're making
your own, I would definitely use inserts, though.  Using an insert takes
away one more potential point of failure.

>Another question that has arisen: do folks prefer toted filletsters?  They
>sure do look nice.  Are they also nice to hold?

They sure are, but they are also pretty scarce.  One of the primary reasons
I finally ditched my wooden fillister and got a #289 was the fact that I
couldn't find a nice handled woodie that I could afford.  Again, since
you're making your own, I would go with a handle.

One other thing to think about-- you may want to consider using a razee
profile. I've never seen a razee fillister in the wild (have seen a couple
of razee badgers, though), but a few years ago I did some experiments with
panel raisers, and found that using a razee-style body was much easier to
control.  It may just be my technique, but I found that the lower pivot
point on the razee planes made it easier to maintain the proper orientation,
and also seemed easier to push.

Just one more cobble on the road to sinister fillister nirvana... ;-)

ralph



Recent Bios FAQ