The Handplane Book

Frankly, handplanes scare me. Not because they are particularly dangerous, but because I never seemed to be able to get them set right. Almost every other tool I've used comes out of the box ready to do something interesting to a piece of wood. Planes, however, would always move three inches and dig in, scarring their way across my project. Needless to say I used a lot of sandpaper in my life. My moment of truth was the surprise acquisition of a Lie-Nielson bench plane at a very reasonable price (if one can ever call a Lie-Nielson plane's price 'reasonable'). Now it was either use it or build a special shelf on which to rest it forever. I did what I always do when confronted with a challenge - I bought a book on handplanes. And into my live came Garrett Hack's remarkable effort, called, appropriately, 'The Handplane Book.' One can only describe this volume as massive overkill. By the time I got to the chapter entitled 'How to Plane,' I had received instruction on what a plane is, its history, its mechanics, and how to tune it. And once done with that chapter there was even more information on different kinds of planes - truing, sizing, joinery, surfacing, scrapers, shaping, and so one. Hack writes well, but planes are a dry subject to anyone but the most dedicated. The book is lavishly illustrated with a remarkable selection of planes, old, new, cheap and very, very dear. You will never, ever have to buy another book one the subject. And that's saying something about any book. Of course, I ran into the shop, grabbed my new plane, fiddled with it like I knew what I was doing and promptly planed three inches, followed by a cloud of dust. But this time I really looked at the plane and though about what to do. More fiddling and I made it a whole six inches. Even more fiddling and then, Gloria Dei, it suddenly went the whole distance! And then did it again! I feel like I've passed one of those arcane rites of passage.

As a librarian I see a lot of books on this subject, and lately I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about tuning and using hand planes (an area of woodworking that I have been sorely lax about learning). I am here to say that this book is an absolute treasure trove of information. The coverage of all things relating to hand planes is encyclopedic. I especially value chapter four 'Tuning a Plane', which is a 25 page long clear and precise explanation of every step one should go through when tuning a plane to work properly. I also benefitted greatly from the explanations for the most common uses of each type and size of plane, and the coverage of what to look for when buying a used plane. I love the fact that Mr. Hack presents this information on a level that assumes you know nothing, without sounding like he is talking to a five year old. In fact, I think it is because the author is admittedly not a hand tool 'purist' that he is able to convey the important information about hand planes to the power tool junkies among us! If you are in any way interested in this subject matter, buy this book! I highly recommend it!

This book is filled with encyclopedic information about planes, their history, their use, and their mechanics.Included is information about different kinds of planes that are used for joining, truing, surfacing, shaping, and specialty planes such as those used by violin makers and others, as well as information on how to select, maintain, and tune a plane. I really liked the way the author gives due consideration to wooden planes, information one can use to help make their own. There are wonderful photographs and illustrations used throughout the book that accompany the professionally written text. The author has defintely performed an excellent job compiling and presenting the information. Even as a coffee table book, those who peruse it will find it hard to put down. For the woodworker at any skill level this is a must have for the shop.

This excellent book can certainly serve as a testament to convert those seekers who are unfulfilled with the gospel of Norm Abraham and his idolatrous worship of power tools. However, the real value of this work lies in enriching the woodworking experience for those of us who transmogrify wood for therapy and not solely to achieve the end result. While I was reasonably skilled with hand planes prior to my purchase of this book, Garret Hack helped me ascend to the next level of woodworking consciousness - the smug recognition that a well-tuned hand plane and some basic skills can accomplish many woodworking tasks with better results in less time than an expensive electric tool. An interesting phenomenon occurs as one converts from screaming three-phase power tools to handsaws, chisels, braces and planes - the woodworking experience changes focus from the project to the process. Your ability to read the wood and select the most appropriate stock increases dramatically. You begin to appreciate the wood and even the tools themselves as much as you do the actual project. I've been collecting every manner of woodworking hand tools for years, thinking that in my retirement I could afford the luxury of conducting all my woodworking in a non-electric shop as penance to St. Roy of Underhill for my avaricious glorification of Nikola Tesla. While I may never do away with my table saw, this book has given me the strength to forsake all of my other power tools and relegate them to occasional use when I'm doing rough work on knotty pagan wood. It's a good book - swear to God.

When you finally decide to defect from the world of routers, jointers and power planers, come read from this book. Garrett has taken what some would argue is an outdated tool and shown its practical use. The Handplane Book gives great overviews on the various types of planes that exist - old, new and new versions of oldies. Garrett shows you how to set many of these planes up to achieve results that power tool users can only dream of (try getting a glass smooth surface with sandpaper - read the book and you'll understand why you can't). As for the photographs, only the most beautiful tool examples were used, and were very well shot. Nice enough to put on your coffee table ;-) For any fan of manually powered craftsmanship (smoothing and shaping in specific) or those who understand the simple beauty of a hand tool, this is a must have.