Comments on: Float Like A Plane, Sting Like A Chisel http://toolmonger.com/2008/03/19/float-like-a-plane-sting-like-a-chisel/ All tools. All the time. Your source for news, information, and reviews of hand tools, power tools, and tools of all kinds. Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:39:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Fred http://toolmonger.com/2008/03/19/float-like-a-plane-sting-like-a-chisel/#comment-259644 Fred Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:38:44 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2008/03/19/float-like-a-plane-sting-like-a-chisel/#comment-259644 Floats are nothing new - but Lie-Nielsen may have re-introduced them to the plane-maker's market. I heard somewhere that their introduction had some connection to Clark & Williams who make nifty wooden planes here in the USA. Other types of floats were long ago used to prepare soft metals (e.g. bearing babbit) for final scraping. Heller-NuCut (Simonds) made a line called Vixen Files with curved teeth. More recently, curved tooth files may still be available from Sandvik. A step down from a float are pattern-maker rasps (Nicholson still makes these) and random tooth rasps like those once made by the French Company Auriou (recently out of business after 150 years of operation). These leave fairly nice surfaces and complement a sharp chisel and block plane for doing fine adjustments and fitting work. We find that a little hand-tool work often beats out setting ups a power tool to do the same thing. Floats are nothing new - but Lie-Nielsen may have re-introduced them to the plane-maker’s market. I heard somewhere that their introduction had some connection to Clark & Williams who make nifty wooden planes here in the USA.

Other types of floats were long ago used to prepare soft metals (e.g. bearing babbit) for final scraping. Heller-NuCut (Simonds) made a line called Vixen Files with curved teeth. More recently, curved tooth files may still be available from Sandvik.

A step down from a float are pattern-maker rasps (Nicholson still makes these) and random tooth rasps like those once made by the French Company Auriou (recently out of business after 150 years of operation). These leave fairly nice surfaces and complement a sharp chisel and block plane for doing fine adjustments and fitting work. We find that a little hand-tool work often beats out setting ups a power tool to do the same thing.

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