A float is a tool similar to a rasp, but it cuts more aggressively, and you can sharpen it with a triangular file when it dulls. We’ve covered Lie-Nielson’s Planemakers’ Floats on Toolmonger before — now they offer a new line of joinery floats more suited for cabinet-making and furniture-building.
When you visit your local hardware store, you’ll notice they probably only carry birch and oak dowel rods. Even if you trek to a specialty woodworking store, you’ll still only find dowels in a few additional species like walnut and cherry. For a more exotic species dowel, you’ll need to create your own with a dowel plate — like this one sold by Lie-Nielson.
Those who sign up in time — and are willing to make the trip to Warren, Maine — can join Deneb Puchalski for Lie Nielson introductory hand planning skills workshop in June. In July, Christopher Schwarz will be there, too, schooling eager attendees in the ever-popular project of building a workbench.
According to Lie Nielson, space is limited, and the experience will set you back $50. But considering the topics, I’d love to sit in and soak up some wood working wisdom. It’s a sure bet there will be Lie Nielsen tool reps lurking about the workshop — and there are worse things than folks with good tools willing to let you handle a few before you buy. Check out the Lie Nelson site for details.
Lie Nielsen Workshops [Lie Nielsen]
Chisels and chisel designs are a hotly debated topic amongst woodworking craftsmen. Arguably on top of the all-time heap of best designs out there are Stanley’s 750 series bevel-edge socket chisels. They’re pretty rare now and difficult to find, but Lie Nielsen recognizes the 750 vibe and addresses it with a set of bevel edge socket chisels that mirror the 750 series closely. Read on past the jump for more info and pics.
Floats are traditional tools used to cut, flatten, and smooth or “float” the surfaces of a wooden plane. Generally floats are craftsman-made and very personal in their construction, but Lie Nielson offers a full range of craftsman-designed float tools.
The Lie Nielson floats are constructed of S-7 tool steel and have study maple handles. They’re handy for all sorts of woodworking projects around the shop besides plane making. They work a lot like a file but they are generally wider and shaped to various points to aid in making surfaces conform to a particular shape. A cheek float, for instance, has a broad, flat wedge shape that allows easy sizing of a mortise to match standardized wedges.
Lie Nielsen sells a lot of planers; it’s probably their single biggest-selling product. If you’re looking to get started with fine quality woodworking hand tools, you could do a lot worse than picking up one of their cabinet maker’s scrapers. They’re simple to operate and produce excellent results.
The cabinet makers scraping plane is a size in between Lie Nelsen’s large and small planes, and the blade is the full width of the tool to allow you to work against an adjacent vertical surface. The knob at the rear of the plane tilts to the left or right to ensure a good grip and better control over its movement.
We always love to browse when it comes to Lie-Nielsen. They make fine hand tools that are works of art in and of themselves. Their saws – like this dovetail for instance – are always simple, elegant and functional.
Lie-Nielsen saws have a beautifully sculpted open-handle style that shows off the wiping varnish finish that presents a “softer” feel to the maple handle. The steel is Swedish high carbon hardened steel (16 teeth every 25mm) with a milled, solid back that adds weight to the cut.
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