Mushroomed Plane Blades

[Mike Brady]

Done by the same guy who used the lever cap as a screw driver.

[Timberwolf]

Done by the same guy who used the lever cap as a screw driver.

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[Tony Z]

We're looking at tools not as tools! People that made money from using tools, would look at the quickest method of doing a job. No wide chisel? Ya got a plane blade there, Sonny! No screwdriver? I'm paying ya $15.00 bucks an hour, you ain't going out to your truck to look for a screwdriver - do what ya gotta do!

My father was a home builder (immediately after WWII) for about a decade, then for the remainder of his working life, he ran work for a large industrial/commercial contractor. To him, first, you spray all your tools a unique color to keep them your tools. If you had to shorten a handsaw plate for a specific task, you did that, and so forth.

[Timberwolf]

We're looking at tools not as tools!  People that made money from using tools, would look at the quickest method of doing a job.  No wide chisel?  Ya got a plane blade there, Sonny!  No screwdriver?  I'm paying ya $15.00 bucks an hour, you ain't going out to your truck to look for a screwdriver - do what ya gotta do!

My father was a home builder (immediately after WWII) for about a decade, then for the remainder of his working life, he ran work for a large industrial/commercial contractor.  To him, first, you spray all your tools a unique color to keep them your tools.  If you had to shorten a handsaw plate for a specific task, you did that, and so forth.

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Yep...a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do...

[Mike Brady]

Someone told me recently that tradesmen never sharpen anything, such as chisels.  They just toss and replace them.  I understand this mentality, but I don't have to like it, and certainly don't respect it.

[Skip J.]

Someone told me recently that tradesmen never sharpen anything, such as chisels.  They just toss and replace them.  I understand this mentality, but I don't have to like it, and certainly don't respect it.

Depends... my mother-in-law married a 3rd guy late in life for some reason.  He was an old-time carpenter that built frame houses completely from scratch.  He built a house for MIL so I got to watch the whole process. When he was cutting baseboards and even quarter round, he would use his power-miter-saw with the same blade he cut his 2 x 4's with.  Somehow he got them together without gaps, from long practice I guess.  Anyway, when it came to making cabinets; he went down to the big box store and bought whatever they had that were already made, he just installed'em.  Never seen him even attempt fine woodworking.  Not sure he even owned a chisel or handsaw, never saw him use anything but powertools.

[JimReed@Tallahassee]

This is an interesting discussion. I often see vintage blades, Stanley and others, with mushrooming and wonder how it happened. I like the chisel idea because taking out these mushrooms can be a chore. I can see how blade adjustment would cause some deformity but nobody would adjust enough to create some of the large mushrooms I have observed. Sometimes I beat them flat on an anvil and then grind them flat. It can take lots of bashing on the blades that have been abused. Looks more like they were used as wedges to split wood. I could see that happening in an old time pre-power tool shop.

[Stwood_]

Using as a chisel makes sense to me.

[Tony Z]

Someone told me recently that tradesmen never sharpen anything, such as chisels.  They just toss and replace them.  I understand this mentality, but I don't have to like it, and certainly don't respect it.

I've gone through multiple expansions at my plant, including office work. Naturally my office is far more deluxe, but the tradesmen did not pay close attention to sharpness or sharpening. I brought in my Lion miter trimmer and showed them how to sneak up on fits. Their chisels were mainly Borg types. Their work, however, was excellent.

[Timberwolf]

Using as a chisel makes sense to me.

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A blade that wide and that thin makes a sorry chisel....Give one a whack in hardwood. But you may have to remove the chip breaker first or you have a pretty blunt chisel substitute......
 


And when you're finished chiseling, you will probably have to readjust the chip breaker.