As someone who doesn't have the space or money for power tools, your channel is criminally underrated! I've been putting off making a scrub plane as I don't have a grinder but the large sand paper method is genius. Saved me from butchering my iron with a file haha.

I've got a nice rough slab I am wanting to flatten for a coffee table and just today took an old spare plane blade, put a radius on it with my slow speed grinder and about 10 minutes on the diamond plates, I dropped it into my #5 and got a real pleasant surprise.....one more go tomorrow and I will have a reference face, it's all going home from there. I'm 75, a lower tier 'intermediate' woodworker who has found hand tool woodworking to be my hobby of choice. I've a friend with a sawmill .....a very nice advantage. -Veteran '66-68

Got an old wooden plane in a box of tools for next to nothing so I thought I would give this a shot. Wow! I had some walnut that I chainsaw milled and thought I would never get flat. Spent hours with the number 5 and still had miles to go. In less than 5minutes I did more work than hours with the other plane. Thanks again and keep the awesomeness coming.

I clicked on this hoping that you would have a grinder-free solution for the cambered blade and you did not disappoint! Thanks!

James, thanks for telling me about this video, it answered all my questions and then some. I have 2 number 4s in just so-so condition and I will make one of them a scrub plane if I am able. God Bless my friend.

Thank you for giving me the courage to make a scrub plane without a bench grinder! You were right - it only takes about 5 minutes shape the blade with sandpaper. Thank you!

I learn a lot from your videos. You are always straight to the point.

Terrific demonstration, pictorally and verbally.

Man !!!!! The information you've provided is really valuable !!!! Appreciate it !!!!!!!! Will make my own scrub plane, thanks !!!!!!!!

Its amazing how quick a scrub plane can flatten a piece.

just did a restoration following this . Thanks James for sharing.

Very cool how you changed the plane for a different use I can see why a fore plane can be addictive when you go from rough to where you start to see the nice wood being covered. Also wanted to let you know I received my mallet and marking gauge in the mail and they are so nice I can't wait to use them. Thank you so much and keep up the great work

just shows, knowledge is everything. not knowing anything about hand planes, I would have never known how to or what to do.this was great information, I am finding out so much about hand tools. Thank you for your videos

Had a cheap old No. 4 plane that I hadn't used for years, then I saw your video & followed your procedure (except for the sandpaper on the floor bit, which was a step too far, so cheated with a grinder). I now have a scrub plane that works like a dream! Thanks, I am now an avid subscriber to your channel.

I do the hand tool thing for wood working, but for metal I like power tools. It just makes more sense to me. They've had one form or another of bench grinder for a long time now.

What timing. I was just looking around the web for ways to camber an iron for a #5 plane, and your video appears at the same time. The cosmic planets must be aligned. Thanks for the great videos.

Great demystifying of the subject of foreplanes. I have a restored #5 Stanley that I do not want to relegate to the roughing task of foreplaning. So I believe I will keep an eye out for a cheap one that I can use for the purpose.

Another great one, James. I'm telling you, man; you're videos contain some of the most detailed content on the web and it's always presented in such a clear and natural way. Always a pleasure to watch.

Great video! Thanks!

Just found your channel via your 'nemesis', Rex Krueger (it was the vid of the two of you doing a 'build-off' of a wooden-body plane). I've been away from wood working for FAR too long...and the two of you have rekindled my passion (and need) to go make some chips!

Cheers James for another great video. I've come into several old hand tools from passed family members and after watching several of your videos I will be cleaning them up and putting them to use. Thanks for the inspiration!

Very instructive anf fun. It is ideal for any plane lost somewhere. thanks for sharing

I have done the same with a wooden jack plane. It had a fairly wide mouth to start with so I just needed to camber the iron. I did use a power grinder for that rather than the floor though. I also took the corners off the cap iron (chip breaker) so that I can have it closer to the edge. Best plane by far for fast stock removal. I can take 1/2” off the edge of a board in a dozen passes or knock the high spots off the face just as quickly. My biggest problem is in not getting too carried away and taking too much off.

Nice project. Thanks for sharing it...

Great advise!!!

Realize this is a 6 yr. old video but I just wanted to add my thanks for the information. Converted an extra iron for my Jack to a scrub and the difference it night to day - particularly having done one side of a hickory plank with the ‘jack’ and now the other with the scrub - oh, if only I had known what a scrub could do years ago.

Excellent... Another great video and I've learnt something new so thank you... I'll defiantly be getting a scrub plane or a cheap fore plane and converting it like you've just done... Cheers...

I know this is a 7 year old video, apologies for necro posting: I made this tonight with a Spear and Jackson #5 that was absolutely horrible when it came to a jack plane. It had way to much slop and the chip breaker was abysmal. Replaced it a while ago with a barely used LN 5 1/2 and I've been using the 5 1/2, a wooden fore-plane and a refurbished type 7 Stanley #7 to dimension all of my rough sawn stock. Needless to say it was long hard work taking 7 foot boards down to flat, square, and thickness. My 5 1/2 doesn't have any camber in it because I use it for all my smoothing work too. I was about to throw out the cruddy 30 dollar indian #5, but remembered this video and decided to take a chance on converting it. It took me about an hour to get a decent camber on the blade with a piece of marble w/ 120 grit sandpaper taped to it. Re-sharpened the new profile on some diamond plates, backed the frog all the way up and tried it out. It hogs off wood. Just absolutely eats it up. The amount of physical effort I used to have to put into the work has decreased immensely since making the scrub plane. Scrub going from 90 to 45 degrees to the grain, follow up with the 5 1/2 to remove the groves. Check for flatness and see where I need to remove more material. Repeat until it registers flat to the 5 1/2. Check for twist w/ some winding sticks. Repeat if necessary, then finish off with the #7. It has helped so much with processing lumber, which (for me) has been 80% of my time woodworking. Now I can spend more time focusing on joints instead of fretting about that big pile of wood I have to work through each night. You are absolutely right when it comes to "Using the right tool for the Job". That Indian #5 was what I could afford when I started and wanted to dip my toes into the hobby. It sucked as a smoothing plane and for the shooting board (something the LN or old Stanley I've used excel at) but it was perfect for this application. Thanks for the great video.

Interesting as always! your sanding carpet always make me smile :P

great job and i think i will try to build one myself

nice job James! I plan to do the same with one of the planes Darryl Jones gave me.

For some reason, I forgot all about this and were using a smother as a foreplane. Worse than that I was teaching my Son the wrong thing. It was good to re-watch this video, I'll set up my number 5 as a foreplane in the next couple of days and teach the boy correctly this time.

thanks for doing this...for a newbie like me the sensible approach (economical solution) is the best until i get my skills up.

When I was younger I did not understand the use of hand tools vs power tools. But with age I get the just of it now. I still do not have any planes, but hope to change that soon. Thanks for the insight on hand planes. Well done James

Looking good! Learned a lot from your sharpening process! Thanks brotha!

Great that you used sandpaper to shape the curve. No goggles required!

Just converted a #4 iron using my diamond plates (for a modern #4 plastic handles, feels weird, next project I guess). I guess the really course sand paper helps, it took me quite a bit longer, good work out though. I took it to a piece of wood and it really rips through it, although it nearly feels like I'm molesting the wood. But the waves it leaves in the wood are quite cool.

Hey James, thanks for the video. I thought I would share an alternative I have been using to the rag wrapped around the screwdriver. Rather than the screwdriver, I take a disposable chopstick and sharpen the wide flat end to a screwdriver shape and sharpen the pointy end in a pencil sharpener. I feel like it is a little less cumbersome and less likely to damage the paint and you can tweak the shape to the area you are trying to clean.

Pretty good info, Paul Sellers has a similar video that says pretty much the same thing with a bit more detail. I use vinegar with steel wool soaked in a jar (creates rust) to create a "rapid weathering" solution. It works extremely well and is fun to watch the different woods darken as the rust, tannin, and acid do their magic. Because of that, I would never use vinegar to clean steel without neutralizing the acid afterward. For me, because I'm somewhat obsessive about my tools, I would spend the time and effort to clean up the plane to at least a no rust state.

Great plane. Good grinding plate. Like!

Nice, thanks for sharing!!

good work!

I have converted a jack plane into a scrub plane, and it works well enough, better than this particular plane functioned as a jack plane so I don't regret my efforts. But I have also used a vintage Stanley No. 40 scrub plane and found that the extra 1/2" of width in the iron requires a measurable increase in effort to operate it. Since Stanley No. 40's are averaging above $80 in price on eBay, I'll stick to my modified jack plane for now.

awesome work, great vid, its always funny to me, when someone says all hand tools no power tools. like the old masters did, while talking into a camera and posting it on the internet lol

Just followed your instructions and now have a scrub plane. Thank you! Just one thing, though. I don't know where you find garage sales with $5 planes. In NYC, I've never seen any planes!

Great video, as all the others you've made over the years (I've watched virtually all of them); I just wish 5$ planes did exist for me to buy...

Think about the space required for an additional machine, a jointer, and the dust removal and all that is involved and you realize just how expensive power tools are. For occasional needs, a hand tool is much more cost effective than buying all the space, power, etc. needs to possess a piece of machinery, yet that's only one piece. Multiply that by the many pieces of machinery needed to build furniture.

Very informative James as usaul. have u any ideas what we can do for video when I come up next week

HI James, first off Great Work! I love your videos and you just make it all look so fun! I'm disabled and retired so setting up my shop to do wood projects that I can sell to suppliment my income. I have a question. I was watching you sharpen the plane blade and was noticing your diamond plates. Could you tell me what kind they are and where you got them? And about how expensive are they?

That was one bodacious piece of sandpaper.

School time! Thanks James.

Great knowledge transfer… Where did you get the giant piece of sandpaper?

Hey, James. About 6 or 8 years ago, somebody gave me a broken Stanley number 4. I repaired it and decided to convert it into a scrub plane, since I have a LN 4. I botched the job. I honestly thought I had ruined the blade trying to put a camber on it. So I put the plane away and forgot about it. I watched this video last week, and you motivated me to try again. I spent today following the instructions in this video, and it worked perfectly. I have a very nice 3 1/8" radius camber on a razor sharp blade. Thanks for the assist! Literally couldn't have done it without you. As an aside: I set the bevel at 32* to aid in edge retention. Thoughts on that bevel angle?

I've been humming and hawing for a while now about which of my planes I want to turn into a scrub plane. I've got a number 4 and 5 Stanleys, a no. 4 Dronfield, and a no. 5 Spears & Jackson (which is new, but cheap). I think I'm going to have to go with the Dronfield since it has something wrong with it; I have to put the chip breaker back about 1/4-1/2 an inch for the blade to protrude, and adjust, correctly. It seems like the perfect candidate, but it's always a tough decision to "sacrifice" a plane! At the moment I'm just using an old wooden block plane as a scrub as it has a large mouth, but I didn't curve the blade on it as I was undecided if it was to become my main scrub plane.. Still, it's a lot of fun using an old block plane, you can really fling them around! It's also got a metal sole in front of the mouth so I might be able to reduce the size of the mouth in the future if I want to use it as a smoothing plane or something.

Love the video! What grit stones are you using?

Thanks for the 80 grit procedure and about how long it takes. I don't own a power grinder. Just don't feel like spending the money to get one. By the way, have you ever tried Evaporust? Curious if it would be a lazy way to remove the rust without damaging the paint.

Thanks for the video. Can you not get these irons pre-cut? What is holding your piece of wood down? I would imagine if it was just that dog, it would be moving around a lot more.

Cheers mate for sharing how you guys do scrub work overseas. The iron on this is a lot wider than on traditional European wooden scrub planes (33mm). The iron plane gives a lot more mass to the plane which might be quite taxing when thicknessing. What is your experience with that?

Just an FYI: that plane was manufactured by Millers Falls. It's still most likely a "B" line as far as quality goes, but back then the only real skimping was cheaper totes/knobs and slightly less refined castings (not as much grinding and finish work before paint). Still great quality though, especially compared to today's "budget" planes from HD/Lowe's/wherever.

I just reshaped one of these with a hand crank grinder. Took a minute...and no power tools!! I hope you can get one of those. You'll save a'lot of money on sandpaper/files. The stones last for years.

Nice Vid on a Scrube Plane conversion. Using a former Number 5, is it essential or preferable to enlarge the mouth's Plane to help bigger shavings to go thru ? Regards, Robert,

Scrub plane gets no love huh? "It's only a scrub plane so you don't even need to feed it unless your in a good mood..."

Is it ok to move the frog back pass the sole/throat? The iron seems to be too big, it sticks out too far??

A rather strange affliction that all woodworkers seem to possess,,,This shaving of ones arms..

I recently picked an old 2 -inch slick ($2) that was sorely abused and meeds a handle The bevel is is crudely cambered, and I wonder if it was used to clean up rough hewing.

Your method is a lot like Mr. Paul Sellers way of doing this... I have learned a ton from all you internet/youtube instructors. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I have a question that should be up your alley... I see people using all sorts of power tools to make a Barley Twist in a leg or any round wood... is there a way to do this by hand tools? Can't find anything on doing so.

I wish these nr5s were more readily available here. I need to go wooden to get a scrub plane. Any pointers on making a wooden fore plane?

what honing stones with the strap thingy are you using?

in need of a 1st plane 🎃

The #6 is called a "foreplane" the #5 or Jackplane so called as it's the jack of all trades and can be used for a scrub plane, a smoother, or a jointer. The #6 is Great at either jointing or as a scrubber, the #6 was more used more by trade type woodworkers, who didn't have lots of space in the tool totes for a full size #7 or 8 jointer or a bunch of other planes, so they would carry a #6 and say #4 to do all their work with. This combination was generally for ruff carpentry work not finishing work, where larger lumber was being processed.

Hi James, I have been evaluating converting one of my #4 planes into a scrub plane. Though I have a power planer, I am slowly trying to move towards hand tools as much as possible as I find that way more interesting. I came across your video tutorial and it is really helpful. I have a general question about investing on a slow speed power grinder - who else to go to for advise than someone who is so much dedicated to hand tools!😏. So my question, do you think it is still good to invest on a grinder for tasks like making a scrub plane, honing primary bevel of chisels, blades etc. even though it is not a common day to day thing like regular sharpening? What do you normally do for tasks like these? Looking for your inputs.

Are there irons I could purchase instead or do I have to camber myself?

How flat do we need to get the sole on a scrub? I have a cheap number four, but all-around the mouth it is higher than the rest of the sole. I can feel the difference with my finger as it slopes into the mouth, so it's taking ages to get it flat. Should I just leave it and shape my iron? Also, how about along the side edges? It seems all the really important areas of this plane are high...1/16th on each side and about as much on the front and back of the mouth...thoughts?

Would you prefer the additional blade width and sole length of a no 5 1/2 for this purpose? Im looking to get a dedicated roughing plane and not sure if i should look for no 5 or 5 1/2

Love your videos. I have talked to you about handsaw sharpening. I really don't have the time to invest in restoring them. I have about 5 or 6. If I send them all to you would you be willing to restore. Rip and crosscut one in exchange for the left overs. You choose what ones you want as I am not a collector or brand loyal.

You should meet Roy Underhill?

It was my understanding that the fore plain or number 6 was called that because you used it After your jointer and before you went to your number 5 jackplane

I just attempted for the first time to make a scrub plane. After sharpening and setting as far back as I could it just dug in and stopped. Did I make the radius to tight or do you think I need to file the mouth open some more?

Hi James & Merry Christmas. I think you should make the mouth bigger by filing it a bit.

I love the video in regards to the plane, but where are you that sells a plane with all parts for $5? I'm in Missouri and any hand plane that is all together is $45 min. Thats covered in rust like it came from the titanic. Thrift store and flea markets sell them with the blade missing and broken handles fore $15-$25.

I've been using wd-40 to clean up rusty planes. Does that lead to rust?

Alrighty-then! Guess I'm on the look-out for a second #5 to be converted to a scrub/fore plane. My wife thanks you, I'm sure.

30 foot long sandpaper?....now, that's just being show-off-ish! Gonna make me a scrub plane, though...Thanks!

You should never skip the foreplane

Молодец мужик, без всяких понтов точит нож на рубанок. У наших блогеров обязательно понадобилась бы какая нибудь дибильная тележка для точения от нельсон или веритас стоящая как крыло от боинга. И еще масло дикой архидеи,стоит пузырек как еще одно крыло А также водные, японские камни без них никуда. И того дешевле купить мебель полностью чем сделать самому потому что надо миллионвложить во всякую дрянь,а потом уже о покупке материала думать,а аж потом уже про мебель.

nice vid. you are pro, following your Tips produce results. but: to make the Planer you need a Shop with 500$ worth of sharpening equipment. so it is a 505$ Planer.

Often, a scrub plane needs a more open throat than a Bailey can accomodate by adjusting the frog, so people will file the throat wider ruining it for other uses. Stumpy Nubs has a video showing how to convert one of those cheap Harbor Freight planes into a scrub plane.

try some baking soda with that vinager 👍👌

acrost?

People who look down on scrub plane are ignorant of its capabilities. Also James, if a tool is worth using then it us worth taking care of it...get the rust out people!

Great information; however, the music is really intrusive and makes you very difficult to hear. Like listening to the elevator music while trying to converse on the phone. Thank you for your contributions.

"I have a piece of sandpaper 1 1/2 feet wide and 30 foot long, but you can use something smaller"

Kruger was here,,, oh wait.... lol

Thats radiused blade not "cambered".

Do you ever say, "Take that strop" while you are slapping the strop with the iron? So much aggression

I understand your reasonings for not going all the way on a clean up, but a craftsman should always take pride in ALL that he or she does, even the mundane things.