Fifty Years A Planemaker And User

Cecil E. Pierce

Reviewed by:

Jon Pile

This slim volume (66 pages) actually covers three broad topics:
    - making a wooden jack plane
    - sharpening with diamond paste
    - turning a long-lasting scraper edge on a plane blade

The real joy of this book is Cecil's writing style, which is fluid and conversational. Some readers will find this a detriment, as it does come at the expense of the technical. Most of the details of the plane construction are actually inferred from the twenty or so line drawings, not from the text itself.

By the way - Cecil's plane design is a bit different from the classical methods illustrated by Whelan and others. Instead of wooden wedges, he documents the use of a "toggle" (which looks like a lever cap to me) held in the wood by a modified wood screw. The iron is retracted or advanced in the traditional way - with a mallet - but with no wedge loosening to counter.

This design is very forgiving for the first-time planemaker, as most of the complicated mouth geometry simply disappears. Furthermore, this is easily done in a strictly galoot shop, which some modern authors neglect.

However, I would have a hard time recommending this as a stand-alone book for a prospective planemaker. Other authors cover the techniques and details of construction more thoroughly. However, I would certainly recommend it as both an accessory and antidote to the other, purely technical volumes.

Availability note: I believe this is out of print, though it does turn up in stock from time to time. In fact, I bought my copy (First Printing) very recently from Cambium Books, who no longer seem to carry it. Some of the used book dealers have bizarre list prices for this book - I have no idea why.