The Handplane Book

Book Description

Handplanes evoke the romance of an earlier era, when they performed countless woodworking tasks from preparing stock to shaping moldings. In The Handplane Book, aficionado Garrett Hack reveals the rich heritage of this classic tool with a treasure trove of information and history, including detailed guidance on how to buy a plane, tune it up, and use it. Lavishly illustrated with 175 photos and 152 illustrations, Hack engagingly traces the tool's lineage from Roman times to the present, with emphasis on the golden age of handplanes from the late 19th and the early 20th centuries.

Author : Garrett Hack

Review :

As a librarian I see a lot of books on this subject, and lately I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about tuning and using hand planes (an area of woodworking that I have been sorely lax about learning). I am here to say that this book is an absolute treasure trove of information. The coverage of all things relating to hand planes is encyclopedic.

I especially value chapter four 'Tuning a Plane', which is a 25 page long clear and precise explanation of every step one should go through when tuning a plane to work properly. I also benefitted greatly from the explanations for the most common uses of each type and size of plane, and the coverage of what to look for when buying a used plane.

I love the fact that Mr. Hack presents this information on a level that assumes you know nothing, without sounding like he is talking to a five year old. In fact, I think it is because the author is admittedly not a hand tool 'purist' that he is able to convey the important information about hand planes to the power tool junkies among us!

If you are in any way interested in this subject matter, buy this book! I highly recommend it!

Scott Pointon