Appreciation post: my grandpa's old hand plane vs. the new electric one I bought

I finally got around to restoring his Stanley No. 4 from the 1950s after fighting with a $60 electric planer on a birch shelf last weekend. The old one took me a few hours to set up right but it left a finish so smooth I didn't even need sandpaper. Has anyone else found that old tools just work better once you put the time into them?

3 comments

3 Comments

nina_hall4810d ago

Oh man, my uncle had an old brace and bit that could cut through anything... still haven't found an electric drill that feels the same.

kai_chen210d ago

Did that old brace have the ratcheting mechanism or the plain chuck?

the_claire9d ago

Funny you say that. I used to think those old braces were just clunky antiques that people held onto for nostalgia. But then I actually tried my grandpa's old Stanley brace and bit on a piece of dry oak. Totally changed my mind. The way you can feel the grain and control the speed just by your arm pressure, nothing electric has that same feedback.