Lee Valley Slick

[Bob Cleek]

Bob, have you ever bought an edge tool from Lee Valley or Lie Nielson?


Steven

Truth be told, no. I've got first-hand familiarity with Lie Nielson planes "right out of the box" in stores, though. The first thing I noted was that they were well-sharpened "in the box." I'd say Veritas, Lee Valley, Lie Nielson, and other "aspirational" tool lines touting themselves as the "very best," probably do put a fine edge on their blades before shipping these days. That really wasn't the way it used to be done across the board. I guess, too, it depends upon how you define "sharp." I've seen a lot of Stanley and Record blades "out of the box" and I'd say they all were useable. I'd expect anybody who knew the difference, though, would end up touching up a new edge before using it.

[Canoez]

Truth be told, no. I've got first-hand familiarity with Lie Nielson planes "right out of the box" in stores, though. The first thing I noted was that they were well-sharpened "in the box." I'd say Veritas, Lee Valley, Lie Nielson, and other "aspirational" tool lines touting themselves as the "very best," probably do put a fine edge on their blades before shipping these days. That really wasn't the way it used to be done across the board. I guess, too, it depends upon how you define "sharp." I've seen a lot of Stanley and Record blades "out of the box" and I'd say they all were useable. I'd expect anybody who knew the difference, though, would end up touching up a new edge before using it.

I received one of Lie Neilsen's bronze block planes as a gift from a grateful student. The blade on that plane was literally sharp enough to shave with out of the box. I was also gifted a "Little Victor" from Lee Valley. That, too, was sharp enough that I cut myself on the blade checking out the flatness of the lapping job on the blade - apparently they have a precision lapping machine to sharpen blades at the factory.

However, if you don't know how to sharpen tools, you're still SOL once you've used the tool for a bit. Sharp out of the box doesn't matter much if you don't know how to put a good edge on a tool.

[Hugh Conway]

The lie-nielsen's I own were flat & true on the sole and flat & sharp of blade out of the box. Great performing tools. People always comment about their price, having bought lots of used hand tools, if you sum the price of a decent vintage Stanley block plane, a new good blade, and your labor to get it into shape, the price isn't much different.

The lee valley tools have generally been very good - the plane blades sharp, the plane flat, but some of their chisels have had funky back topography.

[nedL]

A variety of leather covers.

[Jay Greer]

Ah Ned, very nice!
Jay

[nedL]

Thank you Jay. I've been lucky to come across them over the years. A couple of them were actually "dump finds" that had been used for decades with broken off handles, to the point that the ferrules were mushroomed over. Some carefu work on my forge and anvil got them back to where they belonged. One was so badly mashed that I had to rebuild about half the fertile. The two slicks are a matched pair with laminated blades marked "L.&I.J. White - 1837- Buffalo NY" (I've had them for about 40 years.)

[Jay Greer]

Wow Ned, you are one lucky guy! Seems like slicks and adzes end up just being found when you are not looking for them. Two of mine suffer from the extreme split socket syndrome as well. I really don't know why slicks end up being so abused. I gotta fix them some Tuesday next week, quote from LFH. Do you oil those leather covers?
Jay aka Jbird

[Boater14]

As long as we're on the subject. Am I correct that a slick has a slight angle below the socket so the blad lies flat while the handle cants up a little or is that for timber framing. Also, not to start the freehand vs jig wars again but that new lie neilsen side clamping guide is very nice. I got the ductile version of the LN block plane awhile back on sale from Woodcraft for $74.00 delivered. Had it on my belt during the Kudzucraft SOF build. Made in Maine.

[J P]

As long as we're on the subject. Am I correct that a slick has a slight angle below the socket so the blad[e] lies flat while the handle cants up a little or is that for timber framing.

Most slicks that I've seen and worked with had canted handles. One of my Japanese made slicks is just slightly canted.

I'll second SMARTINSON's mention of Barr's tools (post#19). Barr makes good stuff and I think his slicks in particular are a great value. Most of the guys in our shop have a few of his tools.

[Jay Greer]

Slicks back in, olden times, had rocker forged into the blade which, insures the ferrule has clearance above the work. My Japaese slicks are built that way but, the first slick I ever bought was nothing more than a five inch wide framing chisel. This required my taking it to a blacksmith who heated it and bent it to match an existing true slick. It then had to be quenched to insure that the temper was correct. I have made several handles in the past, one of which can be seen in the picture here. It is comfortable in the hands and some tuesday next week I think I will make up a few more for the other slicks in my collection. Why in the world anyone would beat on a slick ferrule to the point of damaging it is beyond me!
Jay

[PeterSibley]

A variety of leather covers.

Regarding leather covers, be careful about the kind of leather you use. When I bought my first chisels as a young bloke I made leather covers for them. The leather must have had a strong acid content because it ruined 2 new chisels very quickly!

[SailRat]

This line of tools for working with big wood seems to be quite good:

https://barrtools.com/

I think Barr Tools probably have some of the nicest made Timber framing chisels and slicks out there. And compared to other companies I don't think their prices are really that out of line. I have never purchased any of the LV chisels but they do look very nice.

[SailRat]

I can't remember the specs... Isn't Black Locust 20% harder than steel nails?

Not sure if the Black Locust is 20% harder than steel nails or not but I have been slabbing out a bunch (9 trees total - each one when measured out was between 65 and 80 ft tall when lying on the ground) that I dropped on my property - the smaller stuff splitting for fire wood and any of the trunk pieces that I thought was salvageable or large enough I've been slowly slabbing into usable wood to sticker and use at some point in the future when it's dry and I can honestly tell you I have to re-sharpen my blades after each section of tree I finish. And any of the smaller stuff I have a bear of a time splitting by hand. But it's funny how easily the bark peels off. Very interesting wood and as much as my wife wishes I would just cut the stuff up for fire wood instead of spending so much time slabbing it and stacking it I just cannot bare to just burn it up. It would seem like a huge waste to me. Maybe at some point in the future I can turn it into something pretty. I still need to do a little research to see what it will be good for other than fence posts like I think it's used for so much.

[Paul Pless]

I still need to do a little research to see what it will be good for other than fence posts like I think it's used for so much.

raised garden bed frames
boat backbone and frame bits
blocks and mooring bits and cleats
steam bent frames
laminated frames
tool handles
mallets
trunnels
last but least - firewood

[SailRat]

raised garden bed frames
boat backbone and frame bits
blocks and mooring bits and cleats
steam bent frames
laminated frames
tool handles
mallets
trunnels
last but least - firewood

Last but least - firewood! I couldn't agree more. Thanks for the list. Most of these I think was already floating around in my head but a few are great suggestions. It is some pretty nice looking wood. So far my widest planks are about 16 inches and I have them at about 12 foot long. And I did a few as 10/4 to use for larger pieces. I really didn't want to do them much thicker or longer because they're just too heavy for me to work with. I do have 2 or 3 trunks still at about 24-26 foot long so maybe I'll do something longer and thinner for planking. But if I did it wouldn't be a light weight boat build. The 12 foot sections I can't even roll easily. Thanks again.

[Hugh MacD]

NI still need to do a little research to see what it will be good for other than fence posts like I think it's used for so much.

A friend of mine uses it for bows. Works pretty well. He got a National Flite Shooting championship a while back. Wonder how it'd be for a framesaw?

[Paul Pless]

Last but least - firewood!

i burn five cords of black locust a year in the house and another three in the shop furnace
after ash i think it might be the highest calorie specific firewood there is

there's nothing wrong with using it to your heat your home, as far as milling it for lumber goes, its an extremely high defect tree, difficult to find in large diameters that are straight, usually has a rotten pith hosting ants and termites, there are often other boring bugs and beetles in the heartwood. It grows in spirals so finding long lengths of straight grained lumber is a challenge. Its difficult to air dry as it likes to rack and cup and twist

add to the list, it makes great tomato stakes

another thing that makes it great for firewood is that it 'volunteers' and regrows quickly, often from the stumps or roots of trees that you've just cut
it also can make a formidle thorny hedge if you keep it trained

[Paul Pless]

A friend of mine uses it for bows. Works pretty well. He got a National Flite Shooting championship a while back. Wonder how it'd be for a framesaw?

yes, it makes excellent bows, if somewhat heavy ones

[Sailor]

It rots readily on the tree, hence the beetles, termites and bugs found in it. Once you fell the tree, it becomes extremely rot resistant. Resist the temptation to simply huck it up and burn it. If it wasn't for the locust beetle ravaging the forests, this would probably be the number one North American commercial timber. It does just about everything you would hope a wood can do. It's heavy so don't build a lightweight boat of it but it steams well, bends well, holds fasteners well, glues well, resists rot, is about 20-30% stronger than white oak (QA), makes excellent fence posts as noted above, and I was told recently by a NA that it is surprisingly suitable for planking, not just structural members (if you can find it in the lengths needed but epoxy allows you to glue a few pieces to get the length you need).
As Paul said above, it's difficult to find in any size due to the reasons stated above, doesn't dry easily without twisting and cracking etc. but if you have some sizeable chunks and can slab it up and dry it into nice pieces, I'm sure there are people who would pay to get their hands on the pieces. I am always on the lookout for BL. Ledger used it extensively in his build as did Lin and Larry in Taliesen. It truly is a remarkable wood. Because it volunteers so readily, it's wonderful to coppice for things like tool handles or fire wood. Chop down the tree, let a stem grow from the stump and you'll have a ton of stems growing pretty quickly. This provides a well established root system for a few small branches so they'll grow very quickly. Cut them down when they're the size of stove wood and you've got a ready supply of very hot burning wood for heating and more stems will volunteer to replace the ones you've cut. I'd love to have a stand of BL on my property. I've only ever been able to grow a single tree from all the seeds I've purchased and it's growing very slowly in my chicken run. The birds should keep the bugs at bay. 1-2 an acres of mature BL and I'd be in heaven for boatbuilding wood. It is hard enough to take a polish if you like and in my mind is better in all respects but one than any of those expensive exotic hardwoods like teak or Mahogany. It's not quite as beautiful. It has a golden greenish hue to it that I'm still not completely sold on but all the other qualities of this remarkable legume (yes, it's a legume as it grows beans) keep it firmly in the number one spot in my mind as far as a building material for boats.... or anything else really.

[Paul Pless]

Sailor, instead of growing from seeds (which need to be inoculated with nitrogen fixing bacteria) you may have better luck cultivating bl from cuttings which if treated with rooting hormone grow surprisingly quickly with a high survival rate. That's how I plated a few hedges of it. We our fortunate enough to a hillside with ~ 12 acres of mature locust. It had never been managed and on the ground are decades of black locust logs - talk about hard on a chainsaw and you should hear my log splitter groan.

[Sailor]

GREEN with envy over the wood you have access to. With any luck, some can be slabbed and stickered for boat building. Feel free to paint said slabs and ship them up here to Nova Scotia.

[nedL]

Regarding leather covers, be careful about the kind of leather you use. When I bought my first chisels as a young bloke I made leather covers for them. The leather must have had a strong acid content because it ruined 2 new chisels very quickly!

Thank you Peter, ... good thing to keep in mind. Some of these covers are 3-4 years old now (all of the same leather). I haven't seen any problems 'yet' but they have always been dry.

[Paul Pless]

my slick came with a handstitched cover made of a piece of firehose

[amish rob]

Mine gets used constantly, so has a little trough it lives in at the back of the bench. I got it as a hand me down gift. It has a hole in the tang, and Sheffield stamped on it. It's about 3 inches wide. It keeps a wicked sharp edge for a long time.

Peace,
Robert

[Jay Greer]

Regarding leather covers, be careful about the kind of leather you use. When I bought my first chisels as a young bloke I made leather covers for them. The leather must have had a strong acid content because it ruined 2 new chisels very quickly!

Chrome tanned leather and urine tanning will produce rust on any ferris metal that comes in contact with it pronto!
Jay

[Don Z.]

after ash i think it might be the highest calorie specific firewood there is

Don't forget to add Osage Orange to that list...

[Jay Greer]

I like Osage, "Bois de Arc" it takes an nice polish and looks even better as it ages and takes on a dark glow and polish. I make my handles out of maple just because it is strong but not too heavy. I thing I might try some Osage Orange next time for a small one.
Jay

[Paul Pless]

I like Osage, "Bois de Arc" it takes an nice polish and looks even better as it ages and takes on a dark glow and polish. I make my handles out of maple just because it is strong but not too heavy. I thing I might try some Osage Orange next time for a small one.
Jay

I don't have any Bois de Arc on any of the timber land I have access to in Michigan, Alabama, or Georgia.

[Jay Greer]

I used to know a guy in Texas that gave me enough Osage Orange to last a while. Now I will have to go a looking for it as I am out. They call it "Bo Dark" there and use it for fence posts as nothing will phase it in the form of rot or chewing critters.
Jay

[Don Z.]

I love the stuff. It's not as easy to find as it once was, and usually in small quantities. I do need to plant some trees. I did find saplings on line once that were bred to not grow their thorns. Someday I will have the small ranch and hedges. In the mean time I have a tiny bit left from the forum member who sent me some (I can't thank him enough!) and I've used it to make the screwdriver handles for my plane adjusting screwdrivers, and my marking knife. I still have plans to make a spar marking gauge. I am always on the lookout for larger pieces, and believe it would be ideal for blocks shells. We shall see.

[PeterSibley]

Experiment with some eucalypt, despite it's bad reputation in the US it can be extremely good material, hard, heavy and strong.

[Sailor]

OO my next favourite wood behind BL for many of the reasons mentioned above. I've had much better success with it than BL from seed. I have about 2 dozen of them on the eastern edge of my property and one day they'll be all growed up into a nice barbed fence.

[amish rob]

Experiment with some eucalypt, despite it's bad reputation in the US it can be extremely good material, hard, heavy and strong.

We have lots of windbreaks of some eucalypts, I'm not sure if they're all the same around the region, but I've gotten a bunch of them.
The wood we get has gnarly grain, seems to last well when thrown over there in the part of the yard where big chunks of wood go, and burns like HOT.

One year we actually warped the doors on our Buck stove from the heat. We replaced our log grate twice that winter. And the house smelled like Vick's vaporub.

Peace,
Robert

[Jay Greer]

Experiment with some eucalypt, despite it's bad reputation in the US it can be extremely good material, hard, heavy and strong.

There was once a man who planted Eucalypt around the country for making wagon axles, railway ties and wind breaks. Unfortunatly he chose the wrong kind, one that splits, is gnarly to work and rots. That is why we yanks don't use it much.
Jay

[goodbasil]

The English made slick I bought from Woodcraft and returned didn't come with a screw or a hole to stick it in.


I think it was a lemon, I should have exchanged it. Great design.