I don’t know about y’all — but I have a block plane in my pouch always.
the first thing I teach my guys is how to sharpen one to a razor’s edge (I learned from Leonard Lee’s book) — a sharp plane is your friend.
I wish more guys would slow down and learn some of these basics. agree?
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Replies
Im going to guess that you would frown upon me sharpening my planes blade on my upside down belt sander-----YES?
aaaaarrrrgggghhh --
Splinter,
you use 36 or 60 grit for that?
-Kit
I know many people that use the belt sander for sharppening.
But that is only a first step.
I once caught my belt sander on fire. Take note, always remove the dust bag when sharening tools!~ WebTrooper ~
"But don't take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
There is a difference between grinding and sharpennning, Bill. These guys are doing first grind and calling it sharp. They don't know the pleasure they are missing. They still need to hone.
It's like the difference between a one nighter and a good marriage. The whore can hack the wood off but the marriage partner provides lasting smiles..
Excellence is its own reward!
The whore can hack the wood off but the marriage partner provides lasting smiles.
ever so eloquent, I'm guessing this applies to women as well as tools correct?
Don't know how many hand planes I have. Lots. Don't much use them for construction except for a nice little block plane. Use them a lot for cabinet work. Ready to finish with no sanding if done right. New ones are unreasonably expensive for anything halfway good. You can get a router and set of cheap bits for less. But you can often get a nice used one for very little. Fix the edge, which usually was sharpened once at the factory and used like that for 40 years. Can't believe how many carpenters don't have one these days. I keep a few recycled ones around to give away as the occasion happens. Also a few sharp chisels. I can do better with my hammer claw than with some of the chisels people carry around.
hey, I'm with you. I give away some of my decent planes to deserving youngsters that show the enthusiasm. Lets get 'em started right.
It's hard for somebody inexperienced to pick a good plane out of a box of doorstops and junk at a flea market. I buy good cheap ones just to give away. Often can find one for 5 bucks that is equal to any new one for a hundred. When people get halfway decent, I'll let them try one of my good ones in my shop. They don't get to play with the number 10 rabbet plane or the lever-cap block planes until they're really good. I wish lie nielsen would make copies in bronze. They're really hard to find.
With the exception of my first plane, a Stanley Jacl plane, I have picked up all mine at yard sales and tools auctions. I have three or maybe four block planes of different angles, and a record joining plane. and an old Stanly rabbet plane. Don't know the numbers.
But I know that there is nothing else in carpentry that gives me greater pleasure than peeling off a paper thin shaving with a feel as smooth as sliding on ice.
Never used a wooden plane but sounds like time to try.
For sharpening, I will use the belt sander wheel at the nose to hollow gring and then go to my Makita water wheel with the 600 grit. In the field I have three oil stones that take me up to about 800.
For storage, I have an old wooden drawer salvaged from a job that is about 3" deep. I put a sheet of anti rust fabric stuff in the bottom and lay the planes in with each sole facing the outsides of the drawer. With the oil stones taking up the middle, they practically snap into place and don't rattle around.
About twenty years ago, I had what was close to a religious experience dealing with planes. I went to visit a family. The old man had been a tinker/handiman in Europe during WW2. When he emigrated to Ohio, he built his own house while working as a maintainance guy in a hospital. He shoped me around. Every door and every cabinet and piece of moulding in that whole house had been hand planed.
And get this - he had made every single plane and ground every single blade to do it with. He had a rack in his humble garage with them all lined up.
He even let me touch a couple of them..
Excellence is its own reward!
Piff:
Your mentioning of proper storage brought to mind one of those things so engrained in my head that I follow my planes (electric and hand) and my chisels by eye on every jobsite. (One of my weaknesses is to acquaint a promising employee with the proper use of the above.)
I had a shop teacher in H.S. many years ago who ran our shop classes like a drill sargeant. Many students hated him, but for those of us who were serious, he was one of those "great" teachers you remember forever.
Anyway, the fastest way to get on his bad side was to lay a hand plane sole down on a flat surface, the point being that protecting the keenly honed edge was of utmost importance. He even demonstrated once how a very sharp blade could be compromised by allowing the edge to lay overnight on a damp board. The next day he brought out a microscope to illustrate how corrosion had already begun to eat away at a once perfect edge.
Of course, the best way to learn this lesson is to spend the time and effort grinding and honing an edge to perfection, only to have it ruined by a moment's negligence!
(excellence is its own reward!) (and do try out a wooden-soled plane....it'll make you smile!)
I couldn't resist throwing the following wee 'tale' in after spotting and reading through this thread and its detour into sharpening methods.
I don't know why the 'scary sharp' method has become so trendy, nor why anyone would even think to market it as a system with glass and abrasive papers sold as a kit. There must be a lot of propellor heads out there ready and willing to fall for all the hype about it or something.
We used to use the old sandpaper trick on site if we were ever daft enough to leave our oilstone in the workshop. Hell, even a smooth concrete step at the customers location has got me out of a hole once or twice, ha, ha. Slainte.
A Lesson in Sharpening.
A perennial subject in woodworking magazines is that of sharpening techniques. No other furniture making topic seems to generate so many words, resulting in the publication of innumerable articles detailing ‘infallible’ or ‘sure fire’ methods of doing the job.
Naturally, the subject is of great interest because blunt tools aren't much use. The opening preamble to many of these articles often cause a wry smile for they bring back memories of my training as a cabinetmaker back in the '70's. Many authors make valid points about those that struggle at it, and possess a workshop full of dull tools. Conversely, it is often said that those that can do the job tend to be fanatical about grits, slurries and bevel angles. My experience is that there are really only two types of people when it comes to sharpening.
1. Those that can’t.
2. Those that can.
In the first group, those that can't, you'll sometimes see every sharpening system known to man arrayed around their workshop gathering dust. They have oilstones, water stones, ceramic stones, diamond stones, guides, dods of sandpaper, jigs, etc.. Usually, every hand tool they own is chipped, dull and mostly useless.
In the second group, those that can, I haven’t observed much fanaticism about slurries, grits and bevel angles. In all the workshops I’ve worked in the only concern is to get the job done. It’s a case of, "Plane’s blunt, better sharpen it." Dig out the stone, sharpen the blade, shove it back in the plane, and get on with it. The equipment is minimal. A grinder, a stone and lubricant, along with a few slips for gouges and the like.
Going back to the early seventies when I trained, learning how to sharpen tools was undertaken within the first few days. I don’t recall precisely the order of my instruction, but it went something like this. I was handed a plane by the cabinetmaker I was assigned to and told, "Git that piece o’ wood square." I didn’t know why, but I’d done a bit of woodworking at school, so I had a vague idea how to go about it. I fooled around with that piece of wood for twenty or thirty minutes, and got it something like. All this under the watchful eye of the crusty old guy and his ever present roll-up hanging out of the corner of his mouth.
"Okay, I’ve done that." I said, "Now what do you want me to do?"
I was told to hang about for a minute whilst he picked up his square and straight edge and proceeded to scrutinise my handiwork, followed by a non-committal grunt and some desultory foot sweeping of the plentiful shavings on the floor. (The wood was probably only about seventy five per cent of its original volume!)
"Now sonny, let’s do the next job," he announced. "Pull that jack plane ye’ve bin usin’ apairt and let’s have a look at the iron." I did.
"Hold the iron up so’s ye can see the cuttin' edge," he instructed. (He was a Scot.) Again I did as I was told.
"Now, can ye see it? Can ye see the ‘line o’ light’ at the shairp end there?" he wheezed, as he tapped off the line of ash at the end of his smoke onto the floor and stood on it. He was referring to the shiny reflection visible when cutting edges are dull.
"Aye," I said, after a little eye narrowing, and other pretence of intelligence.
"How shairp does it look to you boy?" he enquired.
I thought about this for a moment or two, seeking the right response to my tormentor, for I hadn't really got a clue what he was talking about, and finally replied rather hopefully and a bit brightly, "Pretty shairp, I’d say."
He laughed out loud, and hacked a bit. "Dinnae be the daft bloody laddie with me son. If ye can see it, it’s blunt. I could ride that bloody iron bare-ersed to London and back and no cut ma’sel’. Git o’er here an’ I’ll show ye something."
You can probably guess. Out came the oilstone from his toolbox, and quick as a flash the iron was whisking up and down the stone, flipped over, the wire edge removed, and finally stropped backwards and forwards on the palm of the hand. You could shave with it. I know, because he demonstrated how sharp it was by slicing a few hairs off his forearm. On went the cap iron and the lot was popped back in the plane, followed by a bit of squinting along the sole from the front whilst the lever and knob were fiddled with and that was it. He took a few shavings off a piece of wood and it went back in his toolbox. It took, oh,…......a few minutes.
"Now son, that’s a shairp plane. It’s nae bloody use to me blunt. Ye may as well sling a soddin’ blunt yin in the bucket fur'all the use it is to me." He explained with great refinement. "I’ve aboot ten mair o’ them in that box, an’ they’re all blunt. I know they are, because ah’ve bin savin ‘em for yuh. There’s a bunch a chisels too. Let’s get ye started."
For what felt like forever I sharpened his tools, and things gradually got better. After a while he stopped telling me what a "completely daft stupit wee bastit" I was, and a bit later he started offering grudging approval. I had to sharpen some tools more than once because he kept on using and dulling them. When I’d done the lot we stopped and surveyed the days work.
"Aye, no too bad fer a daft laddie's fust effort," he commented darkly, sucking hard on his smoke, "I think ye’ve goat whit it takes. Time will tell sonnie. Remember, ye’ll never be a bliddy cabinetmaker if yu cannae even shairpen yer feckin’ tools. Lesson over. Dinnae ferget it!"
I haven't. Website
feckin’ great story!You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
I have a Delta wet grinder for the rough hollow grind. Helps get things square when the edge is really bad. For the rest of the job, I have a couple stones. A diamond stone, a hard black arkansas and some 3M micron lapping paper. Puts a mirror edge on it. The most important thing is getting the back side flat and polished first. If its not, you can't get half as good an edge.
I have a couple wooden planes. Not too bad. Also a full set of Bailey transitionals. Metal adjusters and beech soles. All the way from a short jack to about a 30 inch jointer. I like those a lot. A pretty fair collection of Stanley planes. Don't have a number one, but most others. A couple 55s and 45s and a Record multiplane for decoration. Not too useful, but interesting. I've made a fair number myself. Some wood some metal. Long ago, Woodcraft sold a little ECE beech plane that was actually a bottle opener. A couple dollars and about 2 inches long. I made blades and converted them into real planes. Also have a dozen or two bronze violin-maker's planes. Those get a lot of use. I got a whole set of Baileys once from an antique store. Virtually new. They were in the bottom of a tool chest under a board. I spotted that the inside and outside depth didn't match. Lifted up the bottom and there they were. A set of 8 stamped with a guy's name who worked as a shipwright north of Boston in the 1890s. Been using those for about 30 years.
I carry 3 planes at all times ( and yes, they're sharp ) - regular and low angle block planes and a small rabbet plane. I get some strange looks sometimes when I use 'em, but I wouldn't be without them, especially for trim.
I really love using hand planes, but just carry one of those small bull-nose in my pouch. The argument here shouldn't be about whether or not to use a belt sander to sharpen, but rather, the age-old argument about whether to hollow grind or flat grind (I'm a hollow grind advocate). Kind of a Ford/Chevy/Dodge argument, IMO.
The main thing, like with chisels, is a clean, sharp edge.
But if you really want to enjoy a hand plane, get one of the wooden soled ones....better yet, make one yourself! They require a little more fiddling with, but once adjusted properly, they glide across the workpiece as though they had rollers....beats an iron sole hands down!
I've used them for boatbuilding and, like some other vintage tools, like slicks and adzes and good drawknives, they really bring pleasure to woodworking.
I like the wooden soled planes as well. some of those turn - of - the - century 'baileys' and 'sargents' are so satisfying -- no friction and the beautiful hiss of the sharp blade kicking butt.
but, check this out -- an old landlord of mine years ago, gave me several of his grandfather's tools (I was proud that he thought to do this, since he had his own sons he could have passed them on to -- thanks Walter Funk) but anyway, included in the collection was a brand new, unused rosewood soled 12 1/2 cabinet scraper. sweet.
and oh yeah, they still make a router plane that's remained unchanged for about a hundred years -- If you've never used one, give it a shot. quick, clean and useful -- you can true a dado bottom in a heartbeat.
Now Pete, when you mention learning the Basics, do you have any tricks on teaching the help, on the proper way of setting them down?? I've got mine wrapped up in a old clothe diaper, kindof sharp, wlith a wet stone nearby.
Fine 'em if they do it wrong. Immediate feedback. Make them give you a dollar, right then.
So what kind of planes do you guys generally use?
I have a cheap Stanley block plane that just doesn't seem to do much. Even when it's sharp it's pretty worthless.
I also have a really nice antique Stanley #60 1/2 that I like. But it belonged to an old friend, and I hate to take it out of the shop.
I have a Record brand #5 that I use for truing up stuff. But I also rarely take it out of the shop. And it's too big to carry around.
I also have a Firestone brand #4 that I hate to take outside. (Didn't know Firestone ever made tools until I saw it) And a Stanley Bailey #3 that stays home for the same reason.Always remember: you are a man. Therefore, no matter what, it isn't your fault.
as you may have guessed, I am passionate about planes. Of all my planes, I use 2 or 3 stanley block planes regularly (or did, I should say -- since I finally sprung for a 'lie-nielsen' low angle, adjustable mouth block plane).
As much as I love my older planes and their excellent service to me over the years -- I have to admit that all of my new Lie-Nielsens are by far so superior that I've pretty much retired the others.
the best surprise? -- I bought a butt-mortise plane and I'll tell you what it is the single best door mortising tool I've ever owned.
I only have one Lie-Nielsen brand plane - A scrub plane. It's been handy in some circumstances. And it's unusual.
But I can't afford those danged things. I'd REALLY like to have one of their #8 jointer planes. But they're $400 or so.
I used to HATE hand planes. We only had one when I was a kid, and it was miserable trying to force that thing though the wood. I eventually learned that sharpening things was not among my Dad's vast number of talents.
Now I have a Tormek grinder, and can make a plane blade sharp as it needs to be. Really like that Tormek thing. Sure beats hand sharpening.If you eat right and you exercise and you get breast implants, you can look like us [Gena Lee Nolan]
last year I said ----it. I treated myself to things that I knew would most tick off my ex. and a number 7, corrugated bottom jointer plane was one of them -- I think it was more like $550, but you know -- I have no regrets at all. it is unbelievable. I'm dreading it's first accident more than a ding in a new vehicle.
I also got the number 4 bedrock style all bronze. awesome.
I've only recently begun to apply myself to learning how to properly sharpen my block plane and chisel blades and it's made a big difference. No sweat with the initial hollow grind but I'm having a bit of trouble with honing still, I can't seem to hold a consistent enough angle by hand to get the edge I want. Do most of you guys use a jig or do I just need more practice at doing it right by hand?
I'm intrigued by The D&S Scary Sharp(TM) System but I haven't given it a try yet. Anyone else familiar enough with this technique to recommend for or against it?Kevin Halliburton
"I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art. To become art it must be built on a foundation of necessity." - I.M. Pei -
Before I had the grinder, I used a jig like this.
Here's a pic:
View Image
It gives pretty good results. Sometimes I used it with stones, and sometimes I used it with emery cloth on my table saw.
All men make mistakes, but married men find out about them sooner.
I'm intrigued by The D&S Scary Sharp(TM) System but I haven't given it a try yet. Anyone else familiar enough with this technique to recommend for or against it?
After briefly looking at your link, I think this is the same system I use. I saw it in Fine Woodworking. 1/4" piece of glass for flat base, 80, 220, 360, 800, 1500 grit sandpapers (first three have sticky backing for glass). I hand hold the chisel through the grits, works like a charm.
Prior to using this system I tried EVERYTHING (including a Makita sharpening wheel)and nothing worked for me. Now every edge in my shop is razor sharp.You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
Yeah, Marv, I read about that system on Cabinmaker Magazine's discussion board 4 or 5 years ago and gave it a try. After years of trying every type stone imaginable and countless hours (poorly) sharpening chisels and plane irons I decided to give it a try. Unbelievable, fast, easy, inexpensive...you wire brush your paper?
I slip the iron out of my block plane and slide it one notch back every time I put it back in my tool box. Rarely carry it in my nail bags, too easy to nick the edge on a little dirt in there. Santa sent me a block plane holster for Christmas - he must be busy because the UPS guy delivered it to the house the other day (can't wait for Kathy to leave the house long enough for me to open the box, check it out, and reseal the box before she gets home).
Now I'm looking for some chisel holsters or sheaths. David Doud says to have them made by a leather crafter. Anyone have any good ideas for carrying your good chisel(s) around? I use chisels at least as much as planes, but they are a bugger to take care of, a plane at least you can lay down on it's side keeping mental track of where it is - set a chisel down and you risk losing a corner at least as it rolls or you slide it against whatever surface you set it on. Carry it in my bags? Forget about it. There's got to be a good way, but I haven't seen or devised one yet.
My nail bags were built with a tape holster on the upper portion, where the belt runs through it. I cut out the bottom of it and slide the block plane in there. The sole issitting on my waist just above my rght hip. No dust or nails can sit there. The heel of the planbe is just biug enough tokeep it from falling through and one finger in it is enough to lift it out..
Excellence is its own reward!
Jim,
I have a leather roll I made when I first went to boatbuilding school. I also have some individual covers I made for paring chisels, etc. The roll protects my chisels and has held up admirably for almost eight years. Got anything cool to trade? Maybe we could work something out if you're interested...
-Kit
"Got anything cool to trade?"
I already sold my horizontal boring machine to your buddy...Jay Scott, was it?
Hmmmm, let's see, how 'bout an worn out worm drive? Bet you won't find many of those! Bought it new in the 70s and flat wore that thing out. Scavenged parts off it until all that's left is the motor and housing...pretty funny looking really - still make a decent anchor for a small pram.
anything cool to trade...hmmm...have to ponder that...Hey! I still got my old Yankee no one bid on when I tried to auction it off in a benefit auction here a couple years ago...wooden handle, about 16" closed, whips open like a viper, several bits for it including the straight one that's guarenteed to slip off the screw and poke holes in the palm of your hand every time you use it hung over...
let me sleep on that one...anything cool to trade...
I do about 90% of my jobsite planing with a Stanley low angle Block that was 12.95$ new.
The body is one step above sheet metal.
Only adjustment is blade depth.
The throat is too big.
the blade is probably 1/4-1/2" shorter than it was new.
It has been dropped and has hit nails countless times.
But I can sharpen it to a servicable edge with a Belt sander and a folding diamond hone in about 5 minutes.
Don't use it on hardwoods tho.
Got a newer Stanley L.A. block with adj. throat, that I take care of, for that!
Got a stanley jack, a craftsman standard angle block, a little bullnose, an AMT rabbet plane, and a couple of stanley spoke shaves.
Also found an antique block plane that the blade comes out and installs facing the "back" to make it a bullnose plane.
Oh yeah, I also have 3 antique wooden planes that sit on my fireplace Hearth.
Not valuable, but they will work if I tune 'em up.
an all wood Jointer
Wood soled w/ metal frog jack
and a wood molding plane that makes a tongue.
Mr T
Do not try this at home!
I am an Experienced Professional!
Yeah, Marv, I read about that system on Cabinmaker Magazine's discussion board 4 or 5 years ago and gave it a try. After years of trying every type stone imaginable and countless hours (poorly) sharpening chisels and plane irons I decided to give it a try. Unbelievable, fast, easy, inexpensive...you wire brush your paper?
I use the mason's brush.You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
After all the discussion on planes, I decided to get my collection together for a picture. From left to right they are:
1. Ohio Tool Co. Wood plane
2. Record #5
3. Firestone #4
4.Stanley/Bailey #3
5.Lie-Neilsen #40 1/2 Scrub Plane
6. Stanley #60 1/2 low angle block plane
View Image
If I got smart with you, how would you know?
Yup. The sandpaper method works best for me. I use it dry- no lubricant. I got a piece of plate glass and glue the sandpaper to it with spray adhesive. I use the Veritas jig for everything- I could never get anything even decently sharp before I got it, because I couldn't hold the bevel angle consistently enough to avoid getting a rounded bevel. I can't sharpen a drill freehand to save my life either.
I use a trick to get the cuttings out of the sandpaper. I put a rare earth magnet in a film cannister and drag it across the sandpaper. Works better than blowing it away with the air compressor, and you don't have to breathe the dust. Just pull the magnet out of the cannister and the dust drops right into the garbage.
Boss Hog,
There was a piece in Fine Woodworking many years ago about how to take a block plane like your Stanley and make a tool out of it.
There were descriptions about filing down the blade bed to better support the blade and, just as important, move the support forward nearer the edge, about flattening the sole, squaring the sides, I think, grinding off odd bits that could make it uncomfortable to hold, tuning the adjustments.
It worked for mine, turned a pound or so of curse and fume into a really accurate and useful tool in a few hours.
Ron
All right you plane afficianados lets see some of the planes in action and explain what its doing.I have a cheap stanley that I have let rust out at the bottom of the tool bucket and I have a pair of electric door planers that I use all the time. I would like to see some different moulding shapes and how they compare to routers.
ANDYSZ2I MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOUR SAYING BUT I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT.
I like it.
If we all put our heads together, we ought to be able to come up with the ultimate storage techniques for our planes -- personally, I carry my block plane in one of those premium 'coozies' (you know, beer can coolers) in my opposite 'hand' pouch. that way, anything I accidentally drop in there doesn't knick the blade -- also, that sob is so sharp that I can throw my hand in the pouch with mindless abandon knowing that I'll only come in contact with the butt -- works well for me. (oh yeah, when you absolutely are not going to be needing the extra pound or two in your pouch, you can set it down safely and find it again easily (mine is bright red).
I have about eighty planes. I began buying them out of respect (almost reverence) for their history -- but I insisted that each one was utilitarian and not just for show. As a result I've had to learn a few tricks to sharpen them quickly and improvise some storage.
I watch flea markets (not so much for planes anymore, though I will snap up that elusive number 1 when I see it) but for those good old heavy steel filing cabinets. I found one with 10 6" tall drawers that holds a shipload of planes -- I set them on those rubberized drawer liners and always try to include those moisture suckers you see in some products (I also have an open box of baking soda in one of the cabinets) and so far, even though my shop is on a 'brackish' river here in Florida, the only rust on my planes is from sweat.
I respect Leonard Lee's enthusiasm for sharpening, and that is why I recommend his book -- but in the real world, you can't spend forever truing stones and setting up -- so I made a dedicated station in the shop that includes a cool white stone and a felt wheel with the green compound. by mounting an old motor beneath the bench on a hinged piece of plywood, it's own weight is adequate to tension the belt that I allow to pass through the bench top. the buffer and stone are mounted on opposite ends of a mandrel with a couple different size pulleys on top of the bench -- not any earth shattering innovation, but for me an effective, efficient and efficacious solution. (couldn't resist the alliteration)
but the kicker is the grinding jig -- I use the veritas jig and am quite satisfied with it -- actually, I just checked my catalog -- all of the above is in the Lee Valley catalog page 88.
in the field, when we need a touch up I simply use a diamond stone -- I bought the biggest one, with the finest grit I could find. it works fine.
but, by travelling with a few extra perfectly sharp planes, I shouldn't have to use it too often. when I am desperate to touch up the plane I've been using, I seldom take the time to install the blade in it's guide, I'll usually freehand it.
anyway, that's just me. I'm pleased to find out that there are more of us out there that actually give a damn.
keep up the good work, fellas.
Pick up a low-end lens bag from a camera shop if you're looking for a storage/carrying case for a small object like a block plane
PS. I use ceramic hones now for everything from chissels to kitchen knives..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Here's a high-end, well-tuned Stanley 60 1/2 that works like a dream...and it was free when I acquired it 30 years ago, and would cost mere pocket change today.
Rehabbed Stanley
Note the odd mouth adjusting knob...it's the elevation wheel from another junk block plane. The Stanley was missing mouth plate and knob and was free...I merely filed out another one, brazed on a stud to mount it and affixed it with the old wheel I happened to have on hand.
The end result was a tad shy of perfect flush with the sole, so I built the bearing surfaces up with a tad more braze, seen as a bright spots in the pic.
It remains my only block plane to this day.
“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.