Bench Plane Maker - Albert Bock (1965)

Albert Bock, who retired in 1966, was the last wooden bench plane maker at William Marples & Son Ltd in Sheffield. Filmed at William Marples' Hibernia Works, Westfield Terrace, Sheffield the year before he retired.
The film is one of a series filmed in the mid-1960s which Ken Hawley inspired. By then he was acutely aware that he was witnessing the disappearance of a wide range of craft skills on which Sheffield's reputation had been built over the two previous centuries.
To find out more about the Hawley Collection and to donate, visit our website: www.hawleytool...
See also our sister website at hawleysheffiel...

[@py2rpjrubens450]

A hard work! In Brasil this plane is called "GARLOPA". Thank's for sharing!!

[@jimbo2629]

I have a number 4. It cost me £10 in a second hand shop. I didn’t realise it was hand made. I thought it might be German with the name Bock. It is as new. I think I’d better cherish it a bit more. It functions beautifully.

[@EricTViking]

Easy to think wooden bench planes were all dark wood and heavily patina'd with rusty irons. Nice to see them in their pristine state - bright pale wood and shiny irons.

[@musamor75]

Each and every time you pick up one of these marvels, you think to yourself: I wonder who made this. You have filled the gap with this touching documentary. I can't actually guaranty dry eyes. Very heart warming to watch. Thank you ever so much for sharing these marvels. God bless.

[@Workshopheaven]

Thank you so much for preserving these wonderful films, Ken's vision and foresight in producing this phenomenal legacy of skills and the characters of old Sheffield are both a rich resource and a heartbreaking reminder of how much we have let slip through our fingers.

[@jaydwy8069]

Yes indeed. Now we have knife violence and gangs that steal the innocence of our children by the thousands and nothing is done about it. This is the life people chose. Good thing we fought AGAINST germany instead of with right?

[@africanvikingmakers]

Thanks for this - fabulous insight into what has become an over-engineered, and semi-mythical process. This shows plane-making to be an achievable skill, and not as arduous as I presumed… of course, I recognise and very much appreciate Albert’s huge skill and experience, but this retrieved example points a way forwards that I ,and many others, presumed to be unreachable. Thanks again 👍🙏

[@mattknights274]

Watching albert work while Ken narrates is a joy, I only wish that we could have a Q & A with them both.

[@RGRGJKK]

Pura vida Beautiful and amazing video one of my favorite Sheffield makers tools 👌 is marples

[@timhicks9508]

A wonderful film of a true craftsman at work. It has taken a while to find it but I have today managed to buy a plane exactly like the one that Albert Bock is making in the film and it is in perfect ready to use condition for my next little project. Thanks to Albert, a 60 year old tool will be just as good to use as it was on the day it was made.

[@whitacrebespoke]

Would love to talk to both Albert and Ken. Have been using what is likely to be two of Alberts planes today.

[@ikust007]

Thank you , profoundly.

[@richardgarrow9260]

Thank you for bringing these videos back to life. I have been dabbling in woodworking now for about 25 years. I still consider myself a beginner and always learning. This is why I enjoy films like this one as it shows all the hard work that was put into making Real tools. While a lot of craftsman have ventured into making tools again and there are some fantastic tools out there, I know I have feed the beast for the past 25 years with my money. It is a shame that while the manufacturing industry did a lot of good for all of it also killed a lot of the quality that went into the making of hand tools. The only great part about all this is the tools that were made are still around today and it shows the quality and workmanship that went into them. Thank you for all your hard work.

[@CleaveMountaineering]

Wow, great video! As a user/collector of old planes I'm amazed by the amount of precision handwork that goes into each one.

[@c42cly]

Amazing skill. A master craftsman thanks for preserving this important history.

[@Offshoreorganbuilder]

A lifetime of hard, slogging work, lies behind this skill.

[@barkebaat]

Indeed. He's making complex shapes to very tight tolerances in one of the hardest European woods at a blistering speed - by eye & hand. I'm just about skilled enough to understand how amazing is the proficiency of Master Bock.

[@PeanutsDadForever]

Extraordinary 🇦🇺👴🏻

[@PeanutsDadForever]

These videos are a time capsule of tool skill development, and highlight the mind blowing capabilities of these individuals and their country. 👴🏻🇦🇺

[@binacaman]

This is excellent but the narration seems to be out of sync for the visual?

[@MrZOMBIE170]

5:32 I think that's a wide sash chisel

[@jimdavis8391]

A sash pocket chisel.

[@jeffhanna763]

Anyone know how he is holding the wedge to his bench when planing it at 7:06? Looks like some kind of stop, but he’s edge planing it.

[@rossaiken7294]

I think it's kinda a wedged stop - he slides it in narrow edge first, so my best guess is that there's a groove that has the same angles as the plane wedges.

[@ianturpin9180]

After visiting Japan in the late 60s i gave up on western styled saws and planes and have used Japanese equivalents ever since. Both the saws and planes are far superior to those made in the west. Sorry stanly.

[@jonh1808]

Japanese hand planes were developed to use with Japanese softwoods, cypress and the like. On western hardwoods they are next to useless for proper woodwork, as opposed to playing around in the shed. The mass of a larger plane, wood or iron, makes life far easier and achieves just as fine a finish. Pushing a plane with hardwood is also far more sensible than trying to pull some flat piece of timber with a blade in it.

[@ianturpin9180]

@@jonh1808 blah,blah, blah.

[@Match2100]

Wow, how good are you?!

[@jonh1808]

If you want to get giddy about Japanese planes you knock yourself out, but there’s no denying what they were designed for, what they’re good at, and what they aren’t. Even the Japanese don’t pretend otherwise.

[@noname-wt3zw]

Japan saws are not bad, but there planes are not really good. I like the western saws and the western planes much more. Japan woodcrafter sits on the floor and makes most of the time little boxes and other playthings 😂

[@johnpayne6196]

Great! Many thanks for posting this.