Reviewer: Paul W B.

I rented Vol. 1 and was pleasantly surprised. David KNOWS his planes and sharpening them. This was one of the best instructional video's on the subject I have watched so far. It was easy to understand, to the point, and it works.

Reviewer: Mark S.

This video series is the holy grail of hand planes know-how. I have spent more time reading and trying to understand how to use/maintain/sharpen planes and plane blades. This is THE definitive set to acquire that knowledge. At times, the video can seem a little slow, but it's only to ensure that the viewer understands why his steps are so important.

Reviewer: David e.

David Charlesworths videos are excellent for the first time user or even the experienced woodworker.He goes in to detail and explanation of the how and why of his method of sharpening. I followed his instruction and on my first try. I improved the sharpness of my planer blade and rabbit blade to a near honed perfection. I took off a whisper thin shaving, to my surprise, with an old and somewhat abused Stanley hand plane. I also made a beautifully formed 1 mil thin shavings with my Lie Neilsen - All in all, if you need some help in understanding sharpening and technique this is the DVD. Also, his other videos are excellent in setup and use. Highly recommended! Rent the whole set.. I did and it was worth every penny!!

Reviewer: Michael P.

I recently viewed the three part series from David Charlesworth, Sharpening, Using hand planes, and Using a shooting board. I would like to encourage anyone who wants to take their woodworking to the next level, to view these lessons. I learned a great deal about getting the accuracy I've been looking for from my hand planes. Check them out, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Reviewer: Ron B.

There is no doubt that David Charlesworth knows more about the anatomy,preparation and use of a hand plane than almost anyone. His three videos are the most detailed presentations on the subject that I have seen. Sometimes the detail gets so involved that you might come to the conclusion that his desire to keep things simples doesn't quite reach completion. It is amazing how Charlesworth, Rodriquez, Dunbar, Conover, and others take such a different route to the same destination - a well tuned tool. I think Charlesworth would have to be considered the main guru of the hand plane world and I think any of us who do not take advantage of his expertise as shown in these videos is missing a great opportunity.

Reviewer: Jameel A.

Not a bad series for a beginner or intermediate woodworker who is really into hand planing. I found Charlesworth to be a little difficult to listen to, and quite slow in his presentation. His techniques are extremely precise and meticulous, but his presentation was too tedious for me, and I found myself bored, even though the subject matter is interesting to me. If you can get through Charlesworth's manner, there are some nice techniques here.

Reviewer: Rex B.

Excellent info for anyone who really wants to become familiar and focused with planes and hand tools. There is so much info involved you should be prepared to take notes. David's delivery and style is good. Probably not for the casual woodworker.

Reviewer: John W.

Overall extremely helpful and easy to follow. Took my planing and sharpening abilities to a new level! You'll need the sharpening instruction in Part 1 to take advantage of the precision planing methods described in Part 2. I wasn't too impressed with Part 3, especially since the planing aids suggested depend on having a bench you can clamp to from the rear. David, if you're reading this, how about a complete plane overhaul video including flattening the sole and fine-tuning the frog?

Reviewer: Joseph G.

Not very good. Too elementary. Wood be good for a 12 year old, not adult. Very old fashion, high labor techniques and methodology

Reviewer: John C.

Well done. David is articulate with a good feel for teaching wood butchers such as I.

John

Reviewer: James M.

This 3-part video is definitely worth renting.

Mr. Charlesworth explains sharpening and the use of hand planes in painstaking detail. I have tried various methods of sharpening and planing for many years and have never been satisfied with the results until now.

I withheld judgment on the DVD series until I had tried the techniques for myself. I am very please with the results I get now. I am able to get shavings less than a thousandth of and inch! And I can do this consistently. I now use my power tools for what I would call rough cuts and use my bench plane to get precision results.

I don't know if Mr. Charlesworth reads these reviews, but if he does, I would like to say "thanks!".

Reviewer: Rick E.

The David Charlesworth 3-Part Series is Top Notch. Each disk is very thorough and very entertaining.

Reviewer: Dave R.

I rented the entire 4 disk set of David Charlesworth's series. While I agree with other reviewer's opinion that David's delivery and presentation takes a bit of getting used to, the material and demonstrations that he provides is great. I already own the waterstones he was using to sharpen the plane irons and chisels so it was very relevant to me. I plan now to start buying the series to have for my DVD library. I highly recommend this series. Be sure though to watch them in order so you will fully understand his methods.

Reviewer: Michael Y.

Remarkably cogent explanation and demonstrations of flattening, squaring, and sizing lumber with a bench plane. Woodworkers don't normal think or work to thousandths of an inch, but David shows how it can be done simply and even routinely. While I don't sharpen a curved edge on my plane blades, his approach and techniques have already made a notable improvement in the quality of my planing.

This is my first Charlesworth video. I liked it well enough to order the other videos in this set. This is in sharp contrast to his books, which are reprints of his magazine articles. Those suffer from the disjointed nature of magazine columns, as well as a certain unsubtle slant toward promoting sales of shiny kit in the topics and writing. The video, on the other hand, is solid, no nonsense information from start to end of the what, why, and how. You'll find it money and time very well spent.

Reviewer: Mark M.

These DVDs were recorded at Lie-Nielson Toolworks in 2003. Some of the footage shows David Charlesworth speaking to a class in a shop at the facility and other portions show him one-on-one with the camera in another location. Some of the subjects covered are duplicated at both locations but the alternate scenes cover things a bit differently so, it helps to reinforce the points being made.

The video production is not fancy. However, it does the job adequately. The clarity of the video and audio are generally very good and the use of graphics (though minimal) helps to reinforce the techniques being demonstrated. There are enough close-up shots to adequately show the techniques, though I do think a few more close shots could have been inserted at times.

David Charlesworth has a very slow and deliberate delivery of the material. He is very thorough and articulate. His English slang for some things was not clear at first but, eventually it became clear what he was talking about. In general, David is very methodical in his presentation - even repetitious. However, in doing so he makes sure that important elements of each subject are reinforced.

Hand Tool Techniques Part 1: Plane Sharpening

.Hand_Planing DVD Review: David Charlesworth Handtool Techniques Parts 1,2 and 3In this DVD, Charlesworth covers what he feels are the three keys to effective pereparation of hand planes: getting a razor sharp blade, fettling the chip breaker and flattening the sole of the plane. Sharpening of the plane blade is thoroughly covered as is the preparation of the chip breaker. Though Charlesworth does not really show procedures for flattening the sole of the plane in this DVD, he does speak to why this is important.

The DVD starts with a discussion of sharpening with water stones as well as recommendations of two different brands. Also included are techniques for flattening the stones. From there Charlesworth covers two different strokes for flattening the back of the plane blade - this is done in order to avoid tendencies for hollowing the stones. Potential problems are discussed as well as their possible remedies.

Next is a treatise on sharpening the bevel of the blade including a discussion of grinding and honing angles. Charlesworth chooses to always use a cambered blade and he discusses his rationale for this. First is a demonstration of the Charlesworth "Ruler Trick" for honing the back of the blade. For me, just seeing this one technique is easily reason enough to view the DVD. This was followed by a simple and methodical method for cambering a plane blade using only finger pressure and a simple honing guide.

Charlesworth also discusses why the fit of the chip breaker is so important in hand plane operation as well as simple techniques for getting the best fit and operation. Finally, the plane is set up with the chip breaker, blade. Even this step is not without a simple tip for avoiding banging the freshly honed blade into the body.

Though this DVD is tailored toward sharpening plane blades (in fact, Charlesworth explicitly warns you never to use the Ruler Trick on your chisels) some of the the principes can definitely be extended to sharpening other tools. All in all, this DVD shows a very simple, thorough and effective method for sharpening and getting the best out of your hand planes.

Hand Tool Techniques Part 2: Hand Planing

With the sharpening tasks behind him, in this DVD Charlesworth covers methods for hand planing edges, faces and end grain.

After a short treatise on what he calls Datum surfaces (i.e. reference edges and faces) Charlesworth develops a set of capabilities for hand planin both edges and faces of boards. These include what he calls Stop Shavings as well as Through Shavings. With the use of these two techniques Charles demonstrates planing a slight hollow in the surface or edge thruoght the use of Stop Shavings and follows that up with through shavings in order to produce a perfectly straght or flat edge or surface.

Throughout this process with the use of simple a straight edge Charlesworth shows why he always prefers a slight hollow over a bump in the edge or a face of a board. Similarly he shows how to eliminate bumps when they are discovered and aso covers the proper grips for hand planing and how the cambered blade works in the planing process.

In addition, there are sections on detectng wind with winding sticks and removing it with your plane as well as thicknessing a board to a gage line. Also covered is the proper way to scribe a knife line and techniques for hand planing end grain and squaring edges with the cambered blade in the plane.

Though Charlesworth does most of the work in this DVD with a #5 Jack plane, he also shows the techniques with other planes including a block plane. At the end of the program there is a bit of bonus footage covering how to flatten your workbench and showing how Charlesworth did exactly that to the bench used during the shooting of the DVD.

Even if you never plan to dimension rough boards with a handplane, this DVD offers techniques that are useful for fine tuning joinery and precisely sizing workpieces when building furniture. You’ll learn how the hand plane works and how to make the best use of it in your woodworking.

Hand Tool Techniques Part 3: Precision Shooting Simplified

.Precision_Shooting_Simplified DVD Review: David Charlesworth Handtool Techniques Parts 1,2 and 3This DVD is the shortest of the three reviewed here. One might argue that it is the least useful however, my feeling is that there is tremendous value in the technques used for shooting accurate ends, miters and edges on smaller parts.

Throughout the DVD Charlesworth makes use of a very simple shooting board fixture and some accessories used with it to do miters in two different orientations. Any inaccuracies of the shooting board itself and/or the squareness of the planes sole to its side are dealt with using a simple shimming technique to get perfect angles on the workpiece. Also shown are methods for freehand shooting of edges for glue-ups as well as shooting veneer edges.

Something that comes out in this DVD is the "rhythm" of shooting a workpiece with a hand plane. To me this is something that can only be realized though the use of video as a medium and not from reading it in a book. Seeing and hearing this in action makes this DVD worth viewing.

As a bonus, on the DVD there are plans for the shooting board and accessory fixtures that can be printed for refence and building later. Make a simple shoting board and armed with the information covered in the DVD you will have everything necessary for precision sizing of square and mitered parts.

Reviewer: Greg M.

I rented the 3 DVD Set, and I can say that everyone of them had good content, informative, and really spends the time to make sure you don't miss anything. That being said, if you have never watched a DVD with David Charlesworth I'll let you in on a little clue.....he is about as slow as it gets, tone doesn't change much either. Don't get me wrong I was not expecting an action flick, but be well rested when you watch the DVD's, no matter how good the content was the delivery was rough. Content 5, watchability 2.5.

Reviewer: Mike F.

This is a good instructional video. Mr. Charlesworth is an excellent instructor though as others have pointed out his delivery style is quite slow and meticulous. I actually wondered while watching him how he ever manages to build furniture if really works that slowly. Still, the slow pace is to the benefit of the viewer since there's really no chance to be confused by any topic he's describing or demonstrating.

All in all I'd recommend all three titles in this series.