Re: Woodworking unplugged

by bear on 21st February 2011, 12:08 pm

I have made some tools in the past. Until I buy myself a place in the country, I live in an apartment, which restricts my physical creativity.

I'm not sure what kind of saw you mean by "a metalworker's mechanical saw". I suggested using the iron from a bench plane because that steel will have the correct carbon content and more or less the right shape for the job.

As for traditions, my notion is that they can be inspirational, but what counts is, that I have an understanding of and an ongoing creative process with what I'm doing.

Were I to make a plough plane, I would probably shape it using a router and an angle grinder. I don't mind using power tools for some jobs, but using them constantly disturbs my inner peace

by Chilli-head on 3rd March 2011, 5:02 pm

Oh my word, just take a look at this for a handmade plane that is surely a thing of beauty:

http://www.petermcbride.com/planemaking/page4.htm

Mind you, he is a jeweller so used to making things look pretty. But look at the dovetails joining steel and brass ! And it has a skewed throat too. I want one

(I've recently been diagnosed with TAS, or Tool Acquisition Syndrome Wink

)

by bear on 3rd March 2011, 8:14 pm

Great site. Bookmarked it instantly.
Beautiful plane.

by mr_sfstk8d on 3rd March 2011, 11:49 pm

If I'd have been drinking anything at the time, it would have probably left my face forcibly, ruining my keyboard. This is amazing!

by Chilli-head on 22nd February 2012, 12:43 pm

Last night I made a pile of wood shavings on the workshop floor. Nothing else, just shavings.

But these are very special shavings, because they are made with my first homemade wooden moulding plane Exclamation

Inspired by Bear's suggestion, I decided to give it a go. Me being
me, it woudn't do to start with a nice simple plane - what I wanted was a
panel raising plane to make some cabinet door panels, and to do that
means it has to work across the grain too, so needs to have a skewed
blade. Getting the geometry of this right, especially the blade, made my
head hurt.

Does seem a bit ironic that to make an old fasioned
wooden plane I used 4 metal bodied planes of various sorts, and angle
grinder to cut the blade ! Making and fettling one of these does give a
new appreciation of the skills of old craftsmen though.

by Chilli-head on 8th March 2012, 2:17 pm

Well, having moved to using planes and scratch stocks for the fancy bits, I thought it was time to have a go at starting with rough sawn timber and thicknessing it by hand. So, starting with a 4 metre long 1" board of rough sawn oak, I've made some nice boards for my current project, and a HOOGE pile of wood shavings !

So, what I learned from it so far ? Well, the result is in many ways better than machine planing. The finish is superior - no little ripples like you get from a power planer, and I can easily get it flat to within about 0.2mm. Contrary to the impression I got from the web, there is no need for pricey modern tools, or hours spent fettling. My 50 year old Record Jack plane, with no more than a grind and a sharpen, did a great job. But the sharpen is important; which takes me to my two top tips - firstly, the time spent sharpening is more than repaid by how much easier the job is; you need to sharpen after just 10-15 minutes planing on a tough timber. The second hint I found on the web was to scribble on the sole of the plane with candlewax. This makes an enormous difference to how the plane glides over the surface, really glad I found that tip.