A little discussion about specific tools for those people who are considering making a plane by hand – first and foremost, make sure you have a good high-tension hacksaw, and be prepared to use it a lot. There are any number of sources for these – and my local home center even carries a fairly […]
planemaking
Towell Miter – design and layout
The Plane – The plane for this project is going to be loosely based on a miter plane made by Robert Towell of London in the early to mid 19th century. The original plane belongs to my friend Joel Moskowitz of Gramercy Tools and Tools for Working Wood, and I had a chance to take […]
Song for the sneckless
One of the previous commenters had asked about some details on snecking blades. The sneck is a very nice addition to a blade, particularly on low angle miter planes, as it provides a very handy means for reducing blade projection without having to strike the plane body itself. The method I use to sneck miter […]
Independence Day
First – A Personal Note Happy New year all. Thanks to everyone who ‘gently prodded’ me about getting it back in gear. Long time since last blog entry? Yup. What can I say – holidays at the best of times are busy, and if you have young children like we do, you’ll know that it […]
Infills, Kanna, and slouching toward Chimera
I suppose it goes without saying that I’m fond of handplanes. My wife would respond to that statement with the same shoulder-shrug and eyebrow pulse she gives when I wonder how it is our toddler twins still prefer used toilet paper rolls to actual toys. “What do you expect,” she’s saying. “They’re barely one. They […]
New toys, new plane
I’ve been playing at single parenting this week while Jenn is out of town on business… I don’t think the PTSD is too severe, but it’s pretty much wiped out shop time. I did manage to steal some time over the weekend to get my new auxiliary bench up, and install a couple of new […]
Getting wedged
I finished forming the wedge for the bronze miter plane tonight. I want to sit on the design for a day or so, as I’m still not sure about the proportions – the strike bulb at the top feels a bit large, but it helps make it easy to remove the wedge. And because the […]
Shaping wood
After all the metalwork on the shell of a plane, it’s always a real treat to get to the point of shaping the wood for the infill. After all, love of woodworking is how I found myself doing this to begin with… Here’s a sampling of the tools I use to shape the stuffing for […]