Sauer & Steiner

Karl Holtey’s new blog

2009-06-26T11:55:00.006-05:00

I just became aware of Karl’s new blog a few days ago. It is great to see and read about his perspective on planemaking and will hopefully further inspire people - he certainly inspired me when I started.

The pieces are slowly coming together

2009-06-13T10:37:00.023-05:00

(A quick sketch-up drawing of the fireplace and surrounding built-in)

The livingroom renovation has been on pause for the last month - at least that is the way it looks from the inside. There has been a fair amount of time spent with various trades and suppliers though - and things are coming together.

The two new windows have been ordered - they should be here by the end of the month. They are aluminum clad double casement windows with a fixed picture window on top. The fixed window has been spec’d in a way that the original stained glass windows will slide in from the inside. We are most pleased about this detail as we would not be replacing the windows if it meant giving up the stained glass.

Once the windows are in - I can frame the two new walls for the exterior walls, do the wiring and then insulate.

The zero clearance, woodburning fireplace has also arrived.

Our masonry guy stopped in this morning to discuss the firewood drawer. This is something I am really excited about. I grew up with a woodburning stove and one of the many childhood chores was bringing in the firewood. It was always a messy job - knocking off the snow and trudging through the house to stack it by the fireplace. We are going to be incorporating a spot under the hearth to store about 3 fires worth of wood. Instead of walking through the house, we are going to incorporate an open sided drawer that can be loaded from the outside and then accessed from the inside. This will involve cutting a hole in the exterior of the chimney (which happens to be at a perfect standing/loading height). The photo below shows the opening from the outside.

The photo below shows where it is on the inside. I am going to have a 1/4" thick steel frame made to fit inside the brick opening to support the weight. It will be 17-1/2" deep to extend the full depth of the chimney. I will need to make an insulated door to put in the steel frame - I think this will be a great solution.

I found some extra heavy duty, full extension drawer slides rated for 400lbs. They are 48" and should work perfectly for this. In the slides description, they make a note that these are not meant to support human weight... sorry Riley and Lucas (cause you know they will try!).

And last but not least - the quarter sawn white oak is starting to arrive too. Above is the 320 bd ft for the trim and the built-in cabinets around the fireplace.

Here is a quick shot showing some of the fantastic ray flecking - I can’t wait to get to the woodworking part of this project!

I also lucked out and was able to purchase a large pile of very wide quarter sawn white oak boards. All 15 are from the same tree and are quite spectacular. I placed my 12" Starrett on the floor for scale - they are all 8' long.

Introducing the A1ssT

2009-06-05T09:11:00.024-05:00

I just took this plane for a test drive a few hours ago, and I have to say - it was a rather incredible experience. It reminded me of the first time I used my A5ss. I should back up a bit.

The goal of this plane was to be a “narrow, nimble, extremely balanced Try-plane”. Here is what we changed. Most panel planes have a “Norris” bed angle of 47-1/2 degrees - we opted for a York pitch of 50 degrees. We also decreased the width of the iron from 2-1/2" to 2-1/4". These two seemingly minor changes were not pulled out of the air - they were hunches based on our mutual experience with the A5ss. Geez... I need to back up a bit more.

The first A5ss was completed in November of 2006. There were a few new variations to this plane that in the end influenced the A1ssT. Up until this point, the sole footprint of the A5 was 7-7/8" long but I was looking for a way to shorten it to around 7-1/2". A york pitch allowed this to happen. Changing the bed angle from 47-1/2 degrees to 50 degrees gave me the extra room to push the handle close to the mouth opening while still allowing for a wide variety of handle sizes.

At the same time, I opted to make a narrow version - with a 2" blade instead of the usual 2-1/4". The net effect of these minor changes was amazing. The plane had an incredible balance to it - it was not toe heavy at all. This may not seem like a big deal - but a toe heavy plane will strain the wrist on the return stroke - even if you are a “dragger”. What happened was the balance point of the plane moved closer to the handle - putting more of the planes weight in your hand - literally. When you pick up the A5ss it feels like an extension of your hand. The coffin shape also factors into this. The narrowing of the plane at the toe reduces a fair amount of material from the front bun. This keeps the toe as light as possible not to mention is a much more ergonomical shape than the square bun of an A6.

Not long after the A5ss someone commissioned an A5 with a York pitch and a 2-1/4" wide blade. This was the perfect opportunity to compare blade widths and determine if blade width or bed angle (both had the shorter 7-1/2" footprint) was the larger factor. The wider model was as well balanced as its narrower brother - which suggests that moving the handle as close to the cutting action produces a more balanced plane.

In hindsight - this makes perfect sense as an unhandled smoother - the No.4 - is one of the most comfortable planes to use - your hand is as close to the cutting action as you can get.

Now - back to the A1ssT. We were curious to see if changing the bed angle and moving the handle close to the cutting action would have a similar effect on a large plane like a panel. We were also interested to see the effect of reducing the width. Obviously it would be lighter overall - but would it influence the balance point due to the change in bed angle and handle position?

I have only used the plane for half an hour or so - so this is by no means a scientific conclusion... but this plane is more balanced than my 14-1/2" Ebony filled A1 panel plane. Of course the length may be factoring into this - but there is certainly a difference in balance. There is also a difference due to the narrow width. The plane feels more like a long smoother - it is faster (the reduced shaving width=less effort per pass) and does feel more nimble. I am not sure if that is a factor of the narrow width or the balance - but whatever it is, I am thrilled because that was one of the goals of the plane.

On a bit of a side note, there were quite a few other alterations largely due to the loss of 1/4" in width. The most notable change was to the front bun. I typically have a 1/4" wide shoulder that transitions from the top of the sidewall to the main part of the bun. I was worried this bun would look too skinny if I kept this shoulder 1/4" so opted to reduce it to 3/16". I also added in a second cove to the front of the bun - just for fun. This second cove is always on the jointers - but I was curious to see how it would look on a panel.

I am most pleased with how it all worked out in the end. I will take the plane for another drive before I ship it to its new home - but my first impressions are this plane will become a regular variation in the line-up.

A few recent planes

2009-05-28T17:15:00.012-05:00

Two English Boxwood filled XSNo.4’s.

A Brazilian Rosewood filled XSNo.4.

Here is a shot of the inside of the front bun.

And a close up of the front of the bun. There is some pretty amazing grain and color going on in this one - and its big brother below.

Here is a Brazilian Rosewood filled A5. This plane has a 50 degree bed angle and a 2-1/4" wide blade.

The front bun on this plane is stunning - here is an inside view.

There are two more planes close behind these two - ebony and steel - one of which is an exciting variation - stay tuned.

Shoulda never gone!

2009-05-15T21:34:00.016-05:00

To Victoria that is!

What an amazing place. A friend of mine referred to it as “God’s waiting room” and I don’t think that is too far off. The trouble is we are already scheming about how to get back again.

My time at Lee Valley was great - the evening seminar went very well with lots of great questions and time for visiting. Hopefully there will be a few people that are dreaming of making their own planes.

Saturday was just as much fun with one particular moment that will stay with me for quite a while. Several of the people from the evening seminar stopped in on Saturday to continue with conversations, or to catch one of the demonstrations I was doing. At one point there were three of us standing around talking and we were discussing chip breakers, bed angles and other cutting geometry. It went something like this;

Konrad - “Oh, there is this guy online that has done a pile of work on this - Brent Beach... you should really look into it”.

Guy standing there (with an odd smile) - “Brent Beach... that’s me!”

Konrad - “What.....??????!!!!??! For real?”

It was pretty funny, and I have to say, it took me about 6 minutes of shaking my head to come around. It was a really, really crazy moment.

Jill and I went to visit with Chico and his charming wife Terri on Sunday night and were treated to a stunning gastronomical adventure. Man, can those two cook! Dinner lasted several hours which is a good thing because there is no way I would have been able to eat that much otherwise. It was a delicious meal and visit with two delightful friends - thanks to you both. And of course Chico and I wandered off a few times to the shop to look at tools and to admire some of his prized pieces of wood - he has an amazing collection.

We went to Butchart Gardens for mothers day and were not disappointed. If you are ever in Victoria - you have to check this place out! I must admit I am not a huge flower guy - but this was so much more than flowers. The combination of large scale planning and architecture was stunning and the whole thing covered in flowers, trees and colour. The most unexpected place was walking through a somewhat dark forested hallway through some large evergreen trees and then the hall suddenly ends to open up to “the sunken garden”. It really did take your breath away.

Thanks too to all the fine folks at Lee Valley for showing us around, including us in their activities and helping us out.

We returned home Tuesday night and I was back at it on Wednesday. Part of my excitement was to finish a plane I have been looking forward to for some time. This is another smoother variation... African Blackwood infill, 50 degree bed angle, no adjuster and no cap iron. If the cap iron free No.4’s are any indication - this plane is going to be a joy to use!

And speaking of variations - I have another one just around the corner....

We were a little worried about the timing of our trip out west because we did not want to miss the apple tree blooming next door.

This is the view from my shop balcony... I could not back up far enough to capture it all. We did not miss a thing... and this is a great reminder of Butchart Gardens... just on a one tree scale.

When we were gone, Riley had a field trip to Medieval Times in Toronto, and unfortunately - we forgot to give him a bit of money to buy himself a souvenir. He was quite upset about it because most of the kids bought a wooden sword. Well... we took care of this injustice today after school! His buddy Tyko came with him for Swordfest 2009. I had some scrapish hard maple kicking around and I figured it would make for a fairly sturdy sword material. Unfortunately - I did not take into account working hard maple is not the same as Home Depot pine... but I am thrilled to report that both boys started and completed their swords in one afterschool adventure.

They both did a fantastic job and the above photo says it all for me - Riley has developed some very fine skills and has a natural comfort with handtools.

This was the first time Tyko has done anything like this - and he caught on extremely quickly. I can see a future spokeshave making class already!

Old school flooring, door stops & floor ghosts

2009-05-04T20:25:00.001-05:00

We have been picking away at the livingroom and made some good progress this weekend. The oak strip flooring is now out - and to my shock and amazement - I realized this flooring was nailed by hand... with real nails and a nail set.

And there were a lot of them!

Every time Jill & I were cursing all the nails, I kept reminding myself “it is faster to take them out than it would have been to install them” (repeat as necessary).

There is a pocket door into the room, and as we were sweeping up I noticed the high tech door stop. A scrap of wood stuck into a hole in the edge of the door. It was a fairly snug fit, but I managed to wiggle it free.

From the tool marks it looked like a pretty quick job - likely a small hatchet. I looked into the wall cavity and sure enough - it stopped against a 2x4. What a beautiful reminder that you don’t need to overthink everything.

Once all the nails were out, we lifted the tar paper to reveal the original room patterns and ghosting. I was quite delighted to see this, because it confirmed what I had suspected - the two rooms were divided by pocket doors. The room is 12' wide, and the two partial walls are 36" long - just enough to contain a 34" pocket door and close the gap.

The original pine floor has been grained to look like quartersawn oak. I am sure the spirits of the house will be happy once we put a real quartersawn oak floor in.

Here is a quick shot of our backyard as seen from the third floor. We are putting in a veggie garden along the fence to the left. We were sad to see our big tree go - but we are excited about growing some of our own food.

For anyone in the GVA (Greater Victoria Area)...

2009-05-02T17:04:00.009-05:00

... I will be at the new Lee Valley store on Friday May 8th and Saturday May 9th.

Friday evening will be a slideshow showing the process of building an infill plane from start to finish. There are over 200 slides - all the gory detail is shown. It is a pretty low key presentation and participation and questions are welcome and encouraged. If you have ever wanted to build an infill from scratch - this might help to fill in some of the blanks.

Saturday will be an in-store demo with an opportunity to see and try a few planes, ask questions and to hang out. There are 4 scheduled demonstrations - two on piening the shell of a plane and two on shaping the handle for a plane.

I hope to see a few of you there.

You know you are filthy when...

2009-04-27T19:05:00.005-05:00

... you stand in the shower for 5 minutes and the water does not even get through to your scalp! Seriously - I had to wash my hair 3 times before I could even feel my scalp. I think I had 4 lbs of plaster in there.

A stripped clean room... now to take out what is left of the strip flooring... but that will have to wait for another day. All in all, it was about 5 hours of some pretty hard and filthy work.

It was kinda neat to see the back of the mudroom cabinets again (the clean section at the end of the room). I even took a moment to read some of the notes I had scribbled on the backs as I was building them.

Most of mount Lathmore!

And my deepest thanks to my friend Steve for helping with this - I owe you man!

And for Aled... here is a plane I finished this morning... before starting work in the room:)

Here’s hoping we don’t find squirrels again!!

2009-04-20T19:56:00.016-05:00

The madness has officially begun... we are renovating again. We love everything about this house... except the living room. At one point, it was two 12' x 12' rooms - as evident from the poor patch job on the walls and ceiling. Now we have a bowling alley, with a horrible & inefficient fireplace in the corner. The white oak strip floor cannot be sanded down any further - basically everything has to go.

Jill and I took off the trim this past weekend. It came off well... but removing the nails was another matter. I am hopeful we can still use some of it.

I have to admit, I took great delight in the thought of removing this fireplace. We have only had a few fires in it (we were advised it is not “safe”) and regardless of how much hard maple we piled into it - it did not give off any heat.

It was a somewhat slow and meticulous deconstruction process... I don’t like to rush things I don’t fully understand (like how a fireplace is built and if it is integrated into the chimney). It was a pretty amazing experience though - and there were several points where I felt a little bad about undoing someones work. That is until Riley noticed this charred flare on the wall...

... the big black spot on the right. There are several big cracks in the plaster, and 3/8" away... dry as a bone lathing. Now I am really glad we took this out!

Roy Orbison - aka Riley, was my big helper with the fireplace - he was a real trooper and I could not help but think back to when I was his age and just starting to help my Dad with this sort of thing. It was a pretty cool moment to see it come full circle. Anyway - the fireplace now sits outside on a tarp waiting to be taken away.

Monday is tentatively set up for tearing out the plaster and lathing ceiling and walls - and if time permits - the floor too. Then we will have a nice clean shell to work with.

Oh, and in case anyone is worried - I am still “working”... I finished this Brazilian Rosewood A1 panel before Riley and I finished the fireplace.

A not-so ugly duckling

2009-04-16T14:51:00.019-05:00

I am just finishing off four XSNo.4’s and was struck by the comical nature of them lined up on the “work in progress” table - the blonde really did look quite out of place surrounded by the brunettes. Two of these are Ebony infilled, one Blackwood and the blonde is English Boxwood.

I saved the boxwood XS for last - and worked on the balcony for the first time this year. What a treat! As I was enjoying the vitamin D (and working on altering my mayonnaise complexion) - I was reminded how much I like my Auriou rasps. I have several left handed rasps and they are in constant use. Mike Hancock called me a few months ago to let me know that Auriou was back in business - news I was delighted to hear. I have had the pleasure of meeting Michel Auriou several times over the years. Not only is he a phenomenal toolmaker and extremely knowledgeable in all things steel - he is a wonderful person. It would have been a serious blow to the woodworking community if Auriou had disappeared forever. I am so pleased to hear they have returned.

One of the toughest things about working with boxwood is the fact that any gaps between the infill and the shell will stick out like a sore thumb. I have to admit, I was a little relived (and quite pleased) when I was lapping this plane and was able to confirm the fit was good.

The SNo.4 is coming along very nicely - here are two pics to show the size compared to the XSNo.4 and the No.4. It appears to have scaled very well and I can’t wait to give this plane a try.

The thing about kids...

2009-04-14T19:21:00.005-05:00

... is that they have this amazing ability to make you smile when you least expect it. And usually - when you need it most.

An introduction to roughing infill parts

2009-04-01T10:49:00.022-05:00

Finding appropriate wood for infilling planes is the single biggest challenge to a planemaker. Sure the price of metal is constantly moving... but they aren’t making high quality wood anymore! At least not the stuff that I need to use.

A few years ago, I picked up this rather odd-shaped piece of African Blackwood. I knew right away it was old - from the tool marks used to cut it (an axe not a chainsaw), the color (purple black, not brown black) and how it sounded when I tapped it with a metal object (a hollow ring as opposed to a dead thud). I have been storing it for a few years now, and the need for a few more A5 and XSNo.4 sets prompted me to cut into it.

The first step is to create a few flat reference surfaces - a real challenge with such a heavy and awkward piece of wood (African blackwood has a similar weight to volume ratio as mild steel). I use a sled with my bandsaw and slowly start to establish a flat surface.

This small log had quite a bend it in - so rather than square it up and waste all that material - it made more sense to cut it at the bend. This would also give me a chance to see what was going on inside - there were several dips and pockets on the outside and I needed to know if they affected the interior. The photo above show the chalkline to mark the crosscut.

Time for a deep breath...

Phew... not too bad.

And a close up to the grain. This is pretty typical. Some of the exterior voids and pockets go absolutely no where... some lead to disasters.

I always start milling the worst piece and work my way to the best piece. Here is the short end squared up a bit more - a pretty ugly looking thing at this stage.

Another deep breath... time to split it.

And a bit of a disaster. Some pretty serious inclusions to work around. Thankfully I cut everything oversized so I should be able to get a few parts from these two pieces.

On a positive note... the moisture meter confirms what I suspected... this is very old, dry stock.

Several hours later - I was done milling the short end. Three XSNo.4 rear infills, two XSNo.4 front buns (I had a spare from the last time I milled, so I have 3 complete sets), and 5 front buns for either A5’s or A6’s.

I apply a quick coat of shellac on the endgrain, date each piece, and put them on the shelf until they are needed.

A new plane making jig & some upcoming shows

2009-03-28T09:32:00.017-05:00

For the first time in a long time - I had a brief head scratching moment, and I have to say... I loved it! This was a little moments in a 793 step process - but it was great. I am working on a new variation of a smoother - an African Blackwood filled No.5. It has a coffin shape, 50 degree bed angle, 2-1/4" wide blade, but no adjuster and no cap iron. The head scratch happened when I went to clamp the rear infill in place for fitting the cross pins. On an A5 or an A6, there is a mortise cut for the adjuster and I have a very simple little block of wood that I place in the mortise and it gives me a parallel surface to clamp the infill (the top of the wooden block is parallel to the sole). In this case - there isn’t a slot, so I needed to come up with something else. A few scrap pieces of 1/2" baltic birch plywood - a Brazilian Rosewood offcut from the scrap box - and I had a great little jig. I lined the edges with leather so as not to mark the french polished surfaces.

Here is a profile shot for another view.

Right after the Blackwood infills were installed - I started on a new model - a SNo.4. The above photo shows the sole of the new plane in the middle. The plane at the top of the photo is a No.4 smoother - with a 7-1/2" long sole and a 2" wide blade. The plane at the bottom is the XSNo.4 - with a 5-1/2" long sole and a 1-1/2" wide blade. And thanks to a wonderful customers request - there is now going to be a plane between the two with a 6-1/2" long sole and a 1-3/4" wide blade. Man, I love my job... and my customers!

There are a few other bits of news to share - traveling news. This next weekend is going to be busy. I will be at the Lie-Nielsen hand tool event in Waterloo Ontario on Friday April 4th from 12 noon until 6, and then again on Saturday from 10 am until 5. I have participated in quite a few of these shows over that last several years and they are always fantastic. They are free to attend and very, very low key. What is so great about them is the spirit in which they are done. The focus is learning about hand tools and to provide an opportunity to try tools and ask questions. There are often several small toolmakers that Lie-Nielsen invites to attend - a great opportunity for us little guys to get out there and meet people and show our stuff. I am looking forward to seeing Deneb again, and visiting further with Sean Walsh - the Canadian LN rep.

Then on Sunday, it is off to Pickering Ontario for the Tools of the Trade show. I have been attending this show for years as well. It is a great show and the perfect place to find antique tools either for collections or for use. I keep a running list of things I am looking for on my chalkboard. There are often several of each item to choose from at the show - the selection is that good.

If you are attending either show, please stop by and say hello.

I joined the army.

2009-03-03T15:13:00.031-05:00

There seem to be two different approaches to setting up shop. One method is to buy the tools you think you need based on the work you are doing or want to do. The other way is to buy tools as you need them. I am quite firmly planted in the buy as you go camp. Part of this was economics. When I developed my interest in woodworking, my spousal approved budget was under $500. With that - I had to buy tools and actually make something worthy of putting in the apartment (surprisingly… or embarrassingly - we still use it - see below).

For me, “buy as you go” is also a result of being self-taught. I have no clue how to use a vacuum veneer system - so I am certainly not going to go out and invest the money in something I know nothing about. So I wait until I am faced with, or about to be faced with the need for a particular tool.

My lefty workbench is a perfect example. There are 10 drawers - and I decided to take the time to continue my adventure down the hand cut dovetail path. I used a mediocre dovetail saw for the entire job and when I was done - I bought an Adria dovetail saw. My logic was now that I understand what goes into hand cutting dovetails - I had a better understanding of the tools I would need for the task. The saw arrived - it worked perfectly, and I really do think my dovetails improved (I can cut them quicker and more accurately).

This past October, I finished off the sunroom - a post will follow, but the above photo will give you an idea. There were fourteen 4'x8' sheets of 3/4" veneer core cherry plywood in that wee little room. I do not use a whole lot of sheet goods - but this project was all about sheet goods. I have a decent “yellow” table saw, and took a day to build a large out-feed table so I could at least rip a few sheets down to size.

The trouble was most of the cuts ended up being crosscuts - something I could not safely do with my table saw setup. Given that I work alone - I really didn’t have much choice but to break down the sheets to more manageable sizes with a fence and a circular saw. This was perhaps the most frustrating woodworking experience I have ever had. I have a typical circular saw - light weight and tears up plywood something fierce. Even pre-scoring the veneer, putting masking tape over the cut - nothing worked. So I ended up breaking down the sheets a little oversized and then cutting them to the correct dimension on the table saw. This might not have been too bad were it a single sheet or two... but 14 sheets... I nearly lost my mind (and chucked the saw out the door).

Now that I know what does not work – it was time to find a solution for the next time.

Let me back up for a moment. My friend Steve helped me install a walnut floor in the sunroom. We used air-dried black walnut from a local sawmill - 3/4" thick T&G… and it is magnificent. The room is small - 10'x13', so renting a sander seemed like overkill. Steve said “no problem - I already have the sander”.

The next day he showed up with this funny looking R2 in tow. The sander had arrived! It was a Festool CT22 and the Rotex 150.

We took the sander upstairs and Steve started to sand. I kinda freaked out because the door was wide open and neither of us had put out drop cloths or had dust masks. He just smiled and continued sanding.

“Is it broken?”

“No.”

“where is the cloud of walnut death?”

“where it should be - in the CT22.”

“bloody hell!”

And that was it - I had seen the light. We proceeded to sand the entire floor with that sander, and in the end there was no dust to sweep up or vacuum, heck... our knees were still clean! Steve commented that when laying floors, sometimes he has to add dust to help fill in the odd gap between boards. Until now - I had not heard of Festool, and spent the next hour grilling him about Festool and their product line-up.

The entire Festool system is based on efficient dust collection. Actually... “efficient” does not cover it... total removal is more accurate. It is strange how we have all just accepted that dust is a reality of working with wood - and we have gone to great lengths to protect ourselves with white jump suites, dust masks, oxygen tanks... when the solution is just to collect it before it can escape. All of my large machines are hooked up to a cyclone, but all my hand held power tools are dust creating nightmares. I do very little sanding and will go to great lengths to avoid it - but sometimes it is unavoidable. As soon as I saw the Festool sander and dust collector in action - I knew I was going to invest in one (I am told it is not called a dust collector but rather a “dust extractor”).

I am calling this a system because it best describes it - a system of thinking about working in a dust free environment. What a revelation! They have a plunge cut circular saw that produces a cut as smooth as my table saw (with a Forrest II blade) - no dust. It has tracks of various lengths for breaking down sheet goods - man could I have used this for the sunroom! The routers - works with the track as well... no dust. And the Domino. no dust. I was convinced.

For some reason - mention Festool on any woodworking forum, and it polarizes people within three posts. There are people who view their products as overpriced and overhyped, and then there are those that see them as high value tools and could not imagine working without them. Ponder this - even if the tools themselves are only as good as the competition - isn’t the dust extraction capability a compelling deciding factor? If someone said you could replace your extra dusty $100 ROS with a $200 dust free version wouldn’t you do it? I would… in a heartbeat.

Exit soap-box and back to the point of all this.

I am a big fan of supporting those toolmakers and vendors who take the time to venture out and get in front of people to show their products. Several years ago I was looking for my first bandsaw - and decided to buy a Laguna simply because they took the time to come to the Toronto woodworking show and I felt it was important to support them.

My friend Dan Clermont from British Columbia contacted me a month or two ago to let me know he was going to be at the Toronto woodworking show introducing Festool to Southern Ontario. I was thrilled to hear it - and decided to join the Festool army with Dan at the helm. There is a Festool distributor much closer to me – but I have never seen them at a show (or knew about them until a year ago) and will support Dan because he taken the time to be active within the woodworking community.

Jill and I have been slowly planning the next phase of our renovation project –the living room. Among other things – we are looking to install a quarter-sawn white oak herring bone floor, inlay in the border – the whole nine yards. My recent Festool purchases are a combination of tools that I know I need – and ones that I know I will need for this next job. I can’t wait to get started... and dare I say... sand something?

Anyone want a dusty, lightly used ROS?

Finishing the mitre plane

2009-02-08T13:31:00.019-05:00

With the french polish on the wedge completed - it was time to get off the pot and decide how to finish the top edges of the sidewalls. The Norris A11 has chamfered edges, and while it looks nice on that model, I didn’t think it would work along the front edge of this plane (the A11 does not have a piece of metal across the front). The other typical mitre treatment is to round the edges over which is what I opted to do. I was surprised at how quickly this went - much simpler than a beveled chamfer.

Here are a few shots of the finished plane and a few detail shots of the adjuster and the inside of the front bun.

And for the grand finish - the first engrain shavings...

At the time of this post, I had used this plane for a total of 1/2 an hour... but there were a few things that immediately stood out.

As I was building this plane it started to feel a little “big” and I was concerned about it. Joe Steiner stopped in the other night to keep working on his XSNo.4, and brought a wonderful Moon mitre plane with him (at my request). It was quite a bit smaller - and added to my fear about the size of this mitre. The Moon had wonderful rounded edges - including the perimeter of the sole. It was extremely comfortable to shoot with. At this stage, I had not yet decided on the edge treatment and all the edges were still quite sharp from being lapped - so my mitre felt quite uncomfortable in comparison. The experience with the Moon really informed my decision to round the edges as opposed to chamfering them.

With the edges rounded - it feels like a completely different plane. It is very comfortable to hold now and the mass is wonderful in use. Once again, I am reminded of why it is so important to “prototype” a plane first. There will be a few small tweaks to the production model, but it will have more to do with my building process than the final result.

I am going to be in Oakland CA next weekend attending the Lie Nielsen show at the Crucible and will have this mitre plane with me for anyone who wants to try it out.

21 hours later...

2009-02-05T11:50:00.008-05:00

... the steel button is now flushed with the surface of the wedge, the recess in the button is done, and the first coat of french polish has been applied.

And in case you were wondering - I didn’t work on the wedge until this XSNo.4 was completed (that “reward” system at work again).

A few mitres & a stunning piece of of wood.

2009-02-04T14:01:00.018-05:00

The last few weeks have been very busy - both in the workshop and in the yard shoveling snow. The only good thing about mountains of snow is that it represents fresh water - and will do our rivers and lakes some good this spring and summer.

I just finished 2 very small mitre planes based on the one I talked about in a recent post. One is infilled with Ebony and the other with “mystery wood”. These are quite small - 5-1/2" long and 1-1/4" wide. Below is a photo of the pair next to a 28-1/2" A2 jointer.

The blade for the large mitre plane arrived this week and it is all I can do not to drop everything and finish it. I was a little nervous about the fit between the pin of the adjuster and the holes in the blade... but it was a perfect fit - thanks Larry & Ron!

Ok - so I didn’t “drop” any work - but have managed to find an hour or two here and there to work on the mitre. Here is a shot of the wedge properly fit with the blade in place. And with this done... I was morally obligated to finish the wedge (wasn’t I?).

Here is a shot of the fully shaped wedge. And with that done - it was just a quick turn of the stainless screw to find the location for the steel button...

So now I wait 24 hours for the epoxy to dry....

And last but certainly not least - that stunning piece of wood. This is a No.4 smoother infilled with “mystery wood”. I am quite sure it is a Dalbergia - but which one is anyone’s guess. All I know is that it makes for exceptionally beautiful infill. Here are a few pictures of the plane before I boxed it up and shipped it to Hawaii.

The balcony ledge was snow-free for a few hours and I could not pass on the opportunity to take an outdoor shot to show the grain of the rear infill.

In the immortal words of Kermit...

2009-01-17T17:34:00.025-05:00

“... it’s easy being green”

Especially when they make such darn great machines.

My first experience with one of the “good” General machines was at Rosewood Studio in Almonte, Ontario. They had two actually - a General 130 thickness planer and a 12" General jointer - model 780. I say “good” machines because there are two lines in the General family - the ones made in Quebec and the ones made elsewhere. General has created a bit of a problem for themselves because the machines made in Quebec are so well made that they last forever - even if only remotely cared for. This is one of those rare cases where you can purchase the machine new, use it for 20 years, and sell it for more than you paid for it.

Ever since that experience at Rosewood - I have been keeping my eye out for used General machines. My first find was the 130 thickness planer. It was completely rebuilt and in fantastic working order. It reminded me of my Mac - a true “plug & play” for the workshop. The only issue I had was the task of changing the knives.

A few years ago, I was attending the Kitchener/Waterloo woodworking show, and saw a DJ-20 set up in one of the booths. The guy asked me if I had ever tried a jointer with a Shelix cutterhead. Intrigued - I walked over. The machine was very quiet and the cut surface was amazing. A Shelix is a “shear cutting helix” and has several advantages. The blades are individual carbide square with a cutting edge on each side. If you get a knick - rotate the blade and you are back in business. The blades are arranged in a helical pattern around the cutterhead. This provides a constant skewed cutting action. It also means the cutterhead is moving through the air at an angle. The standard “thump, thump, thump” of the cutterhead compressing the air as it passes the infeed table is gone - resulting in a very quite machine as well as one that requires less power to run. There is another more subtle difference and it has to do with the difference between a Helix cutterhead and a Shelix. The teeth of a helix are arranged in a spiral pattern, but they are still oriented perpendicular to the cutterhead. A Shelix has them skewed. So if you are in the market for one - make sure it is a Shelix and not a helix. Oh, Shelix is a brandname and made by Byrd in the US (insert standard no-affiliation disclaimer other than a satisfied customer).

Here is the Shelix in the General 130.

The next green-machine was a bit of a surprise.

My friend Steve stopped in one friday, and as he was leaving he asked if I saw the huge jointer on the Canadian Woodworking forum. I hadn’t, so he told me that someone posted a comment that there was a huge General jointer for sale in Windsor, Ontario. Steve thought it was at least a 12" but was likely a 16". We both laughed that it would not last too long and likely sold within hours of the post.

When I went in for lunch, I checked the thread, and while there were over 20 posts - no one said “I have bought it”. So I followed the link, found the phone number and called. Amazingly - it was not sold, so I made arrangements to drive down and see it. I was the first person who was prepared to pick it up - and was therefore the “first buyer on the list”. Steve and I drove down on Monday and arrived shortly after lunch. A handshake and payment later - we were driving up the 401 with a 16" General 880 in tow. The canary feathers were still hanging from the corner of my mouth when we pulled into the drive. I had made arrangements with a Bobcat owning friend to meet us at my house to unload it from the trailer and drive it into the shop.

This is what it looked like right off the trailer. Compared to the Jackson Cochrane jointer - this one was a dream to restore (note the JC was painted green). It was less than a day to have everything cleaned and in working order.

There was a missing handle but General was quick to replace it for me. It had a 5hp, 3 phase motor which I swapped out for a 5hp single phase, replaced the belts with link belts and ordered the Shelix - which thankfully - Bryde stocks.

Here is a shot of the jointer in its new home - lovingly surrounded by burls.

And in case I ever forget what it is - someone put a lable on the machine for me.

There is a great Ford(?) ad that goes something like this;

“the only thing better than owning a truck is having a buddy with one”

This is my friend Steve. He has been a tremendous friend always ready to lend a hand, or jump in the truck and go wherever to pick-up whatever. So Steve - my deepest thanks for all your help.

The next item on the list is a monster bandsaw. I have a Laguna 16HD that has been a wonderful saw - but there are a few limitations. The biggest two are the size of the table and the throat capacity. I would like a 30" + saw - something that can resaw at least 16", has a massive table (in the 36"x48" range) and a throat to match. So if anyone knows of one, has one they are looking to sell - please let me know...and don’t worry if it’s not green…I have paint.

Another kick at the prototype can.

2009-01-12T18:24:00.026-05:00

When Joe and I started making planes - our first goal was to have fun, and make the planes that we wanted to use. In that order. The first plane was a smoother, then another smoother - with a York pitch and brass (yes, brass) sides. Then an A6 followed by a panel and finally a jointer. With the basic bench planes done - we doubled back and worked on shoulders, a chariot and then a mitre.

I am going to confess that we really had no business making a mitre plane - neither of us really understood them... and in our intense naivety - we opted to build an “improved” pattern mitre (Brian Buckner should be smiling about now). This turned out to be a monumental flop. The plane turned out ok (shown above) - but neither of us found it comfortable to use. So it sits in a drawer.

Years later, I decided to take another crack at a mitre plane largely due to seeing one of Garrett Hack’s - made by Bill Carter (shown next to my 1/2" x 3-3/4" rebate for scale). It was amazing, and I drove home working out the details in my head. By the time I got home, I had it planned out and got to work right away. The plane worked wonderfully and was a very different experience than the “de-proved” mitre in my drawer.

An experience in Calgary got me thinking about a large mitre plane and while it took a year of bouncing around in my head - it was time to go for it. This full sized mitre would be based on several mitre planes. Steel sides were a must if it was going to stand up to shooting. I wanted to use a cupids bow bridge for a couple reasons. One - they just look wicked but I suspect they also serve another important function - they offer support for the sidewalls to help maintain the shape. And the other reason for the bridge - it meant a wedge. I love, love, love the look of wedged mitre planes. I also like the extended sole on the toe - that was a must. If I was going to extend the sole - then I really ought to cover the front infill as well - again - support for the shape. I have never liked the plain look of the Norris A11 - partly because of the lever cap - but decided to incorporate an adjuster into this plane. This is the same adjuster that was used in the Norris rebate mitre plane - and I loved the way the adjuster, the wedge and the drawbore action of the screw worked together. With all the details defined - it was time to sketch and build a construction paper mock-up.

Above is a shot of the mock-up alongside the Titanium sided XSNo.4 for scale. The bridge would be steel as well - the idea of two bronze tenons on my nice clean sidewalls would never do.

Once I was happy with the paper mock-up - it was time to cut the steel. The photo above shows the shell dry fit together.

And now piened together. Notice the tenons of the bridge are not piened yet. The little bit of flex in the sides might come in handy while fitting the infill (which it did).

The first test infills. I don’t make test infills often any more - but this plane was a new one and I wanted to get it right. The wedge took 3 tries and to date I have not finalized it. I will wait until the irons arrive so I can work with the actual blade.

The grip of the plane was very important to me. One of the other reasons I went with the bridge is it allows for maximum room for holding the plane. The screw for the bridge would be a very low profile.

The second test wedge. The shape is right - but a little too big.

Here are the Brazilian Rosewood infills fit to the shell and the piece for the wedge. Everything fits pefectly. Next... french polishing the infills before they go in.

A shot showing the wonderful grain for the wedge. It is killing me not to start shaping it!

The plane is lapped and the infills are french polished. Here is a shot showing the grain in the rear infill.

And finally - a detail shot of the proper stainless steel screw. As soon as the blades arrive - I will be finishing it off. Stay tuned...