Apr
19
2010
I’m happy to announce a new product in the lineup. It’s designed to help Granite Surface Plate users protect, and get better outcomes from their surface plates.
It’s the Granite Surface Plate Cover Kit.
The kits consists of a soft charcoal grey fleece cover that is form fitted to fit the plate, to protect the flattened surface of a 9 x 12 x 2 plate, or a 12 x 18 x 3 plate, and each comes with a set of three feet to mount on the bottom of the plate that aid a number of things. Continue Reading »
Mar
27
2010
Have you been combing eBay in hopes of finding vintage sets or individual planes of the Hollows and Rounds variety? I’m happy to help get the word out that there is a new plane maker on the scene that may be able to help.
Matt Bickford Photo.
In recent times the desire for these planes has increased dramatically, and the availability of them is scarce. The plane makers who currently offer them have backlogs I’ve read that are over two years long.
Matt Bickford Photo.
Enter Matt Bickford. Matt was recently asked what his focus was on and he said:
“I’m focusing on molding planes: hollows/rounds, snipes bills, I make rabbets like that pictured too. Basically, I make those non-bench planes listed in Builders Dictionary published in the early 1700’s less the plow. I can certainly make specific profiles if you want something out of Chippendale’s Director.
Is there something specific for which you are looking? Please let me know.”
Matt Bickford
The photos tell the tale. Welcome Matt to toolmaking! If there is something specific in this line of tooling for which you are looking, please do let Matt know!
Contact Matt, Place your order.
Thanks for looking, Happy Woodworking!
Feb
23
2010
Walt Quattro is a really cool guy who has a really cool used record store in Waterbury, CT that <looks right, looks left> secretly doubles as a vintage tool store. <but please, keep that to yourself, eh?> 
Walt’s place is Brass City Records and Tools. Those who know Walt know that he is known to drop into a tool forum with a song lyric that doubles as a riddle that somehow describes his latest tool prowl. Please click here for one of Walt’s riddle answers. Walt’s posts are always a great time and he is great to trade with! So as usual, I like to make a habit of going over to his site to look around, because it is always changing. Me? I am usually late to the party but eh… you know how it goes. His site changes a lot as some of you know. Early birds get the worm, fair is fair. Walt knows this and it works that way to shop with Walt too.
Well anyway, Walt’s haunts are the flea markets of New England, where many a tool he finds are straight out of the heart of where the industrial revolution took place. He is also centrally located near where many of these tools were originally made. These are the tools that helped bring that revolution, and are now sought after by many of us who don’t want those tools to become just another historical footnote. (Thanks Walt)
It happens that Walt has a cool link on his site that points to Pat Leach’s (of Superior Works fame) supertool.com site, that I have looked at many times over the years. While we all seem to discuss tool cabinets around at various forums on the net pretty frequently, I don’t recall seeing anyone really discussing this one for a pretty long time. It is worth a visit, or for some of us, a re-visit.
Photo Courtesy Pat Leach
It is C.A Jewett’s Patternmaking Chest. It is worthy of discussion and so let’s, shall we? Continue Reading »
Nov
23
2009
Shooting boards are very handy for fine trims that clean the rough sawn edges left by saws, power tools and shop machines, so the wood is looking it’s very best, and even made as accurate fitting as can be. But even as we do this most commonly on end grain, end grain is not the only place on a board that can benefit from the use of a shooting board.
There are a number of things a woodworker can classify as delicate work. It can of course mean short in length or width, thin stock, veneer, inlays, book matched pieces, and even working with tone woods. Luthiers commonly join book matched boards for stringed instruments, and these boards are very fragile.
There are also the occasions where using a power tool or a shop machine may not be the safest way, or the most accurate way to accomplish a task and so we are left trying to come up with an alternative method for accomplishing the fine work we need done. Continue Reading »
May
12
2009
Shooting Boards and they’re red hot, yes I’ve got em’ for sale!
I have to thank the early bluesman Robert Johnson, for the inspiration on the title here. I have been getting some email reminding me to come up for air and write a little bit here, as I have been working with my head down. With that said, I am still amongst the living!
Here’s a photo of a pair to draw to. The shooting boards, shown here in left and right-handed models. You could almost call them V-Twins, but darn it, somebody already thought of that…
Back in late March 2009 I revealed I was going to be making a shooting board with an accurately calibratable fence, which can be fixtured in six positions. Woodworkers found this very interesting! I want to take a moment to say thank you to all who have purchased one. It has been a warm and well-received response from the woodworking community. I plan to continue making them, and even have a few ideas to accessorize them as well.
If you are a left handed woodworker, No Problem! I can make a shooting board that works for you. Same price as right handed, just let me know. Continue Reading »
Mar
29
2009
One of the coolest things about hand planes is the finish they leave behind. We have all seen the finish quality they are capable of free hand, but when you put hand planes on jigs, a door is opened and passed through where clean, straight, and angular accuracy becomes something that is hard to obtain in any other simple way.
Yes, I am talking about shooting boards.
Shooting boards are one of the gateways to fine woodworking. Sure, there are many gateways, but the shooting board, in its different configurations guide the cleanest edges and end grain cuts to the finest accuracies, the most spectacular fit and finish, and it puts this capability in the hands of any woodworker.
I have always enjoyed woodworking jigs, and have made a number of shooting boards over the years. I have thought about many different designs for a long time. I’d have one that did this, but not that, and wish I had one that did that too, but then, that method can become a stack of shooting boards, and most of us don’t have the space for that. It’s true; there are some very specific types that are meant to cover specific uses. Others are great for general work, but the worry over wood movement and long-term accuracy causes some folks to question how much energy to put into the making of their own.
I decided to try designing a shooting board, using a design that encompasses the many qualities that I felt most woodworkers would most desire and need in a basic shooting board. Reinforcing as many strengths as I could, while diminishing the weaknesses where possible, and offer it for sale to woodworkers who may be interested in a shooting board that can cover a lot of fine woodworking situations, yet may not want to build one of their own. If you are interested in purchasing a shooting board, I’d be happy to build one for you. Please see the details at the end of this article. Continue Reading »
Feb
15
2009
I know it seems like an odd name to call the process, but it is based in science, and what happens to wood while being worked isn’t really any different when you are going slow with hand tools.
Planing woods is a process that has a number of considerations, which require their needs met all at once, in order for the process to be successful. It isn’t just one thing happening at a time. There are causes, effects and recognizing which you have. The answer isn’t simple until we understand all the usual suspects involved.
If you haven’t already, read chapter 9 of Understanding Wood By R. Bruce Hoadley. It is a real good primer about how wood reacts to planing and machining to brush up on. Overall, the book will improve your skills as a woodworker. It is available in many places, and both Taunton Press as well as Amazon.com are good sources.
Wood reacts to machining in observably repeatable ways. If we understand these ways and learn to recognize the conditions, our own success in working wood is repeatable as well.
Continue Reading »
Apr
22
2008
…Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Honing. (Dr. Strangelove has nothing on us.)
Ok, this is a little longish, but there is no substantial way to provide a sharpening primer in a sound bite. I’ve tried to write about what will work well overall, without getting too focused on too many particulars in any sharpening media. No matter which way you choose to go ahead with sharpening, this advice should be helpful to you overall. It’s a reasonable primer that will put you on the road with usable sharpening skills. So grab a snack and a drink, and settle in for a bit. If you really want to learn to sharpen, reading this will likely be worth your time. Your Questions and Comments are invited as always!
When it comes to sharpening, abrasives are abrasives the world around. They may have particular idiosyncrasies you need to pay attention to, but they all abrade metal. Once you choose the abrasives you feel will work best for you, you will establish your own routine for working with them. All paths are means that will lead to a similar end. Waterstones, oilstones, ceramics, particulates, sandpaper, various styles of machine sharpening etc. The steel does not care; the abrasives don’t care either, as long as the grit equivilents of abrasiveness are appropriate to the goal. Sharpness.
For the sake of this discussion, I am referring to the abrasive grits, as they correspond to the grits common to waterstones. I do this simply for the reason that waterstones are very popular, but I am in no way advocating that waterstones are the best abrasive. Most all abrasives will sharpen, and it is up to the end user to investigate the pros and cons of the various abrasives to determine the best paths for themselves. For cross-reference please refer to this cross reference chart to derive the equivilent grit for the media you choose.
It is important to keep in mind that the goal of sharpness has stages.
Coarse grits are for grinding, heavy material removal, bevel forming, flattening. Initial flattening and bevel angle forming are the biggest jobs and to aid getting the job over with, the coarsest grits should be used to get the bulk of these tasks done.
Fine grits are for honing and polishing. Once you have established bevels and flatness on the backs, you will want to polish it. Removing coarse scratches in steel with finer ones is what creates finer sharpness. Sharpness actually is where the intersection of the two planes formed by the bevel and the back meet. The finer they are polished, the sharper they will be. the act of creating the wire or feather edge happens when the bevel side of the iron or blade is abraded until the dullness has been honed away. This is required to establish a fresh edge on the tool, and can be done with any number of the different honing or grinding grits.
It is up to the sharpener to determine how dull the tool is, and select the coarseness or fineness of abrasive grit needed to restore the edge to sharpness the fastest way. This means, it comes down to how much steel needs to be removed on the bevel side to form the wire, or feather. You must determine the condition of the edge, and the fastest way to restore it. If only a lttle honing is needed to restore the edge, don’t select coarse abrasives when you begin. If a lot of honing is needed, don’t select fine abrasives when you begin, but realize you will have to polish all the way up through the grits to the fine abrasives to restore the sharpness.
It is important to get a feel for the finish your honing equipment will give you as a finish result at each stage of the work. It will aid you to learn to evaluate what is needed, where to start, how long to hone, and when you have reached what was needed. Knowing this simplifies the task and helps you save time. This is experiential– it is learned by using the sharpening tools you have on your edge tools. It is getting to know one another. Call it sharpening intimacy if you will. Continue Reading »
Mar
10
2008
Back in early February 2008, an interesting thread was started on Woodnet.net. Bob Feeser, rfeeser to those who may look for his writings, was asked by a friend to ”provide a list of what tools a well-equipped small, machine-free shop might have”. So he consulted some texts he had on hand and “enhanced” it.
Turned out, the list is quite good. On Internet forums, one good turn deserves another, and so the feedback began. …And the list grew. People came up with some great additions for the list. Continue Reading »
