WTO Tip: Implements of Torture

If you missed the Wood Talk Online show last night, check out episode #61 on Marc Spagnuolo's site or Matt Vanderlist's site. They discussed interesting, useful, and funny information that they found on the internet, fielded questions, and invited me back to offer another woodworking tip, which can be heard at the end of the show. Thanks guys!

Eye Candy

The Brown International Tool Auction and Dealer Show was held yesterday and today in Harrisburg, PA, and did not disappoint.

Despite the enormous selection of tempting goodies, I only bought a little caliper and a marking gauge that I had never seen before (photos at right). The dealer, Dan Ludwig, told me it was made by a company called Fulton from Washington, D.C., and was patented in 1888.

It has three marking knives, two of which can be advanced and retracted by unscrewing the knob and sliding the two halves of the body apart. The third knife is friction fit and can be adjusted by pushing or tapping on the iron. I bought it because it was cool and I'd like to make one.

DuCo Tools, from the Netherlands, had several 18th c. carved planes—one built in 1718—the styles of which I had only before seen in books.

Tony Murland had some fine pieces, as well: a carved Dutch plane from 1776 and a carved oilstone holder (both pictured last). The low relief carving of tools on the box's lid was especially eyecatching and has been added to my to-build list.

I also ran into some familiar faces: Lee Richmond, from The Best Things; Shannon Rogers, the Renaissance Woodworker; Jim Leamy, maker of gorgeous plow planes; Tom Graham, from Midwest Tool Collectors Association; and a number of other friends.

What a great way to spend a rainy day!

FWW: Hand vs. Power Tool Showdown

Mark your calendars for November 12 at 1:30 p.m. EST, when two Fine Woodworking staff members go sander to handplane to see who can prepare a finish-ready surface the fastest.

Asa Christiana vs. Michael Pekovich
Sand vs. Steel
Innovation vs. Tradition
Electricity vs. Wheaties

Watch it live on Fine Woodworking's site! Check Facebook and Twitter for my up-to-the-minute coverage! Cheer on your favorite technique!
Be there or be a 4-sided, equilateral, geometric shape!

Click here for more info on this historic event.

Medallion Toolworks

I had the opportunity to meet Ed Paik (pictured far right in the photo), owner of Medallion Toolworks, at the WIA conference earlier this month. Ed makes premium western style handsaws that are custom fit to the individual's needs. I picked up one of his saws, and for the first time found a saw that fit perfectly in my hand. Most saw handles feel too thin to me, but Ed's saw had a thicker handle that felt more comfortable than any saw I have ever held.

I asked Ed what makes his saws stand out from the competition--what things make his saws special. Here is his response.

"My personal thought is I really don't consider other sawmakers as competitors. I see all of us as complimentary to each other and representative of the skill and experience level of the woodworker that makes a saw purchase. Personally, I would try to steer a novice or someone just entering the woodworking community away from a premium custom saw. I would recommend that they try as many of the production saws out there because it is very possible they do not yet know what features they require and like in a saw. After investing in a custom saw is not the time to find out what your needs and preferences are.

A Lee Valley dovetail saw is a great example of a production made saw that performs very well and offers great value. If you find out after extended use it is not what you require then one would be in a better position to go to a custom maker with those thoughts and specifications without having invested a lot of money.

I like to think my saws are made for those that are familiar with other saws, have a certain level of skill and experience with woodworking and know what they would like a saw to do in their shop. Through discussion and working together, I try my best to realize those ideas in a custom saw that performs well in their shop. Every saw I ship is made specifically for that woodworker with as much hand work as possible. Technical specifics like the totes, the pitch, rake and fleam, canted sawplate are all features that are variable for that individual's needs. Aesthetic features like the style of tote and the wood choices to make it with also vary according to their preferences. I also unconditionally guarantee the work and will do everything I can to make sure they are happy with the order."

—Ed Paik, Medallion Toolworks

Mini Coffin Smoother, Part 3

Planes are just chunks of wood with a piece of metal captured inside. What's to get excited about?

And yet we do. Our hearts beat a little faster—almost as bad as first date excitement, but without the "please don't let him/her have a weird toenail fungus fetish" anxiety—when we see anything from the most basic, old, unusable bench plane to the most elegant, artistic planes available today.

And whether we see it as a tool that performs a service or we admire it as a piece of usable artwork, we can all agree that handplanes are objects of our desire.

16th c. Dutch planes with chip carved ornamentation, antique European planes that are carved as faces and figures, and reproductions made by toolmaker David Brookshaw make my palms sweaty.

I'm trying, with baby steps, to get to that level. So here's a baby plane with chip carving. I still need to tweak the blade and the fit to get it to work properly, but the outside is done.

Now for the hardest part: finishing. This is where I screw up most projects. I'd like for the plane to look old, so I'm open to suggestions.

Waiting for it to occur naturally in 300 years is not an option.

The Best Things Come in Small Packages

...that are packed with shavings!



A big Thank You to Dean Jansa, who sent me one of his handmade marking gauges that's based on one found in Benjamin Seaton's tool chest.

Dean wrote an article for Popular Woodworking on how to make this style gauge, which includes downloadable plans.

The coolest thing about this tool is you can release and tighten the wedge that locks the arm in place with just one hand. Because the wedge has a little hook on the small end, it can't fall out. It can only be removed if you slide the arm the entire way out of the head.

Plus, the gauge just feels good in your hand.

Why did Dean send me this lovely little tool? He claims that when a bunch of us were out to dinner at WIA he promised to make one for me. I don't remember this, but then, he was drinking and I was not. And who am I to question the saber-sharp memory that can only come from partaking of beer's frothy goodness?

(I just hope he doesn't remember that I promised to make him a Krenov-style jointer plane.)

Mini Coffin Smoother, Part 2

I used 01 tool steel to make the blade for the coffin smoother and followed the same procedure as a previous post in heat treating and tempering the blade.

Once the blade is made, you can work on fitting the wedge to the plane body. Slide both into the throat and tweak the wedge with files, chisels or other tool of choice, until a tight fit is achieved.

You need to be sure that the bed is perfectly flat. To check this, hold the plane up to a light with the wedge and blade in place, and sight beneath the blade to see if you can see any light shining through.

By lightly passing the back of the blade over a candle, you blacken it with soot. Slide the blade and wedge back into the body and pull them out again. The soot from the iron will reveal high spots on the bed of the plane--the areas that need to be flattened.

Of course I had to take the plane for a test drive before it's shaped to its final form.

Mini Coffin Smoother, Part 1

What do you do when you have a little bit of time to play in your shop? You build a little project.

I started to build a miniature coffin smoother yesterday and still have a ways to go, but thought I'd show you the progress so far.

I have a few antique miniature planes, and referred to one that's only 3" long (top photo) as a prototype.

The blank I'm using is pearwood (I believe), cut oversized for easier clamping. I'm not sure what the final shape of the body will be, only that it will have some chip carving.

The bed angle is 45º; the front angle (looking down from the top) is about 62º; and the lower portion of the front angle is open enough to provide clearance for shavings, but beefy enough to support the front of the mouth.

The toughest part for me is making sure the bed is flat and the shoulders that hold the wedge in place are identical.

Next up...making the blade.