Cool Links

Here are a couple of cool links that you might enjoy.
First, a video showing the results of tests concerning the effects of chipbreakers on planing. This is the kind of nerdy stuff that I love, not only is the information fascinating, but the visuals are hypnotic. If you are stuck in front of your computer, it will definitely give you a woodworking fix. Thanks to Pat Tipton for sending me this link!

Next, you might like to check out the blog that Caleb James is writing. He was a student of mine and during our time together, I was inspired by his talent and attitude. He is definitely one to watch.
His blog is http://kapeldesigns.blogspot.com

I have loads happening around here, especially getting prepared to teach next week at Marc Adams School in Indiana, I hope Greg remembers the Scotch this time.

Flattening and Drilling the Perch Seat

Here is the next installment in the perch making process. This video covers the hand flattening of the seat and the drilling for the legs. Of course you could use a planer and jointer to get this seat flat, but I use my handplanes, which only takes me a few minutes and teaches me a lot about the nature of the specific piece of wood that I'm using. I'm sure that there will be a few questions, so let me know if there something that I can clarify.

There are a few reasons that I drill the holes by eye. One is that the reaming process gives the opportunity to refine the angle of the hole, but most important to me is the speed and portability of the process. I could set up a drill press or some other semi-permanent rig, but then each time that I wished to change an angle I would have to adjust the jigging. Getting comfortable drilling by eye only takes a couple of practice holes and then you'll have a skill that you can take anywhere, at any angle, to any piece.

Scrub Planes

As with many cabinetmakers, I followed my interest in handtools to handplanes and planemaking. Handplanes have come to represent "fine craftsmanship", hence their presence in magazines, catalogues and logos. Any visit to a handtool forum and you will find that much of the conversation revolves around planes. It is a great introduction to cutting wood with a fixed blade and sharpening etc...but there are other tools that offer greater freedom awaiting. I still flatten and joint my seat blanks with a handplane, which teaches me a great deal about the hunk of wood that I will be carving, there is great satisfaction to be had in practicing this skill, but I try to remember that the handplane is a means to an end and not an end in itself.
If you have a 20" jointer and planer, you can ignore this! The scrub plane is the first plane used to flatten the surface of a board. It is fitting that this post follows the one about inshaves having too curved a blade, because it is the curve of the blade that distinguishes the scrub plane and makes it work. The curved blade reduces the width of the cut taken and ensures that the edge of the shavings are tapered which reduces tearout while enabling a heavy cut. If you tried to plane "with" the grain and find yourself going the wrong way, the tearout could be dramatic. By using the blade crossgrain, the fibers being sheared are always supported by the fiber next to them, this gives a reasonably clean cut, which is fine for this early stage of flattening.
The scrub plane is not truly "essential" to flattening a board. The same results can be achieved with a regular plane, just more slowly and with more effort. But the speed gained and ease of creating a scrub plane makes it a good plane to start your collection. The photo shows three different scrub planes. The plane in the foreground is a Lie-Nielson scrub plane, its quality construction is reflected in its price. In the middle is a plane that I made myself and in the back is an old wooden jack plane with a reground blade. Below you can see the shape that I find best for my scrub blades. If you are considering acquiring a scrub plane, I'd encourage you to seek out an old wooden smoother or metal plane and simply reground the blade. That's it. It is simple and cheap and will give the satisfaction of using a tool that you have "made" yourself. All that is required is the rounded blade, a wide throat opening and to set the chipbreaker back from the edge. There is lots of good info on planing technique available at the woodworking forums posted on the right. Good luck

Planing Tips

This morning, Gerry and I were talking about handplaning and I showed him a technique that I thought worth sharing. There is really only one way to push a handplane, all of the pressure on the front at the beginning of the stroke, even pressure in the middle and pressure down on the back of the plane at the end of the stroke. This is easy to say and hard to do. In the photo you can see Gerry demonstrating the way that I've found to practice. Take a small block of wood with a flat end, set the plane so that the blade is completely retracted (you don't want to cut in this exercise) and try to pass the plane across the small end without it tilting off at the beginning or end of the stroke. About ten passes later you should get the idea. Now it's up to you to use this same stroke whenever planing. There is one major problem that occurs, as humans with a sharp tool in our hands, we want to see the tool cut wood. So we abandon the proper technique in order to take a slice. It's more important to cut the right wood. Trust the plane and a proper technique, the wood will cut where it is supposed to.