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How to Cut Complex & Ogee Moulding Plane Blade Profiles

March 17, 2014, 5:17 pm
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Lately I have been doing a bit more custom/complex profiles for moulding planes. I thought I would show you a bit of how I go about doing it. I don't know how the artisans of old did this. It would be interesting to see what they did. Did they cut the profile, grind it, or something else I am not thinking of. I don't guess it matters. I am not constrained by there technology and I am sure if they lived now they wouldn't constrain themselves either for any nostalgic reason. They would probably be excited to see our tooling and put it to use.

Once you have made your complex profile moulding plane with the profile cut in the sole and everything otherwise complete and fitted take your blade and coat it with machinist fluid on the top front edge of the blade, let it dry (duh!). Insert the blade in the plane. Set the wedge, then scribe the profile of the sole onto the blade. Try to do this in one pass, otherwise the scribe line gets harder to clearly see. A single fine line is much easier to track even if it isn't perfect.

Here is what I currently do to cut the profile. I know it will change some as I like to refine and tinker with my methods. I think it is what keeps me interested in the craft. Below is my setup. You need a good light for this kind of work...Oh and coffee too. :)


This is a basic jewelers saw that has a 3" capacity. It uses 5" pin less blades. Runs about $40. I cut the profile out of a blank prior to hardening. This is pretty thick material for these little saws. I first used one when I was bout 13 years old. My uncle ran a little shop that sold coins with parts cut out as jewelry and the like. It hit me one day that this would work wonders for cutting complex profiles and it does.


On a Lie-Nielsen tapered moulding plane blade the sides are "hardened" in the production process and so the jewelers saw blades won't cut them. Fortunately this is not a problem since a touch of the grinder creates a nice notch to start the blade in anyways and removes the "hardened" metal.



Now just slow and steady wins the race. The trick to getting these to cut well is to keep the blade from overheating. If it overheats then, like any other cutting tool you are used to, it will not hold an edge. Thus I use a little bit of beeswax on the back of the blade. Yes, I said the back of the blade. If you put it on the front it will clog the relief area behind the tooth and it won't cut. 




Once I do this I move onto the grinder to shape the bevel. I have a grinding wheel dressed to sort of a "V" point that is slightly rounded so I can work the hollow of the profile. Work right up to the edge but not past it. It is better to have a small area you need to remove after you harden then to have to re-profile the edge back once you harden it. 

By the way the picture is of the bevel side of the blade after hardening and tempering. As you can see all that I had to do to get it sharp was to work just the edge with some slip stones. I have seen many people describe leaving a thick edge on the blade while heat treating or otherwise the edge is weak. I have never had this problem. I think they are not heat treating properly. Very likely overheating the edge and creating poor "grain" structure in the metal which makes it weak. Anyways that is for another post. 

Dig deep. Make a complex profile moulding plane. You can do it! 

If you haven't seen it then check out my plans for an ogee moulding plane here.



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Why Use Quarter Sawn Wood For Wooden Planes?

March 18, 2014, 8:51 am
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This is a good question. I have seen this over looked a lot of times when seeing examples of planes made online. Why isn't obvious really.



I am going to assume that you know little about quarter sawn and plain sawn lumber other than you know how it looks to the eye. I think that is where we all started in woodworking. We understood that a lot of older furniture had quarter sawn lumber in it but the only thing we saw was that it looked different. We didn't realize until later that it not only looked different but it acted differently as well.

Probably oak is the wood that comes to mind when we think of quarter sawn. It is no surprise because basically all use of oak originally was "quarter sawn". I put that in quotation marks because it wasn't sawn at all. It would have been riven not sawn. Anyways I digress. If you want to know more about how oak built the world civilizations I recommend you read the book "Oak The Frame Of Civilization" by William Bryant Logan.

But traditional planes are made of beech almost exclusively. I get a few eye brows raised at me when I tell people that beech is related to oak. In fact oaks are in the family of the beeches (Fagaceae). They share many qualities. One important one is that they both have distinct rays.



I think it is important to understand what ray fibers are in order to really grasp how they affect wood movement, especially in quarter sawn wood. Rays are the fibers in the tree that run perpendicular to the long grain fiber that run the length of the tree. In other words the ray fibers run from the inside to the outside of the tree while the long grain fibers run from top to bottom. Rays actually work to move moisture and nutrients throughout the tree in times of drought, etc. Ray fibers are not common in tropical woods, by the way.

So what do these rays do in wood. Essentially they reduce wood movement during moisture cycling. That is why most hardwoods essentially have a 2:1 ratio of tangential shrinkage to radial shrinkage. So that means that the radial plane of wood moves less compared to the tangential, about half. Just think of it this way. The annual rings are the tangential plane while the rays are the radial plane.

So we can think of rays creating a lattice work when they cross the long grain fibers. In fact the rays are essentially long grain fibers as well. And we know that a piece of wood along its length (long grain) basically doesn't change in length. That is why rays reduce wood movement in that plane. Therefore a piece of wood that is quarter sawn is more stable across its width. That is why you choose quarter sawn boards for the frame of a door and it is the same reason you choose quarter sawn wood for picture frame mitered corners. I have drawn an illustration to show this latter example. This also illustrates why a wedge in a plane benefits from being in the quarter sawn plane.


As you can see in the upper right corner of the illustration the picture frame miter when plain sawn will open up at the corners when the moisture cycles up and down but the quarter sawn miter will move half as much and appear to stay "closed" in relation to the plain sawn miter.

Now consider how the wedge of a plane is a triangle corner like in a miter, so is the wedge mortise in the plane body. If these are in the quarter sawn orientation then the fit will stay more stable during moisture cycling throughout the seasons.

Next post I will talk about why quarter sawn beech is the wood of choice for wooden planes and why a wood like oak is not, even though they have similar properties like distinct rays and hardness. When I do that I will work from the same illustration and the rest of it will make sense.

:)

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Why Use Beech For Traditional Wooden Planes?

March 24, 2014, 8:45 am
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First off I would say that traditional planes have been made out of a number of woods. I plan to discuss those at another time. But the vast majority of traditional planes have been made from beech without a doubt and for good reason.

If you haven't seen my post on "Why Use Quarter Sawn Wood for Wooden Planes?" then you should probably read that before this post.

So, you ask "What is so special about beech". Well, most people would think nothing much is special about this wood, especially here in the US. It is very hard to get compared to other hard woods and almost impossible to find quarter sawn. It is not like the wood is rare or anything. It is quite abundant. The biggest reason, I think, is obvious why it isn't used much. It is terrible to dry properly without growing fungus, which mars its light color, or it checks very badly. This keeps saw mills from wanting to bother with the wood. Plus it brings a low price. As you can imagine these businesses are geared to being profitable, as would be expected.

Interestingly the latter problem of it checking has so much to do with its abundant and distinct rays that we discussed in the preceding post. And this is in fact what makes this wood so suited to making planes with it. We will get to that but lets consider something else before that.

A few things that you want to consider in choosing a good plane wood is that it be a wood that is harder than other woods that you plan to be planing. This should make sense without me explaining, right. Beech is harder than most woods that we commonly use. It is the same density as red oak and only a little softer than white oak.

So you might then wonder "Why not just use white oak?". Good question. It is harder. Well the problem is that oaks are ring-porous woods. That means that the early growth is much less dense than the late growth wood which is what makes us associate oaks with being "hard". When you look at the growth ring of an oak log you can clearly see the band of early wood that is full of holes while the late growth wood is dense and usually darker.

Here in lies the problem for using it as a wood for planes. The primary weakness in a wooden plane is the mouth. It takes a lot of abuse. When the soft early growth layer of the wood crosses the mouth of the plane it is quickly worn away and it leaves a place for shavings to quickly jam. Not something you want. Of course there are other places in the plane that would suffer from this same weakness but for me that is enough to eliminate this wood as a choice for a tool that a workman would count on day after day.

So what you want to use is a diffuse-porous wood species. Diffuse-porous means that the early and late wood growth is consistent in density. Often climax forest systems contain these types of trees. Beech is one of these woods and is diffuse-porous. But what makes it more preferable than the rest. It again comes down to its abundant rays. Here we are back to my illustration. As we discussed in the previous post, the rays a perpendicular to the long grain fibers. They run from the inside of the tree to the outside. What this means is that the end of the ray fiber emerges on the tangental face of a board. That is to say the plain sawn face of a board will have the end of the ray fibers showing.

End grain of ray on sole of plane makes it highly wear resistant

What does that mean? Well as you know end grain is much much much more wear resistant than the long grain fibers. You see, beech has, according to one reference work, approximately 40% of the plain sawn face of a board covered with the end grain of the rays. That is why beech is so appropriate for wooden planes. When the wood is oriented with the quarter sawn face on the sides and the plain sawn face on the sole of the plane then you get the best of both functions of the abundant rays that beech poses.

End grain of rays look like small dashes on plain sawn face for beech. 

So while there are other hardwoods, as well as some tropical woods, that are harder they don't beat the wear resistance of the "end grain" function of the rays. Though I wouldn't argue that they couldn't be comparable in wear resistance. I frankly haven't made enough from tropical woods or ebonys to give my opinion on that.

Now, keeping in mind what we just discussed, add on to that beech is so plentiful, readily available in areas where planemakers were at, it wasn't competing for other uses like cabinetmaking, that it has relatively easy working characteristics and that it grows into large trees, unlike many of the alternative planemaking woods and you can see why it became the wood of choice.

Now this discussion isn't with the aim to say that using other woods is wrong. But many I know have wondered why this wood was chosen. I hope I helped answer that question to some degree.

As I mentioned there were other woods used to make planes and I plan to post what woods were also used. But in the meantime what ever you choose just make sure that it is at least two things. First it is quarter sawn and second that it is diffuse-pourous. Try to keep its density higher than the woods you plan to work.

If I couldn't find quarter sawn beech then I would first look for hard maple. It would almost without a doubt not be in a quarter sawn option but you could look for some really thick plain sawn boards and produce your planes with the quarter sawn face on the sides of the plane.

Happy planemaking!


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Keep That Mouth Shut

March 25, 2014, 7:06 am
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Last year some time I posted plans for a coffin shaped smoothing plane. Of course, to be made out of wood. I asked anyone to point out any errors in the plans. I got some feedback but no one seemed to question the reference to the mouth opening being 1/32". That is quite large actually. It is about double what I would consider as a size to shoot for.

So what is the size I shoot for. I aim for as tight as possible. That means about 0.006"-0.008 is excellent but I am happy with anything up to around 0.012". Now, that is for planes I sell. As for planes that I use, I have some with mouths much larger than that.

Here are a couple of photos of examples of mouth opening on my planes. The first is a smoother at about 0.004" and the second is a miter plane at around 0.010". Click to zoom in.




Of course we are talking about smoothing planes. For jack planes I don't get bent out of shape on the mouth size. About a 0.030 is fine with me or around a 1/32". That is how I think that I ended up with that measurement in the plans. I should be more careful when I copy and paste.

So essentially if you make a smoothing plane with a mouth opening of about 1/64" (0.015") then pat yourself on the back. You did an outstanding job. If you can get it to half of that, then you are ready for a new profession. :)

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See You In Charleston!

March 25, 2014, 9:32 pm
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I will be away for a few days down in Charleston, SC. Come down and join the crew at the American College of the Building Arts downtown campus in the Old Charleston Jail on 21 Magazine Street.

I will be a guest demonstrator at the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event that will be hosted there before and during The Masters of the Building Arts Festival on March 28th and 29th. 

I will have my well equipped tool chest packed with 18th century style wooden hand planes ready for action. Come give them a try. If you have questions about planemaking or whatever else we can talk shop too.

See you there!
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I Need a Secretary!

March 31, 2014, 8:25 pm
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I am back from the long weekend. Nope I haven't been on holiday (as my Canadian wife would say it). My family took the trek down with me to the Lie-Nielsen hand tool event in Charleston. I had a nice experience. The kids had fun, I think. The weather was rainy at times but we still managed a very large crowd especially on Saturday.

I wanted to share a few photos of those that were there at the event. I don't do Facebook so I guess this is my Facebook type post for the blog. I will get back to the real stuff soon enough when I get a chance to breath.

On that note as many of you seem to have noticed Chris Schwarz played a trick on me and posted my moulding planes up on his blog. He probably gets a kick out of slamming small fries web pages like mine. No, no, I am just joking but needless to say I am a bit behind on answering emails so I felt the need to let everyone know, that is waiting on me, that I will get to you but it may take a while. Also I started feeling bad for sending such short emails to respond to some. That always seems abrupt or rude to me. Anyways don't shy away from sending me your inquiries but now you know if my reply is slow.

...on to the poor photos. This first one is the twenty or so that attended the special tour of the Nathaniel Russell house built in 1808 with a view to appreciating its historic furniture. We got to pull out drawers and peek in places that you would never be allowed to otherwise. It was awesome to see drawer bottoms that were probably 24" deep and from one piece of wood!


There were some pretty unique stairs that were worth a photo. Those stair treads are pine...so dark. :)

View from the bottom
From the top

Then on to the venue a the American College of the Building Arts. We where on the second floor of the old jail. I wish I had taken a picture of the outside. I missed all the action going on during the day too. Plenty of iron work, timber framing and the like. I did get to pick up an antique moving fillister thanks to a customer bringing it to my attention. Thanks Lin! Here he is working the end of this board  with a fore plane before putting the raised panel plane to it.


It was nice to see the kids get involved. I had a whole family with, I think it was four of five boys, give the jack plane a go. It was fun. Mom gave it a whirl, too. Stuff like that makes my day. 

I didn't get a shot of them but I did get a shot of a father and son working the heck out of this board.


Finally the others... It was fun working with a crew like this. I felt a little out of place at first but that didn't last for long. Everyone welcomed me like I was a part of the gang even though it was only my first or second time to meet most of them. (I don't get around much)

Mary May, Chris Schwarz

Roger , Tom Lie-Nielsen , Deneb, and other enthusiastic woodworkers 
This had to be my favorite shot of the weekend. My wife took it while I was demonstrating something and showed it to me later. I don't know why, but I am a bit reluctant to post this but it was just too cute. These are my two girls getting a lesson on the names of hand tools from the inside cover of the book Grandpa's Workshop.


I will be following up with a post on how to purchase a plane or planes and it will include my current price list. Thanks for the positive response everyone. 

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How to Buy a Plane

April 7, 2014, 8:22 pm
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I promised to update everyone and let you know how to buy a plane. So here is the low down. I am not taking any additional orders as of this time. I currently am taking inventory of my planemaking material.

As you can imagine it is not good business to sell what you don't have. Or in other words it doesn't work out well for me or the buyer to sell a plane and then not have the wood to make it or it not be seasoned properly. I think most of you that read this blog appreciate how much effort it is to get quarter sawn beech. If you don't know then read this post here.

Coffin Smoother

What does this all mean? It means that if I have sold you a plane then I have confirmed that I do have the beech stock on hand to make those planes. Everyone else that would like to buy a plane will need to keep an eye on my blog. Over the coming months I will be releasing some planes as they become available.

Jack plane

Why not take orders on these? It comes down to my scheduling. One thing is I still have outstanding chair orders that I need to fulfill. I will in the future continue to produce Danish modern pieces as I have been along with my wooden planes, thought the furniture will be much less by way of comparison.

Miter plane

I think there is something positive about this approach. It means that I will be more efficient at producing planes since I can work with the stock I have ready. Plus I can take advantage of some unique material, like pear and apple wood, that I have seasoning at the moment that otherwise, in a practical way, I wouldn't be able to take orders on because of the limited stock.

Panel Raiser

I will also be focusing on making sizes and styles of moulding planes that are suited for furniture making. These generally are the smaller sizes or profiles specific to furniture. These are the ones that are hardest to find on the antiques market since it is dominated by architectural moulding planes, etc.

Rabbet plane

Another positive thing is that I won't have a super long back order that you will have to sign up for if you want a plane. Everyone will be on an even playing field and when things come up for sale it will be announced and then first come first serve. If you miss out then you will be first up for the next batch if you tried for the previous one. I will explain more when that time comes.

Hollow and Round Pair

I am trying to keep this simple as I will have quite a varied schedule over the coming year. I realize things will evolve as I develop this aspect of my craft and try to accommodate the increased interest in the growing handwork craft movement.

I will have a few more announcements in the coming months that I currently have in the works for those of you that want to make planes yourself.

Stay tuned for updates and thanks for your patience. I will get back to my regular blog posts soon.
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Moving Fillister Plane - Depth Stop Hardware Revealed

April 10, 2014, 1:39 pm
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I have wondered for some time exactly how this hardware looked like on the inside. I have focused so much on planes that don't require hardware like this that I never really dug into those that do.

If you are like me, then you may have thought about replicating the parts on your own. I sometimes wish I had a milling machine but then again I would just get myself into trouble making parts that just aren't profitable. I think these might fall into that category but maybe not. On the other hand I wouldn't hesitate to try and make them if this where only a hobby for me.

So thats what motivated me to take the time to share these photos. Maybe you just might want to make some for yourself. It is mostly brass and a few other materials that are readily available. The photos should be self explanatory. Click on the images to enlarge.

Enjoy!







If any machinist out there is making these or you all hear of some place that is producing them let me know.

Thanks!

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New Smaller Smoother In Action

April 13, 2014, 4:53 pm
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If you subscribe to my Youtube channel then this is old news but if you don't then I wanted to show a little video of a new smaller version of my favorite smoother in action. This little guy is so much fun.

It is about 5/16" shorter than the standard size with a 1-1/2" blade and 5-13/16" long. Oh and the iron is bedded at 57.5˚.

My thinking behind the design was to have something that excelled at clean up in an area that had lots of reversing grain which limited different directions of attack you could take. Those big planes are frustrating in these situations. Heck a No.4 is way too big much less a No. 4 1/2.

I frankly was inspired by those really amazing infill planes that Sauer & Steiner make and of course Raney's (Daed Toolworks) infills as well. Maybe that's why I decided to make it out of solid persimmon. Get some all ebony going on.

Enjoy!


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Construction Of a Sash Window Frame From Raw Wood- Video

April 14, 2014, 6:40 am
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I stumbled upon this video not too long ago. I really enjoyed it and decided that you folks might like it too.

The video shows a window frame being made with all the basic steps in just a few minutes of video. It makes me what to make some windows especially after picking up the book on Doormaking and Window-making that LAP recently put out. Fascinating to see the difference between factory made vs. craftsman made.

I would like to find one of those coping planes that is used in this video. Would be a good one to study.

I should mention that the video is curtesy of the Arnold Zlotoff Tool Museum. I would like to make it up to the place someday. Would be quite interesting I am sure.

Enjoy!





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Windsor Continuous Arm Settee Plans?

April 25, 2014, 7:47 am
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I was recently asked if I would be making continuous arm settee plans for the curved settee that I make. I would love to but the likely hood of that happening is nil considering the other things I have on my to do list.

So, I have something that is probably better. If you have ever wanted to make a regular (non-curved) settee then here is how you can do it with the continuous arm chair plans that I recently completed for Curtis' Buchanan.

Curtis Buchanan Settee

The only difference between the single chair and the settee is the width plus two more legs. You can even use the same bending form, really no kidding. Here is basically how to do it. By the way I don't know if this is how Curtis does it on his settee design but this is how I do it when making one.

Take the plans and add 20" to the bow length. Then add 20" inches to the seat width. The additions are just straight lines. So for example the seat will have more center spindles all at the same angle of the center spindle in the single chair plans.

The bow is, again, a straight section being added. Simply take the bending form for the single chair and steam and bend only one side at a time on the form. Do one side and leave it in the form for a few days or however long you want. Take it off the form and repeat for the other side. It is actually easier than a regular chair because you are just bending one side at a time rather than doing both in one go. By the way this isn't a cheesy way to go about it. Peter Galbert is the one I first saw do this rather than make a new form just for the settee.

Now for the center legs... You can simply use the center line as the sighting line and use the rake angle from the front and rear legs respectively for the drilling angles. The only catch here is that for the elements of the turnings to line up properly the center legs must be "squished". As I was writing this it hit me that Pete has written about this in the past. Here is a link to his blog post on the subject. Thanks Pete!

That is about it. I think you can figure out the rest!


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Jumping On The Band Wagon!

April 28, 2014, 7:17 am
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Well if its trendy then I am doing it. Ok thats how I feel after buying a polissoir. Heres the story. Last month I ran into "Je m'appelle Christoph" Schwarz at the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool event in Charleston. When it got slow Chris started handing out half made squares for everyone (including customers that were hanging around for hours) to finish making and take home.

It was kinda funny. A customer would pop in and there we all were, head down, completely focused on this rather than them. They seemed confused but interested in what kind of class we all were apparently taking. Questions followed such as; what are you making, what kind of wood is that? About that time we would snap out of it and go back to demonstrating whatever it was we were supposed to be doing.

Anyhow we were all finishing the squares with the polissoir. I was pretty impressed. Then when I got home I realized this would work really well on my planes. Wishing I had actually tried it out on a plane while at the show I decided anyways to buy one. What really motivated me was that Don Williams started offering one that would accommodate carved/shaped surfaces. I was sold.

Here is what the carver's polissoir looks like. One end is for complex surfaces and the other I use just like the standard one. It is sort of a two in one, though it doesn't appear to have been intended for that purpose, but why not?

Carver's Polissoir

This is what it looks like when it arrives. You have to soak the ends in some melted beeswax then once it dries it is ready to go. That is a one time process as far as I understand. The wax acts more like a lubricant rather than being meant as the applied finish. However I am sure it is getting rubbed into the surface to some extent.

Here is what the finished burnished surface looks like on the planes. By the way the finish I use on the planes is heated linseed/Danish oil.






I am pretty stoked about the results. My favorite thing about the finish is that it is so much more durable. I always kinda worry about leaving grim from my hands on the grips of the planes while I am tuning everything up just before they go out the door. But the polissoir burnishes the surface so hard that there seems to be no open wood pores to get grimy.

Here is a link to make one if you want to try it out or see the ones from Don's Barn.

I am going to give this a try out on a piece of Danish furniture soon. I can't wait to see how it works there.  

Additional Thoughts:  I often mention products or links to things or other folks. I do this not to promote anyone for any particular reason. First off I like to point out other good stuff that is going on out there besides just what I am doing. I think good stuff should get noticed. It benefits us all. 

I also like when someone is making a product that is useful and it employees an individual craftsman. For instance Don's polissoir is made by a broom maker not far from him. That was motivation for me to by one rather than make one. 

Thats it. I just don't want my posts to come across like I am selling something. My intent here has always been to just share good useful information to those that want to know more about woodworking crafts. 

Take care!
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Plans For Wooden Planes Are Available Again!

May 9, 2014, 1:09 pm
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I started getting plenty of emails a few days ago when Dropbox disabled all my links along with probably thousands of other Dropbox users. It appears they had a security issue.

Anyhow it took them several days to make it possible to reactivate the links. If you have been searching for the wooden plane plans I offer then here they are back up and running. The dropbox download pages look different but the plans are there.

3/4" Rabbit Plane 

7/8" Ogee Moulding Plane

15" Fore/Jack Plane

1/2" Side Round Plane Pair

Coffin Shaped Smoother

Enjoy!
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How to Install A Handle In A Wooden Body Plane

May 28, 2014, 7:36 am
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Welcome back to the low budget video series all about wooden planemaking. You know the drill. I work in the shop and at random pull out my camera and shoot a short segment of what I am doing at that moment. Then you try and decipher what I showed and how to apply it. Your welcome.

Maybe someday I will get a proper camera and set aside two weeks to make and edit a complete series on how to make an entire plane like a rabbet or panel raiser or whatever. But until I do a Kickstarter or someone drops a paycheck in my lap for those two weeks this is probably about the best I can muster at the moment. I really do hope they are of some value. Anyhow, on to the handle instillation.



When making the mortise for the handle this is one of those places that I count on machine work to make a precision slot. I use my slot mortiser to make the slot and then I square up the corners with a corner chisel. I do this so that the joint makes the best glue up as possible. 

Also, I don't want just the sides of the handle to adhere to the mortise but the bottom of the handle should make contact in the mortise as well. Usually in a typical furniture joint this would be end grain and wouldn't need to be glued but in this case we can take full advantage of the long grain surfaces coming together. This adds nearly a third more glueing surface to the joint. 


When fitting the handle make the mortise first. Then with the handle left slightly oversized you can plane it down to make a perfect fit to the joint. I make some criss cross cuts about two thirds of the way up around the bottom of the handle to let the surfaces stay tight but slip together. This also lets any heavy build up of glue have a place to escape to rather than resisting instillation of a really tight joint.

The gap at the front of the handle is filled with a wedge. I actually undercut the back of the mortise ever so slightly and match the back of the handle with the same angle. Therefore once the front of the handle is wedged in place it locks the handle in place. It is a little thing but I figure why not.


One of the things I have seen "messed up" on a number of planes is the instillation of the handle. Often times it is a lot to do with the orientation of the wood. It might seem wrong at first but note that the handle wood is oriented in exactly the same way as the body of the plane. Quarter sawn and grain running front to back not up and down. If you glue in a handle with the grain up and down, the cross grain orientation of the two pieces with break the glue line within a few moisture cycles for sure.

Other than the wood orientation you need a good tight fit between the glue surfaces. That is what I show in the video and you really must use hide glue. Liquid hide glue is fine. I prefer the Old Brown glue brand but will use the Titebond brand as well. The Old Brown brand is nice and stinky like the glue pot version. I actually love the smell but then again I am sort of weird like that. You'll still need to heat the liquid version though. I would have shown the glue up but I didn't have anyone to hold the camera.

Again, don't use the yellow glue (PVA). When the joints are really tight the glue grabs when you are putting the joints together and it is a real pain. I only use the stuff for edge gluing joints. This is just the chairmaker in me coming out. Us guys never use the PVA stuff unless we feel like crying. Use what you want, you've been warned.

Enjoy!


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Why Use A Wooden Rabbet Plane & How To Guide Them By Hand

May 29, 2014, 7:40 pm
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Rabbet planes so quickly get overlooked when it comes to making moulding. It is kinda crazy really. Because once you get into making moulding by hand you realize the rabbet plane is used for probably 90% of the cuts. Yeah no kidding.

We like to dream about all those shapely hollows & rounds and forget that they just do the final few passes and make all the hard work of the rabbet look pretty. I guess it is like how Stevie Ray Vaughan plays such awesome riffs you forget about Double Trouble. They are ONLY THE REST OF THE BAND! Its too easy to forget that without those really fat bass lines and super tight drum lines that Stevie would sound pretty lonely.

But seriously, the rabbet plane is not just an old version of a metal shoulder plane. Though it looks like its primitive cousin its function is for a totally different purpose all together. Shoulder planes are designed to remove relatively small amounts of end grain material. That is why it has a low angle of attack, around 38˚.

On the other hand rabbet planes are bedded like a typical bench plane with the  intent of removing large amounts of face grain material and quickly. No playing around here. Try and do that with a heavily set shoulder plane and it will just jam full of shavings in a hurry and feel pretty weak while doing it.

So here to remind you of the power of the rabbet plane I present two more sad low-budget videos. I know, what a let down. You might find the second video more useful though. It demonstrates how to start and guide a rabbet plane by hand (sans fence).

As always Enjoy!




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Follow My Micro Blog On Instagram @CalebJamesBlog

June 12, 2014, 12:14 pm
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I've mentioned it before but I am really good at taking quick snap shots on my cell phone camera but not following up and posting about it. As you can imagine at the end of the day I am tired and I convince myself that I will make a proper post about whatever it is that I snapped a picture of at some later point. Needless to say it just doesn't quite make it here on the blog so many times.


So, that is why I decided to post some of those regular photos on Instagram. Some of you know what that is, some of you don't. It is basically a place that you can share photos and add a comment. I have been using this app on my phone for about a year now to quickly share photos with my family around the world. It is great. I think it will be a great platform to share some of my shop notes in a digital form.

If you want to follow what happens then the best way is to download the app for your smart phone and follow the user name CalebJamesBlog. You can go here as well to see whats happening on your PC or Mac.

If you see this profile picture you got the right account.


I look forward to your feedback as I get to posting shop life.

Take care!
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Drilling The Mortise On A Moulding Plane Accurately & Efficiently By Hand

June 16, 2014, 9:41 am
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I am really excited to be sharing this method of drilling. I know I started this subject a while back on drilling by hand with a bit and brace but I never followed up on the rest of the process. The reason is, frankly, I have struggled a bit with doing this part with absolute confidence every time I approached it. Now though I have been using a new approach that has changed all that. Heres how it goes. Warning- This is a bit of a long post but it is worth it.

First off, out with the bit brace and in with the cordless drill. I know, I know but once you see the results, and I guarantee they are worth it, then you can try this with a bit brace if you want. I love my bit brace but until I find some bits that are long enough, thin enough and don't break then I am going to stick with my new method.

In fact what prompted this new method is that one of the tiny Japanese auger bits I used to drill the mortises broke. I order these from a German supplier and shipping, etc. is a real pain in the wallet. I wanted something simpler.

So then, you will need some long thin drill bits. More on where to source these at the end of the post. Lets get to the process.

The key to making this who process so simple and elegant is a drilling jig. Trust me this isn't cheesy. Whats cool is that you likely already have this jig if you make moulding planes. It is the saw guide jig. This guides your saw as you cut the bed and breast angles. Below is the jig on the plane billet. (Billet has been sawn and waste from escapement chopped away already)

Moulding plane saw guide in place

So this is how it began... I came down to the shop on one weekend before getting ready to do a big order and as I had just broken a tiny auger bit recently I was pondering a new way to get the job done. I was even considering doing the efficient approach Matt Bickford uses with the drill press. Nothing wrong with this method at all. In fact, I had already ordered some long thin drill bits just for giving this method a try. However, If you know me though, I hate to set up any kind of machine or jig. I use them only when it is the most efficient method and only when any other way is just frustrating. As I have said before, I am just too lazy to set up a jig if I don't really really have too. I promise this is not a purist notion it really is just me being lazy.

So, I was thinking about how to make the jigs work on my drill press when my new method just jumped out at me. I though, why not just flip the saw guide around to the top of the billet and then use it as a drilling guide. All that was missing was the other angle for the "lean" of the blade in the plane. 


In practice you will align the jig with your drilling location so that you can just rest your drill lightly against the jig to maintain the correct angle. This takes care of the bed and breast angles.

I figured that the "lean" angle could simply be drawn on the end of the jig and I could just approximate the angle by judging the gap between my drill bit and the drawn line. 


Use the same process on both the bed and breast angles. Then, depending on the # size of plane you are drilling, you will do as many as one or two additional holes between the bed and breast holes.


These above ones are #2s and the ones below are #4s. I always do four holes for the #2 and three holes for the #4. The center holes are just approximated but I still use the lean angles on the jig to keep that on track. 

You will want to start with some very shallow pilot holes. Just deep enough to get the bit started at a steep angle. I do this before placing the jig on the billet. Start the drill bit at 90˚ to the top and then swinging the dill to the approximate drilling angle. It helps to place the billet in the tail vise with the mortise being vertical. It is easier to approximate vertical then any other random angle. I don't try to actually apply any down pressure but just attempt to get the hole started in the right direction. You can see a "pilot" hole on the #4 plane below.


Once all of the holes are drilled then you are ready to remove the very little waste remaining. Before you start this next part it is a good idea to go back and carefully "redrill" the holes to pull any shavings out. Be careful since you can easily drill into the bed or breast. 

Now, Start at the top and just nibble your way down until you can't remove any more waste. Take little bites and clear every little nibble out so that it doesn't remain in the mortise. Hand pressure is all you need here.




Once you can't remove anymore waste then you are ready to mortise straight down the bed and breast angle. Again, take light blows and alternate from bed to breast until you are through. As long as you can get a float into the mortise and start clearing things out you are done. It is easy to get really stuck so do as little as is needed in this position.

By the way if you have never made a plane then the video from Old Street Tools is the one to get. It will make this post more understandable. Larry Williams and Lie-Nielsen did a fantastic job on explaining how to make a pair of hollow and round moulding planes. Get it if you don't have it.

The crucial tool to make this possible is the long thin drill bits. You will need to special order these very likely. I want to mention that Bill Anderson who teaches at The Woodwrights School emailed me a while back and turned me on to this source. Thanks Bill! 



Above is a photo of the list of drill bits I own from McMaster-Carr just for drilling these holes. I primarily use the smaller bits since those are the hardest to find that are long enough.

You will still need to grind these into a brad point bit. It isn't really hard but it is intimidating if you have never done it.  Peter Galbert taught me this method and he has two great posts on his blog from years ago on how to do it. Post #1& #2. If I where you, I would practice on some used up bits you have lying around. Don't be intimidated. Give it a try and you will feel empowered and surprised at what a little know how can do for you. No need to buy those expensive HSS brad points when you can grind your own. 

After all is said and done I just like how so many people can have an effect on how we personally reach an efficient and accurate way to our work. 

Keep sharing!

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Riving Beech For Wooden Planes

June 20, 2014, 10:40 am
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So, I am reluctant to admit that I haven't had success riving beech. Why am I reluctant? I really can't say why. I guess I love the idea and frankly the crazy efficiency of riving wood. To those that haven't tried it then it is just mind blowing how quickly you can go form log to working wood. Add to that the way perfectly straight grain wood works has no comparison. You'll wonder why you have been wasting your time with all the sawn stuff. Anyways I love riven wood, OBVIOUSLY. But unfortunately I have not been so fortunate with the beech that I have produced planes from.

Let me explain with a photo. I think it says it all.


I really wish I could find the picture of me trying to split the log this came from. It was like 40" in diameter and had about 10 wedges in it when I gave up and went to rent the biggest chain saw I could get my hands on with a 24" blade. 


If you look closely the fibers follow all the contours. The wood really had that much curl. The distance between the curls is about 7-1/2". That is the biggest curl I have ever seen. 

Anyways, I know that there must be some American beech out there somewhere that is good riving wood. I have yet to find it. It appears the European stuff is much more cooperative from what I read. Until I find some that cooperates with my wedges and froe then I will have to stick with my saw. I still follow the fibers as straight as I can. 

There has been one advantage that seems clear to me and that is the billets that come out of this wood are practically indestructible. I have put some real pressure on thin mortise walls just to test them. They are so tough and that applies to the wedges as well. 

Let me know your experience if you have light to shed on the subject.





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Moulding Planes at Woodworking In America 2014

June 24, 2014, 8:51 am
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I guess it is about time to officially announce that I will be at Woodworking In America 2014. I decided not to tag along with Peter Galbert this year. We though about recreating the fantastic four crew of 2013 but seeing as another person is going to be in the bunch then I decided to not be a fifth wheel. Sorry Pete! There always has to be that one guy that leaves the band and messes everything up. :) One good album and its all over after that... never to be heard from again. Lets hope that last parts doesn't happen.

Oh, I will have my booth right next to Pete's though. Haha!

Ok, down to business. I will have a 1/2 set of hollows and rounds on hand for your perusal and a number of bench planes but especially a panel raiser along with a couple complex profile planes and side beads. It should be fun so come over and try making some profiles or watch me if you prefer.

If you are really into wooden planes then you might have extra motivation to come since you will find Matt Bickford there as well. He will be one of the speakers also. I've never met Matt so it should be fun to converse with another modern maker.

You might find it odd that I would promote another planemaker but there is enough work to go around for everyone and I must say that I appreciate his book on moulding plane use. It needed to be written. In fact I was hesitating moving into making planes for others until I saw that he was writing it. Its hard to sell a product to the general masses when nearly everyone with the exception of a few don't know where to begin with them. I wrote a review on his book when it came out if you aren't familiar with it. Thanks Matt for writing it and thanks to Lost Art Press for making the publishing of such a book possible in the first place.

OK lets wrap this up. Come on out to Woodworking in America 2014 in Winston-Salem, NC between September 12-14. Its going to be a blast!
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Planemaking And Chairmaking Classes In The Works! *PLUS* Surprise Visitors To The Shop!

July 23, 2014, 8:43 am
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So, yesterday I had a nice surprise. If you keep up with chairmaker Glen Rundell then you know he has been touring the Eastern half of the United States over the past few weeks. Mostly hanging with Pete and the gang up in Massachusetts, doing the Lie-Nielsen open house (which I missed, ugh!) and things like that. Glen hails from down under in Melbourne. He has come a long way to get some fresh inspiration to take back home with him.

Anyway, Glen was in Virginia taking a class with Jeff Lefkowitz, who teaches the chairmaking courses for Brian Boggs and after the class they loaded up and came down for a visit to the shop. It was a very pleasant surprise.

Left to right; Claire, Caleb, Jeff, Glen

Truthfully, he gave me a day or so notice, so I had good motivation to clean up the shop. I am in the middle of paneling the walls. More on that later. And my wife made some enchiladas verdes as a special treat for lunch. Handmade corn tortillas, umm. She's a Canadian that cooks some good Tex-Mex. Got to love it! (I am really getting off track here)

As I filled them in on the goings on around here I realized I haven't been blogging much lately. I am not one for fluff or filler on the blog but I think maybe I should share with everyone else as well. As I was telling Glen and Jeff, I am planning on taking one half of my shop and dedicating it to a classroom and am almost halfway there. I get pushed by just about every craftsman I know, that I should be teaching classes. I get requests on an ongoing basis as well. I am finally coming around to the idea.



I am looking at, of course, teaching some planemaking classes. Possibly a four day class on making a pair of hollows and rounds and a rabbet plane. I may split these up as two different classes. These would be a really good start and you can make the majority of planes based on those two formats.

The other classes would be some introductory classes on chairmaking. One will be on making a Danish modern stool which will include lathe work, joinery and danish cord weaving. A two or three day class depending on size. The other will be a three leg windsor stool that will have lathe work, hand drilling, reaming and seat carving. Probably a three day class as well depending on size.

I am up in the air about prices as of yet. It has a lot to do with class size and demand. I have room for about six students at a time though I would tend to want the class sizes a bit smaller. We will see.

Send me any suggestions or classes you would prefer to see available so that I can plan accordingly. I am not asking for a commitment but if you are a reader of this blog and see a class here or something related to what I do that you would like to take at some point, then let me know. Your feedback will make a difference.

Thanks and I hope you are enjoying your summer!


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