Plane Till Magnets

My plane till is handy, has held the working planes for several years without incident but....There's that damn but again...Because it is not at a high angle I've worried about someone or something coming along and knocking one or more of the planes out of the till.

A couple of days ago I decided to build in a little insurance by mounting a rare earth magnet in each slot. The magnets might not prevent all chances of the planes hitting the floor but it will be much harder to dislodge one now.

As always with simple fixes like this one you wonder what took so long.

The Last of the Bench Planes

This is the last of the bench planes, again I'm mostly doing this to have a record of my tools stored somewhere other than my home computer. I figure if there is a fire the computer record will be gone as well as the tools.  There are three #8 sized planes, in the foreground is a LN #8, next is a type 9 Stanley #8, and the ECE Jointer. While the LN is a beautiful well made plane and is a joy to hold and use for a short period of time, the Stanley and the ECE get most of the work because they are light and much less tiring to use.

BTW, I added some rare earth magnets to the plane till. Photos when I have time. 

The #7 planes

I have few of the longer planes, mostly because the machines do most of my scut work. As much as I would love to re-claim the square footage used by the table saw, planer, jointer, and dust collection, my occasional four square of rough lumber nips that wish while it's still forming. Long live the iron apprentices.

Here are the #7s:

The shop made wood stock wasn't meant to stay that long, I had planed to cut it off to no more than "Jack" length but it works pretty good at the current size and I never got around to cutting it shorter. The Record next to it was one of the first "good" planes I acquired, mail order from Garrett Wade IIRC back in the 70's or early 80's, at about the same time the ECE in the #8 group followed me home. The type 9 Stanley in the background is the one of this group that is used the most.

Bath Vanity

Not a lot of progress on the vanity but some, spent most of the day at the dentist getting a crown replaced and then running the streets. Also did a little shop maintenance, more about that once finished and I have photos.

The other day I rough dimensioned the legs and they have been sitting long enough to have finished stress movement. They are now, other than length, to finished size and I did the rough marking out. Tomorrow I'll take them to finished length and do the final marking of the mortices....Maybe even chop a couple.

Here is the basic plan for the vanity:

A really rough drawing:

And the legs marked out:

I expect the vanity construction will follow my usual draw bored M&T joints where able, dovetails and housed dado's for the other joinery. In other words KISS but strong.

The #6 sized planes

I have very few #6's.

From left to right a shop made with a Hock O1 iron, a type 9 Stanley #6C with a Hock O1 iron and chip breaker, and last a Woodriver #6 with a Vertias O1 iron. They are all good planes but I would guess the least used of my planes.

I need to do the first day off of the week street running this AM, the usual stop for gas, pick up the cleaning, go to the wood store and Home depot, pick up my meds, then Costco for everything else. I hope there is a little time and energy left for shop time before beer-thirty this afternoon. Oh, one other thing...I'm expecting the UPS girl to stop by sometime today with some goodies, pics if she makes it (of the goodies not the UPS girl :-)). 

Bitch of a Friday

A little backstory. To stay qualified to instruct in a Simulator I have to fly a FAR 135.297/293 check ride every 6 months. This time my TCE (Training Center Evaluator) needed to have his TCE renewal done while he checked me. Can you see how convoluted it can get especially when you add in a young PITA "Fed" observing the TCE giving the check.

In spite of not having touched the controls of a Sim since the last time I was checked (six months ago) and being older than dirt as well as blind and deaf, I flew a pretty good ride. Where the bitch of a Friday comes in was with the PITA "Fed" questioning this and that with the checking TCE during and before the ride which should take four hours max ended up being over seven hours. Add in that seven hours plus after we finished my check I had to do a final Sim period for a client that was going for a "Type Check" the next morning.  My duty day was a solid twelve hours, of which the only enjoyable part was the last with the client.

I'm getting too old for that kind of happy horse pucky.  

Starting on The Cherry Vanity

SWMBO has been on my case to build a vanity for the hall bath for some time. After showing her several different woods she picked Cherry. I found a couple of nice 8/4 Cherry boards, one a true 8/4, and several true 4/4 ones at my local independent wood seller's place a couple or three weeks ago. This AM I started rough dimensioning the Cherry. Once cut to rough sizes I'll let it sit for several weeks to finish doing its stupid wood tricks before taking it to working size. Anyway I can now say "Why yes dear, I've started on the vanity", it should buy me a little time.

Here is the start, cutting the leg blank boards to size:

Truing the edges so the blanks can be ripped:

Blanks to rough size:

Logarithmic Spiral Holdfast

Some time ago I read about using a logarithmic spiral to hold work on the bench top. I can't remember where so as to give credit but whatever this isn't new just new to me. Anyway when I read about it I kinda filed it away as one of those ideas that might work but would not be life changing.

Last night a pinched nerve in my right arm woke me in the middle of the night. When that happens about the only thing that relieves the pain is to get up and sometimes a little use of the arm helps. OK Bubba enough back story cut to the chase.

With nothing better to do I made one to try. It works. I don't think it would replace a holdfast with a doe's foot on my bench but it works and I expect if the bench dog holes were placed with using a logarithmic spiral in mind it would work very well.

Here is a photo:

As you should be able to see, the arm from the pivot point gets progressive longer which pinches the work against a baton/stop as it is moved from right to left and releases as the work is moved left to right.  Actually it is pretty slick and with correctly placed dog holes could work very well.

Tru Oil

Finished the little box today along with taking care of MsOK and shop maintenance. The box was 'because", mostly because I hadn't cut a set of dove tails in awhile.

I picked up a small bottle of Tru Oil several weeks ago and because this box is a "What scraps can I find to saw some dovetails and maybe if there are enough put a lid on a box" box. I tried the Tru Oil, it's OK. I expect if I used several coats with rubbing out after each coat set it would look very nice. As this is a because box one coat is about it and with just one coat Tru Oil is nothing to get excited about.

I did some tool maintenance along with the shop maintenance, got careless with the 4 1/2's iron and took a slice off the end of my left thumb right after it was sharpened. Nice thing about sharp iron, you do not know you're cut until you see the blood flowing. I still had the glue pot hot. A little hot hide glue and a paper towel stopped the flow fairly quickly.

Grinding Station

I set up a new Grinding station today. Picked up a CBN wheel the other day, Amazon delivered a Tormek grinder jig, I added a couple of hunks of ply and I have a new faster way to grind the bevel. Is it better than the T-7, we will see but one thing is for sure....It's faster.

The Tormek BGM-100 kit is worth the money, it has everything you need except the ply:

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Making a Small Box This AM

I hadn't cut a dovetail in a couple of weeks, can't let that happen too often for too long. I think it was Ralph that said if it has been some time between now and the last time you did a procedure you had better do a couple of practice joints before doing one for keeps.

Anyway if you pick your woods, in this case Maple and Spanish Cedar, you can hide a lot of rust. I've some Walnut already trued that will make the top and bottom. Still, bottom line it's going to be a "second" and will end up in the gift pile.

The box in progress:

I'll start rough dimensioning the bath vanity this afternoon, that and shop maintenance should take care of today. One of the shop maintenance items will be setting up the new CBN wheel with a Tormek tool rest/chisel-plane iron jig.

I like the Tormek for the precision and cool cutting but it is, as is well known, slow. The CBN wheel works reasonably cool and is much faster. While I keep the Shaptons available I'm always trying to get away from water.  BTW, I still love me some oil stones but they are slow, will not work well with all my chisels, and need a strop to finish.

The CBN wheel and Spyderco stone, which will cut any tool iron, will allow me to eliminate water for 90/95% of my sharpening and requires no more stone maintenance than oil stones.

That's the plan.

Number 5 Sized Planes

Continuing to document my tools. Photographed on the new coffee table with Sam the Wonder Dog guarding them in his usual alert fashion.

From left to right: A shop made Beech Krenov style with a Veritas single tapered iron, a LN with a PM-V11 iron, a type 11 Stanley with a heavy cambered OEM iron, another type 11 Stanley with Stanley iron, a type 9 Stanley with OEM iron, a Woodriver with PM-V11 iron, and a Tsunesaburo 70mm with a Swedish Sandvik carbon steel iron.  

The Dirty Fat Girl is For Sale

There is a time for all things in life. A time to do and a time to stop. It is time to stop riding motorcycles. I've been on the cusp for a little over a year, it has been such a big part of my life I didn't know how I would take just walking away so I've put off the finial decision. This last week I was helped to that decision by a client who needed "The Conversation". Telling someone they are too old and no longer have the skills to fly is one of the hardest things we do....It's hard for the client, it's hard for the instructor. I have never wanted to impose the duty on anyone. I walked away from flying seven years ago, a job that let this dumb West Texas farm boy see more of the world and do things that most never see or do. It was a good life. My riding has also been a good life, I've done things I've always wanted to do e.g. riding coast to cost in less than 50 hours, going to Sturges with good friends, and other long rides through day and night in all weather and conditions from 13 degrees at night to 118 degrees mid afternoon through Death Valley. It has been great but it is now time to hang up my Motoport and Shoei for the last time.

As the title of this post says, The Dirty Fat Girl is for sale. She is a '08 Goldwing with less than 90,000 miles, built for Rallies and long distance riding in all weather. Some of the major mods are: Mega Monte Traxxon suspension, Phillps 4G HID running lights, three Garmin GPS, radar detector with laser shifter and screamer, trailer hitch, Windbender with farkel shelf and rake kit, new heated seat, Centramatic wheel balancers, reading light, TPMS. to name a few of the useful mods. There will also be lots of accessories for sale including three Motoport Kelvar riding suits, a couple of Fox Creek leather jackets, and many boots, helmets, heated undergear and other stuff.

The price for The Dirty Fat Girl is fair for both the seller and the buyer and is firm at $12000 USD.

From the front:

Number 4 Sized Planes

Damn there is a herd of those suckers.

From left to right:LN #4 with LV PM-V11 iron, LN 41/2 with Veritas O-1iron, Type 9 Stanley with Hock O-1, Veritas Smoother with PM-V11, shop made Beech stock with Veritas tapered single iron, a type 13 Stanley with Hock O-1, a Record #4 with Hock O-1, The Record #4 was the first "good' plane I acquired back in the mid 70's, then a type 13 Stanley's with a PM-V11 iron, and last a early (could be a type 9) Stanley Frankenplane with a small adjustment knob and Woodriver iron.

Insanity

It, insanity, happens when I have more than two days off in a row with nothing but shop time planned. For some reason I think if I just stir it around some more I can fit ten pounds of poop into that metaphorical five pound bag. I keep trying but the results are mostly the same.

I did a total re-arrange of the machine area of the shop today. Bottom line there is too much stuff in not enough space and no amount of moving it around will change that fact by much but today's changes did give the machine area or at least the area between the machines and the bench area a more open feel. That's about all I can hope for.

Here's a bad photo looking into the shop.

Along the east wall, to the right side of the table saw, is a walk way and wood storage. the good news most of the machine work is with the jointer and planer and they have more space for working than they had with the old arrangement.

I've been thinking about this change for several months and while not a big improvement I think it will make for an easier work flow.

Planes #3 Sized

Over on the Sawmill Creek forum is a thread to show your working planes. I've posted most of these images there. While posting I started thinking about having a record of my wood working tools for insurance purposes and where would be a good place to store that record. This blog drew the short straw.

I'll try to keep the boredom level as low as possible but over the next several weeks there will be posts with photographs of my tools starting with my #3 sized working planes.

From left to right: A shop made Krenov style smoother with a Hock O1 iron, a type 13 Stanley with a Hock O1 iron, a V3 Woodriver with a Vertias O1 iron, a post war Stanley with a Hock O1 iron, another Krenov style smoother also with Hock O1 iron, and last a Philly Coffin Smoother with a O1 single iron. Of this group I use the first Krenov and the Woodriver more than the others. The Philly smoother is new and still getting over the shock of moving from the UK to the desert. Once it stops doing stupid wood tricks I expect it will be one of the go to smoothers.

BTW, they are setting on the back side of a Walnut coffee table top that was still being flattened. The front side was almost finished, I used a LN #8 on it and the #8 kicked my butt, I got smart on the back side and dug out the woody, so much better. I do love me some wood stock planes.


After getting most of the high spots down with the woody I used a type 9 Stanley #8 with a Hock O1 iron and chip breaker to finish the job. The LN planes are beautiful and work superbly but damn they are heavy and on something like this slab of table top the weight will turn old arms and backs to jello.  Once the table top was flattened and smoothed the Krenov woody pictured above left was used to relive the bottom edge to give a lighter look to the coffee table. I've no better plane for that type of job because of its light weight and the plane's shape allows using both hands and working in either direction.

Coffee Table Finished

The coffee table is finished. Well almost, I still have to attach the top which I will do tomorrow. I've had enough fun for today, my back is yelling No Mas No Mas followed by Cerveza Por Favor.  I think I'm going to listen.

Walnut Glue Up

I did the coffee table top glue up yesterday after work. Pulled it out of the clamps this AM and have started the clean up. I was pulled away before I could wipe down the "runners" and of course paying the price today. I have to learn to say "wait a minute".

Even with the PITA glue clean up it shouldn't take too long to finish the top and make the mortise buttons. I expect a couple or three coats of Tried and True with Bee's Wax for the finish and I can walk away from it and on to the next.

Coffee Table Base

The coffee table base is pegged and waiting a little top rail clean up and the top. Sorry Ralph, no photos of the draw boring as there wasn't much to photograph. A bath vanity is next on the list of honeydos, I'll try to remember and document each step of the draw boring process. BTW, on the long stretchers I used the draw bore pins to get everything tight and alined, it was easier than using long clamps. For the short stretchers clamps were easier.

It's in the den just to get it out of the way, back out to the shop later to finish cleanup and finishing before adding the top.

Coffee Table Short Rows

The coffee table base has been dry fitted, the draw bore holes drilled, and I've started chopping the twelve button mortises in the stretchers. Once the button mortises are finished the stretchers and the legs need final shaping and smoothing before pegging that sucker together.

I've some very nice 6/4 Walnut for the top and maybe a couple of days off this weekend to finish the top.  The coffee table could be doing coffee table duties by sometime next week.

I've SWMBO entertainment duties the following weekend before starting the next couple of projects; a bath vanity for my bathroom and a tall side board for the dining room. So many project, so little time.

Of course so little time could be because of the shop "black hole effect", as one of MsOK's friends put it "everything goes it but nothing comes out".