Recent content by Bedrock

Bought the mini shoulder plane some years ago. Don't use it everyday, but for quick cleaning up of narrow grooves and rebate corners, it's fine.

As you say, I doubt our elm is the same type as yours, but it is no good for burning - smoke and no heat. The only downside that I have found is that furniture beetle seems to love it. I have used ebony for small chisels/carving tools for Netsuke, but I think it splits with heavy hitting...

I have re-handled a set of 4 bevel edged chisels with elm. Not sure whether it grows in the States, but it has a good interlocking grain, and takes a deal of abuse. We lost a lot of elm trees back in the 70s to Dutch Elm Disease, but I have been able to buy from time to time. Used for seats for...

Having sold my P/T before we moved, and not yet replaced it, I bought a European scrub plane for £12 and have to say I am totally converted. My plane has no maker's mark on the blade or body, but it works, so who cares. Seeing the prices Jacob mentions, I am even more pleased.

Phew, a lot of this is over my head, but thank you all for your detailed explanations. The blade I have, which I suspect is bearing steel is used for carving netsuke in Ebony, Boxwood and African Blackwood. I have also made my own tools for this work from O1, HS, masonry nails and worn out small...

Does anyone have any information as to what this is, and how it compares with say O1? It was mentioned in a recent article in Carving magazine as being used in carving tools by a niche tool maker. I have one of their small carving tools, which does seem to keep a very sharp edge, but I am not...

You can achieve quite a lot by hand turning brass, as long as you can hold securely in a woodturning chuck. Negative rake cutting angle, it then is easy to raise/lower the cutting edge to find the sweet spot. I use a re-purposed HSS tool. Hand turning mild steels is also possible, but more...

Picked up on this belatedly. When I was a kid, my parents gave my brother and I, a childrens' tool set in a nice wooden box. I still have the hammer, a Mahwood bevel edge chisel, and a beech plane like yours, just under 6" long, with a 1 1/2" blade, is simply marked Sheffield. Some time ago, I...

Whilst I agree with Mike G that the floor level should be at least 150mm/6" above the surrounding ground level, it was standard build for new build for the top soil to be excavated, blinded and then 6" of oversite concrete before the dpm gets laid. This would then be covered with insulation and...

I agree that it is elm, but I too would worry about the woodworm. I have used it from time to time for chair seats, and it is a beautiful timber. The grain is generally all over the place which lends to it's attraction, but I would check with a hand plane before you buy or commit to a project...

If you ever get the chance to go to one of their twice yearly open days, it is worth the trip. I am not sure there can be a better site for a workshop, at the top of a wooded valley, in the South Downs National Park, near Petersfield. Apart from the showroom, where the pieces are an inspiration...

I also have acquired in a job lot, a range of spoon bits. Never tried them. Is there a particular job for which they were designed?

As a semi-regular attendee at the Barnsley open days, they definitely have industrial sanders, spindle moulders, et al. They were also using what looked like an aviation spec. alloy honeycomb sandwich material as a core in an MDF/veneered sandwich, to ensure a consistently flat, forever surface...

Thanks Tony - that's very helpful. Thus far, even when sharpened the bullnose version has a tendency to tear out the surface when drilling cross-grain. May be a sharpening problem?

Hopefully, I can piggy-back on Andy T's neat bit of brass work, but it is sort of relevant. I am increasingly using a brace and bit for speed and accuracy. I have accumulated three different types of bit. The first type is what seems to be the most prevalent in car boot sales and is similar to...