New content from St. Roy of Underhill

[D_W]

Given the use of hollows & rounds to touch-in places where it was tricky for the moulding plane (grain dive, etc.), I wondered: when moulding planes were supplied, did the makers specify the curves being cut in H+R numbers, or were they standardised shapes/sizes and a thing a joiner or cabinetmaker was expected to know?

Someone who has more planes than I do and who has been through more can confirm this, but I don't think there was universal standardization of anything. I bought a box of 45 moulding planes at one point, and no single plane with a number on the end matched any others. That is, if I had 3 #12 rounds in the box, all of them were drastically different.

I think a cabinetmaker would get a matched set (or perhaps put together a mixed set and mate the planes to each other) and become familiar with them and then just know what to use/lay out based on personal experience with the set. I have chosen to make mine when I need a pair (to date, I've only had to make four pairs) due to the difficulty of finding a good set over here for a reasonable price, and the fact that any set that's not in use will still require some tuning.

Trying to find some standardization, even in the amount of arc included in the rounds - it can vary some. Even that can drive you nutty.

I recall discussing with Larry Williams that the most useful thing from his H&R video was the list of measurements, arcs, etc, and that's something that he developed. He said his wife (I hope I'm remembering these details) thought he was nuts for giving that information away, so it's not something he just pulled from a historic text.

 

[Carl P]

I have had the same experience with hollows & rounds - only general rule seems to be the bigger the No., the wider the plane. I have a mostly complete half set of H&R's, and the numbers/width are not entirely consistent within them. (They are by Hields of Nottingham and all have the same owners stamp)

Cheerio,

Carl

 

[AndyT]

I do agree that you shouldn't expect consistency of sizing from one hollow or round to another. In practice it doesn't matter - you approach the size and shape stroke by stroke, not all in one go like you might with a powered router or spindle moulder.
Once you have accepted that, it makes sense to give shelf space to more than one plane per size if they come your way.
Pretty soon you notice that you have planes which looked similar at first glance, but have different pitch angles, or have skewed irons.
The idea of a "full set" disappears pleasantly into the distance... :wink:

 

[arnoldmason8]

Hi All
Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? When I try to access the Roy Underwood videos nothing happens !!!!!!
Do I have to log in?

Please help ----- Regards--- Arnold

 

[Racers]

No log in needed, do you have flash player installed?

Pete

 

[AndyT]

Hi All
Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? When I try to access the Roy Underwood videos nothing happens !!!!!!
Do I have to log in?

Please help ----- Regards--- Arnold

No, you don't have to log in.

The system that UNCTV use does appear slightly complicated - it will insist on loading an advert first, and sometimes a sponsor's message too, before redirecting to the video you want, so if you are running adblocking software, turn it off for the UNCTV site.

I find it more reliable on a PC than on a phone or tablet - so if you have a choice of devices, try a different one.

(You can create an account and log in - which will give you better quality video - but there's no point in doing that if you can't get the video content to play in the first place.)

 

[Eric The Viking]

UNCTV make The Woodwright's Shop, but I believe they no longer host and stream their content, having devolved that task to the national PBS site. It makes sense for cost and good engineering reasons too.

You shouldn't have to log in.

I find that this side of the Pond, the PBS server can be a bit flaky, and, although I used to get the WWS stuff streamed in high definition (HD), now I only get low quality.

I *think* they are now using HTML5 instead of Flash - good because of security issues with Flash, but more resource intensive and less standardized. I usually watch on my tablet: a few years ago it was all fine and worked well. Then an 'upgrade' broke the capability in all browsers except Dolphin (i.e. neither the Android one nor Firefox worked). Now all three do work, but not very well. In full screen they occasionally hang the tablet, which is unnerving at best. none of them will display content as HD (although there are several possible reasons for that, beyond PBS's control).

Check your security settings for the PBS web site, too. You might have some anti-virus something disabling the required codec to make videos play correctly.

 

[Racers]

When I right click on the video it says Flash version 19.

Pete

 

[Eric The Viking]

I think it serves different formats depending on the client.

 

[arnoldmason8]

Hi All --- Thanks for the info. Flash player is loaded but did have trouble on one site trying to watch a video when the site said it could not find it but a few days later it worked again!! I have also had problems with updating flash player where youtube said I was using an old version even after it had been updated. For some reason the updated file does not seem to be recognised by the computer. I fear the cure is beyond my expertese.

Thanks again ----Arnold

 

[AndyT]

I just happened to glance at the UNCTV site, and found that another full length episode has appeared in the last month or so. It covers a subject I've not seen covered in any detail anywhere before - making a coffin. A plain pine one, demonstrating how to get the distinctive shape and how to bend the sides in. As it's Roy Underhill, the episode is not a sombre one, and there are some jokes included.

He follows directions in a book by the prolific Paul N Hasluck, originally published in 1905 in the Cassells "Mechanics' Manuals" series. Though rare as a used book, there have been a couple of modern reprints so it's easily available, for a few quid. You can see a Google Books preview of one of the reprints here. There are numerous print-on-demand offerings from the usual sources and you can even get it to read on your Kindle.

Joking aside, it's interesting to see the simple but effective techniques, and it could be useful to anyone wanting or needing to avoid the expensive commercial options.

 

[Bluekingfisher]

I just happened to glance at the UNCTV site, and found that another full length episode has appeared in the last month or so. It covers a subject I've not seen covered in any detail anywhere before - making a coffin. A plain pine one, demonstrating how to get the distinctive shape and how to bend the sides in. As it's Roy Underhill, the episode is not a sombre one, and there are some jokes included.

He follows directions in a book by the prolific Paul N Hasluck, originally published in 1905 in the Cassells "Mechanics' Manuals" series. Though rare as a used book, there have been a couple of modern reprints so it's easily available, for a few quid. You can see a Google Books preview of one of the reprints here. There are numerous print-on-demand offerings from the usual sources and you can even get it to read on your Kindle.

Joking aside, it's interesting to see the simple but effective techniques, and it could be useful to anyone wanting or needing to avoid the expensive commercial options.

Indeed an odd topic, however many years ago I befriended a cabinet maker working from railway arches in Brixton, South London. Many of his methods were traditional with limited power tools on hand.

After I had known him for a time he would allow me to wander into his shop for a cup of tea and a chat. I couldn't help but notice a stack of what looked like coffins piled up toward the back of the arch. They were indeed coffins made mainly from construction grade plywood. It just seemed odd to see them there. He explained that when work dried up or was between jobs he would build as many as he could, as the demand for them was always high. I don't recall asking him who would buy such basic looking coffins, perhaps hospitals and the like were likely customers where the next of kin for the deeased could not be found or for those destined for a paupers grave?

I recall thinking, what a sad why to end your time on this mortal plane, dumped in a plywood box. Still, when your dead, your dead, no manner of fancy mahogany coffin would make you any less comfortable.

I suspect the fancy coffins are for the benefit of the living, not the deceased.

David

 

[Eric The Viking]

A few years ago, Steve Maskery and I were privileged to be given a tour of Yandles by the MD. He explained the business really took off in the nineteenth century, supplying coffin sets to London, about the time that the big cemeteries opened on its perimeter, at Brookwood and Highgate. They used mainly local elm, and continued to supply the capital until Dutch Elm disease in the 1960s meant their supply dried up. They still make funerary urns, and a small amount of coffins, I believe.