This Afternoon at Chisels....

[woodbloke]

Went round to Chisels (Paul) 'shop this afternoon and had a really good time, played around with all sorts of very nice toys....very impressed with the LN low angle BU planes, not much IMO to choose between the LN and LV planes. Paul also very kindly let me use his large Startrite bandsaw to resaw a couple of bits of English Walnut to use as the lining for my Comp casket, so many thanks for that Paul and again for giving me all sorts of do's and don'ts about using chain saws, definitely got me thinking on that one. We had a delve into Paul's woodshed and came up with this:

which I may have in mind for a plane making project :wink:.....but does anyone have any idea what it is? It looks like ash, but isn't and is pretty hard and heavy,it's got a density of 38lbs/cu. We thought it might be hornbeam, but on looking at my LN chisel handles (couldn't compare it to Pauls chisels 'cos he's got the cocobolo handles....small gloat for you Paul ) it's clearly not and besides, referring to one of my books, hornbeam has a density of 50lbs/cu'. Any ideas?

I should have taken some pics of Paul's lathe...just about one of the most droolworthy bits of kit I've ever seen.....mega impressive, as is the stuff made on it. Paul, thank's for all the bits of timber, it's all been salted away in my 'shop, will probably resaw the spalted sycamore for another small casket, need to unload the oak from the Landy..... oh, thanks for the mushrooms :wink:

Will call in PFT re a 'Y' lever as promised and let you know what the situation is. Seem also to have ended up with an extra pair of red handled snipe nosed pliers :lol: , will let you have your pair back next time I see you. Thanks again for the afternoon and the excellent hospitality - Rob

 

[Anonymous]

The wood looks very like Acacia...

 

[dickm]

The wood looks very like Acacia...

That was my first thought too. The acacia I have used has been a bit more yellow than that, bur it's certainly hard. Don't think it's hornbeam, which usually has less prominent grain.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Sounds like you had quite a drooly sort of time

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[paulm]

Had a great day too Rob.

Seeing the legendary comp' casket in real life just confirmed how impressive it is, both the design, and the execution. The mitres are spot on and if I hadn't seen the pics on the forum thread I wouldn't believe they were secret dovetails to boot ! :shock: =D> =D> =D>

Sorry about Lottie the whippet who now has you earmarked as her new best friend and wouldn't leave you alone, and for dropping that piece of oak on your foot ! :lol:

Was great to see you do some sample dovetails and have a masterclass in some of the finer details and your results weren't too shabby as the pictures below show :lol:

Of course I think I added a lot by cleaning them up a little more with the smoother after you left :shock: :lol:

Shame about the Stanley melting Y lever made out of cheese or whatever it was that resisted our attempts at silver soldering, think when I can get my hands on a replacement it will be a job for the superglue and pin approach instead.

If SWMBO lets me back in the workshop today after yesterdays indulgences then I'm minded to work on making that mallet we talked about and possibly the long overdue shooting board as well, although I really should practice some dovetails as well. So many things to do and so little time !

Great day Rob and look forwards to doing it again!

Cheers, Paul.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Shame about the Stanley melting Y lever made out of cheese or whatever it was that resisted our attempts at silver soldering, think when I can get my hands on a replacement it will be a job for the superglue and pin approach instead.

The pin and superglue method works really well, Paul. I've been using the planes with Y levers Rob kindly extended for me using both the silver solder and pin and superglue methods, and they've both been fine. If you get really stuck for a replacement, I could let you have a spare one already extended, although PFT always have a box full of old plane parts so you should be able to get one without too much trouble.

Lottie sounds a bit scary :shock: :lol:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[paulm]

Hi Paul,

Gives me an excuse to go to PFT again in the next few weeks and have a rummage around for some bits and pieces and pick up some suitable superglue at the same time.

Lottie's not too scary, just a little whippet, but a bit overexcitable with new friends !

Cheers, Paul.

 

[paulm]

The wood looks very like Acacia...

That was my first thought too. The acacia I have used has been a bit more yellow than that, bur it's certainly hard. Don't think it's hornbeam, which usually has less prominent grain.

Not sure it's acacia as it was cut from a bit of old woodland rather than a garden.

I suspect it may be hawthorn. The bark is very light grey and the trunk pretty gnarly with lots of callouses. Can't find a picture anywhere of the timber but found this description which seems to suit also:

"White streaky or pale pinkish. Tough hard and heavy wood. Uses of wood - Walking sticks, tool handles, engraving and all turnery. Good firewood."

Obviously disregard the last bit about firewood !!! :shock: :lol:

Cheers, Paul.

 

[woodbloke]

Paul - not sure about hawthorn (remember the root?). I cut one of these down some years ago and grubbed out the root, the timber as I recollect had very definite pink markings throughout - Rob

 

[paulm]

Paul - not sure about hawthorn (remember the root?). I cut one of these down some years ago and grubbed out the root, the timber as I recollect had very definite pink markings throughout - Rob

Hmmm, you could be right Rob. I suddenly remembered we have a large hawyhorn growing in the hedgrerow on one side of the garden !

Took a piece of bark over to compare and doesn't look similar at all really :?

Can't imagine what else it might be.........

Tried some dovetails this afternoon but was a bit tired by then (thats my excuse !) and they turned out pretty rough

Forgot to score the waste areas more deeply to provide a seating for the chisel, amongst other things, so got into a bit of a mess but hopefully nothing a bit of practice won't fix now that I've seen the right approach to them !

Cheers, Paul.

 

[woodbloke]

Paul - keep on practicing the d/t's, they will get better. We talked about making a shooting board and it really is an excellent bit of kit for preparing end grain for this sort of game. Whilst the cut from your chop saw is square it's still from a saw blade and that makes it more difficult to pick up on fine marking lines done with a really sharp knife. The finish from a shooting board on end grain however is planed and you'll find it much easier to see the knife lines. I would also mount that Record vice that you had on the floor onto your bench as it will give a much more secure vice to hold the timber, also that Anglepoise light would I think be better placed if it were to shine directly onto the joint, as I recollect it seemed to be shining over the left shoulder......hope I'm not going on too much but they're all points that will help you make better joints. Going into town on the 'morrow on my bike (weather permitting) so will have a gander into PFT as I'll probably be passing :roll: and see what the score is re oldish planes and a 'Y' lever - Rob

 

[paulm]

Well, got a little bit of time in the workshop this afternoon and took your advice Rob and Paul and knocked up a shooting board at last, long overdue

Works well with the low angle jack .

Haven't had a chance to make a mallet or practice more dovetails yet but we'll see what I can fit in tomorrow.

Cheers, Paul.

 

[Paul Chapman]

That looks excellent, Paul If you haven't done so already, I find that if you keep the piece of the board on which the plane runs well waxed, it helps the plane to run nicely and also helps to stop the board wearing. Don't put any on the top piece or it will cause the work piece to slide around a bit.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[paulm]

Good idea about the wax Paul, I had wondered whether to finish the running surfaces at least with something.

Cheers, Paul.

 

[woodbloke]

Excellent looking shooting board....bet it works well with the LN low angle jack - Rob

 

[engineer one]

paul chapman, i to have made the basis of an mdf shooting board
and just have to put the cherry end stop in place later.
however question, how do you stop the plane wearing away the mdf along the surface where you hold the wood??

i will be using an LN No 9 ( gloat later :? :twisted: )
and that tends to have a flat blade, at least mine, so if you do not overhang the wood, the surely the blade will cut into the mdf. so what do you do, and how long before you have to produce a new one??

another paul :wink:

 

[Paul Chapman]

Hi another Paul,

If you read the first page of Alf's excellent piece on how to make a shooting board, she explains it there probably better than I can http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/rocketscience.html

Alternatively, just make it and start using it and it will all become self-apparent :wink:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[engineer one]

thanks paul that makes some sense.

it is of course what i thought :twisted: :roll: but you have to ask don't you??? :lol:

paul :wink:

 

[paulm]

Well, had another practice at the dovetails this morning.

Used the new shooting board and moved the lamp to a better position.

Haven't fixed up the bigger vice yet. Thinking of a major overhaul of the bench sometime, including fixing a sheet of heavy ply to the back and sides to help resist racking, so think fitting the vice can wait for that and can do it all at once.

Found it easier this time, and remembered to heavily score the bottom of the waste areas which made the chiselling more accurate.

Also found using the jewellers saw vertically to remove the excess waste easier and more accurate than doing it horizontally even though it means adjusting the vice a couple more times.

So, enjoyed it more and the results were better, but still not very good so lots more practice needed.

Decided to knock up a mallet to use with the chisels and was in two minds whether to go for a carvers type mallet or a traditional one, and eventually produced this one.

Needs another coat of oil later. Used the unknown hardwood that Rob showed earlier in the thread as nice and dense, heavy and hard, and what I think is a bit of iroko for the handle by way of contrast.

Think it might actually be a bit large for using with the LN cocobolo handles, but will give it a go when the oil has dried off and can always make a more delicate one another day.

What do others use with their chisels when dovetailing, carvers mallet, traditional, or nothing ?

Tried paring by hand but was using oak so it was very hard work without a mallet of some description.

Cheers, Paul.

 

[woodbloke]

Paul - glad you're making good progress with the d/t's......cracking mallet, that stuff for the head is definitely heavy enough for a good bit of 'heft'. I use a lignum carvers mallet instead of the traditional carpenters mallet as it can be gripped near the head and used without looking at it, something I tended to do with a more flat faced mallet - Rob