Buy your tools as if they're the last ones you'll ever buy. You'll only be unhappy once.
Tools
(6 posts) (3 voices)-
Posted 8 months ago #
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Our Winter classes are coming up soon. I want to point out the great class with Ken Altman on Making Brass Hand Planes January 16. It was a revelation for me when I first took the class several years ago. I made a small plane based on the French violin bow maker's patterns that Ken brought. It was short, about 2" long, but I put a high angle on the bed so the cutting angle was about 60 degrees.
Months went by and I would pick up the tool and admire its color and heft. Then I would put it back down. Until one day I was working on some walnut with some swirl and a small pin knot or two in it. I kept wondering how I was going to clean up this one edge with the knot in it because the edge was too small and narrow. My block plane would have trouble with it. The scraper was all that was left.
Then I remembered the brass hand plane. I took it out, tuned it, and then cut through the pin knot with ease and with no tear-out. It was so satisfying to make a tool that did a job, mind you one specific job, but it did it so well.
Come and learn with us about making your own tools. It is wonderful and opens new possibilities for you.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Although the specific class Gary refers to in this post is in the past, it's likely to be on a schedule in the near future. Having taken this class from Ken, I can second Gary's class review and the fine results you can get with planes made in this hands-on workshop. The size of the mouth opening can be very precisely controlled, providing the maker with the ability to produce light, wispy shavings. And making the iron from a bar of tool steel stock is a revelation.
It's a great class - a lot of fun, and worth every penny.
Posted 6 months ago # -
Hey JZ,
Thanks for your second. As we know the first taste is free. Ken Altman's class is a great one. We make a brass plane and harden and temper our irons as well. I discovered how useful one of these little planes can be. Plus the class gives you skills you can use for other things like making hardware. One of my Resident students, Zach, made a shoulder plane for himself. Fun stuff.Posted 6 months ago # -
Yeah - funny how that works. The first taste is free...and making one's own tools is just as addictive. I see this class is back on the Spring 2010 schedule - good news!
Posted 6 months ago # -
I got addicted to refurbing big old hunks of iron. Talk about space hogs. Nothing like Gary's snowflake, which induces great iron envy in me, but still- 20" Delta bandsaw, Powermatic 90 lathe, etc. Lots of fun in transportation, tear down, bearings, paint, etc. Got some baby moons on the bandsaw :-) (anybody get that reference?) I finally got back to working wood which keeps me off ebay at night; well, sort of.
Posted 6 months ago #
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