Brese Plane

A Plane for Bond.....................James Bond?

2015-10-21T07:59:00.000-04:00

I received a request from a customer to make a 123-38SBP, also know as the "Brute" chute board plane entirely from brass, except of course for the iron and in this case the lever cap screw was made from stainless steel just for a bit more contrast. I won't say this was an unusual request because I think planes with bodies entirely from brass are very serviceable tools.

Early in my plane making career I did what I suggest to many budding plane makers. I made my first plane bodies entirely from brass. Brass is a much easier material for new plane makers to use and it means you don't have to jump as much of the learning curve in the beginning. Steel is such a different animal and frankly it requires a much larger investment in tooling to do well at the outset.

I still use some of those early tools daily in the shop and I've not experienced significant wear to any of the surfaces. I think the soles actually work harden after a certain amount of use.

These days I pursue plane making with a goal of precision in every part that make up the plane and in this endeavor brass presents a new challenge and difficulty. Making the component parts of the brass to very precise thickness is challenging mainly due to the fact that it's not magnetic and it is very difficult to dimension on the surface grinder.

Cold drawn brass bar tends to relieve itself of stress at the most inopportune times.

Hand lapping to precise thickness is possible with the right method but is very time consuming but it is what is most times required.

This customer asked if I had any particularly special wood for making the knob. I purchased a Desert Ironwood burl quite a while ago. It contained several inclusions that were significant enough that it would have been impossible to get enough material for a tote and knob, let alone enough good wood for an infill. The piece I chose contained heartwood and sapwood and that made it especially eye catching. The sapwood was rather coarse and open grained and required a lot of CA adhesive filling to establish a firm structural integrity in the wood. The process was most interesting and the end result was satisfying.

My generation was young when the James Bond film Goldfinger was released. After that movie most people associated the color gold with James Bond. As I was making this plane it felt as if I was crafting some secret gadget for James to use in his fight with the evil villains he encounters. The gold of the brass makes this plane body look as if it's milled from a billet of gold. This in and of itself makes this plane very unique.

The week after this plane was shipped to the customer I received an email from engraver Catherine Kennedy and it immediately became apparent why this plane body needed to be made from brass. I don't have pictures of the plane after engraving, however one comment in the body of an email between myself, Catherine and the customer that received this tool has sparked an entire other project that will require Catherine and myself to push the boundaries of our skills and that's challenging and exciting at the same time.

Daniel Craig is the new James Bond and frankly his ruthless manner and methods are what we always wished the kindler gentler James Bonds of my era would have been like. He doesn't need special gadgets, he just kills them that needs killing in order to keep the world safe and secure and he doesn't dilly dally around pursuing beautiful women in the process............well not much. (please understand that this comment is made tongue in cheek. I'm certainly not a war monger)

More about the project that this plane spawned in another post.

Ron

A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.

Ayn Rand

Virgil Wyeth Brese, The Back Porch is Getting Crowded

2015-10-15T12:30:00.000-04:00

I apologize for the long hiatus from posting on this blog. We've had a busy summer. A trip to Vermont for a family visit and keeping to a schedule of plane making in the shop.

When fall arrived we decided the cooler weather was an optimal time for performing some maintenance on our house. All three exterior doors needed to be replaced and because of the way the entrances were trimmed on the inside and outside, pre-hung door units were out of the question so we've had to replace these utilizing door slabs which of course required a good bit of mill work in order to prepare them hanging in the old openings. It's a time consuming process that is soon coming to an end.

This summer we experienced a wonderful day in the life of our family. Virgil Wyeth Brese arrived into this world and the delivery went better than anyone expected. What a relief.

I enjoy my grandchildren an enormous amount and the place we choose to spend a lot of our time together is on the back porch of our house. We start the day by eating breakfast there and then the activity can turn very quickly to an impromptu sword fight using whatever is handy for swords and can progress to acting out super hero scenarios. Julie and I are typically given the role of the villians but that's okay, somebody has to be the villian.

A Proud Father

Virgil in a Breast Milk Coma

On the back porch we can do most anything and most importantly we can do nothing when time comes to rest. When it rains we don't necessarily have to go indoors. It's also where we bide our time waiting for late evening and the appearance of lightning bugs, or as Maggie Mason refers to them as "dem bugs with lights".

We also enjoy snacks on the back porch. This can range from an afternoon tea party to just enjoying a popsicle, watermelon or my favorite, ice cream.

The next blog post will include plane making and maybe some pictures of the new doors and will arrive in a more timely manner as compared to this one.

Ron

"You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit",
Katherine Mason, now 8 years old

Before and After

2015-07-21T10:03:00.001-04:00

Recently I had a customer asked if I would be interested in doing some refurb/repair to a Marples shoulder plane he had purchased. He was interested in having the plane re-habbed into useable shape and possibly to enhance the overall look of the tool in the process.

THE BEFORE

I've not attempted a plane rehab prior to this except for some Bailey pattern planes that I put into useable condition some years ago, but never any re-furb work on an English made infill.

I told the customer if he would send me the plane I would be glad to take a look and see if I wanted to take it on as a new experience.

There is a couple problems with this type of thing.

(1) You don't always know what type of construction was used to assemble the plane and therefore you don't what your limits are in modifying the tool. A little too much metal removed from here and there the plane could well start coming apart.

(2) You also have to judge the expectations of the customer and judge whether or not you can accomplish that level of result with what you have to work with.

(3) What are expectations of cost and can it be done within those limits?

In this case my expectations were maybe more ambitious than the owners. So I agreed to proceed and he agreed to some flexibility in the final cost of the project.

So what was wrong with this plane? The bones were there. It was intact, all the parts were present, however as you can see in the picture above the original iron was used up and no longer extended out of the back of the plane enough for adjustment access. It was not going to be cost effective to make a custom iron for this plane so I set about to source a replacement iron that would work. My preference and the customer's as well was to find an 0-1 iron and I did purchase one from Lee Valley, however it was not long enough to allow adjustment. I then sourced an A-2 iron from Lie-Nielsen. It was long enough it was quite substantial and considering that this is a joinery refining tool most of the surfaces left by this plane with be concealed inside glued joints so the tool steel choice wasn't really that critical.

The opening in the side of the plane would have to be modified to accommodate the L-N iron. Here you can see the layout of the new opening profile.

In the above picture you can see the opening roughed out and the bed angle base line filed precisely to the line.

Above you can see the opening refined to the layout line with careful file work. Most of the work on an already assembled plane body is handwork. You take file in hand and work to precise layout lines.

And here you can see the opposite side with the new profile refined. In truth this initial layout did not allow enough room to insert the iron from the rear of the plane body and rotate it into place. I actually changed this layout two additional times before the iron could be inserted properly.

The rosewood infill in the front of the plane body had shrunk and also had shifted a bit rearward. From here all the way to opening where the wedge went into the plane had to be worked in order to bring the wood flush to the metal and in some areas the metal flush to the wood. Once again the only way to accomplish this was to take file in hand and work carefully. Very few machine tools were used and in every case they were only utilized for rough work.

The sole was lapped flush in preparation for working the sides. I left a very slight low spot just behind the mouth. This would not effect the function of the plane and further lapping would only open the mouth further.

If you look at the picture above and the "BEFORE" picture at the top of the post you'll see considerable damage to the wedge. This was caused by the use of a hammer without proper soft surfaces like for instance rawhide. There were several points of impact damage on the very rear of the wedge and the rounded area where you would strike for retracting the wedge.

One option was to make a replacement wedge, however when the rosewood in the infilled portion of the plane was refined and finish applied I knew I had to try and save the wedge if possible. It was going to be nearly impossible to matched the old oxidized rosewood in this plane and when I applied a shellac polish it's rich aged looked came forth and it possessed a beauty only acquired with age.

Fortunately I was able to removed most of the damaged areas by performing some subtle reshaping of the wedge. The damaged areas that remained were repaired with CA adhesive and sanding dust.

When I checked the sides of the plane for square to the sole I found something that seemed odd at first. The sides were not square to the sole. The width of the plane body was smaller at the top than at the sole and the taper was equal on either side of the plane.

I busied myself with another task and gave this some thought. I finally concluded that this was too much of a coincidence and that this was most likely by design. This slight taper would allow the plane to easily access the bottom corner of a tenon shoulder and would allow a slight undercut when working the shoulder of a tenon cut insuring a tight join on the face of the joint. I did however decide that the amount of taper was a bit excessive and reduced the amount of taper slightly on the surface grinder prior to lapping the sides. I added some slight chamfers to the corners to make the plane nicer in the hand and it was finished.

THE AFTER

The plane is ready to go back to work and now looks as if it's capable of doing some fine work.

Ron

It's kind of fun to do the impossible.

Walt Disney

JP in the Shop, Kids in the Shop and What I Learned

2015-06-16T14:44:00.000-04:00

Most would probably think after an event like Handworks is over you go home and everything settles down and goes back to normal, or some semblance of normal.

Not so. When you return you await the return shipments of everything that went to the event and then you have to re-distribute the items that returned. Some of the tools I showed at Handworks belonged to prior customers and I had to schedule to return those items and some items that were finished just in time for the event were tools that were ordered by newer customers and those needed to be refreshed and forwarded to their new owners.

Long story short, another week of returning, refreshing and shipping and then finally I could turn my attention back to the next items in my schedule. Last week my schedule was pre-empted due to a visit by my daughter and the two Paglia boys from Brooklyn.

Between daily excursions to playgrounds and our neighbor's swimming pool, Everett (aka Jimmy Pete), the oldest of the two, joined me in the shop to complete a project we had planned.

Rough cutting boards to length

Everett is still too young to possess enough muscle mass to control a full size carpentry type saw, however if I put my hands over his hands on the saw he still was able to experience the action of sawing and it enhanced the overall experience for him.

Learning to saw a bit closer to the line

Although JP was learning from his first experiences of working in the shop I learned a great deal as well. I knew initially that the scope of the project needed to be simple and if we surpassed his attention span we could always finish the project another day.

Cleaning up the saw marks from the bevel surfaces of the seat stretchers

Fortunately kids are naturally a bit intimidated by machines and that's a good thing because they embrace hand tools as a result. Hand tools are quiet and much less imposing. They can still hurt themselves with hand tools but typically only in a minor way. Use common sense here. A plane is much less dangerous in the hand than a sharp chisel.

As you can see in the picture above at some point your fledgling woodworker may become more interested in being creative with the off cuts. Let Them. It gives them an attention span break from the project. As you progress to more interesting parts of the build their attention will come back to the project.

If your child woodworker is having fun and feels comfortable in the shop his sense of humor will soon emerge. See pic above.

Make certain the project includes task they can accomplish themselves. They enjoy it and it gives them a sense of ownership in the project. 5 year olds can get away with working in the shop in their shark print pj's. Adults, not so much.

At some point in the process Everett (JP) grabbed a board, a pencil and started marking lines onto the board. He asked me to cut the marked out parts from the board on the bandsaw. I didn't question him I just did it. He then marked a few more lines on the board and asked me to cut them as well. When I handed it back to him he pronounced that it was a pretend plane and he walked over to the board in the vise and proceeded to make a planing motion across the board. Give them a chance and their imagination will lead to creativity.

The Finished Project

It's nice if the project is an object that can be used in a practical way by the participant. It lends credibility to the effort. I think this applies to the first project of a child or an adult.

If you're wondering why I sometimes refer to Everett as "Jimmy Pete"? All my grandchildren get a nickname and they seem to relish this idea. They have a name at home but when they come to Georgia they have a Georgia name. They enjoy this quirk and they also think I know the names of all the crows that frequent our yard. Please don't tell them differently. I'm trying hard to be the person they all think I am.

Ron

"I'm suspicious of people who don't like dogs, but I trust a dog when it doesn't like a person." - Bill Murray

Handworks is Done, What a Lot of Fun!

2015-05-22T11:52:00.000-04:00

Handworks is now behind us and now Julie and I can get to the "after Handworks" list we started several months ago.

I've had the pleasure of being associated with the Hand Tool community since around 2007. During this time I've met most of the people that made up the majority of the presenters that were present at Handworks this past weekend. I made their acquaintance at the first several Woodworking in America events, Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Events in several locations across the country or the last Handworks event in 2013. They are a special and unique group of people.

One thing has changed over the years. The first couple of years most of the people that attended these events were on the average over 50 years of age. Someone younger than that was rare. Many of us wondered if there would be an end to this revival of hand tool woodworking and if it would slowly die with that generation. If you look at the picture above this paragraph you will see a very nice and well mannered "young" man. Brian Graham is part of what is so inspiring these days. The clientele at these events is becoming younger and younger and that bodes well for the future of hand tool woodworking.

Spending time with old friends is also what this event is about. The above picture includes myself and the namesake of a special version of my Winter Smoother. This gentleman in this picture is Willie Davis himself. Willie and I jointly sponsored one of the door prizes awarded at the Handworks event.

Sam DeSocio, (pictured with me below) was the winner of the Willie Davis Winter Smoother door prize. As you can see he is another young man that is a hand tool enthusiast. Sam is a Presbyterian minister from Pittsburgh, Pa. It was fun meeting him. Awarding him a plane I would love to own myself was in it's own way a very liberating and enjoyable experience.

The man you see in the picture below is not a bandito that showed on Saturday afternoon to way lay the exhibitors as they left with the proceeds of the two days of Handworks. In fact he is one of the most pleasant people I've had the opportunity to know. He also happens to be the father of Jameel and Father John Abraham. The two gentleman that organize Handworks. This is a giant task but they do it oh so well.

The cadillac pictured below is a whole other story. Next time you see Patrick Leach ask him about it.

Since my last posting Blues Lengend B.B. King has passed away. I guess "the thrill is gone" but that's the thing about music, it lives on.

Ron

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

Handworks Door Prizes

2015-05-09T22:41:00.000-04:00

Many of the companies presenting at Handworks next weekend have contributed door prizes that will be awarded to individuals via a random drawing. There is some really great stuff being offered up for this part of the event. Makes we wish I was eligible. Maybe next time I'll try to register just to see if Jameel or Father John will catch it. Of course I guess if my name was selected as a winner it would be nixed pretty quickly. Oh well, guess not.

However if you registered then all you have left to do is show up to be eligible to win one of the many door prizes.

At the 2013 Handworks event Brese Plane contributed a small thumb plane. The winner was a young man named Aaron Moore. I really believe in the Handworks event and want to see it continue and thrive so this year I wanted to contribute a more substantial tool.

There is however a dilemma that faces a plane maker in this situation. One can easily spend 2 weeks of personal labor and shop time on a tool which makes it nearly impossible to consider giving that away. The nature of this work being that it's not like you can make it up in the last two weeks of the month. The processes required to produce tools with this kind of attention to detail require a certain amount of time spent and if you try to rush and perform these operations in less time......well the end result is different. I know most everyone that produces these type tools and none of them deals in "not exactly".

I was faced with this same dilemma and several weeks ago was pondering how I was going to pull this off with short time between then and my ship date and me really wanting to offer this kind of tool. Enter Willie Davis. The plane I wanted to offer was a Willie Davis version Winter Smoother and when the plane's namesake heard of my dilemma he stepped in to resolve the issue. He became a benefactor and so at this Handworks the plane pictured in this blog post is the door prize that will be jointly sponsored by Brese Plane and Willie Davis, which many of you know as Bill Davis of Davis Tool and Die. Without his generosity this never could have happened.

Now all that has to happen is for everyone to make their way to Iowa and spend 2 days immersed in all things hand tool woodworking related. There are people traveling from around the globe to be present at Handworks and I'm looking forward to meeting new people and renewing acquaintances with people I've not have the pleasure of seeing for quite some time.

If you will be attending Handworks and are anticipating making some tool purchases then let me put your mind at ease as far as making the correct selections......the best tool makers in the world will be there......it's very much like the day my friend Charlie Levan was in my wood room selecting wood for the plane I was making for him. He turned to me and said, "you know, there are no bad choices here", it's the same way at Handworks.

See you in Iowa and good luck,

Ron

I've recently heard that Blues Legend B.B. King is in hospice care so in his honor my quotable quote for this post is a line from one of his songs,

"Nobody loves me but my mother, and she may be jiving me too",
B.B. King

Apple Pie, a Tradition in Many Ways

2015-05-05T08:07:00.000-04:00

I guess most of us have heard the phrase, "American as Baseball, hotdogs and apple pie", I guess that harks to several things considered traditional in the nation in which I reside.

I think tradition is a good thing. It's something you can depend on and in some instances it's the stuff that makes life worth the living.

I've developed a tradition with two very good friends. Steve Walls and Charlie Levan will take time once in a while to travel from their homes in Dallas, Georgia to Thomaston, Ga. for a visit to my shop. Steve and Charlie are customers but much more than that they're my friends.

Two things almost always occur when they visit. We have lunch at English's Cafe which has been in business since 1929 and sometimes if Julie happens to be off that day she will go into town and pick up food from there. Either way is fine with us, even though actually going to English's is it's own experience.

After lunch we have apple pie that I will have made that morning while they were making their way south thru Atlanta and to my shop. Dallas, Ga. is on the north side of Atlanta and so much so that I often jokingly tell them I think they actually live in southern Chattanooga, Tn.

We could actually eat lunch in several different places and that would be fine but the apple pie is a constant and there can be no deviation from the desert menu.

This visit usually occurs due to my need to borrow tools from them when I'm presenting at hand tool events and part of the deal is" tools for pie". This time around I'll be taking pie with me on my journey to return the tools after Handworks. I'm happy to do so because it creates another opportunity to visit with my friends and partake in the pie. It's a win, win for everybody as far as I can tell.

This past Friday morning as I was preparing the pie I thought it might be a good idea to publish a blog about the process and so I took many photos which I will post here with descriptions. The actual recipe will be offered in pieces in reference to a given photo so if you want the entire recipe you'll have to piece it together yourself but all the info will be included.

Put out your pie crust to thaw. If you're adept at making pie crust that would most probably enhance the pie, however in this instance I used a prepared crust (I usually do) and as long as you buy a quality product these work quite well.

Peel your apples. There are 4 apples in this pie because these apples are quite good size, however if the selection of apples is smaller your may need 5. Granny Smith apples are the apples of choice for pie. There is a good reason for this selection. The texture is correct, they are naturally tart and therefore combine with the sugar content of the recipe for just the right flavor. I've made this pie with other type apples and it was disappointing. Apples that are naturally sweet make for a pie that is too sweet and the texture is all wrong. Take my advice. Stay with the Granny Smith apples.

Cut the apples into quarters

Cut the core out using a paring knife.

Slice each piece into thin slices, 1/8" thick or thinner.

Then chop the slices into smaller pieces by cutting thru the other direction as shown, smaller pieces allow the dry ingredients to coat more surfaces of the apple pieces.

Measure and add the dry ingredients into a large bowl. The dry ingredients include, 1 cup of sugar, 2 heaping table spoons of all purpose or bread flour, a dash of salt, 1 tsp of apple pie spice and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon.

1 cup seems like a lot of sugar but this is a big pie. The dash of salt is an important ingredient, don't leave it out to reduce sodium. A dash of salt spread over this many pieces of pie is not much at all. You can make apple pie spice but it's easier to buy a premixed apple pie spice and it's just as good. The apple pie spice has some cinnamon but this recipe needs the additional 1/4 tsp of cinnamon.

Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly. It will look like the picture below when mixed.

Add the sliced and diced apples. You can mix the dry ingredients together before you start processing the apples and then add the apples pieces to the bowl as you process each quarter apple. This keeps them out of your way as you process the remaining pieces.

Put one crust into the pie pan and form it to the bottom of the dish making sure the perimeter of the crust overlaps the edge of the dish as shown below.

Thoroughly mix the apple pieces into the dry ingredients. As my mom used to say "you gotta get your hands in it!" Make sure you get all the dry ingredients from the bottom of the bowl thoroughly combined with the apples. Go ahead, "get your hands in it!"

Place the contents of the bowl into the bottom crust arranging it evenly. You can add some pats of butter as I've done here. This is optional and I picked this up from watching Paula Dean on TV. When asked about adding this much butter she replied, " I'm your cook not your nurse!" It is rather okay to lick your fingers after this part of the process. Your fingers will taste like the beginnings of a good apple pie. Then wash your hands and proceed to the next step.

Unroll the top crust over the filled pie dish and then cut the edges even with the dish with a paring knife. Rotate the dish while making a downward cutting action with the knife. Easy Peasy! Discard the excess pie crust.

Pinch the edges of the pie crust together using your fingers as shown below.

Then perforate the crust using the paring knife. Perforate straight across the center of the pie, then turn the pie 90 degrees and repeat. Then keep dividing the spaces left with perforations. It should look like the picture below. It's necessary to ventilate the pie with the perforations in order for the pie to cook properly and so the filling stays in the dish.

Place the pie on a cookie sheet. Adding some parchment paper under the pie makes clean up much easer. Cover the top with aluminum foil. Place in the over and cook on 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, then remove the foil and bake until the crust is golden brown. I sometimes let the pie cook uncovered for as long as 20 minutes. If the crust is not brown enough after 20 minutes I turn on the convection fan for an additonal 6 minutes or until the crust is to my liking. Don't over brown the crust.

And here's your pie. If Steve and Charlie got wind of you making this pie they may be pulling into your driveway about now. Don't worry, you'll have a great time with those guys.

My recipe says this is "Ron's, My Oh My Apple Pie", now it can be your apple pie. Enjoy!

If you're wondering why I've been blogging about gardening and baking as of late, especially while I have some much going on with planes in the shop, it's because my thought process has been so consumed with plane making that my mind needs a break to think about other things. That and the fact that I really like apple pie.

Ron

"Keep it between the ditches"
Red Green

Enjoy Your Spring

2015-05-01T22:35:00.001-04:00

As hectic as things are at this time with preparations for Handworks, spring goes on and has been happening here for several weeks. Our daffodils and jonquils have long since past their prime and are regenerating their energy for next years early spring appearance. This morning as I looked out the window of the shop I noticed the morning light was illuminating the autumn ferns with their new fronds shining the reddish gold color that makes them such a delight this time of year.

The variegated Hostas pictured below looked fresh and vibrant this morning with the dew still on their leaves and the dappled morning light making them look well........illuminated. By August the hostas will look dreary and depleted and from the harsh summer heat. Better enjoy them now.

The oak leaf hydrangeas have grown exponentially and give us privacy while enjoying the swing under the pergola

More of the new emerging growth of the ferns,

These hydrangeas will sport blue blooms this summer and give us some cool color when we'll need it most.

Spring is a time of new life and revival. I remember helping my father plant azaleas in the edge of the woods behind my family home. I asked him why we were planting them there. He explained that when they matured and bloomed he and my mother would be able to see them when looking out the large glass door in their den. Later in my Dad's life we experience a harsh, hot, dry summer. The azaleas we planted years before persevered and the next spring the color of the azaleas in the edge of the woods was particularly vibrant against the green back drop of the trees. My Dad reveled in the beauty of the azaleas that spring. I'm glad he enjoyed them, it turned out to be his last spring.

I didn't really mean to make this post a melancholy experience but it does help make my point. You only get some many springs in your life, take the time to enjoy them.

On a recent doctors visit my physician suggested it might be time to do some blood work just to establish a base line for further checkups. When the nurse called to give me the results of my test she told me everything was good but I had two deficiencies and I needed to spend more time outdoors in the sun and I needed to include more dairy products in my diet. I replied, "this is all good news, you're saying that I need to do more fishing and eat more ice cream", she laughed and said "I like your interpretation". I now have my doctor's permission to take time to enjoy spring........and ice cream.

Ron

"I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road."

Stephen Hawking

Handworks 2015, Coming Soon to a Barn in the Amana Colonies

2015-04-20T14:58:00.000-04:00

I was watching the Masters Golf tournament and it occurred to me that like the Masters Golf tournament that features the best golfers from all over the world, Handworks will be drawing an international cast of tool makers and professional hand tool users from all parts of the globe as well. Thankfully Handworks is not a competition.

I've been busy making ready for this event and have several tools in process in my shop. I just hope the clock doesn't run out before I get them finished. I of course have to get them completed in time to ship them to the venue so it's not like I have up until the day before the event to get them finished. This shortens my time line considerably, however I won't let it stress me and I won't be rushed. There are some things about these tools that takes a certain amount of time to do properly and there are no short cuts. If you take shortcuts you get a different result, and I don't do "not exactly'. I will opt to show up with fewer tools in lieu of many that were rushed.

I'm not wired to accept less than my best work and that's typically the nature of the tool makers that will be showing their wares in Amana. Many of the businesses represented there blazed the trail of very fine hand tools and they set the bar pretty high. If you want to be among them you have to achieve that level of work, otherwise when your tools are in close proximity to theirs it shows up in stark contrast.

It almost makes me glad that Mr. Studley's work will be displayed at another venue in Cedar Rapids. I'm most interested in getting a glimpse of that legendary kit of tools housed in a finely fitted case. As a hand tool enthusiasts I don't think it gets any better than what will be happening in Iowa next month.

The above picture of Winter Smoother plane sides looks a bit like metal fish to me, hopefully soon they will all look like parts of completed planes.

Above: An assortment of rear totes in process. 2 Macassar ebony totes in the foreground, a Desert Ironwood tote and finally at the back one of Olive wood.

I've not been to a hand tool event of this magnitude since....well, the last Handworks in 2013. I'm looking forward to seeing many of the hand tool community that I've gotten to know over the years, since really about 2007. Tool makers and tool users alike. It should be a fun gathering of like minded people.

Hope to see you there,

Ron

Silence is sometimes the best answer. - Dalai Lama

Yet Another Equipment Upgrade

2015-03-18T20:46:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to change to a more appropriate metal cutting bandsaw for quite some time now. The one I've been using is actually a horizontal bandsaw that I use in the vertical position. Frankly some of the processes I used it for were similar to driving a finishing nail with a sledge hammer. Now you know what I mean when using the above term "appropriate".

The problem was finding the correct replacement saw. I've know for some time that what I wanted was a very robust saw with a small throat dimension. There was a bandsaw made in Racine Wisconsin years ago that I thought would work but those saws are few and far between.

Assorted bandsaw parts and one rusty table

The other saws that I thought might meet the criteria were the Powermatic 141/143 bandsaws. The 141 is the woodworking version of this saw and the 143 is the wood/metal version of this saw. The difference being the 143 has a gear box for reducing the speed of the blade.

When you begin to look for one of these Powermatic saws it becomes immediately apparent that the 143 with the gear box is priced significantly higher than the 141 wood cutting saw. On average the difference in price was about $1000. Must be some kind of great gear box huh?

I finally resolved myself to look for a 141 saw with the idea of replacing the motor and drive system with a new C face motor that I would bolt up to a speed reducing gear box. These parts are available off the shelf and the drive transition wouldn't be very complicated.

Here's the saw as I received it from the prior owner

I put an ad in the "Boyd" forum of the OWWM site stating that I wanted to buy a PM 141 bandsaw. I got a reply from a gentleman that stated he did not have a 141 but he did have a 143 he would be willing to sell. At first I thought I was right back where I started from until he told me the price for the 143. It was reasonable and quite fair and so I agreed to purchase his saw.

I organized all the parts into subassemblies and kept all the related parts together in boxes. As I dis-assembled the saw I also made a list of hardware I would need to re-assemble the saw. Upgrading the hardware on a machine restoration of this type is a sure fire way to enhance the overall look and quality of the machine when completed. I used button socket head screws with the black chrome finish applied the same way I finished the hardware on my PM 90 lathe.

The $1000 gearbox

Most bandsaws of this size have a casting that consist of a the bottom drive area of the saw with an arm extending up and over the table. The entire back facade of these little Powermatic saws are one very robust webbed casting.

This saw first resided in the Bay area school system shop. This is the area around Panama City, Fla. I guess when the school closed down the shop all the machines were stored in a non climate controlled area. High humidity and salty air are not good for machines. I have no idea why every tool that comes from a school shop has been painted and for some reason the accessories are always missing. No rip fence or miter gauge was included. This saw must have been in a corner when it was painted because it only seemed to be painted on the sides that were easy to access.

Besides the rust this saw was full of sawdust and some kind of strange white residue that looked like it might have been the dust from sawing some form of plastic or other man made material. When I broke the saw down to fit in the back of the car the oil from the gearbox spilled and combined with the saw dust and the mystery material that was in just about every nook and cranny of the saw cavity. I'm glad I laid down 3 layers of poly film in the car beforehand. Fortunately all the functional stuff like bearings and tires seem to be in good shape. That certainly helped to speed up the restoration.

My original plan was to just set the saw up and run it as it was for a while so as not to upset the schedule of work I had planned for the shop. The more I thought about this and the oil soaked material that was in the saw I really feared that sparks from metal cutting might well set this saw on fire. I didn't really want to be that guy that had a saw and a good bit of his shop burn up right in front on him, so before I took the other saw out of service I set about dis-assembling this saw. The next two weeks I spent evenings and weekends restoring this saw.

This saw is built around the main casting so it needed attention first. I cleaned the interior of the casting and was surprised to find sand in some of the corners from when this piece was cast. In lieu of removing the sand it was just painted right over when this saw was manufactured. I first painted the edges of the casting and then painted the interior the contrasting black color. Of course I removed all the lingering sand.

The result of my efforts

The rusty table now has the nice gray patina that is left when the rust is sanded away and the newly exposed surface is waxed.

All the under parts or basically any parts that reside in the shadows in this saw were painted satin black. The other parts were painted Rustoleum Sage Green. Parts that were not painted were finished with cold gun bluing, then waxed and polished.

I left the wheels the original gold color. It's a nice contrast when you open the wheel covers/guards.

So far this saw is doing it's job quite well. Cutting metal requires more feed pressure as compared to cutting wood and being able to use the leverage of my body weight makes applying the feed pressure much easier. That makes for less toll on my arms and shoulders.

If you frequent the OWWM forum you may know that these saws are sometimes referred to as the "Gumby" saws. If you look at the pic of the Gumby action figure below it's easy to see why.

Gumby with his sidekick Pokey

Ron

My definition of an intellectual is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger.

Billy Connolly

Wille Davis Winter Smoother #2

2015-02-14T11:08:00.000-05:00

Metals and woods that contrast with one another create an eye catching plane. But metals and woods that compliment each other can create the same effect.

I've recently finish the second Winter Smoothing plane made in the Willie Davis style and it's actually quite similar to the first even though as you'll see no two pieces of olive wood are very similar to each other. In fact there is a large variation in color and figure in this wood and frankly it's important to get the knob and the tote from the same blank in order to have any hopes of them having a similar look. I typically turn the knob end grain so that, in and of itself, is going to create a different appearance as compared to many of the face grain surfaces of the tote.

The piece of olive that produced this knob and tote had a large degree of color variegation, probably the most I've observed in any piece of olive yet. It's these kind of characteristics that make each plane unique.

I've taken to applying True Oil to all brass parts. I started this process on brass pieces that had the aged patina finish applied to them, as a way to preserve the finish. What I've found is that it's a great process for reducing the maintenance on brass, especially if you're of a mindset to keep the brass bright. The oil enhances the color of the brass and gives it more of a slightly aged gold appearance. With two thorough coats of oil well cured the brass can be handled without the bother of feeling as if you need to re-brighten the brass after every handling that leaves finger prints and the like.

It may be practical to try turning knobs face grain in some of the denser woods. At the least it will probably yield an interesting look.

I'm also very curious to see how this plane will look with a very contrasting color wood like Macassar or Gabon Ebony. Whereas the olive actually compliments and works harmoniously with the oiled brass, either of the ebonies will be in staunch contrast. As I've stated before the different colors and finishes combined yield different results and it's one of the things that keep this work fresh and interesting, that and the feel of a gossamer shaving rising up out the mouth of the plane with very minimal effort. That's always the best reward at the completion of any plane. Look coupled with function......yes, I love my job.

Ron

The problem with me taking time off or going on vacation is “I don’t do nothing well”,

Ron Brese

Right in Your Own Backyard

2015-02-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

When people look into traveling to see great feats of nature and wonderful accomplishments of mankind it's often suggested to make sure you see what's in your own background before you embark to points elsewhere. Lately I've found that is sound advice and have recently made a discovery very near to where I live that truly amazed me.

I live outside of Thomaston, Ga in Upson county. Where Upson county borders Meriwether county there has for quite a long time resided Camp Thunder Boy Scout camp. I can remember my brother spending weeks at Camp Thunder when I was still too young for scouting. A week during the summer spent at Camp Thunder was a rite of passage for young boys in our area.

Over the decades the facilities at Camp Thunder deteriorated and the place was in a state of disrepair. Fortunately some men hold their years as Boy Scouts as a very formative time and even as adults are proud of their time as Boy Scouts. Obviously Gerald Lawhorn was one of those men. He made his fortune with a chain of gas stations called Petro South and the endowment he gave Camp Thunder has transformed the camp.

I had no clue that a majestic and beautiful oak timber frame structure stood 21 miles from my house. This structure and some other smaller oak timber frame pavilions were constructed as part of the camp upgrade funded by Gerald Lawhorn. The camp is now called the "Gerald Lawhorn Canoe Center at Camp Thunder Boy Scout Camp".

There is also an array of large scale rocking chairs that allow you to rest yourself and marvel at the construction of the structure as you rock.

The structure is decked with tongue and groove 2 x pine to which a slate roof is attached.

There is also a monument at this site that states the ideals of the Boy Scout organization complete with bronze eagle.

This is only a small portion of a most grand playground that is located at this site.

And when you've thoroughly explored the Timber Frame pavilion and the playground you can then take a hike along the Flint river that flows just about 50 yards behind the pavilion.

As you can see this is an almost magical place for kids. My grandchildren loved this place.

Camp Thunder is actually located in Molena, Ga. for those looking to find this location on Google maps or by GPS.

Ron

Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.

Winston Churchill

Desert Iron Wood, Unique Material

2015-02-04T10:15:00.001-05:00

Desert Iron wood has the highest specific gravity of any wood that I use whether it be for plane making or otherwise. In the wood data base it is listed as 1.21 specific gravity. If you compare it to Macassar Ebony at 1.01 specific gravity you would think it would be even harder.

The working characteristics are considerably different and in my experience the Macassar Ebony actually seems harder. I first imagined that Desert Iron wood might be particularly hard on the edges of chisels but actually this material gets out of the way of a chisel pretty well, however when trying to chisel in a tight inside corner it has a bad habit of fracturing.

By and large the working characteristics of this material are much different that I had originally thought. The initial whittling with a chisel to excavate material prior to the beginning of the rasping process goes quite well, easier than I had imagined. Rasping can tend to tear the grain and a coarse rasp needs to be followed by a finer tool.

This material is very abrasion resistant. Sanding this material can take up to 3 times longer than any other material I use in plane making.

The grain structure is very unusual which probably explains the tendency to fracture and is just a bit coarser than most dense woods.

Polishing this wood was certainly a learning experience. When applying a shellac polish you certainly will need to apply a couple coats of finish dedicated to filling the pores, otherwise the unique texture of the grain will show prominently.

As much trouble as this wood is to work and finish properly you are rewarded for your efforts in the end. Nothing looks quite like this material. When polished to a high level some pieces remind me of looking into a sunset. Within the same piece it's quite varied and interesting. You see something different everywhere you look.

In other words it's quite a worthwhile pursuit,

Ron

"The difference between a smart person and a wise person is that a smart person knows what to say and a wise person knows whether or not to say it."

Recently Completed Brute, the Web Page is Back Up and Changes

2015-01-08T16:53:00.000-05:00

I've not posted to this blog for a while and I apologize for the hiatus. We are on a schedule where we either have all our kids, spouses and grandchildren here for Christmas or non of them. This was the year we had everyone and we were very busy making plans, arrangements and accommodations.

Having a full to overflowing house gets a bit chaotic but we certainly have fun and when they all return home we miss the laughter that fills our home during their visits.

This year was a bit special because the Mason Family was preparing to move to London, England and that means the Grand Darlings will be an entire very large Atlantic ocean away. Thay have in fact made that move this past week and the grand darlings have already started at their new school in London. You can probably tell from the look on Maggie's face that she is not altogether thrilled with the hat part of her new school uniform, Katherine however is "rockin it".

It's a bit painful to me and Julie to know that we can't just get in the car and drive to Atlanta to see them. But life offers opportunity just so many times so they are off to a new life adventure and as much as we do not enjoy them being so far away we know that their life will be enriched by the experience. In this case you just have to let go.

To get a small glimpse of what Christmas is like in Georgia check out the video below. We do things a bit differently here for the holidays and sometimes we're even lucky enough to have weather that allows us to do these things outdoors. You'll want to change the quality setting to 720p for the best viewing experience.

Even though I received a flu shot in early fall I was besot by that unwelcome illness just as everyone was returning home. This kept me out of the shop for several days but this past week I've managed to complete a Brute shooting plane I had in process and make considerable progress on several other tools on my bench.

The web page is back up after being down for close to 3 days. We were obviously not the only ones affected by the domain verification requirements. When I tried to contact my web host to resolved the issue I was required to stay on "Ignore" or as some folks refer to it as "Hold" for quite a while in order to speak to a human being. Once contact was made the problem was solved rather quickly. As my friend Jon Fiant was would say, that's "one less thing". His favorite line from the movie "Forrest Gump".

We have made some changes to the way we conduct business at Brese Plane. We have changed pay systems. Because our transactions are much simpler and fewer than many businesses we decided we no longer really needed a shopping cart per se. Most of our transactions were usually for only one item at at time and for the few times we need a multiple item transaction we can certainly make other arrangements.

We have also lowered the deposit amount required to place an order. Most planes now only require a deposit of $200.00 in order to secure a place in the cue. The only exception to this is the 125-38SBP (Brute) plane. It requires a deposit amount of $600.00 because we tend to turn those around in less time because that product is usually purchased along with a related product from Vogt Toolworks.

I hope everyone enjoyed their family and friends during the holiday season as much as we did. We wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year.

We have not participated in a major woodworking event in several years now. The next big event for us is Handworks coming up in May. If you look at the list of vendors and demonstrators schedule to be there, it's shaping up to be quite the event. Hope to see you there.

Ron

Web Site Problems

2015-01-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

I've been notified as of this morning that the Brese Plane web page is not available. If you enter www.breseplane.com into your browser the result will most likely say that the web page is not available or does not exist.

The web page does exist and I believe this is an issue with domain verification. I will be contacting my web host to resolved this issue and hope to have the web page available asap.

I am here, making planes and will be blogging again soon,

Sorry for the inconvenience,

Ron

T-Shirts are Back

2014-11-21T22:54:00.001-05:00

The Brese Plane "Just a Plane T-Shirt" is once again available. At one point we had discontinued offering the shirts even though we were still shipping them to customers that ordered planes and sometimes including them with planes as they were shipped.

We have restocked them in the Old Gold color and decided to offer them once again. These are heavy weight t-shirts of very nice quality.

Available on this blog page, see buy buttons below, and on the Brese Plane Web site Apparel page.

1 ea. for $18.95 shipping included in the conus or anywhere a flat rate USPS package goes

Sometime Opportunity Knocks at Exactly the Wrong Time, Part 2

2014-11-18T08:23:00.000-05:00

In an earlier blog post I featured the acquisition of a 1966 Powermatic 90 lathe that seem to make itself available at a time when the last thing I needed to do was stop to purchase a major piece of machinery. However It was apparent that I would be needing to upgrade my capability in a turning machine and sometimes you have to react when the right machine presents itself whether it's a convenient time or not.

The picture below shows the lathe as I received it. Not bad really but missing a few key components. It had received a paint job sometime in it's life in a high school shop and it was obvious that it was done by a student who was assigned the job for disciplinary reasons.

Don Gieger of Geiger solutions knows a lot of people in the turning community and he was kind enough to make a few phone calls in an attempt to locate a PM 90 tailstock for my lathe. He was successful and not only did he find one, it was for sale and it was in Atlanta less than 2 hours drive from me. That was the good news. The bad news is I paid more for the tailstock than I did the entire machine and it was a rusty nugget that needed a complete restoration including straightening the scroll screw.

The problem with having a fairly small work facility is there is no room for extra machines to await attention. When I bring something of this size into the shop I have to make time to do what needs to be done to make it serviceable so that I don't have to navigate around it for a month. Fortunately I sold my old lathe the next day.

I turned the knobs I would need for the planes I had in process at that time and then broke down the machine to do the functional part of the restoration. New headstock bearings, new 3 phase motor driven by VFD, and new drive pulleys and belts. Yes my New/Old lathe would have digital variable speed in lieu of a Reeves drive.

While everything was apart for the functional repairs it made sense to go ahead with the cosmetic part of the restoration. No need to have to take it back apart again for painting.

Even though the paint it had received at the hands of the student was certainly not the neatest paint job I've seen it did however adhere very well so I just sanded the old paint, applied primer and 2 coats of the final color which is Rustoleum Sage Green.

I replaced all the assembly hardware. I purchased button socket head screws in a black oxide finish. I then polished the heads of the screws and applied gun bluing twice polishing them with steel wool between applications. Then I polished them on my buffer until I had something that looked like black chrome. I acquired red fiber washers to accent the black.

I have the drive set up for a speed range that suits most of the work I turn on a regular basis. If I decide to branch into turning larger diameter items I may have to add a lower speed range option.

I found the outboard hand wheel on the auction site. Those do come available periodically. The PM 90 tail stocks not so much. Finally all the pieces of the puzzle were back together.

Even though this machine came along at exactly the wrong time and imposed on my shop schedule more than I wished I'm quite please with the end results of this restoration. Its ready to use and it resides in a permanent place in the shop. My shop has regained it's organization and I'm once again able to concentrate on plane making.

Ron

Lately at Brese Plane

2014-11-10T13:22:00.000-05:00

I've not posted any new info on this blog in a while. I apologize for that but really it just means I've been quite busy.

As always work on planes is a constant and ongoing endeavor and the most recent plane completed is a custom version of the Winter Panel Plane.

The customer requested this plane with a plane body made from 440C stainless steel.

The brass bits of this plane were polished to a satin finish and then oiled and cured in my drying kiln. It makes the brass much less of a maintenance issue.

The wooden bits are Desert Iron wood. This is certainly a challenging wood to work. Besides the odd smell it requires much more diligence. It seems every process with this material takes 3 times longer as compared with other dense hardwoods.

There is nothing that looks quite like Desert Iron Wood. As I have often said, the results are worth the effort.

Ron

The quotable quote this week is from my 7 year old Granddarling even though she may have picked up this saying from her mother.

"You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit", Katherine Mason

The Studley Exhibit at Handworks 2015, Not Sold Out........at least not yet

2014-10-12T09:59:00.000-04:00

Issues with the web page for buying tickets for the Studley display at Handworks 2015 has led some to believe that the event was sold out the first day. Not so.

Follow the link below to Don William's blog for an explanation:

http://donsbarn.com/yes-there-are-still-ho-studley-exhibit-tickets/

Ron

We learn from history that we do not learn from history.

~ George Wilhelm Hegel

Sometimes Opportunity Knocks at Exactly the Wrong Time

2014-09-04T13:10:00.000-04:00

During the period of time when I made furniture on a full time basis I was not much of an enthusiast about turning. Basically I did what turning I had to do and I wasn't very accomplished so you could say that I had the ability to worry things into the shape that I wanted because I certainly could not say that I was very accomplished at these task.

Because I wasn't that interested in turning I didn't invest much in turning equipment or tools. I was working on a Grizzly 14 x 40 lathe that wasn't a bad machine but most seasoned turners would have laughed at the prospect of that being a proper lathe. I had mounted this lathe to a large cabinet made from plywood and also made a bed extension in order to increase it's between center capacity. Other than that it was what it was. The truth of the matter is that I did a lot of good work on that lathe. It now belongs to someone else and I'm sure it will serve them well also.

Fast forward several years and I find myself having designed a line of planes that require a custom front knob. Obviously I have to turn them. After a certain amount of time turning knobs I became a more proficient turner. That spurred an interest in turning other objects and so I set about making Shaker style stools for my grandchildren and other assorted items.

A couple of months ago my friend Charlie Levan took delivery of a Robust American Beauty lathe. I showed up one fine day along with several others to help put that machine into his shop. It then occurred to me that there were much better machines available for turning and if the opportunity arose I should probably consider the acquisition of a better lathe.

Of all the older machines I saw that were available the Powermatic 90 lathe appealed to me most and among the knowledgable people on the OWWM forum this lathe seems to have a formidable reputation as a fine machine. The other fact is there were many of these lathes in school shops because they were built like tanks and the kids couldn't hurt them.

As I began my informal search it seemed that most of the lathes in good condition were at least a 2 or 3 day drive from my location. I figured I didn't have one the day before so it wasn't a big deal if I didn't find one in short order and I really didn't want to drive for 2 days to see a lathe and then decided I did not want it.

As luck would have it a machine came up in an auction from the Dekalb County school system in Atlanta. An equipment dealer in Stone Mountain Ga. had purchased this and many other machines. This machine was only an hour and a half driving time from me, however it wasn't running and it did not have a tailstock.

Fortunately there is a lot of information about this machine online and I started researching this machine thoroughly. I had a pretty good idea what was wrong with this machine before I actually went to see it in person. I also knew that as long as the spindle was in good shape I could always convert this machine with new drive components driven by a 3 phase motor controlled by a variable frequency drive.

If course there was always a possibility that I could have been paying a premium price for a large bit of scrap metal and of course this opportunity came up at the worst possible time given my schedule for producing planes at the time. I finally decided it would only take half of a day to have a look and transport this machine home. As you can see in the above pictures of the lathe in my truck, that's exactly what happen. The dealer sweetened the deal considerably given that the machine was not running and because there were a few missing parts. I was now the new owner of a machine made in 1966 and the cost of this machine at that time was about the same as an automobile. Try wrapping your head around that one. A lathe and a 1966 Mustang having a similar price tag.

The lathe sat covered in the back of my truck for 2 days before I finally was able to get it up on casters and rolled into the shop. Once in the shop I had to return my focus to plane making for several days in order to keep my commitments to my customers.

The next weekend I spent a Saturday morning trouble shooting the lathe. It was actually simpler than I thought. The inline switch was faulty and as soon as I bypassed that switch and put the speed control lever in the correct position the lathe started right up.

The lathe needed a few more tweaks to get it ready for use and I spent some spare time over the last couple of weeks getting those completed. I made a on/off switch enclosure with a magnetic base so it can attached to the late virtually anywhere there is ferrous metal, I installed a new belt and put the lathe on a mobile base. The base has a capacity of 600 lbs. I'm obviously very close to the limit on the base because I have to use a block and a pry bar to get it up on the wheels to make it mobile and I also have to let it down using the same block and pry bar lest it come down with a bang.

Turning on a lathe of this quality is a real pleasure and I'm now glad I took the time to seize the day on this tool, and luckily it looks as if I have found a tailstock.

Ron

The secret to getting ahead is getting started, Mark Twain

Disbanding the Dovetail Saw Collection

2014-08-06T12:28:00.000-04:00

I enjoyed putting together a collection of dovetail saws by nearly all of the contemporary saw makers over the last years. It was my way of doing business with people that operate very similarly to myself and it was also a way of investing in the hand tool community.

It was also a lot of fun for me and many others to be able to pull out all those saws and compare them side by side. I think a lot of my friends made decisions about which saw they might purchase after having the opportunity to go thru my collection and try each saw.

Lately I've started feeling a bit guilty about these wonderful tools not fulfilling their destiny and being used so I decided to liberate these tools into hands that will actually use them for cutting dovetails and building hand wrought furnishings.

The Wenzloff Harvery Peace saw was the first to go. I posted this for sale on The Woodnet "Swap and Sell" forum and it sold in a matter of minutes. This morning I've posted three more saws and the Medallion Toolworks saw (pictured below) also sold within minutes of posting.

The Gramercy Saw has a great looking etch on the plate and this saw was purchased completed from Tool For Woodworking. It was not a saw made from one of their kits.

The Lie-Nielsen saw was one of the only saws that I did not purchase directly from the source. I actually got this from Bob Zajicek at Czeck Edge Hand Tools.

All of these saws have experienced very limited use which is why I stated that I was "liberating" them from my tool chest. They deserve to be used.

Once these are sold I have one more to list. Of the saws I've decided to sell I've saved one of the best for last. No it's not the Eccentric Toolworks saw from Andrew Lunn. Sorry.(grin)

FYI. All 3 saws are sold.

Ron

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."

and the Floor is Gray

2014-07-22T09:31:00.000-04:00

I mentioned in my last post that I intended to paint my shop floor a light gray color. The floor is now gray.

We have red clay soil where I live and frankly the white floor looked pretty terrible. On Friday afternoon I looked around and estimated it would take me about 45 minutes to move everything out of the way and clean the floor in preparation of painting. Having tool chest on wheels greatly facilitated the process, even though it actually took an hour and a half, however before I quit for the day I had the edges cut in and one coat of paint on the floor.

Friday night the monsoon set in. It had not rained here in quite some time so I wasn't complaining about the rain, however it did put adding a second coat of paint in question. I decided to cut in the edges and see if that would dry. I was running the air conditioner to help dry out the air. Given the amount of rain that was falling outside I didn't know if this would make a difference. When finished with the second cut in I was off to the store for another gallon of paint. When I returned the cut in areas had indeed dried so I commenced to rolling on a second coat of paint.

I was able to let the floor dry all Saturday evening and most of the day on Sunday. The rain persisted thru the weekend and has continued off and on this week. Once again I'm not complaining about the rain, we need it and the paint has dried just fine.

One thing I noticed on Monday while returning tool chest and other assorted items to their proper location. The hard plastic wheels on the tool chest casters did not mark the floor. The softer rubber casters on the dollies I used for the items that did not have wheels did leave some black marks on the floor especially at the points where we made turns to arrive at the unloading position.

My shop is beginning to look like a proper place of work and I have to say that I'm enjoying the new environment immensely. Now it's time to use this space for it's intended purpose. Creating tools and works of wood.

Ron

The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.

Abraham Lincoln

Shop Evolution

2014-07-10T13:07:00.000-04:00

The brown paper backing on the insulation batts reduced the efficiency of my light fixtures a great deal.

When I first constructed my shop I was the manager of an engineering department at a metal working business and never imagined I was constructing a place that would be the location of my full time occupation. Also I did not have a large budget for the shop. As my Dad used to say, "this was back in a time when I didn't have two nickels to rub together".

That might be a slight exaggeration but this was a period of time when Julie and I had 3 young children that had needs much greater than my needs for a workshop. Once dried in I didn't think I needed to spend much time or expense in finishing the interior of my shop. After some years I made the decision to become a full time furniture maker and as such I needed a space that would allow me to work during all kinds of weather conditions. At this point I did install batts of insulation in the walls and ceiling of the shop and I also installed drywall in the ceiling.

This sufficed for a while. Making the transition to full time plane making changed the requirements for my shop. The room that was added as a finishing room changed to a room where I did all my metal working. I had less need for major woodworking tools so my large 25" planer found a new home.

A couple of years ago I installed a new floor in the shop. The original floor was made from yellow pine boards and they had become smaller over the years. Heating and cooling had become more of a challenge so I installed T & G subfloor and to enhance light reflection I painted the floor white. A white floor might seem impractical however it did help with light reflection.

Historically my home town goes on vacation the week of the 4th. When the textile mills were the main employer they shut down for the week of the fourth and so the employees had no choice but to scheduled their vacation for that week. Even though the textile mills are defunct this tradition still continues and most of my home town goes to Panama City, Florida for the week of the fourth. Many restaurants are closed for that week, as are many other businesses.I wasn't officially on vacation this week but I was awaiting materials to arrive for the next planes I would be making so I decided to spend a couple of days installing wall covering in the shop. This was a long overdue upgrade and I was looking forward to getting this accomplished.

As you can see in the pictures this has been quite the upgrade. The white walls maximize the out put of my lighting fixtures. I can now finally think about painting the floor a color that will be more practical to live with on a daily basis.

My shop has evolved just like anyone's shop. I went thru an upgrade in woodworking tools during my time as a commissioned furniture maker and then saw another transition to metal working tools as I set about making my shop a place to produce tools.

I worked for so many years in my shop with the kraft papered insulation batts showing that this week it almost seems that I'm working in someone else's shop that just happens to be configured just like my shop and holds my tools.

Like all transitions I will gradually grow accustomed to this new environment. The white walls have increased the volume of light in my shop significantly. Once again I'm asking myself why I waited so long?

Ron

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

Albert Einstein

Just a Plane Box?

2014-07-01T08:31:00.000-04:00

A customer asked if it was possible to have a wooden storage box made for his plane. In this case the "Willie Davis" plane. I've not had this request in the past so I asked for a bit of time to think this over.

I needed to think over a configuration that would function as requested yet not escalate to becoming a work of art. In fact the specifications were that it just be functional and not overly elaborate. I couldn't resist the urge to say "so you just want a plane box huh?

I immediately imagined a structure much like the simple packing box the character Thomas constructed in the book 'The Joiner and Cabinetmaker". This enclosure would however be hinged and would have a painted finish.

I don't presently have a thickness planer and so I set about re-sawing some pieces of popular I received from my friend Jon Fiant. I then planed this material to final thickness using a jointer and smoothing plane. This was easily accomplished and the extra calories I burned that day afforded me an extra biscuit at dinner that evening.

The construction could not have been simpler. Butt joints joined with square cut nails. I am always amazed at the strength and holding power of square cut nails. I glued on a hinge and latch strap at the top and bottom. Besides providing a place for the hinges and the latch it also bridged the joints where the pieces of the sides came together at right angles, re-inforcing these joints.

The top was merely two boards joined with two wooden cleats or straps, assembled using more of the square cut nails. I cut the lid boards from one board that was amazingly flat prior to dividing. This board was a drop piece that had been hanging around in Jon's shop for quite a while prior to arriving at my shop. Any wide board that had stayed flat thru time in two different shop environments was a good board for the lid parts.

The paint was a Sherwin Williams sold color exterior stain.Cape Cod Red. It looks quite a lot like milk paint when applied. After two coats I sanded it with 400 grit sandpaper and then rubbed it down with maroon Scotchbrite. I then applied a provincial colored stain. This helped me achieve the final color and gave the paint a subtle sheen. The next day I applied a bit of shellac to seal the stain and paint.

The bottom panel was made from some white pine and left unfinished to contrast with the red. (not shown) Then a layer of 1/2" thick foam. I used 2.5" thick pluck and pull foam in the area where the plane was to reside. You just remove as many of the 5/8" squares as required to fit the object you wish to hold. This is topped off with another layer of 1/2" foam.

This plane enclosure is just what it needs to be in order to function as planned and still have enough character to make it visually interesting.

Ron

"The important things I know I learned from dogs"

The Willie Davis Plane

2014-06-19T20:12:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while you get a request to make something out of the ordinary. I have resisted the idea of making one of a kind planes because if a plane is worth making once it's worth making more than once. Besides there are many different combinations of metals and elements to explore and even though a plane may be the same model as another, with the differences in wood and other details all these tools really are one of a kind.

I like to refer to planes with special features as a Special Edition version of that model plane and that brings us to the Special Edition "Willie Davis" Winter Smoother.

This plane has several features not present on the standard version of this plane. For starters, the sole and bedding plate is made from 440C stainless steel. Secondly this plane features a new style lever cap screw not used on any Brese Plane to date. The most important visual change is the brass sides used on this plane and the Italian Olive wood tote and knob. The Italian wood has a unique look that is just a bit different than the African variety, but I like Olive Wood no matter it's origin.

The brass is treated a bit differently in that it's been oiled and the finish cured in my wood drying kiln. The surface is finished with Scotch Brite to a satin sheen and the oil gives it a deeper gold color. I think it looks pleasing and it's also pleasing to the touch and resist finger prints as well.

In case you're wondering, "Willie Davis" is not a famous blues musician. He's a friend and customer that happens to be a woodworker. It makes for such a catchy name I just couldn't resist using it as the name for this version of this plane.

Now, what's your name or nickname? (grin)

Ron