Wednesday 4 February 2009

A few mitres & a stunning piece of of wood.


The last few weeks have been very busy - both in the workshop and in the yard shoveling snow. The only good thing about mountains of snow is that it represents fresh water - and will do our rivers and lakes some good this spring and summer.

I just finished 2 very small mitre planes based on the one I talked about in a recent post. One is infilled with Ebony and the other with “mystery wood”. These are quite small - 5-1/2" long and 1-1/4" wide. Below is a photo of the pair next to a 28-1/2" A2 jointer.





The blade for the large mitre plane arrived this week and it is all I can do not to drop everything and finish it. I was a little nervous about the fit between the pin of the adjuster and the holes in the blade... but it was a perfect fit - thanks Larry & Ron!



Ok - so I didn’t “drop” any work - but have managed to find an hour or two here and there to work on the mitre. Here is a shot of the wedge properly fit with the blade in place. And with this done... I was morally obligated to finish the wedge (wasn’t I?).



Here is a shot of the fully shaped wedge. And with that done - it was just a quick turn of the stainless screw to find the location for the steel button...



So now I wait 24 hours for the epoxy to dry....




And last but certainly not least - that stunning piece of wood. This is a No.4 smoother infilled with “mystery wood”. I am quite sure it is a Dalbergia - but which one is anyone’s guess. All I know is that it makes for exceptionally beautiful infill. Here are a few pictures of the plane before I boxed it up and shipped it to Hawaii.





The balcony ledge was snow-free for a few hours and I could not pass on the opportunity to take an outdoor shot to show the grain of the rear infill.

6 Comments:

Blogger David said...

realy nice work or should I say realy beautifull work... One day I will buy one(or two) of your plane. I do all my woodworking with hand tools and hoppe to kind of make a living of it! thank you to make me dream!
David Gendron
Whitehorse Yukon

5 February 2009 at 00:15  
Blogger Aled said...

Stunning, absloutely stunning.

I have a thing for unhadled smoothers, and that wood is just great! Once I finish MY small shoulder plane, I might just give one a go.

The mitres aren't that bad either - understatement of the century.

Cheers

Aled

5 February 2009 at 03:16  
Blogger raney said...

Man, Konrad. You really might want to space those photos out a bit... I think I went blind before I got past the completed wedge...

Any idea where I can find a Mystery Rosewood Tree or ten?

5 February 2009 at 11:57  
Blogger Konrad said...

Hi David,

Thank-you for your kind comments.

Warmest wishes,
Konrad

5 February 2009 at 12:00  
Blogger Konrad said...

Hi Aled,

Unhandled smoothers are wonderful planes to use - and they do not get nearly the press they deserve. I think part of the problem is they are very “simple” looking. They are amazing workhorses.

Cheers,
Konrad

5 February 2009 at 12:02  
Blogger Konrad said...

Hey Raney,

Sunglassses? :)

I wish I could find another plank of Mystery Rosewood myself. I have a good chunk of it left - but it will run out some day.

Cheers,
Konrad

5 February 2009 at 12:04  

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