No.4 madness!

It has been unhandled smoother madness over here the last several weeks. I am just finishing up my SNo.4 smoother (second from the right - more pictures below). Here are a few quick pics of three XSNo.4’s and the first two SNo.4’s.






Here is yet another variation of the XSNo.4. This is an all steel version infilled with African Blackwood instead of Ebony. I am extremely pleased with the results.



I wasn’t sure how the warmth of the blackwood would work with the cold look of the steel - but they work wonderfully together. It is also nice to see the little bit of grain showing through - a subtle departure from the dead black of Ebony.





And here is my SNo.4 smoother. I was looking at my own planes a few weeks ago, and realized that I did not have a typical traditional British plane - steel sides, bronze lever cap and Rosewood infill. I was a little relieve to be honest - it is getting tough to come up with new combinations of sidewall and infill material.



I decided to treat myself to a wee corner of some Curly Rosewood. Here is a detail shot of the rear infill after the first coat of french polish. I can’t wait to see it after 12 coats! And it looks like I will be able to complete it in time for the show in England later this week.