An incredible piece of Rosewood

(and another honkin’ big plane!)

I have been working on a 28-1/2" A2 jointer for the last several weeks. The infill is Rosewood, steel sides and a bronze lever cap. The set was roughed out almost 3 years ago. When I took the first cut off the rough piece I had selected, I saw this amazing pair of black lines. They were unusually straight and I knew right away that I was morally obligated not to screw up this special grain. I immediately roughed out a set for a 28-1/2" jointer. My goal was to preserve enough of the line to carry it from the front bun all the way to the rear infill.



I started on the rear infill first and was very pleased to find that the line did not disappear as the wood started to take shape.



A long view of the rear infill...

(click on the photo for a larger view)

... and a close up of a particularly nice section right beside the handle. It is hard to see it from this angle, but there is a black line in the handle that lines up perfectly with the black line on the deck of the rear infill. The planets had certainly lined up for me!




The block for the front bun is also fit, and the grain looks to be equally stunning.



And here is what I was after - that black line running from front to back.



And a close-up of the rear infill where it terminates into the sole.



The chamfers have been “roughed” on the sidewalls and the dovetails have been ground off using a bench grinder. The next step is the front bun.