Happy Birthday James.

This is the last child in a family of three. The other two were completed before Christmas - this one is arriving in time for a birthday.




Other than the incredibly figured Rosewood - there are a few interesting features to this A5 type smoother. The first is the bed angle - 52.5 degrees. This is the highest angle A5 I have made to date and I have to say it is really comfortable and well balanced in use.




The other feature is the front bun. There is a radius across the front of the bun instead of being flat like most of my other A5’s. This radius is also on the A1 panel and the XSNo.4. It makes for an extremely comfortable grip when you cup the plane across the front (as I do).

I have been working on re-designing a familiar plane, and this front radius found its way into the new design. Now that this A5 is done - it confirms that I will absolutely keep the radius on the new plane.

Here are a few more photos.




I sent this photo to a friend of mine and he commented that he wanted to eat it (thinking caramel & chocolate). I emailed him back adding that not only does it look edible - but it smells edible too.







I included this photo because it clearly shows the radius across the front of the bun. It also shows the rough layout lines for shaping the front bun. These lines are really rough guides - the final shape is much more complex than these lines would suggest.

Here is a shot of cutting the shoulders for the over-stuffing. This is (still) a pretty nerve wracking cut.