Friday, February 14, 2014

Pressing Pins and Testing a Recently Completed Winter Panel Plane, Could There be a Better Time of Year for a Winter Panel Plane?

I thought it was most appropriate that I be finishing up a Winter Panel Plane during the recent weather events. I was lucky. Our electricity service was not interrupted during the recent Ice storm in the southern part of the U.S.

This plane has the same features as the Winter Smoother I posted about just a few weeks ago, it's just a larger format plane. Macassar Ebony wooden bits and brass with a patina'd finish. The acquisition of double diffused soft box lights has me back in the game of shooting shop video. There are a couple of instructional type videos I've been meaning to shoot. Maybe the new lighting will inspire me to get those completed.

Besides plane making I have a couple woodworking projects in process at this time. Julie has reminded me that some of these projects have been, supposedly, in process for quite some time and that I need to get some of these finished. The reed in our dining chair seats is breaking down and I have one ready for re-hab. The old reed is removed and a new black finish has been applied to the chair frame. We're just waiting on Shaker Tape seating material to arrived in order to complete the new seat in that chair. I've watched several videos on this process so I'm ready to have to a go.

Back to the Winter Panel Plane:

The side Profile Picture


The Reach in and grab it by the tote picture

The overall view


 details of the toe


these views show the knob seat and the toe details such as the way the plane sides are blended into the sole in lieu of just being scabbed on.


This plane body has brass pins pressed in at strategic points in both pieces of the sole. The fit is called an interference fit, which basically means the pins are slightly larger than the holes where they are to reside. A friend I worked with many years ago would have termed this process as "end of the world stuff", in the context of making stuff that would last quite a long time.

Photo Bench


The video below shows the installation of the one of the brass dowel pins and some testing of the completed plane. Best viewing is had by changing the quality to 720p and viewing full screen.



Ron







Monday, February 10, 2014

It's Been A Hard Winter

Everyone has had their share of extreme winter weather this year. The wolf in the picture below expresses a sentiment that many of us share.


I have many friends and family that live in the north. Iowa, Vermont, Brooklyn, NY. My friend Jameel Abraham emailed today to inform me that it was -19 in Cedar Rapids this morning. I can't even imagine conditions of that type and frankly I don't want to. I'll just continue right here in Georgia, and when it's 70 degrees in Iowa in late July and it's 100 degrees here and 100% humidity then all is fair.....I guess. I dunno -19.....that's pretty extreme.

As I told some guys in Minnesota one summer......you have all summer to leave from up here.

But home is home and we all endure.....and that's the way of life.

This weather will eventually end and spring will arrive,

Ron