Categories
Planes Restoration

Calling from the graveyard…

Stanley No.9 Cabinet Maker Plane – Hot Dog
…yes, a Stanley No.9 Cabinet Makers plane, sans ‘hot dog’ handle for now. I’ve not yet had the chance to empty all these more boxes to confirm it’s gone awol for sure. The pics I have so far don’t fill me with promise, but I’ve worked miracles on planes not far off this condition. If it’s rusted through on the bottom though, I’ll be gutted.

Update: Bad News. Halfway through cleaning the plane up, I noticed the back corner was coming loose as there seemed to be a fracture. Sure enough, the rear corner of the plane came away. No idea what I should do with this now. I think it would be possible to weld/braze, but beyond my skills. If anyone out there wants to make an offer on a fixer-upper, let me know, otherwise it might go on eBay.

Stanley No9 Cabinet Maker Plane_2
Stanley No9 Cabinet Maker Plane_3

PS, check out Colin Sullivan’s post about making his own.

Categories
Jim Hendricks Planes

How to adjust a plane with Jim Hendricks

Jim Hendricks 1
You may have already seen my post about Jim Hendricks. Here’s a link to a video by Jim about how to adjust a wooden plane, something I get asked about a lot.

Categories
Carving Hand Tools Turning

Ladder making and more…

Robert-Penn-The-Man-Who-Made-Things-Out-Of-Trees-2
I’m reading this very interesting little book at the moment. The Man Who Made Things Out Of Trees, by Robert Penn. The book was given to me by a couple of former colleagues from the ‘day job’.
The book is all about the Ash (Fraxinus Excelsior) and it’s multiple uses. It’s remarkable to see how the tree has been used throughout history and to learn just how unique it’s special characteristics are. The author has cleverly used the felling of a specific tree to explain how parts can be used for everything from coach building to making a canoe paddle.
I’m currently at the section where he’s having a bowl turned by Robin Wood. I know Robin’s work well, but didn’t realise what a fascinating variety of jobs he had enjoyed before he started full-time turning. Best buy the book to read more!
You can see the actual bowls that Robin made for Robert on Robin’s website, here. Or, check out the video.
Something else I came across this week was a link to the wonderful web page of Stanley Clark, a wooden ladder maker. It seems Robin was also involved in the creation of some wonderful films for this Heritage Crafts Association Project. As the text on the home page reads:

During the 1950s, Stanley Clark worked as a ladder maker for John Ward & sons who employed 12 people making approx 1600 wooden ladders per year. When aluminium ladders were introduced in the 1960’s, the wooden ladder industry disappeared almost overnight.
Woodworkers Robin Wood and Steve Tomlin travelled to Northampton as part of this Heritage Crafts Association project to make a ladder with Stanley and learn the skills.

Go here to see the great films and read about the project.
Stanley Clark-Ladder Maker 1
Stanley Clark-Ladder maker

Categories
London Restoration

Bear with me…

Apologies for the lack of woodworking posts, all my spare time has been eaten up recently, running back and forth to a small house renovation. The whole house has been re-plastered, lots of electrical work and some re-plumbing. I’ve been steadily getting the house back to a decent state, with the last month being dedicated to decoration. The house has a period cast-iron fireplace, with working flue now and I plan to spend a good while making some good built-ins for storage.
When I set out on this project in September, I planned ‘a little painting and maybe a new kitchen’. Only now am I getting round to gutting the kitchen and working out underfloor heating in there, as well as a million other small details that need to be attended to. I fitted the new (old) door last week, which lets lot of light into the hallway, a big improvement on it’s predecessor.
Well, it always takes longer than you think it will and I guess I’ve saved a lot of money by doing most of this myself and I’m also blessed with a few local trades who always turn up when they say they will. I’ll get there eventually.