Split My Sides

Howdy Folks!
Been a busy week at work which has left me a chomping at the bit for some workshop time. And today has been a good day. The Missus and little Sophie have been at a birthday party all day leaving me, sob sob, all alone in the workshop ;)
So to business.....
First job-finish the forth moulding plane off. I also had a mass blade temper session. So that concludes pair number two. I also received some letter punches from Tilgear so the planes now have their size and my initials adorning thier ends. So professional............NOT ;)
Next up-steam bending the back for my shop stool project. Not such a success. Three tries and all split out on me. An hour and a half in the steamer for 3/4 inch material should of been plenty (according to all the books I've read) Looks like I'll be laminating up the back, then :( Turned up the remaining spindles so this one is coming on well.
And just for fun (and to keep Norm happy) I've started a drill press/sharpening station. A spare worktop from the day job inspired this project and some MDF and the biscuit jointer pushed it over the edge. Hopefully this will be finished tomorrow, pics to follow.
Time for a quick glass of wine-have a good weekend all!
Phil

Weekend Over

Hi Folks
Didn't get as much done this weekend as I had planned-seems last week drained me more than I realised. Still, managed to complete another hollow. And the shop stool is sit-on-able (if not exactly comfortable yet) Oh, and I wasted an hour of so making a chair devil. Yes Alf, it is catching ;)
I've had hassle getting my website up to date. I usually do this from my office but I seem to be spending most ofmy time out on the road so the website was looking a bit sad. After hours of messing around I now have transferred it to my home PC so I can do updates from there. So now have added the moulding plane step-by-steps for your enjoyment.
Have a good week,
Philly

A "Panel" of Jointers?

Quick update, Blog-buddies!
Work has been hectic this week so no more planes have been made (yet!) Had a sharpen and play with the Rutlands jointer. Hmm..... Sole is still unacceptably convex so planing is difficult. And the tote is very uncomfortable .[oh-oh, I'm sounding like "you-know-who";)] Also the wedge only supports the iron (well, chipbreaker) for the first inch or so. They then part company heading off in different directions. Sigh....well what did we expect for the money? I'll do a tune-up on the weekend and see how it performs.
Stool news-finally drilled the mortises in the seat for the legs. Compound angles are fun, right? Needless to say I chickened out and used a jig on the drill press........
The heat continues to sap my will to do anything (combined with busy workdays) but I am eager to get make some progress this weekend. I even have the beech ready for the next pair of planes.
And I hope the picture of the jointers was of use??
Be good,
Philly

What A Pair

First things first. I am a muppet when it comes to computers (and other stuff...) Apologies to all who posted comments-I accidentally clicked a box I shouldn't have in the control panel and it took an expert to put me straight. Thanks Alf ;)
So, I have completed the matching round! A pair of moulding planes! Also had to make a planemakers float today to make things a little easier. That was fun ;) Now for some answers....
Tool steel? 01 from Tilgear, about £10 for 2 inch x 18 inch, 1/8th thick. Enough for at least 6 irons and some floats.
Side beads? One step at a time, but nothing is ruled out. Pack some just in-case ;)
The Rutlands jointer has moved around some more-checked it today and the sole has straightened out some. I'll give it a week and check again. The mouth is still damn big though!
A project in mind for the moulding planes Mike? Not as such, but I'm sure most projects will find them a benefit.
So I need a to knock out a few more of these. I found the angled mortise the most difficult to make-it gets pretty tight as you reach the bottom. Oh, and did I mention the only power tools used were the drill press and table saw? I'm slowly building up some muscle ;)
Got a busy week ahead at work but the advantage of working with hand tools is the lower noise levels mean I can get lots of work done in the evening.
have a good week,
Philly

One Down....

The hollow is finished!! Yes, the Workshop Gods smiled upon me today as I finished shaping and heat treating the iron and did the final details on the body. All tested and tweaked and a couple of coats of oil. And yes, it works!
So tomorrows work is to finish the matching round-the iron is roughed out ready to shape and the body needs the mortise tidying. Hopefully it should be easy to finish (especially as the sole will be shaped by the hollow I just built!).
Not made any more progress on the chair today but what did you expect? Miracles? ;)
Cheers, Philly

Steel Yourself....

O.k., that was a terrible pun. Sorry ;)
The tool steel arrived (along with plenty of hacksaw blades) and the first iron has been cut out, filed down and profiled. I've been working away the last few days so there has been minimal progress-but today is Saturday! Time to break out the Mapp gun......
Some bad news on the cheap beech planes from Rutlands-I bought the jointer and it was a little disappointing (even at the price). The mouth is WIIIIIDE open (like about 1/2 an inch) and the sole is terribly convex. It's going to take some flattening before i can use it. On the up side I liked the iron and chipbreaker, a nice fat piece of steel. I'll report back once I've spent some time fettling.
The sun is shining so get out there and enjoy yourselves!
Cheers
Philly

The Answer is Plane

So I was a little too obvious? Damn ;)
Yup, moulding planes. Why, you ask??
I've been trawling the car boot sales, house clearance shops and Tool shops in the (futile, it seems) search for hollows and rounds, even the odd side bead. They used to be ten a penny, I was told. "Yeah, I had a box full of 'em-threw them out, they never sold". Those kind of comments. Oh yes, the old tool shops have 'em. And what a price they charge.........
So, an idea. Why not make my own? And so you see pair number one. That big board of spalted beech in the workshop is enough for dozens of planes. But the irons?? Trawl the shops and car boot sales? Nah, gonna try my hand at metalwork. It has been a long time but how hard can it be?? And you can stop laughing at the back.............;)
Some sheets of tool steel (oil quench) are in the mail to me-should be here Wednesday. I'll make the wedges tonight and then I can get the hacksaw out. I'll post some more pics soon (unless I burn the worlshop down).
Cheers
Philly

Weekend-part 2

HI Folks
Two blogs in one weekend?? They are paying me way too much........;)
Awoke to find the standard British summertime weather-yup, it was raining hard! That kinda ruled out the planned car boot sale visit. Never mind, the Mother-in-law is always there. Yippee.....
On our return it is workshop time. Finished shaping the seat (and pleased to say it was all done by hand) and spent a while cleaning up the large amount of chips that have surrounded the bench area.
Then, in an act of woodworking craziness, I started project number two! Two projects on the go at once!! Back away, the kids on fire.........;)
So what is this new project?? Here's a clue. Whilst going through my plane colle-I mean, whilst looking at my hand planes, I noticed a certain "hollow" area. I need more planes to "round" it out.
Are you getting it, yet? ;)
Needless to say, I have completed about 80% of the first two. Just need the tool steel to arrive before I can complete them. And the 4 inch plank of spalted beech came in very handy-should be able to make a whole set.
So a pretty productive weekend-and I didn't spend a penny.
Cheers
Philly

Weekend-part 1

Hi Folks
Busy day, today. Spent the morning chopping back trees and shrubbery in the garden whilst the Missus watched, making sure I didn't get carried away ;)
Then off to a birthday party-little Sophie had a great time!
Back home and a little workshop time! Sketched out the shape for the seat and began shaping. I'm determined to shape it totally by hand (well, o.k., using HAND tools) as the various grinders, sanding discs and sanders I used on the Maloof chair made for a quicker job but not exactly "pleasurable".... Various gouges, the scorp and L-N's little concave sole plane have made good progress-quicker than I thought although a little sweatily ;)
Had a little package from L-N yesterday, too. Tite-mark mortise blades and some, uh-em, apparel. I won't elaborate but I am a well dressed little bunny. Sponsered by..........;)
I've been reading a great hand tool oriented book-it's "Old Ways of Working Wood" by Alex Bealer. Don't know if you lot are familiar with it but it certainly is an inspiring read.
Cheers
Philly

Happy Boy

Came home from work a little drained last night. The heat kinda takes it out of you. And the air con dries you up....... ;
Decided I'd spend a little time in the workshop anyway-just fiddle around a bit out. But I really enjoyed myself. By the time the Missus was giving me the "do-you-know-what-time-it-is!" looks I was feeling a lot more contented. I wouldn't say the workshop is 100 percent how I want it but it is such a pleasure to just go out there and do something. Anything!
So what did I get up to last night? Cleaned up a couple of woodies I picked up earlier this week (yeah, kept quiet about that one) First there was THIS.
It cleaned up really well-had to true up the sole, fence and skate but once that was done (and it wasn't exactly hard work) the thing cuts really nicely. The adjustable fence is a nice touch and it feels really good to use. This one will be seeing some use.......;)
Also picked up four moulding planes to add to the pile and a couple more saws. A Spear and Jackson handsaw with "unbreakable handle" logo and a nice brass backed tenon saw. Not sure exactly what is is but probably also a S+J.
Spent a bit more time on the shop stool-all four legs are turned up and the seat blank is marked out ready for shaping. Going to use the scorp instead of the angle grinder this time. Well, at the moment anyway ;)
Cheers
Philly

I'm Back!

Hi Folks
Back from my little holiday and feeling all invigorated of sorts! "Finished" the workshop, started on my first project AND updated the website! Whew, in this heat too...... ;)
Also put a little workshop walk-around on the website-take a look and see how I did..
Philly's Workshop
Cheers
Philly