Hand Works 2015

Hi Folks

I know it's a little way off yet but I'm really excited to be attending the Hand Works show next May in Amana, Iowa in the USA! It is a hand tool only event featuring the best hand tool makers and manufacturers from around the world. More details are available here....  Hand Works 2015

As an added bonus they are exhibiting the amazing Studley Tool Chest and Workbench - if you've never heard of this check it out here, its truly an amazing piece and I can't wait to see it. Extra memory cards for the camera are being ordered right now..... ;)

I'll have more details as we get nearer,

Cheers

Philly

Moulding Planes and Associated Things....

Hi Folks

Been pretty crazy here at the Philly Planes Workshop - we took delivery of a trees worth of quarter sawn Beech last week! There are planks of it everywhere and I've spent hours breaking it down into plane sized billets. Every nook and cranny of the 'shop has blocks of Beech  pushed into it!
Why have I bought so much? It is extremely difficult to find quartered stock (which is vital for wooden planes as it means the stock expands and contracts side to side - this means the wedge angle never varies throughout the year so your plane performs happily). I spend an inordinate amount of time searching for timber and always have the "I don't have enough wood" feeling breathing down my neck. So we have bought a Beech tree and had it cut exactly how we wanted - problem solved!

I do get a lot of enquiries about buying blanks from customers who want to have a go at making their own planes. I am now in a position to be able to say "yes" to these requests, so drop me an email if you are interested - if there is enough interest I may offer them for sale on the website.

Back to the bench....

Philly

Yandles Show

Hi Folks
I'll be attending the Yandles Spring Woodworking Show in Martock, Somerset  (near Yeovil) this coming weekend (Friday 11th and Saturday 12th April). It's a great show to visit (especially as its free entry and parking) and it is set in the grounds of a real working sawmill, so there is lots of interesting stuff to see as well as the tools! I'll be on the Classic Hand Tools stand so do drop by for a chat if you are attending.

News......I have a new apprentice! Steve has been helping me out over the years on the occasional project (as well as being a friend for twenty something years!) and has a skill set which meshes nicely with my own. He will be taking on stock preparation and milling up irons to allow me to catch up a little with the order list. We hope to introduce some exciting new products and planes in the coming year and I am genuinely excited at the prospect of having someone to work alongside me - sometimes even I get board of talking to myself ;)

Planes...you may have noticed that some more planes have been added to the site. I now offer the Fore plane and Try plane as standard items, both excellent planes for the preparation and truing of timber. And I have also added the Dovetail plane as a standard item - this is for cutting the male part of sliding dovetails and features adjustable fences to allow a wide variety of sizes to be cut.

Back to the bench....

Philly