Retirement

HI Folks
Sadly, I think it is time for a close companion of mine to stand down. We spend a lot of time each day sharing the workload, and also glue, blood, oil and anything else thats gets on me. Yes, you've guessed it - its time for a new shop apron.........

This one has served me well for a couple of years but is embarressingly black and worn - every time I walk past the face vice of my bench it catches on a hole in the lower left side of the apron. Duct tape repairs gave it a few more months life but it really has to go now the front pocket has split. I spend as much time picking pencils up off the floor as I do putting them back in the pocket.

On the bench the beech moulding planes are coming along. I've cut the mortise and bed for all of these first five pairs (the customer has ordered a half set - nine pairs) so I'm making good progress.

This weekend I get to lay some solid oak flooring in our kitchen. I've been slowly renovating the kitchen - it was a genuine 1970's kitchen when we moved it and boy, did it suck. But its coming along nicely - pics soon!

Have a great weekend,

Philly

Blackwood Plough Plane

HI Folks
Finished another Blackwood plane yesterday - this one a plough. Can't beat that combination of brass, steel and blackwood!
This ones off to an American planemaker, which reminds me. Does that make this a "Plow Plane"? ;)

Cheers

Philly

Trip

HI Folks

Spent a couple days in Suffolk visiting the new Classic Hand Tools shop (and having a nose round the local area). Was impressed with CHT's new premises - it's out of town a few miles but lots of parking and easy to find. And they've got a LOT of lovely tools to see!

I was also lucky enough to meet Roy Arnold, publisher of many classic hand tool books. He has his office in Needham Market not too far away, and I was fortunate enough to spend some time going through his personal library. He has a huge amount of woodworking books and catalogues, many out of print, and I was able to find some very useful information I have been trying to uncover on certain planes. Roy also makes a good cup of coffee!
While browsing through his library we came across some sheets I immediately recognised - the inner dust cover from "British Planemakers" second edition. This shows a wide selection of moulding planes, and we hope to offer these rare pieces for sale in the near future. Stay tuned!

Cheers

Philly

The Philly Toted Smoother

HI Folks
After a few weeks work I'm pleased to unveil the completed plane. It was a lot of work but worth every minute - a sweet looking plane that works as good as it looks!
If anyone is interested in getting their hands on one drop me an email at phil@phillyplanes.co.uk

Cheers

Philly

Toted Smoother Update

HI Folks
Been busy working on the toted smoother. Bit of a special one, this. African Blackwood, Philly dovetailed brass sole, 6mm thick iron and a norris adjuster. Kind of a Philly A5.
The sole and stock were dovetailed and glued together and the throat chopped. The mouth was cut through and lots of truing up followed. Then it was tote time.
I love making totes - to see a handle appear from a plank of wood is an exciting thing. After mucho sanding and smoothing I routed out the recess for the adjuster mechanism. Then I mortised the stock to take the handle - a precision job.
With the handle fitted snuggly I could concentrate on shaping the body. With the outline marked in white pencil I carefully removed the majority of the waste before using a disc sander to take it to final size. Then plenty of scraping and sanding (by the way, brass scrapes quite well!). Chamfers were applied with files and scraper and a couple coats of shellac were applied to start off the finish.
I opened the mouth so the plane would cut (I always make the mouth too small for the blade to project, then open them to suit the planes purpose) and then turned my attention to the screw cap. The rough shape was arrived at on the mill then I spent some time refining that with files. After drilling and tapping I was ready to take some shavings - an exciting step!
I'm real pleased with the planes progress and the next step is the fitting of the norris adjuster, my first. I'll be back with some more pics soon.
Cheers
Philly

New Record Planes Resource

HI Folks
Most Woodworkers are aware of the Stanley planes resource Blood and Gore, but there has been nothing of similar note on Record planes. I was pleased to come across a link to this site, which looks very useful. Hope it is of use,
Cheers
Philly

Snow and Catgut

Hi Folks
As you might of heard, we actually had some snow here in the UK. Needless to say, the country came to a standstill at the alien sight of few inches of white stuff. Here's a shot from the workshop - would of been more welcome at the end of December ;) You will be pleased to hear that the torrential rain has now washed away the snow and returned us to the traditional British Winter/Summer - delete as applicable :)


Shop Cat news!!!! Cupcake made a visit to the vet a couple weeks ago to ensure we don't get a house full of "Shop Kittens". She was recovering quite nicely until she decided to pull out her stitches - once we had recovered from the sight of a kitten with her insides dribbling out of her side (nice!!) we whisked her back to the vet for an emergency stitch-up. Her punishment was to wear a collar for 10 ten days - and she didn't like that one bit. But thankfully she has healed up nicely and was allowed to wander around "hat-less" today. One very happy puss!

I'm making the tote for a rather special smoother at the moment. Dovetailed brass sole, Blackwood, tote and Norris adjuster - should be pretty special. More pics soon....


Cheers

Philly

More Blackwood????

Hi Folks
As you probably know, I've been using a lot of Blackwood recently. Its an amazing timber - very dense, incredibly tough and, most of all, black! Here's some pics of a piece that I broke down into smaller slices today.
It came from a plank of African Blackwood that had been cut through the centre of the tree, giving me a decent 3 inch thick plank of quartersawn material. But this plank had a hollow running up through the pith - and it was filled with a termites nest! The plank was filled with deep red soil, complete with tunnels. Nice....... :) I cut the plank into pieces to get the majority of the dirt out, but as you can see from the pics, not all of it.
I'm using a special bandsaw blade called a M42. It has two sizes of teeth - a section of coarse teeth followed by a section of fine teeth. It cuts impressively well, leaving a very fine surface. The blade was originally designed for cutting metal so its no surprise it works so well on tough hardwoods! Its available from DragonSaws in South Wales.


To finish, I've just completed another Skew Miter. This one (yes, you guessed!) is on Blackwood. The customer is another victim of my trip to the USA last year :)

Have a great weekend,

Philly

Dark Bench...

Hi Folks
This week sees lots more black shavings and dust covering the workshop. Yes, more Blackwood planes...... :)

First up is a Skew Miter. I made one of these in Blackwood to take to the WIA show last November. It made quite an impression and I've had quite a few orders since. You really have to feel the weight of this beast to believe it!

Next is a toted smoother. I'm just waiting for the brass to be delivered for the sole and I can move on to the stage, but the stock has had the mouth cut and throat excavated, so the hard part is done. This plane will be featuring my take on the Norris adjuster, too, so I'm pretty excited about this one. More pics soon.....

The snow here in England has been a pleasant surprise. We've only had a few inches but that has caused the Country to fall into complete chaos - hilarious! And last night we had two power cuts - don't you love replying to emails and finding yourself sat in the dark all the sudden? Its that moment that you wish you had put the torch in a more accessable place...... ;)

Better get back in that workshop while the sun shines.......

Philly

Blackwood Fillister - Complete

Hi Folks
Last week was a busy week - finished the Blackwood Fillister, amongst others.
It was a lot of work, and chopping a 1/8th thick mortise by hand for the nicker iron was rather "exciting" in this hard timber, but it looks pretty awesome! I do hope the new owner is pleased with it.

Also visited a Friend who is a website building guru - a new "Philly Planes" website is under construction and will be unveiled soon!

Cheers

Philly

Blackwood Fillister

Hi Folks

Working on a Moving Fillister for a customer at the moment. African Blackwood was the timber choice (after seeing my Blackwood Skew Miter at WIA). I love the look of Blackwood - stunning figure and that "almost Ebony" colour. But it is seriously tough to work with. I reminds me more of stone than wood, chipping away bit by bit. And the weight - well, it's almost as dense as stone. Quite a shock the first time you pick a piece up ;)

But the plane is progressing well - spent yesterday making the metalwork. There's a fair bit involved, too - two blades, brass depth stop, depth stop cover and knurled brass knob. And the fence bolts and washers. Just got some wedge fitting left to do and then I can start polishing the beasty up - I think its going to be something special :)
Cheers

Philly

Scraping

HI Folks
Been working with African Blackwood again this week. It is an amazingly dense timber (and I'm sure it smells like liquorice - but that might be an illusion) and has amazing grain. And its black!
The downside is that it is a difficult timber to work. Very!
To plane this without tear-out can be very taxing. I use a plane with a 60 degree pitch and sharpen the blade often to ensure the best possible cut. But even then, some areas just don't want to play. So out comes the scraper.
I have a humble #80 (tuned up with a Hock blade) and it doesn't see a lot of use. But when you are backed into a corner it usually saves the day. It tamed this piece of Blackwood without raising a sweat.
Only downside with the #80 is its short (read tiny!) sole. Guess I should add a scraper plane to my list of "Must Build" plane projects.
Cheers

Philly

One More?

Yet another Shoulder plane leaves the 'Shop today. This one, destined for the Netherlands, is made from London Plane. I managed to get a group shot before it left - nice, huh?
I do enjoy working with brass - it's soft enough not to cause too much sweat on the brow and polishes up a dream.

The next few planes on the bench are to be made from African Blackwood, an amazing timber. Better get that plane iron sharpened before I get stuck into stock preparation ;)

Cheers
Philly

Shoulder Plane

Hi Folks
Here's one of my brass soled shoulder planes - this one from Ovangkol, a favourite timber of mine. It's once inch wide with a 55 degree bed.
I've made a few rebate and shoulder planes out of just wood (o.k, I used metal for the blade.......). But the brass sole adds significant weight and this really helps in the work this plane is designed to do. After setting this plane up I was able to take fantastic end grain shavings from maple with no hassle - no mean feat.

This week has also seen more left handed planes being built. I have to constantly remind myself to check (and then double check!) I'm making a cut in the right direction. I've also got exciting news on the new 2009 "Philly" name stamp. Pics soon..... ;)

Cheers

Philly

New Toted Smoother

HI Folks

I've been busy working on a new toted smoother design. It's something I've had on the "To Do" list for quite some time and a customer has been chasing me to get it done. So here's the prototype.

Rosewood with a lignum vitae sole (the production model will have a brass sole, attached in the trademark Philly style). 50mm wide, 6mm thick O1 iron with brass screw cap. Pitch is 55 degrees. Oil and shellac finish. I'm also putting finihsing touches on my version of the Norris adjuster which will be available as an option.

The plane feels very natural to use. The Lignum sole is "interesting" - it is slippery and lubricates itself making for a very slick action. But I think the additional mass a brass sole will add will make for a better smoother.

I'll be starting on the first production model real soon - more pictures soon ;)

Cheers

Philly

Hammer Time..

Hi Folks

I've been asked if I make a hammer with a brass head instead of wood. This would be perfect for adjusting Infill and metal bodied planes to tweak the blade setting. So after much experimentation I present the Philly Brass Hammer.



The head is 19mm hexagonal shaped brass and the handle is shaped from mahogany. The head is fixed to the handle with ebony wedges. Weight is approximately 230 grams. The handle is finished with a coat of boiled linseed oil and shellac. And they're available now over at www.phillyplanes.co.uk

Cheers

Philly

Small is Beautiful....

Hi Folks
Another plane I finished this week was a tiny little rosewood plane suitable for an instrument maker. It's only three inches long and has a half inch wide iron. It's definitely a "one hand" plane and perfect for getting into tight spaces.
It's amazing how much time it took to make (almost as long as a full size plane) - smaller doesn't necessarily mean quicker ;)
Cheers
Philly

Cross Grain Planing

Hi Folks

Been building a lot of "cross-grain" planes the last few weeks. Dado, Fillister and dovetail planes, to be precise. Plane that are designed to cut across the the grain have different needs to planes that are designed to cut along the grain.
First up is a skewed iron. This gives a slicing cut across the fibres and leaves a noticibly cleaner surface. It also makes a cool curly shaving, too ;) But the skewed iron rips the surface at either side of the cut - and badly! So this necessitates this second "cross-grain plane" feature....

The Nicker iron. This is placed ahead of the main iron and is situated on the outer edge of the plane (on a Fillister there is one, on a dado there are two). It slices the timber allows the plane to make clean, sharply defined cuts. Rather like scoring the workpiece with a marking knife.

The final feature is a fence. By having either a fixed or adjustable fence you define the width of cut the plane will make. And the skewed iron is usually set to pull the plane against the workpiece due to the cutting action. (Of course a dado plane, which cuts across the boards far from an edge, has no built-in fence. A batten is usually clamped across the workpiece to guide the plane).

So there you go - three features which allow a plane to make clean accurate cross grain cuts. They make a lot of extra work for the planemaker but the result is a unique plane.

Cheers

Philly

Special Present!

Hope you all had a great Christmas - the dust has just about settled and the last of the relatives has hit the road here at Philly Central. December has been a pretty busy month (to top off a year of busy months!) but at last I've managed to sneak away for five minutes on the computer.

Over at UK Workshop forum I joined in on the "Secret Santa" gift swap. My pressie turned up a couple days before Xmas and I put it under the tree ready for the big day. And I was not dissapointed - on opening the box I found this little thing packed in amongst some shavings. It's a small rebate plane made from brass and steel, with a rosewood wedge. Needless to say, I couldn't believe my eyes! Many, many thanks to my Secret Santa (you know who you are, Aled Dafis!) for fantastic gift :)

Spent half a day cleaning up the workshop today - can't stand trying to work when the place is so untidy. The place looks a million times better now, so I may take some workshop photo's in the morning to share with you.

Best regards

Philly

Samson....

Hi Folks

Having a busy month and can't believe where the time has gone. Feeling the cold in the workshop, too. How much frost??

Today was a big day - hairdresser day. And the mighty (some say mighty untidy) Philly hair has been shorn. Not totally, but quite severely. I won't post a picture as I don't want to put anyone off their dinner...... ;)

Was pleased to see myself mentioned over at the Lost Arts Press blog - John Hoffman and I got on famously at WIA. Looking forward to a repeat in 2009, John!

Merry Xmas,

Philly