Monday, October 12, 2009

Ebony Miter



Hi Folks

Here's another pretty plane - a Skew Miter in Macassar Ebony. I love the look of the dark timbers, they give a real sense of solidity. This particular plane is also a few inches longer than usual, at the customers request.
It's the first time I've used Ebony and I was surprised how easy it was to plane - I was expecting it to be "tear-out central". And it takes a lovely polish. Needless to say, I can see me using this wonderful timber again in the near future.

Something I've been toying with for a long time is the issue of my concrete floor. Standing at the bench all day, a concrete floor can take its toll on your legs. So I have just invested in foam floor tiles - they should arrive early this week. I'll let you know if they make a significant difference.

Cheers
Philly

4 comments:

Tom said...

That's a beautiful plane Phil. Lead me not into temptation!!

Anonymous said...

Philly

I have the Axminster foam jigsaw edged floor tiles, they are great, word of warning leave an expansion gap at the edges (against the wall) but also in the middle of large spaces (I did only at the edges and it bowed considerably I had to cut out a 3cm strip across the centre of a large bit (2m x 5m)to reseat it, then later I will refit that strip if a gap appears.

If your like me you will notice the difference immediately .I did my whole shop (6m x 5m) in the stuff, including under the machines & workbench and bought it all when Axminster had a half price deal on the stuff for 10 quid a square meter ;)

I also bought 2 packs for spares (8 pieces) just incase good ole Axminster stop stocking them)

Have fun

Kari Hultman said...

Beautiful as always, Philly. I like the streaks of lighter wood running through it. :o)

We put wood floors in my shop when we had it built. Prior to that, I worked in a basement shop with concrete floors. It makes a huge difference in comfort, so I'm sure you'll like the foam tiles.

Philly said...

Tom - no promises ;)

Andy - thanks, have laid my new tiles and like them a lot! See next blog entry for more.

Kari - its a pretty piece of timber! And I love your latest project - look forward to seeing it completed :)