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Harlan Barnhart
09-09-2009, 6:36 PM
One of the reasons I find this forum useful is the inspiration that comes from the work posted by the members. Here is my contribution. It may not be up to George Wilson standards but everybody loves pictures.

First Picture: 3/4" rebate plane with a flea market blade, mahogany(?) body and cocobolo wedge and sole. Router plane with adjustable fence. (The knob locks the fence).

Second and third Pictures: Jointer fence with a wedge I used to create a beveled top for a bench.

Fourth Picture: Drawbore pins made from maple scrap and two alignment punches. Cutting guage, body and arm: mahogany, maple top and cocobolo knob turned with a drill and belt sander. The knife is an abandoned jigsaw blade and the hardware is from the "Depot".

Phillip Pattee
09-09-2009, 7:04 PM
Very nice. They look like good functional tools that will be heirlooms someday.

Bob Strawn
09-09-2009, 8:22 PM
Those are all wonderful tools!

Relax and consider George as great inspiration, not as competition. I have studied quite a bit of history and toolmaking, but I will tend to question my original sources before I question George on an issue.

Bob

george wilson
09-09-2009, 9:45 PM
Bob,very kind words,but I do not consider myself a great tool historian. I just made what I was called upon to make,and some of my own doing. Yes,I do wish more folks would put up pictures. I need to get back into it myself one of these days.

harry strasil
09-09-2009, 9:48 PM
I lightened the pictures up a bit so they show up better.

Jim Koepke
09-09-2009, 11:07 PM
I really like the joiner gauge.

I have done similar, but more just for a single use cobbled from scrap and turned to something else later.

jim

Bob Strawn
09-09-2009, 11:45 PM
Bob,very kind words,but I do not consider myself a great tool historian. I just made what I was called upon to make,and some of my own doing. Yes,I do wish more folks would put up pictures. I need to get back into it myself one of these days.

Often, one mistake in a book gets repeated and exaggerated. All the modern books on soap making say that caster oil makes a soft soap. In fact it makes an extremely hard soap. One major technical book on soap making made a typographical error on the first edition, and that has been repeated in every modern book that I have seen. I got the first clue about this when I started making small test batches of pure soaps to check on characteristics. Apparently none of the experts have done this.

As a result of this experience, and many more like it, I tend to trust those who test their data, much more than those that simply publish their data. I have had a few debates and disagreements with Stephen Shepard, for example, but I will usually take his argument hands down over some odd bit of data I have read, no matter how fond I am of that bit of trivia.

It is really the difference between hypothesis and theory. A scientist that is not ready to test his hypothesis is hardly in the league of a scientist who is actually able to perform experiments. A scientist who performs experiments is also much more likely to develop a real understanding of his field.

I personally think that your tasks of reproducing tools, and using those tools to reproduce items matching those that the finest craftsmen of their day made, makes you a rather extraordinary historian. Specialized to be sure, but the scope of your specialization is still rather amazing. Then again, it might be, George, that you are an anthropologist. :)

Bob

harry strasil
09-10-2009, 12:03 AM
The way I understand it, Ivory soap floats, because of an accident during the civil war, when they left the batch in the mixer too long and it got enough air in it that it would float, which was a hit with the troops as they usually bathed in streams and they wouldn't loose the soap to the bottom if it was dropped. yeah OT I know, but just a follow up on Bob's post.

Anyway I have made several lye runners for various historical sites.

Ben Davis
09-10-2009, 8:16 AM
Bob,very kind words,but I do not consider myself a great tool historian. I just made what I was called upon to make,and some of my own doing. Yes,I do wish more folks would put up pictures. I need to get back into it myself one of these days.
George, You've only been a member here for 10 months and you're already at 2K posts! I don't think you've "gotten out of it" by a long shot!

Dominic Greco
09-10-2009, 8:21 AM
Awesome! I love shop built tools.

The rabbet and router plane are just "plane" cool. (no pun intended)

My favorite is the jointer fence! Simple and effective.

The draw bore pins looks neat as well.

Harlan Barnhart
09-30-2009, 8:20 PM
Several months ago there was a thread about large, reliable squares that got my creative juices flowing. I had just finished a cabinet project with several sliding dovetail joints and discovered my 12" combination square didn't have enough length on the head or rule to register a square line past 12". So I decided to rip off Mr. Colen Clinton's brilliant design and make my own.

The "stock" is maple and the blade is from a "chomped out" framing square from the flea market. The brass pin was just hanging out in my stuff and the threaded brass rods (1/4" by 20) with the captive nuts are from the "Depot".
I lapped the edges of the blade with sandpaper on glass and sanded the faces with a belt sander. Originally I thought of sanding enough to remove the numbers and marks but they were too deep. I made a jig to run the two halves of the stock on the table saw to make grooves for the threaded rod and then shaped them with a gouge.

I haven't really used it yet but it is easy to calibrate and feels nice and solid in the hand.