Lee Ludden
01-15-2011, 11:45 PM
I spent several hours yesterday and today at a Lie-Nielsen event here in Mesa Arizona. The people were great and very patient with their explanations.
Keven Glen Drake, from Glen-Drake tools was there demonstrating his products, primarily his line of Dovetail saws (http://play-glen-drake.com/v-web/ecommerce/os/catalog/index.php?cPath=33&osCsid=300667572b7b1625dd5841185f62bbd2) used in conjunction with his Kerf Starter (http://play-glen-drake.com/v-web/ecommerce/os/catalog/index.php?cPath=27) and Offset Gauge (http://play-glen-drake.com/v-web/ecommerce/os/catalog/index.php?cPath=32). The saw had some interesting features: angled handle, variable pitch teeth, and no teeth at all at the very front and back of the saw. I am still at the beginner stages when it comes to hand cutting joints, but I was able to make some nice straight, parallel cuts using it after just a few minutes of tutoring. The Kerf Starter and Offset gauge allow you to make measured, repeatable dovetail and finger joints that are as tight as you want without doing any paring. I watched him make a joint that was press fit first time without touching a chisel. I put that on my wish list for a later time.
I did pick up one of his Tite-Mark marking gauges. I already had one, but have had times where it would have been nice to have another so I could keep a setup. I picked up a set including all of the mortise marking blades. If you haven't tried these, you owe it to yourself to give them a try.
The guys from Lie-Nielsen were very helpful as well. I got to try out the new 51 shooting board plane. It was a real pleasure to use, but it will be awhile before I can plop down the $500 they want for it. I was able to get some instruction on the usage of card scrapers, spokeshaves and drawknives - tools that I had basically zero experience with. I had been looking for a router plane for a while, so I took this opportunity to pick one up as well as a toothed blade for my low angle jack plane. I also picked up a few chisels that I was missing from the set I purchased at last year's show. The guys actually dissuaded me from getting a #8 jointer plane. After I described what sorts of projects I was planning on building in the near future, they figured that my #7 would be sufficient.
If you have never been to one of their shows, I highly recommend it. The guys are great, very knowledgeable, and very helpful. I talked with several other customers while there and picked up quite a lot of good information from them as well. One guy had made the drive from New Mexico (5-6hr) to be here. I don't blame him.
Keven Glen Drake, from Glen-Drake tools was there demonstrating his products, primarily his line of Dovetail saws (http://play-glen-drake.com/v-web/ecommerce/os/catalog/index.php?cPath=33&osCsid=300667572b7b1625dd5841185f62bbd2) used in conjunction with his Kerf Starter (http://play-glen-drake.com/v-web/ecommerce/os/catalog/index.php?cPath=27) and Offset Gauge (http://play-glen-drake.com/v-web/ecommerce/os/catalog/index.php?cPath=32). The saw had some interesting features: angled handle, variable pitch teeth, and no teeth at all at the very front and back of the saw. I am still at the beginner stages when it comes to hand cutting joints, but I was able to make some nice straight, parallel cuts using it after just a few minutes of tutoring. The Kerf Starter and Offset gauge allow you to make measured, repeatable dovetail and finger joints that are as tight as you want without doing any paring. I watched him make a joint that was press fit first time without touching a chisel. I put that on my wish list for a later time.
I did pick up one of his Tite-Mark marking gauges. I already had one, but have had times where it would have been nice to have another so I could keep a setup. I picked up a set including all of the mortise marking blades. If you haven't tried these, you owe it to yourself to give them a try.
The guys from Lie-Nielsen were very helpful as well. I got to try out the new 51 shooting board plane. It was a real pleasure to use, but it will be awhile before I can plop down the $500 they want for it. I was able to get some instruction on the usage of card scrapers, spokeshaves and drawknives - tools that I had basically zero experience with. I had been looking for a router plane for a while, so I took this opportunity to pick one up as well as a toothed blade for my low angle jack plane. I also picked up a few chisels that I was missing from the set I purchased at last year's show. The guys actually dissuaded me from getting a #8 jointer plane. After I described what sorts of projects I was planning on building in the near future, they figured that my #7 would be sufficient.
If you have never been to one of their shows, I highly recommend it. The guys are great, very knowledgeable, and very helpful. I talked with several other customers while there and picked up quite a lot of good information from them as well. One guy had made the drive from New Mexico (5-6hr) to be here. I don't blame him.