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Dave Anderson NH
04-13-2003, 10:17 PM
About a month ago I received the Clark & Williams 55 degree coffin shapped smoothing plane I ordered from Bill and Larry in January while I was at the 18th Century Furniture conference at Colonial Williamsburg. This is without a doubt the finest smoothing plane I own. Out of the box it was honed to perfection and required absolutely no fettling before being put to use. No other maker provides a tool in this condition. I'll say that again, NO OTHER MAKER PROVIDES A TOOL IN THIS CONDITION!!

Since the plane is a tapered iron smoother with a wedge, it requires a hammer to adjust the iron and set the wedge. I decided I needed an appropriate hammer which wouldn't mushroom the heel of the iron like the steel hammers will. I also didn't want steel striking the wedge or the heel of the plane and leaving marks in the beautifully finished beech. Bill Clark uses a combination of a brass hammer for the iron adjusting and a shot filled deadblow mallet to tap the wedge or the heel of the plane. I decided that I wanted a dedicated hammer worthy of the quality of this plane.

My results are pictured below. I bought a 1 foot length of 1" diameter 360 brass from McMaster-Carr and chucked it up on my wood lathe after doing a couple of sketches. I turned it to shape and left a tenon to hold a hollowed piece of end grain lignum vitae for the other head. My reasoning was that the brass would be for tapping the iron and the lignum vitae would be for setting the wedge and hitting the heel of the plane to withdraw the iron. The lignum vitae is epoxied in place on the brass tenon. I then took some of my trusty spokeshaves and shaped the handles out of white ash. The wedge holding the heads in place on the handles is made from scraps of black walnut held in place with some yellow glue. The finish is nothing more than a couple of coats of boiled linseed oil for the handles.

I had a lot of fun, and now I've got my prototypes done for Wood Days. The bummer is trying to figure out what I'll do next year.

Steve Clardy
04-18-2003, 11:10 AM
When are you going into tool making?
Steve:D

Dave Anderson NH
04-18-2003, 5:51 PM
I've been making a few tools for myself here and there for a couple or four years now. I enjoy it, but since I'm so slow, I will never do it as even a part time job. I learned a long time ago that turning a hobby into even a part time gig can really kill the joy and turn it into a drudge. When I make multiples, I usually give them to my son, other family ( my youngest sister is a fine woodworker), and occasionally to friends. I'll try to reduce the size of a photo I took today of some home made tools and post it here on the Creek. Making some of your own simpler tools is a great way to use up small cutoffs and scrap. It is also an inexpensive way to get custom tools which EXACTLY meet your needs and fit you like a glove. So many purchased items have sharp hard corners and edges and rely on a quick spray coat of lacquer for the finish.

Brian Page
04-20-2003, 12:01 PM
I salvaged a brass kick plate and wanted to make a bevel and square. Do you have suggestions on where to have it cut at? Can I use my router with a special bit? I'm working my way up to fine woodworking, but am a beginner at this point.

Brian

Bruce Page
04-20-2003, 5:05 PM
Originally posted by Brian Page
I salvaged a brass kick plate and wanted to make a bevel and square. Do you have suggestions on where to have it cut at? Can I use my router with a special bit? I'm working my way up to fine woodworking, but am a beginner at this point.

Brian

Brian, having your kickplate machined by a machine shop will cost you more than it's worth. You can use your router to cut brass & aluminum using regular router bits. A straight flute carbide bit will work best. Make sure you wear your safety glasses!


Cool name, by the way - Welcome to the creek!