Edward Clarke
02-25-2013, 11:00 AM
Matt Bickford gave a class on hollowand round moulding planes last weekend at the Connecticut ValleySchool of Woodworking in Manchester, Connecticut. Classes were from9:30 AM to 5 PM with fifty minutes off for lunch on Saturday andSunday. The shop area was large, perhaps fifty feet wide andconsiderably longer with plenty of light. Each student had their ownworkbench with vise and benchdogs.
Number six hollows and rounds and a 7/8wooden rabbet plane for each student were provided by Matt
along with a simple sticking board. There were a smaller quantity of number ten hollows and rounds thatwere shared among students and a couple of number two hollows for abead on the final cherry moulding. The school had plane hammers (LeeValley brass with a wooden insert) available. Several wheel markinggauges were available for use but you were supposed to bring yourown. (My left index finger can testify that Lee Valley gauges areextremely sharp.) A small precision double square was quite usefuland a small bevel gauge was an absolute necessity ( I bought mine atthe attached Woodcraft store). A plastic circle guide from Staplesrounded out the tools. 0.3mm mechanical pencils work well in thisclass.
Work started out with fifteen shortpieces of 4/4 poplar with precut dadoes and progressed to a pair ofcherry boards for the final class project (one for practice, one forkeeps). There was a short hour long presentation on maintenance andsharpening. Matt likes oil stones rather than water stones becausethe softer water stones get chewed up too quickly. Think of a curvedgouge for you wood carvers out there.
I'm including a link to some quickphone/photo shots of the ends of the practice workpieces. Keep inmind that I never touched a moulding plane to wood before taking thisclass. I didn't start the final cherry moulding, just the practicepiece. I think a little more practice at home is in order before Iwaste that nice cherry.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zytro3vjb1eqkxj/_zf9Y8BJBZ
All in all, I'm very happy that I took this class. The lack of router/shaper noise is a big plus for me as is the lack of fine dust in the air.
Number six hollows and rounds and a 7/8wooden rabbet plane for each student were provided by Matt
along with a simple sticking board. There were a smaller quantity of number ten hollows and rounds thatwere shared among students and a couple of number two hollows for abead on the final cherry moulding. The school had plane hammers (LeeValley brass with a wooden insert) available. Several wheel markinggauges were available for use but you were supposed to bring yourown. (My left index finger can testify that Lee Valley gauges areextremely sharp.) A small precision double square was quite usefuland a small bevel gauge was an absolute necessity ( I bought mine atthe attached Woodcraft store). A plastic circle guide from Staplesrounded out the tools. 0.3mm mechanical pencils work well in thisclass.
Work started out with fifteen shortpieces of 4/4 poplar with precut dadoes and progressed to a pair ofcherry boards for the final class project (one for practice, one forkeeps). There was a short hour long presentation on maintenance andsharpening. Matt likes oil stones rather than water stones becausethe softer water stones get chewed up too quickly. Think of a curvedgouge for you wood carvers out there.
I'm including a link to some quickphone/photo shots of the ends of the practice workpieces. Keep inmind that I never touched a moulding plane to wood before taking thisclass. I didn't start the final cherry moulding, just the practicepiece. I think a little more practice at home is in order before Iwaste that nice cherry.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zytro3vjb1eqkxj/_zf9Y8BJBZ
All in all, I'm very happy that I took this class. The lack of router/shaper noise is a big plus for me as is the lack of fine dust in the air.