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Johnny Kleso
05-18-2008, 3:32 AM
Bob Zajieck from www.czeckedge.com (http://www.czeckedge.com) and I when to Thomaston, GA to visit Ron Brese www.breseplane.com (http://www.breseplane.com)

We were meeting to see how we all could help each out inprove products to see and kick some new ideas around as to what could be made and sold and how and where to sell...

We had a great time as first we took a walk thru Ron's Salt Box Cape Cottage house he build himself, I should have took pics and it is a really nice house, looks like it could be a model home for a company that make them..

He had a few other very nice out building as well as his shop where we chatted and took a few pics.

http://stanleytools.home.comcast.net/~stanleytools/visit/1.jpg
Ron, Bob and I

me pics of Bob and I planning some Walnut and few pics of Ron's planes in progress..

http://stanleytools.home.comcast.net/~stanleytools/visit/3.jpg
http://stanleytools.home.comcast.net/~stanleytools/visit/4.jpg
http://stanleytools.home.comcast.net/~stanleytools/visit/6.jpg
http://stanleytools.home.comcast.net/~stanleytools/visit/7.jpg
http://stanleytools.home.comcast.net/~stanleytools/visit/9.jpg


Hope you enjoy
Johnny

Jim Becker
05-18-2008, 9:42 AM
Now, that looks like a fun time!

Chuck Hamman
05-18-2008, 11:12 PM
Three great minds in one shop. Can't wait to see what comes of that meeting. Thanks for the photos.

-Chuck

Ron Brese
05-19-2008, 12:04 AM
The visit by Bob and Johnny was such great fun. This had been in the planning for some time and I was really looking forward to the visit. Bob took this opportunity to deliver the awl that I ordered from him. The awl is an awesome tool and the cocobolo handle makes it even more beautiful. www.czeckedge.com Johnny brought along a #51 plane body that needed some work to the sole, and removed some slight pitting with a couple light passes on my milling machine. Johnny also presented me with some assorted end mills, a reamer and a center finder to use on the mill and he gave me a tutorial on using the center finder and other assorted goodies that he brought along. www.rexmill.com

The real prize of the visit was the exchange of ideas. When you get three tool making guys together believe me there is no lack of topics for conversation, in fact we ran out of time before we ran out of topics. Johnny has such a vast knowledge of machining knowledge and when you add in what he knows about hand planes, well I just could hardly wait to get him in the shop and try to reap some of what he knows. Bob has a background that is so steep in work process and sourcing that he can tell you how and where to get just about anything accomplished. We discussed plane adjusters, Norris style adjusters, Bristol style adjusters, and had examples of both on hand to compare. Not everyday you can find people willing to discuss plane adjusters for an hour.

Planes don't hang around my shop long before they are off to their new homes, however I had a pretty good compliment of prototype planes in the shop and we made lots of fluffy shavings thru out the day. Product development was the main topic of the day. This ranged from plane body assembly to reviewing some sample marking knife designs that Bob is presently prototyping.

We met my wife Julie for lunch at a local place and she returned the favor of lunch by making us a batch of homemade blueberry muffins in the afternoon served up with cold Coca Colas in the nostalgic little green glass bottles.

At one point in the day it occurred to me just how many years of woodworking, toolmaking, engineering and machining knowledge was standing in my shop at that moment. Yep! It was cool!

Johnny mentioned my house and some of our other buildings in the original post. The attached picture is the view out of my kitchen window toward the structure well call the Garden House. One could just as well think they were in Thomaston, Maine instead of Thomaston, Georgia. Of course if we were in Maine we could have never gotten those Cokes in the little green glass bottles.(grin)