Dovetailed Box for a Singing Crystal!

Anurakta from New Zealand sent me these shots of a dovetailed box made for a singing crystal, yes really! You can see and hear, lots of different chimes as well as the singing crystal on their website
http://www.gandharvaloka.co.nz/instruments/chimes-singing-bowls.html
They are used for sound therapy and sound amazing.

This was a first attempt at dovetails using my magnetic guide and it looks good in pine.

Stunning High Angle Smoothing Plane.

A while back Kim contacted me hoping to add a high angle smoother to his collection. Sadly I had stopped making them at this stage, so he decided to make his own and a fine job he has made.

The body is very rare black and white ebony with a Gabon ebony sole, African blackwood wedge and beautifully turned brass cross pin. The blade is by Ron Hock.

Kim followed plans from an article I wrote in Furniture and Cabinet Making Magazine which is still available if you email the editor Derek Jones derekj@thegmcgroup.com

The build quality and fit and finish are every bit as good as anything I ever made and I'm sure it performs very well. To round it off he made an adjustment hammer from kingwood African blackwood and brass, very nice!

Customer Chisel Boxes

Steve from the UK (where else with that box lid!) sent me some photos of a couple of very nice chisel boxes he has made to house his fine Sorby chisels.

The quartered oak was recycled from a door 100+ years old and the marquetry was made up from scrap veneer. All the corners were nicely dovetailed.

Lovely Paring Chisel

In my recent parcel from Gerd Fritsche was also a very nice surprise. A beautifully made paring chisel with two tone rosewood handle. In antique planes they sometimes used this two tone sapwood which I have always thought very attractive. The maker Slater, in the 1870's and 1880's often used it in their planes which were marketed as a budget option to the likes of Spiers, Matheison and Norris. Presumably pieces of rosewood with lighter coloured sapwood cost a bit less.

The grind on the sides is tapered really well down to almost nothing in the style of classic antique paring chisels.

I will add this to my current paring chisels which include a pair of Japanese made by Yamahiro and two from the late great Alan Peters.

Gerd Fritsche Dovetailed Hand Planes.

A little while ago I ordered an A31 plane from Gerd Fritsche in Germany. He makes these with or without an adjustable mouth, I preferred the look of the non adjustable version. His planes are remarkably well priced, this one cost 456 Euros. http://traditional-handplanes.com/index.php

The metal work is very good with nice crisp dovetails and the mouth is nice and tight (if you order one you need to specify this). The rosewood has been shaped nicely but needs taking through the finer grits and properly finishing, you can't have everything at that price!

The blade is made from D2 steel and cryogenically treated with a final hardness of Rc 61.
The blade was very well prepared and razor sharp and made quick work of this curly Cuban mahogany.

Review in Popular Woodworking

We've been away for a week cycling and on our return a friend alerted me that one of my dovetails guides had made the cover of Popular Woodworking in the US. Ok it's only a small dot in the top right hand corner.
Inside is a very nice half page review by Megan Fitzpatrick which concludes, 'the guide works as advertised'. Can't say fairer than that, I'd better get making up some extras quick!