Customer Dovetails

I get lots of pictures sent in from customers and here is a recent selection.
Guy from Oxfordshire in the UK with a very nice alignment board.

This next one is from Luther in WA in the USA, again very well done

Above is the first attempt using the saw and guide from Fletcher in Australia.

And lastly Patrick from the UK with his first attempt with the guide. He had been practicing freehand for months without getting this fit.

The Last Planes Selling on E Bay

So these are the last of my stock of HNT Gordon planes and the last of the antique planes I'll be selling on E Bay.
A Gordon block plane above.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152056639431?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

A nice palm smoother.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152056635511?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

A flat soled Gordon spoke shave.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152056632168?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

A rare 18" adjustable trying plane
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152056655334?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

A chair makers radius plane by the Crown Tool Co in the US.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152057853872?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

And lots of antique planes including this nice Norris No 4.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152056684739?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Thanks to all of you who have made purchases over the past few months and Happy Woodworking!!

Tongue Drum Project, With Sound!

Joe from the US sent me these pictures of his latest project, a tongue drum for his girlfriend.
He constructed the box from 5/8" birch ply using the 1:6 guide and 372 saw. There's not much forgiveness in this stuff but he did a fine job.

The tongues were scroll sawed from a piece of purpleheart and you can see here from underneath a forstner bit was used for the fine tuning.

Here's the finished drum with hand made sticks and if you want hear it in action please click on the YouTube video at the bottom.

Gerd Fritsche Hand Planes

Stuart, a good friend, recently purchased this thumb plane from Gerd Fritsche in Germany and he sent it to me to try. Gerd has been making a wide range of dovetailed planes for a number of years and I have one of his 1/2" shoulder planes, you can see his website here http://traditional-handplanes.com/index.php
His planes are remarkably well priced for the work involved, this one was 584 euros with an adjustable blade and mouth. So how did it measure up?

 It has real weight in the hand and the wedge nestles up into the palm of your hand which makes it very comfortable to use. The metal work was excellent although the wedge could do with a more in depth sanding and a good coat of finish, no doubt a compromise on the price but easily remedied. The blade was nice thick D2 steel which sharpened well and should hold a very good edge. The Norris style adjuster worked well, working much better on a bevel up plane with the blade at a low angle. The adjustable mouth section wasn't flush with the sole, but again this would be easily rectified with abrasive on some float glass. Personally I would prefer the model with a non adjustable (tight) mouth which is actually even cheaper at 456 euros.
If you are prepared to do a little tweaking one of these would be a great introduction to the world of hand made planes, being both beautiful and very useful.

Special Chisel Hammers in Kingwood and Olive

I've made a final batch of special chisels hammers, six in Kingwood and two in tropical olive.
The Kingwood is priced at £40 and the Olive at the normal hammer price of £35. The last batch I made didn't last long, so first come first served! Above is No1.

                                                                       No2, above.

                                                                        No3 above.

                                                                          No4 above

                                                                           No 5 above

                                                                          No 6 above

                                                                          No 7 above

                                                                          No 8 above

Barron Planes on E Bay

I was dropping off some new stock at a Gallery when I noticed they had a couple of my planes in stock, so I brought them back and they are now available on E Bay. Here is a High angle smoother.
  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152038364905?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

  A 9" smoother.
  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152038372114?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

  A Macassar ebony scraper shave.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152038384019?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

I've also advertised a 2 1/2" wooden vice screw kit.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152038347773?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Yandles Show this Week

It's the Yandles Spring show again this week on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th April and I'll have my usual stand and demonstrations.
It's a very busy show with lots to see and good for the whole family. Hope to see you there!