Sauer and Steiner K7 Plane.

A little while ago I ordered a plane from Konrad, it's all steel with a desert ironwood infill. He has been kind enough to send me photos of the progress which seems to be going quickly.
You can see examples of the finished plane here http://www.sauerandsteiner.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2240

I'll leave you to enjoy the photos, I think it's going to look nice!

Chris Schwarz Teaching in the UK.

The New English Workshop has been set up by Derek Jones, editor of Furniture and Cabinetmaking magazine  http://newenglishworkshop.co.uk/
It aims up to promote and encourage traditional methods of working as well as educating and training to the highest level. And what better way to start than by recruiting hand tool junkie Chris Schwarz from the US to teach two courses.
The first will be a 5 five days course on making the Anarchists Tool Chest at a very reasonable £595 + materials. It has more than 100 dovetails so not for beginners or the faint hearted!
The second course will be making the Dutch tool chest over 2 days and is priced at £295 + materials.

I will be playing my part in this venture and I've donated one of my Lignum smoothers as my part towards the kitting out the tool chest which Chris will be making. This will be auctioned off at the end with the proceeds going towards the cause. Their Blog has just started which should be well worth following http://newenglishworkshop.wordpress.com/

Jefferson Bookcase from Down Under.

A customer from Sydney Australia kindly sent me these pictures of his Jefferson style bookcase. It's made from Kauri pine and was inspired by the one Jameel Abraham built.

There were 144 dovetails and my 1:6 guide proved very useful. There was a lot work and skill went into getting such crisp joints especially those gap free mitres. Well done David.

New Boxes for Magnetic Guides

I'm always looking to improve as well as streamline my tools and processes. Here's my smart new boxes professionally printed for use with all my magnetic guides.
The sharp eyed may have spotted a column for a 45 degree guide, this should be available in the next 8 weeks in time for the show at Yandles. There's also a blank column for any future guides I haven't yet thought of (well actually there are a couple at the design stage, more of that later in the year).
And here's what 2,000 of them looks like in the middle of our hallway, being guarded by one of our terriers!

Customer Project From Australia

Here's a bright box from a good customer in Australia. Loosely based on my tool box project this one is to store competition medals for an archery enthusiast.

The book matched panel is black bean which is particularly effective. The carcass in camphor laurel.

The super fine dovetail are very well done and he obviously prefers leaving the base line in which is no bad thing. The bridle joints look good and this is a great joint for keeping the lid flat over time.
Well done Stuart!

Tool Box from Germany

Thomas, a good customer from Germany, sent me these pictures of a tool box he has just made. He based the design on the article I did for F&C magazine except his is a bit taller. It's made from nice quarter sawn oak and has a flamed oak veneered panel.

The dovetails look nice and crisp courtesy of my 1:6 dovetail guide and the trays are a nice piston fit just like the ones in my You Tube video. The down side of trays that glide slowly down on a cushion of air is that they take just as much time to pull out and with a lot more effort! I have a 1" diameter hole in the bottom of my trays which is positioned under one of my planes, this is easily exposed making removal of the tray a lot easier. Well done Thomas, a tool box to be proud of.

Japanese Chisels for Dovetailing, Sneak Preview.

For the past few months I've been working to get a set of Japanese chisels produced which are ideal for dovetailing, and here they are! They have been forged by master blacksmith Ouchi who is renowned for making professional quality chisels from the finest white paper steel (hardened to Rc 65).
I am selling a set of four (6,9,12 and 18 mm) including a heavy duty tool roll for £255.

The sides are angled at 15 degrees and come down to a clean edge which is perfect for getting right into the corners of dovetails. The handles are boxwood with the core running down the centre for maximum stability.

The main bevel is ground at a shallow 25 degrees so that the tip can be honed at 30 degrees. The shallow angle helps avoid the base line being compressed as the waste is being removed.

The backs have been beautifully prepared ready for a lick on a fine stone.

Now I know Japanese 'dovetail' chisels are widely available but don't be fooled by the name, as I was about 15 years ago. The word 'dovetail' refers to their shape and not their intended purpose, they still have square edges the same as other Japanese chisels. I ground the edges down on my old set and they work great, although the dovetail shape makes them awkward to use in a honing guide.
So there we have it, at last a set of fine Japanese chisels designed to meet the needs of Western dovetailers. They are not cheap but are in line with other premium chisel brands and that wonderful steel..........!
They'll be on my website in a couple of weeks and I'll be making a You Tube video in the next 2 months.