When I was breaking down yellow birch for the last production of moulding planes for Time Warp Tool Works, I ended up with one block about 3 inches square and 10 inches long, with a partial live edge along one surface. It was too small to use as a moulding plane and it seemed to … Continue reading Live-Edge Birch Smoothing Plane
One of the most common questions I am asked is how I flatten the large pieces of wood I often use in my work. This table top, for example, is approximately 45 inches wide and 96 inches long. Machinery is Not the Answer Perhaps one of the quickest ways to surface a board is to … Continue reading Flattening Big Pieces of Wood
This is the Veritas Scraping Plane Insert, installed in my favourite bench plane. I bought it years ago to use in my #4 bench plane and used it a few times, but over time I found it simpler and easier to use a cabinet scraper or card scraper. I haven't used the insert in … Continue reading Overflow, Part XIII
Of all the bench planes (bevel-down) I have acquired, the Veritas ones have been by far the easiest to adjust and for that, I love them. Blade adjustments have always been responsive and predictable; I could set the mouth to let through only a sliver of light quicker than you can read the upcoming quote, … Continue reading New Grips for My Veritas #5-1/4 Bench Plane
One night last week, fellow planemaker Scott Meek and I were discussing scrub planes. Neither of us had ever built one and so we began a Scrub Plane Build-Off right then and there. Scott's plane was resawn, then laminated back together, the same way he makes the rest of his hand planes. Here are the specs for his plane: Body: … Continue reading The Scrub Plane Build-Off
I was asked to make a wooden body for a Veritas Inset Plane for demonstration purposes at Lee Valley's Coquitlam showroom. Along with a basic instruction sheet, this is what was in the box. Completing the plane was a neat project that only required a few hours, so I took the opportunity to do a … Continue reading Veritas Inset Plane
Most woodworkers think of a block plane as a hand plane about 6" long without a tote (rear handle) that can be held in one hand easily. (Most non-woodworkers call this a "planer" which, to woodworkers, is something else.) One definition of a block plane is a hand plane with blade installed on a low-angle … Continue reading The Block Plane
On the morning of Sunday, April 15th, Morton and I exchanged ideas about trestle tables, spurred on by a recent sketch of a table on which he was working. That got me yearning to build a trestle table. I documented my progress live on Twitter which was useful because each update had a time stamp so followers could … Continue reading Maple Trestle Table, Session 8 – Make Your Tools Work for You and Flattening the Top
On the morning of Sunday, April 15th, Morton and I exchanged ideas about trestle tables, spurred on by a recent sketch of a table on which he was working. That got me yearning to build a trestle table. I documented my progress live on Twitter which was useful because each update had a time stamp so followers could … Continue reading Maple Trestle Table, Session 2 – Playing with Slabs
On the morning of Sunday, April 15th, Morton and I exchanged ideas about trestle tables, spurred on by a recent sketch of a table on which he was working. That got me yearning to build a trestle table. I documented my progress live on Twitter which was useful because each update had a time stamp so followers could … Continue reading Maple Trestle Table, Session 1 – Flat Boards are Boring
Sculptural Woodwork by Chris Wong 