Latest Projects
Updated 7/7/10
A speltered boxwood smoother from Little Dalby Hall Leicestershire.
A small bronze and steel D/T mitre plane, boxwood infill with cupid bow decoration on the bridge and around the heel.
This is a tiny shapely boxwood plane which I have now coloured,(see last photo)
I wanted to make a 4" boxwood smoother for a friend and I found this knuckle of a piece of boxwood. When I started to work it the grain was all over the place, but in the end I managed it as I hadn't got an a better piece. See below the finished plane.
David it will be in the post on Monday.
I have just finished a miniature mitre plane out of a saw back by Spear & Jackson, it has a centenary mark around the heel. I have made a wrought iron bridge as used on the very early mitre planes. Rosewood infill
Brass and stee,l D/T cupid bow rear decoration at the back, my name and an anchor on both sides. Sheffield made iron.
Very fine mouth.
I am making a plane similar to the one on the left hand side. On the right hand side is the one I am working on at the minute. Notice there is no cupid bow near the rear yet, I hope to finish it tomorrow.
Notice there is no overhanging heel at the rear, this is because I did not want to cut into the lovely Sheffield mark with a zig zag border, which was in the tenon saw. As you look at the sole, the brass runs around the heel retaining this mark. I haven't done this before, I think it looks quite nice.
This shows the Sheffield mark that I did not want to cut into. Every mark on a tenon saw is in a different place and it depends on this as to where I cut the Brass. Very often there is never quite enough brass for my requirements, for this reason I am always struggling with the peening.
11/6/10
Here I am starting to cut the brass body in order to form the cupid bow decoration. Bit nervous at this stage don't want the hacksaw to slip.
Looks as if it has been cut by a butcher! Should look better after filing.
Much better now I have filed and shaped the cupid bows.
The plane works like magic.
Job done, very similar to the one on the left. That one I made many years ago and it is one of my favourites.
We have just arrived back from David Stanley's auction having bought these 2 magnificent planes from the sale.
The first picture is a Musgrave 10 1/2" dovetailed mitre plane, made by Norris with it's original iron and Rosewood infill, in need of tender loving care. Watch this space.
This is a very rare plane.
13/5/10
I have cleaned the Musgrave mitre plane to stop the rust and kept as much patina on the bridge and Rosewood as possible. The body work is now rust free and looks the part. The bed angle is 22 degrees.
17/5/10
I have done a little bit more restoration on the Musgrave.
Note the very fine mouth.
17/5/10
The second plane unnamed, bronze, very dark deep Mahogany, very shaply body, infill, wedge and bridge. The iron is a cut iron but has been in this plane a very long time, I can tell this as the iron has affected the colour of the bottom of the wedge. Again watch this space for a gentle makeover.
I think this plane is a one off.
13/5/10
Paint removed, cleaned up in moderation, the wood might be Rosewood and I have found a name right at the bottom of the front infill, it looks like a makers mark, I cannot be sure but it looks like Nelson. The bed angle is extremely low 12 degrees.
17/5/10
I have done a bit more restoration on this unnamed mitre plane
I think this is the first plane I have made with a steel body and a Bronze sole, front and bridge. This is to show the dovetail construction more easily. A friend of mine who owns 3 of my planes tells me he produces them to show his guests when they have a meal, the guests knowing nothing about dovetailed planes think they are cast because all the metal is the same colour. So that he can prove the dovetails are there, he has requested I make him one with contrasting colours.
Notice how thin the bridge is compared to the next plane below.
I have used my last piece of Ebony to infill the plane, I don't use Ebony very often.
This plane that I finished recently has a much thicker bridge than usual, giving it a more visual area to the cupid bow. I have also made the bow just about horizontal, normally they are angled.
Working on a slightly bigger Bronze mitre plane.
On Saturday I had just infilled my last plane with Boxwood and at lunch time I dropped it into linseed, one hour later I went back to look at it and what a surprise, the two contrasting colours. I had a piece of Boxwood 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" about 16" long lying around which I used for the infill, the rest of the wood is in the photos showing all 4 sides and I had no idea it would absorb the linseed oil in such a way.
Another thing I have noticed with Boxwood, the heart is always off centre and you always get a darker section in the end grain which is probably facing south when it grows.
I have made a long narrow plane using a Groves brass back for the body and the bridge has Buck London, this piece was cut out of another tenon saw. I have put a little cupid bow at the back of the heel, this is a first for me. (See 3rd picture down) The Boxwood infill is very stripey.
I have now coloured the boxwood.
This picture showes similar studs that I could use at a later date.
Some of these are so beautiful it seems a shame not to use them.
March 1st I made a start on the first plane this year. It measures 3 5/8" long (it was 4" but I cut the front off) x 1 1/8" wide, Bronze and Steel with cupidbow top decoration, cupidbow dovetails on the sole and a different shaped bridge to any other I have done before, again with a cupidbow. I intend to infill it with Boxwood.
Using a original Ibbotson iron, snecked by me.
The plane is now finished tomorrow I will soak it in raw linseed oil.
The plane came out of the linseed. The Boxwood was given to me by Mark Bennett, it is similar to a burr and it came from Westonbirt Arboretum. For it's size it is the most stunning piece I can recollect, truly beautiful.
