What's on your WORK BENCH - August 2020

MLBob Furia said:
Dave,
The Elm has some nice color variations. What are you using to finish your bowls?
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Bob,

Common mix of shellac, linseed oil and denatured alcohol, followed by a coat or two of paste wax. I sanded these to 1000 grit with a 2 inch disc on my Foredom. Then switched to a 3 inch wool buffing pad for the wax.

PS; I can't believe the colors you get out of that cork! [sly]
 
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Dave,

You do a first rate job of showing folks the incredible beauty inside a tree. WOW!

Something that some folks are unaware of, until they see it for themselves.

Your a teacher, as well as a master craftsman.

Hope there is a art gallery show of your work in the future.



Best regards
Vince
 
Brad (and Matt)~


I'm OK with that team of horses - but surely they should be sporting matching blankets (for us OCD types.....) !



All the best,


SJS

 
You're close on length Steve. Its a 17.6' Atkinson Traveler designed by Rollin Thurlow of Northwoods Canoe Co.

Re. the trailer.......I'm gonna need one. These damn things just seem to get heavier and heavier!
 
I just keep doing what I like doing. Got up early today to catch myself some dinner, unfortunately the fish did not want cooperate. [pirate]

Came home and added/changed some LED interior lights on my boat, sorry no pics.

This started as a wet, rotting chunk of wood hardly good for firewood. After drying for several weeks, I rough turned the wood to something resembling a round pot.

After a few more weeks of drying, I put it back on the lathe to see what might be hiding within the rotted fibers.




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I'll be danged if I didn't find a wonderfully spalted bowl lurking in there. All I had to do was clean off some of the dirt and bark. [;)] Nice sized too, at 7 inch diameter by 3 1/2 inches
deep.

PS: Matt's work gets heavier as it nears completion, while my work gets lighter,,,,,,,,,,, go figure! [laugh]
 
I picked up a 70 year old Stanley #40 scrub plane that was in good shape for its age but wasn't quite ready to go back to work. FYI, a scrub plane is meant to hog off a lot of wood quickly and is the first step in the process to flatten and smooth stock. It is a brute of a plane, despite its medium stature, meant for rough fast sweaty work. The original japanning (black coating) was in pretty good shape but the rest of the plane was covered 100% in rust. Not wanting to remove the japanning I gave it a good cleaning and sharpening and refinished its rosewood tote and knob.

The main purpose of this scrub plane in my shop isn't stock preparation, but rather identifying wood. When Jeff and I would go and look at old weathered lumber and barn wood he'd carry his scrub plane and attack the surface with it to quickly remove the grayed cracked exterior and reveal the wood beneath to ID the species. My intentions are the same.

Before and after pics.


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Matt Mahoney said:
Wood is wonderful stuff. What tree species Dave?
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Matt,

I honestly cannot say with 100% certainty, but due to the location (river bottom) of the downed tree trunk and the light color of the wood itself, I'll say a soft Maple specie.
 
Huntindave McCann said:
Matt Mahoney said:
Wood is wonderful stuff. What tree species Dave?
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Matt,

I honestly cannot say with 100% certainty, but due to the location (river bottom) of the downed tree trunk and the light color of the wood itself, I'll say a soft Maple specie.
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Boxelder maybe?
 
Eric,

Nice restoration.

I have a couple planes from the early '60s. One being a Montgomery Ward and the other a Stanley Bailey #4. I restored the Bailey, a 9 1/2 inch sole with grooves running lengthwise, while I was still working at the machine shop.

Guess I should dig out the Montgomery Ward one and put some elbow grease into getting it rust free as well. This one has a sole which is 14 inches in length.

Don't you have a few shelves loaded with hand planes? and yet you bought another [;)]
 
Dave

That #4 is actually a #4C where C stands for corrugated. Those grooves were thought to reduce the force needed to operate the plane. Debatable but more collectible from what I gather. A #4 is one of the most popular sizes. That and a #5, aka jack plane.

Did you put the plane on a surface grinder at work to get the sole dead flat? Most people lap them on sandpaper stuck to a flat surface. Having a surface grinder would make that process effortless.

I do have a shelf full of planes and am working to restore them. However, they are largely repeats of the same plane. I think I have 6 #5s, 4 #3s, 4 #4s, etc.. I'm not really trying to collect planes, rather filling gaps where I have a need. The #40 scrub is a legit need and not for collection purposes.

I have a Craftsman plane in the batch that was actually made by Stanley. Wouldn't surprise me if your Monkey Wards was too. I think the dept. stores outsourced all their planes to the well known plane makers of the day.

Hey, if you want to do some spindle turning and need some black locust stock I'm your man. Let me know and I'll send you some sticks.

Eric
 
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Eric Patterson said:
Dave

That #4 is actually a #4C where C stands for corrugated. Those grooves were thought to reduce the force needed to operate the plane. Debatable but more collectible from what I gather. A #4 is one of the most popular sizes. That and a #5, aka jack plane.

Did you put the plane on a surface grinder at work to get the sole dead flat? Most people lap them on sandpaper stuck to a flat surface. Having a surface grinder would make that process effortless.

I do have a shelf full of planes and am working to restore them. However, they are largely repeats of the same plane. I think I have 6 #5s, 4 #3s, 4 #4s, etc.. I'm not really trying to collect planes, rather filling gaps where I have a need. The #40 scrub is a legit need and not for collection purposes.

I have a Craftsman plane in the batch that was actually made by Stanley. Wouldn't surprise me if your Monkey Wards was too. I think the dept. stores outsourced all their planes to the well known plane makers of the day.

Hey, if you want to do some spindle turning and need some black locust stock I'm your man. Let me know and I'll send you some sticks.

Eric
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Eric,
Well, duh !! [whistle] The sole did have a slight twist and the surface grinder did indeed make quick work of that. Thanks for the additional info.

Thanks for the offer on the Locust. No need for any right now.
 

Spalted wood almost always gives up a treasure.

Most folks just do not have the patience, and skill to work with it.

It's a prime example of one persons junk, becoming another persons treasure.

There is beauty in all of nature.


I have learned now to stay as far away from wood piles, driftwood, old barn & building tear downs, boat yards, etc... or I'm gonna need a extra 50 years.



VP
 
Vince Pagliaroli said:
Spalted wood almost always gives up a treasure.

Most folks just do not have the patience, and skill to work with it.

VP
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Vince,

I think patience is the primary virtue needed and I'm not known for an abundance of that. [angelic]

The biggest issue for me is spalted wood wants to tear out, rather than cut cleanly. I do need to improve both my tools and my skills to get cleaner cuts. Many folks use a vacuum chamber and a stabilizing fluid when working with spalted wood. I have not invested in such equipment yet. I do see it as a future investment at some point in time.

I have often hoped that reincarnation was a "thing". One lifetime to learn what it is we are good at and another lifetime to enjoy doing it.
 
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