Getting A Handle On Things

Worked a little more on the handle assembly this week, it's going to feel good to complete it and give the toolchest its form. I noticed that in Tom Fidgen's original design, the vertical handle posts were notched into the bottom runner but when he taught his class at Dictum they took the approach of bridal jointing in a bottom stretcher. I emailed Tom about this and graciously, as always, he got back to me with a detailed explanation. The original design had a weak point and had snapped where it was screwed into the bottom runner. The stretcher approach ties in the entire handle assembly into one piece, thus balancing any forces and load exerted. 

I wasn't happy with the flatness of the stopped dado area, I had attempted to level it using an iwasaki file but the surface was still much too uneven. When I held it against the toolchest I could see a lot of light, perhaps more than glue could overcome. I decided to lap it against some 220 sand paper which did the trick nicely. No more fiddling, aside from the handle and bridal mortises, the vertical handle posts are pretty much complete. 

Notching the upper handle runners.  

Slowly but surely progress is being made. 

Jack In A Box

I've given a lot of thought to which bench planes I'd want to stock in this toolchest. My krenov smoother is an easy choice, as there's no greater satisfaction than using a tool made with your own hands. Wooden planes have a different nature than their steel cousins, they're inherently musical in nature. A few taps here and a few raps there and they'll sing for you like no other. That's not to say metal planes are deficient in any way. A bronze Lie Nielsen no.4 has it's own particular charms. The manganese bronze will react to the particular body chemistry unique to its owner and over time a tarnished patina will form. Painted on by each touch, deepening in character with each shaving. The krenov and the no.4 are more than enough for general smoothing and final finishes, the difficult question is what to do about a jack? A Lee Valley bevel up jack is widely regarded for its versatility, but I find norris adjusters to be a little finicky and the lack of ability to adjust depth on the fly sometimes interrupts the zen-flow that comes with planing boards. My preference is for bevel down planes, though a no.5 or no.6, whether a vintage stanley or a plane by LN or LV would add a considerable amount of weight to the toolchest. The answer is now clear, i should build a wooden jack plane. 

By Hand and Time

And onto the the handle assembly. I tried to cheat a little and use a table saw to cut the stopped dados, though the galoot gods must have been watching disapprovingly as they cursed my attempt. Lesson learned, i'm anti-electron from here on in. homestretch marathon, the closer I come to completion the longer everything seems to take.

Two Rice Cakes and a Tangerine

From Toshio Odate's book: Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use. 

Eastern Function | Western Form

A Tsunesaburo plane blade arrived today from Stuart Tierney @ www.toolsfromjapan.com. I've wanted to experiment with a laminated eastern style blade on a western plane for some time now. I'll post results once I've had a chance to flatten the back, sharpen and put the iron to use. 

Japanese packaging is always meticulous, it's something i appreciate. 

The cutting edge steel is called hagane and it is forged to a softer piece of steel called the jigane.

Joinery

Problems are for solving. Careful divider spacing will lay waste to this knot. 

I prefer a 240mm dozuki for dovetails.  

Slowly now, it all comes together. 

Tight like tigers. 

Selection

In hard places; now is the time to be sensitive. Knots aren't always defects, sometimes straight grain is dishonest, figure lies beneath the surface. 

Flat packed for a small car. 

Beginnings

1200 E Kent.