Whats your workshop look like?

[MikeG]

....... most of the kit was old Wadkin machines.

Nice! If only I had 3 phase.........

I've just gone back to my old rosewood marking gauge after flirting with one of these. Beautifully engineered, and seemed like a good idea, but the arm doesn't bear on the wood, so there is no reference to keep the stop at the right height. Who knows, you may even have made my gauge, which is a nice thought.

 

[woodbutcher]

Nice! If only I had 3 phase.........

I've just gone back to my old rosewood marking gauge after flirting with one of these. Beautifully engineered, and seemed like a good idea, but the arm doesn't bear on the wood, so there is no reference to keep the stop at the right height. Who knows, you may even have made my gauge, which is a nice thought.

Hmm looks very nice but in the end someone was just trying to re-invent the wheel IMO whereas a good old Marples rosewood mortice gauge is a joy to use especially as it ages along with yourself .

 

[MikeG]

Hmm looks very nice but in the end someone was just trying to re-invent the wheel IMO whereas a good old Marples rosewood mortice gauge is a joy to use especially as it ages along with yourself .

Absolutely. Although, how many times do you spike yourself on it when you pick it up?!

 

[woodbutcher]

Absolutely. Although, how many times do you spike yourself on it when you pick it up?!

Too many times to remember, especially when you aren't quite concentrating because you know with that familiarity which tells you just where to reach for it and the rotten blighter shoves a very sharp pointer up your finger nail !

 

[MikeG]

........ My business was making furniture in English oak and when that got too expensive, French oak ( no character of course).

Here's a pair of settles I made in French oak a few years back, plus a spalted sycamore blanket box with walnut hinges:

I could have done a bit better with matching the boards in the settle panels, but I think I was trying to use up some off-cuts. Got any photos of your stuff?

 

[fixedfixer]

@Oldfentiger nice Raglan lathe. Was looking at an Myford but not sure if I need it or can justify it.

 

[woodbutcher]

Spalted sycamore when l could get hold of any was pretty much used only for turning, Your blanket box is stunning...lucky customer.
I have been out of the trade for a good while because l went to America to design stuff for Bloomingdales in New York ( I have a couple of DVD's of that weird experience) l will share them if l can figure out how, all advice welcome. Then l turned total traitor and went to China, Vietnam and Philippines to set up factories making "English" traditional furniture for the States.
All in all l quite understand if you would rather not associate with such a person However l had a fantastic time !

 

[raleighnut]

Nice! If only I had 3 phase.........

I've just gone back to my old rosewood marking gauge after flirting with one of these. Beautifully engineered, and seemed like a good idea, but the arm doesn't bear on the wood, so there is no reference to keep the stop at the right height. Who knows, you may even have made my gauge, which is a nice thought.

No the ones made there were basic ones (Footprint kind of quality, OK but not Marples) and the mortice gauge was a 2 sided one, marking gauge on t'other side (a real finger ripper)

The really good thing they made was their Mallets, solid Beech in 3 different weights and a small 'modelmakers' one with a short handle. I made one for myself which combined the short handle with the head for the big un (almost like a carving Mallet) and picked some 'Spalted Beech' to make it from (this was not used to make tools as they considered it to be faulty wood) I then 'Linseed Oiled' it and it was fantastic but having qualified as a Cabinetmaker I was taught not to 'hit' a chisel but to allow the weight of the mallet to land on the chisel's head (that only works with extremely sharp chisels ground to 22 1/2 degrees instead of 25 degrees as usual) in fact the mallet was so nice some fecker nicked it.
The rest of the kit was good (in fact the 'Oilstone boxes' were top notch) and I still have a square and a sliding bevel I made but it was only 'mid-range' kit.

 

[MikeG]

Spalted sycamore when l could get hold of any was pretty much used only for turning, Your blanket box is stunning...

Thanks.

.........lucky customer........

That'll be me. It's sitting across the room from me right now. I'm strictly amateur, although I did sell some stuff through Liberties 30 odd years ago..

 

[woodbutcher]

No the ones made there were basic ones (Footprint kind of quality, OK but not Marples) and the mortice gauge was a 2 sided one, marking gauge on t'other side (a real finger ripper)

The really good thing they made was their Mallets, solid Beech in 3 different weights and a small 'modelmakers' one with a short handle. I made one for myself which combined the short handle with the head for the big un (almost like a carving Mallet) and picked some 'Spalted Beech' to make it from (this was not used to make tools as they considered it to be faulty wood) I then 'Linseed Oiled' it and it was fantastic but having qualified as a Cabinetmaker I was taught not to 'hit' a chisel but to allow the weight of the mallet to land on the chisel's head (that only works with extremely sharp chisels ground to 22 1/2 degrees instead of 25 degrees as usual) in fact the mallet was so nice some fecker nicked it.
The rest of the kit was good (in fact the 'Oilstone boxes' were top notch) and I still have a square and a sliding bevel I made but it was only 'mid-range' kit.

Now you have opened up another interesting topic, i.e. how do you sharpen ( or more accurately) put the edge back on a chisel.? Never mind grinding angle or honing angle...do you strop the tool on leather or on the palm of your hand or maybe on the cabinet makers apron you are wearing ? This is a self indulgent trip down memory lane for me...apologies !

 

[MikeG]

"Scary sharp" for me (wet 'n dry on a piece of glass), and I strop on an old bit of MDF. It works, believe it or not.

 

[woodbutcher]

"Scary sharp" for me (wet 'n dry on a piece of glass), and I strop on an old bit of MDF. It works, believe it or not.

Now that l like, and it must work in the right hands. Anyway, scary sharp is safe, its blunt thats dangerous >

 

[MikeG]

Oh, and 22.5 degrees for a chisel is the the least acute I sharpen to. I sometimes verge on 20 degrees (building site chisels excepted).

 

[raleighnut]

Now you have opened up another interesting topic, i.e. how do you sharpen ( or more accurately) put the edge back on a chisel.? Never mind grinding angle or honing angle...do you strop the tool on leather or on the palm of your hand or maybe on the cabinet makers apron you are wearing ? This is a self indulgent trip down memory lane for me...apologies !

I use a Japanese Water Stone which has a grinding action as opposed to an oilstone which 'moves' the metal on the edge leaving that 'feather' that you strop away

"Scary sharp" for me (wet 'n dry on a piece of glass), and I strop on an old bit of MDF. It works, believe it or not.

Similar to a waterstone action, in that it gives a ground edge.

 

[raleighnut]

Oh, and 22.5 degrees for a chisel is the the least acute I sharpen to. I sometimes verge on 20 degrees (building site chisels excepted).

22.5 gives a reasonable 'life' to the edge, any more acute can be a bit 'fragile' but then with a 'waterstone' I'm not stoning to a secondary bevel (although I've got the option of doing that if I need to sharpen something in a rush to finish a job)