Philip Edwards's Blog at LumberJocks.com http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:54:13 GMT Where Does The Time Go and Wooden Planes http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/8118 Hi Folks
Was embarrassed to see my last blog entry here was many hundreds of days ago. So I guess an update is in order?
I’ve been building lots of wooden planes – in fact, so many that I have now made the change to full-time wooden planemaker. The only professional wooden planemaker in the UK, something that fills me with pride in keeping this centuries old art alive.
Last year I attended five woodwork shows (one in the USA – WIA in Berea) to demonstrate my planes and get some feedback from fellow woodworkers. And this year I am expanding my business by selling planes through other tool sellers, as well as introducing new models. Its an exciting time, and there are never enough minutes in the day. Turning a hobby into a career is a big shock – having to pay the bills puts a different spin on things and certainly helps focus the mind. But I’m still going and have big plans for this year.

So, apologies for not keeping current on this site. By the time I keep my planes site updated and work on my blog there’s not too much time left for browsing. But I’ll try and help out where I can – if anyone has questions on planemaking just send me a message.
Cheers
Phil

Skew Miter Plane

]]> Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:54:13 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/8118 Philip Edwards Philip Edwards Restoration Project http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/2129 HI Folks
I was lucky enough to come across this rather sad looking specimen – a Norris A5 handplane.
As you can see, she has seen better days – much better!!
So I’m going back to square one and shall re-build her. That means removing the rust (and there’s lots!) replacing the infills with new Rosewood, building a new adjuster mechanism and finding a replacement iron.
I’m keeping a photo diary here and shall keep you up to date with my progress.
Cheers
Phil
Norris A5

]]> Tue, 09 Oct 2007 06:49:09 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/2129 Philip Edwards Philip Edwards Well, Hello! http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/1428 Hi Folks
Remember me?
Apologies for my (rather longer than I imagined!) absence – time certainly does fly.
First of all – I want to say thank you to all the Jocks that have sent me emails worrying about my whereabouts. It warmed my heart!
So where have I been? Working…...........and then a little bit more work :)
I have taken the plunge and gone self-employed! I am now, officially, a chippy. It has been an exciting few months as I have built up my customers. I am reaching the stage where there just isn’t enough days in the week!
So my hobby has taken a hit. Workshop time has fallen drastically, as has my Internet time.
I’ve been keeping myself busy making woodworking planes – if you’ve taken a look at my website you’ll see plenty of evidence ;) I’ll start posting pictures of them here soon.
And as a way of apology I have made a video to start the ball rolling. This one is on adjusting wooden planes. I hope you find it useful
Best regards
Phil

]]> Sun, 08 Jul 2007 15:38:23 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/1428 Philip Edwards Philip Edwards Smooth...... http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/733 Hi Folks
Been a tough few days – my daughter has been ill. That means four sleepless nights. Yes, I am a little rattled (and Mrs Philly is exhausted too) Hopefully, the little one will be back on her feet soon. Hate to have to eat all those chocolate eggs…...... ;)
Now, I did grab the odd moment in the ‘shop. And this is what I came up with – a coffin smoother.
Named due to the curved shape of its body, not its purpose, it is very comfortable to hold and the timber (Pau Rosa) is very heavy. Perfect!
I’m pretty happy with this plane – it feels like I’m making progress. The smoothing plane is a bit of a holy grail of hand planes. A tight mouth and sharp iron are only part of the story. Feel. How it feels to hold and how it feels in use. The feedback it gives.
I immediately had the thought to make another one with a tote. But using the coffin smoother tells me it just isn’t needed. The lack of a handle allows you to hold it in many ways – there is no rigid “you hold it like this” technique, just a tool that can be used the best way for the purpose in hand. Kind of reminds me of Jim Krenov’s planes – he made a similar point about not having a tote.
So what next?? Guess I should do some woodwork? Mind you – there’s always a plough. Or a panel raiser, or chamfer plane, etc, etc, etc….... :)
have a good weekend,
Phil

]]> Sat, 07 Apr 2007 20:29:40 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/733 Philip Edwards Philip Edwards Jack the lad...... http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/625 Hi Folks
Finished off the Jack plane yesterday. I was pleased with how well this plane came together – either I was lucky or the Wood Gods were smiling….. ;)
I was interested to compare how it worked and felt next to my favourite wooden Jack. Pretty good feel, lightly than the original (which surprised me) but a good action. The wedge works real well, too. Just a light tap to lock it firmly in place. Nice!
The tool chest base unit is coming along, too. I bolted on the wheels earlier – riding around the workshop on top of it as a “weight test” was a success, I am pleased to say. Need to knock up three drawers (BIG ones!) and some moulding and then the workshop will magically grow larger. It certainly is good to have somewhere to keep things – the place becomes much less cluttered. And any help in that department is a good thing…....;)
Have a good week
Phil

]]> Sun, 25 Mar 2007 17:08:50 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/625 Philip Edwards Philip Edwards So Where Has He Been.......? http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/607 I know, I know. Ten days with no blogging…..... :(
I won’t bore you with the excuses but I have been busy – Honest!
To the workshop…...
I’m building a Jack Plane. A good old, traditional wooden Jack. But the thought of chiseling out the mortise for the throat left me cold, so, in the best lazy/chicken boy manner I went for lamination.
But of course, I had to try it with a twist! So I have used the Krenov style (two thin outer cheeks sandwiching the bed and toe blocks) but cut the abutments and throat out of the toe block in the traditional style. So now it is glued together it looks like I chiseled it out. Except I just spoiled things by letting you in on the secret….. ;)
I made the rear tote last night – had a lot of fun shaping and smoothing it using rasps. It is surprising how quickly you can work when you have the right tool for the job.
I still have to make the wedge and cut the mortise for the handle so expect to see some completed photo’s (complete with “it works!” shavings – hopefully) on the weekend.
Cheers
Phil

]]> Fri, 23 Mar 2007 07:45:25 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/607 Philip Edwards Philip Edwards In Color..... http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/531 Hi Folks
Well, here we are! In full “Philovision”, for your viewing pleasure ;)
As it was a beautiful sunny day (yes, I even mowed the lawn!) I thought outside was the perfect venue for a photo shoot. Especially as I don’t have a studio to take my shots in….....
Take a little look here…....
So do you like? I’ll take some more shots indoors to get the details but it looks pretty good. The drawer front is lagging behind a little in color – the rest of the walnut has started to take on that deep glow. Yum!
The drawer action is pretty good for such a wide, narrow drawer. The runners work real good and the closure feature (which pulls the drawer closed over the last 30mm automatically) is a real delight. Everyone who has seen it in the flesh plays with the drawer a few times :)
Onto other things – I have lipped the MDF components of my tool chest base unit with solid walnut and stitched together the veneers ready to press. Should have something to show soon.
Cheers
Phil

]]> Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:24:58 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/531 Philip Edwards Philip Edwards Walnut (again!) http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/521 At last, the fluted table is complete!
But before you get too excited, no I don’t have some lovely pictures to show you. Sorry – but I will soon!
Saturday saw me in the workshop applying the finishing touches to the table. I was surprised how much the table has changed in colour compared to the drawer front (which has only just received its first coats of oil) Black Walnut ages very nicely, and becomes even more beautiful with time. I was looking at my Maloof inspired chair which is a few years old now and the walnut is just georgous. Sigh…...guess I better order some more walnut – and there’s me moaning about the sapwood….... ;)
I’ve started work on the final part of my hand tool storage. I have already completed the tool chest and saw till sections – this will be the base unit (including wheels!) which will sit at the bottom. The chest will sit above with the saw till on top, giving a compact and classy looking unit. Pictures soon…...
Have a good week,
Phil

]]> Mon, 12 Mar 2007 20:55:32 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/521 Philip Edwards Philip Edwards Marking Gauge http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/487 Hi Folks
Been spending any spare time in the ‘shop making a marking gauge. I know, I know – I don’t need another marking gauge. But I bought some brass rod and tube that gave me an idea…....
So here is the Philly marking gauge MK I - not the prettiest thing but an interesting exercise. It needs to be a lot smaller and I may change the shape of the body for the next one (a bit too much Titemark!!) but it works nice. Good practise on the lathe(s) too! Just need to make a suitable cutter.
Thought I’d better get my act together with the fluted table so I have finished making the drawer, glued it up and fitted it. The runners are great, well worth the money and totally hidden. Result! The false front is receiving yet more coats of oil and will be fitted tonight. I also made up some brass adjustable feet to keep the bottom edge of the flutes just off the floor. They are a little delicate so it made sense to raise them a little.
I am pleased with the dovetail arrangement. I think I might use this a lot – what do you think?
Cheers
Phil

]]> Fri, 09 Mar 2007 08:00:54 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/487 Philip Edwards Philip Edwards Week Excuse.... http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/458 Hi Folks
I’m back – apologies for the week-long absence. Work has been busy and stressful…........
I have made some progress on the fluted table. The drawer is mostly done (the dovetails, anyway). I decided to use the Blum drawer slides on the table and have been awaiting a couple of parts before I could mount them. Hopefully tomorrow they will arrive and then I can get on with it!
I got a bit fancy with the dovetails. Not sure if I like it or not – need to live with them for a while. It was fun cutting them – I wish I would try and saw to the lines instead of chickening out and leaving some “paring room”. I’m no Rob Cosman!
Also fitted a digital readout to my thickness planer. It works a treat (although I had to make up some brackets to mount it). I post some pictures soon.
Cheers
Phil

]]> Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:14:23 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/philsville/blog/458 Philip Edwards Philip Edwards