I built this for my Wife as a Christmas present – I wanted to give her something I had made along with the store bought presents. I chose two special boards from my hoard of timber – a piece of Ripple Ash for the main timber and a piece of Macassar Ebony for the lid.
Time was short so instead of dovetails for the carcase joint I used simple rebates, hoping that the figure of the timber would take your eye away from the corner joints. The ebony lid fitted into grooves run around the inside, and I made the top of the lid slightly proud with a small chamfer around the perimeter to add visual interest. The bottom of the box was made from Maple. I pre-finished the interior of the box and the top and bottom with blonde shellac before gluing up .
The box was then glued together, and when dry the lid was cut away on the table saw to give two sections. I cleaned up the cuts and gave the exterior of the box a final planing and then applied more shellac. Two brass butt hinges were fitted to hinge the lid and a handle made from an offcut of Ebony was shaped and mortised into the lid.
For the interior I made a small lift out organiser tray from 1/4 inch maple – this completed the box.
The whole project took a day – time was short, so I just got on with it. I was very pleased with the way it came out and didn’t regret my decision not to use dovetails – the stunning figure of the Ash steals the show.

Phil

www.phillyplanes.co.uk

This is a plane that I have been collaborating on with Karl Holtey. It is a traditionally styled smoothing plane with many handsome details, and a lot of time was spent getting the proportions and chamfering right.
It has a 55 degree bed and a tight mouth for taking fine shavings without tearout on tricky timbers. The iron is 3/16” thick A2 and is made specifically for this plane by Karl Holtey – the iron is precision ground on all faces, edges and the bevel and is quite fantastic!
This plane is made from Cocobolo and it is finished with linseed oil and shellac. I have also made this plane in Blackwood, Rosewood and Boxwood.
I hope you like,
Phil

www.phillyplanes.co.uk

HI Folks
I’ve been busy making wooden planes for the last couple years and have been slowly becoming more and more involved with the metalwork side of things. This has culminated with this recent commission – a toted smoothing plane similar in size and shape to a Norris A5.
The sole is 1/2 inch thick brass attached to the body by a sliding dovetail joint (a feature I have been using a lot on my recent planes). The iron is pitched at 55 degrees and is a 1/4 inch thick O1 high carbon steel – a monster blade!
In use it takes the finest of shavings with ease. The substantial weight of the plane (Blackwood is an amazingly dense hardwood) means you only have to push the plane forward in use – the plane sits down on the work with no help needed from the user.
It was a lot of work polishing the timber (any scratches or imperfections are exaggerated by the gloss black) but well worth the time and effort – she looks amazing.
Hope you like,
Cheers
Phil

www.phillyplanes.co.uk

Hi Folks
Here’s a project I’ve been meaning to make for ages – a wooden low-angle spokeshave.
This one is made from quartersawn English Oak and features an Ebony wear strip in front of the mouth. It is approximately 11 inches long and has a 1/8 thick O1 tool steel cutter (which I made from scratch). Two brass knobs tighten the cutter in place and there are height adjusting screws under the cutter to change the depth of cut.
Finish is a coat of boiled linseed oil and then three coats of shellac.
It feels very natural in the hand, surprisingly different to a metal shave. I can see me making a few more of these ;)
Cheers
Phil

HI Folks
Thought you’d like this one – it’s a Coffin Smoother made from Santos Rosewood. It has a 2 inch wide, 1/8th thick O1 blade, bedded at 60 degrees. It also has a really tight mouth. Finish is boiled linseed oil followed by many coats of shellac.
The plane was made for British Woodworking teacher, David Charlesworth.
Cheers
Phil

HI Folks
Thought I’d share a plane I’ve made a few of recently – the Moving Fillister.
It is a plane for making rebates – it has an adjustable fence to allow you to cut various width rebates and an adjustable brass depth stop to vary the depth of the rebate. And here’s the cool thing – the plane has a skewed iron and a nicker iron to allow rebates to be cut across the grain as well as along it.
The plane is made from quartersawn English Beech and has the corner reinforced with boxwood to prevent wear. The thick 3/16 iron and brass hardware make the plane quite hefty – useful when making wide cuts.
Hope you like,
best regards
Phil

This is a plane made for a luthier – he wanted a small scrub plane for roughing out the tops and backs of violins and cello’s.
Timber is Pau Rosa with a 30mm wide O1 steel blade. This plane is pretty small and can be used “one-handed” – it can remove wood pretty fast and is a real blast to use!
Hope you like,
Phil

www.phillyplanes.co.uk

Hi Folks
This is a plane a customer requested – a shoulder plane with a 10mm width. The timber is Santos Rosewood and it has a solid brass sole. This plane is tiny, measuring 140mm long and 45mm tall. It is a little delicate but works perfectly.
I found working on such a small scale quite enjoyable (if a little nerve-wracking!)
Hope you like,
Phil

HI Folks
This plane was made for a friend – he requested a plane with a handle. It came out pretty well!
The timber is Pau Rosa, an exotic. It is pretty tough and brittle to work but look at that grain – beautiful. It has a 2 inch wide O1 iron, 1/8th thick and a 50 degree pitch.
Hope you like,
Phil

Hi Folks
This plane is a low angle plane – the blade is bedded at 33 degrees. This makes it perfect for working on end grain. I made the plane fairly heavy to give it plenty of inertia when cutting – it seems to carry though the cut a lot easier without stalling. It also works great on the shooting board (see picture)
The timber is Goncalo Alves and the iron is 6mm thick O1 steel, 50mm wide.
Finish is boiled linseed oil and wax.
Phil

www.phillyplanes.co.uk

This table was made from Black Walnut (with help from the Lumberjocks – check some of my old Blog entries!). It was fun to design and make. The corners features an interesting interlocking mitre joint.
The drawer is made from curly sycamore and features hidden metal runners with a self-close mechanism, a cool feature! The drawer has a finger grip moulded into the bottom edge.
I have full step-by-step pictures here.....

Cheers
Phil

Hi Folks
Here are a pair of moulding planes, known as hollows and rounds. They are a matched pair, featuring the same radius sole, except one is convex, the other concave.
The planes are made from beech and feature home made irons. I show how to make these irons in the step-by-step pictures on my website.
Cheers
Phil

Hi Folks
This is a replica of an old wooden jack plane I have. The plane is made from spalted beech and features a home made iron.
I have put step-by-step pictures on my website here......

Cheers
Phil

HI Folks
This is a plane I have been waiting eagerly for! It is a smoothing plane hand made by world famous cabinetmaker James Krenov.

Sadly, Jim has had to give up making cabinets due to his failing eyesight but is still making the odd hand plane. I contacted him and asked to be put on the waiting list. And here it is!
It is an interesting little item – roughly made, no finish applied, a seeming coarse piece. But once you use the plane it is obvious just how much thought has gone into its design. The body is shaped asymmetrically, which is not obvious at first. This makes it very comfortable in the hand (and thankfully I’m right-handed, like Jim, as it is made for this grip)

I am a big fan of Mr Krenov’s work. I could never afford one of his cabinets so am grateful to be able to own this small piece of his work.

Phil

This plane is a small smoothing plane I call the “Baby”. I based it on a small wooden block plane I picked up at a second-hand tool shop.

It is made from Goncalo Alves and features a 55 degree pitch. The iron is 40mm wide and 3mm thick, O1 tool steel. I inset a boxwood wear strip in front the of (very tight!)mouth. Finished with boiled linseed oil and wax, it feels real good in the hand and takes a fine shaving.

I have recently started making a few tools for my own use. The more you use different tools the more you know what you like in a tool. And once you make one tool you just can’t stop – it’s addictive!
This plane is a simliar size to a block plane but a little heavier. I bought a rough casting of the body which is made from bronze and made the rest of the components from scratch. I also made and heat treated the plane iron.
The infill timber is Rosewood which gives the plane a classic look. It feels very comfortable to hold and takes wonderful, fine shavings.
I needed to learn a few new skills (metalworking!) but it was fun to build and I’m really pleased with the way it turned out. I’ve now started to build a matching smoothing plane- told you it was addictive!
cheers
Phil

I have posted some step-by-step pictures here...

I moved to a new home earlier this year and decided to build a new chest to hold my hand tools. A new workshop deserves a handsome toolchest!
I used Black Walnut for the carcase with mahogany for the drawers. The drawer fronts were veneered with figured Anigre to give them some subtle “wow” factor and the knobs were turned from Rosewood.
I am currently working on fitting the drawers to hold my hand tools, a difficult task as I always seem to pick the odd new tool. And I want to build a mobile base unit to go under the chest with room for my larger hand planes, etc.
A tool chest is a great project to build for your ‘shop. It keeps your tools safe, free from rust and most important-in one place! No more searching on shelves for that elusive chisel ;)
I have put step-by-step pictures on my website Here

I recently bought a vacuum bag kit so this is my first attempt at veneering. Being a bit crazy I thought I’d try laminating curved pieces at the same time. Thankfully it came out well. The sides are 3 layers of 6mm MDF and the shelves 2 layers, all veneered with cherry. The top and drawer front are solid cherry and the drawer box is dovetailed poplar.
I finished the piece with lacquer, spraying about 6 coats. After rubbing out it came up well.
The handle is a piece of black walnut and I just whittled away with a knife and rasps until this bowtie shape emerged.
I hope you like it,
Phil

You can see step-by-step photo’s on my website….

http://www.philsville.co.uk/curvedtable.htm

This side table is made from Brazilian Mahogany with Ebony accents and splines. The mahogany was a real pleasure to work and has a beautiful depth to it. The drawer features an interesting finger joint and the ebony plugs were a lot of fun to make and fit.
It was finished with linseed oil and shellac.

This is my attempt at one of Sam Maloof’s amazing chairs. It is made from Black Walnut and was a lot of fun!
http://www.philsville.co.uk/maloofchair1.htm