Hobby woodworker since about 2006, and almost entirely with hand tools since 2013. This blog is to record some things I'm doing. It's as much to help me remember some details as it is to share with others.
Last post I wrote about buying several tools from the widow of a woodworker who, after several months of grieving, was ready to let go of her husband's tools. On a separate occasion, I got a few more things from her and this post shows them. A few more new-to-me items I already have a pair of mag goggles (though I can't seem to find them right now), but these had an extra lens that pivots in front…
A friend was asked to help a lady sell off her deceased husband's tools. Apparently the man was into woodworking and so much more and had the tools to show for it. He had been a machine woodworker, but he used and collected hand tools as well. My friend asked if I might want some of the tools, so I went with him one day. Holy mackerel! There was so much stuff. Over 100 chisels, over 100 planes,…
My wife has recently gotten into watercolor painting, and the paper she uses comes in a thing called a block. There are times when she would like to have the block not flat on the table, but at an angle. So necessity being the mother of invention, I made a block holder with adjustable angle. It turns out that the "adjustable" part was a bit tougher than I thought it might be. The completed project…
Back in February I got this small incannel gouge at a tool show. I cleaned it up and sharpened it at the time, but I didn't really put it through its paces until recently. When I sharpened it, I knew something wasn't right. I just couldn't seem to get a good consistent edge. It sat on a shelf until this week waiting for me to look more deeply into it. New Haven Edge Tool Co. The curve of the gouge…
Until now, I've stored the irons for my wooden plow plane in a roll that gets put in a drawer. The roll wasn't some multiple-compartment, fancy leather gizmo; it was nothing more than an old kitchen towel. The irons deserved better, so I made a box for them. For whatever reason, I often get stuck on design. I looked online and found a few images of plow plane iron boxes. They typically were…
I've recently been working on my old woodie plow plane and it got me thinking about the Veritas plow. When I bought it, I got a 1/4" and a 3/8" iron with it. But it seems most of the grooves I make these days are small. I absolutely love using the wooden plow, but the irons are a little funky. None of them are the nominal size - they're typically off by a bit (some more than others). For example,…
A couple weeks ago I presented a problem I was having with my wooden plow plane, especially when trying to plow a groove in end grain. Right side of the plow, showing skates and iron A closer pic of the skates and iron After a bit or playing around and then noodling about it for a while, I realized that the underlying problem was that the iron(s) were not well supported by the skate. On this 3/16"…
I volunteer for an organization called the "Repair Cafe", whose purpose is to rebuff our throw-away culture by fixing things for people (for free) and thereby keeping stuff out of landfills. A client brought in an incredibly rickety chair that belonged to his mother. It wobbled excessively front to back and only a little less side to side. Usually we fix things right there at the repair event, but…
I've had this Ohio Tool #96 plow plane for a number of years now and I really love using it. So much so that I haven't used my Lee Valley plow plane since I fixed up the wooden plow. But recently I worked on a project that required cutting a groove in the ENDS of a board, and the Ohio Tool plow was not up to the task. It cuts great (usually) when going with the grain, but across end grain was not…
This is a project I've thought about for a long time. We don't do a whole lot of gardening here at the humble abode, but when we do get a new plant it would be nice not to have to re-pot it on the ground or at the kitchen sink. The completed project It started with an internet search for some ideas and then later a Sketchup drawing. Sketchup drawing I did end up changing a couple things from the…
My local tool collectors group, PAST , got together on April 18th. As always, it was great fun talking to the folks and checking out the tools. I wasn't planning to purchase anything this time (though I did bring extra cash just in case ...). But I saw these two auger bits that were in pristine - I mean, absolutely shiny and sharp - condition for $3 each. And when I talked to the seller about…
Lately I've been working on some old tools that I've found at garage or estate sales. I found myself in need of building something - anything! So I though I'd make another tea box, similar to one I made a couple years ago. This one is made from red alder, which can be a really beautiful wood. Some boards that I've seen have white streaks, and I'm not a fan of that, but the wood for this project…
When I found this brace a few weeks ago, I grabbed it because I didn't have a 6" brace. And because it's a Fray. John S. Fray 6" brace John S. Fray was in business from the late1850's to 1909 or 1920 (accounts differ), when they were bought by Stanley. But Stanley continued to use Fray-marked components after the purchase, so it's not clear when this brace was made. There's some evidence below…
My name is Matt and I've got a problem. I just can't seem to help myself. About 4-5 weeks ago I visited a couple of estate / garage sales and found a few cool things. I just can't stand the thought of these things going to the dump if nobody takes them. Or the thought of someone else finding these things and not knowing what they are and mistreating them. Well, I guess the first step to recovery…
Last time I wrote about hammering out the kink that this saw had. When I was satisfied with the plate's straightness, I moved on to the handle, the cleaning of the plate, and then sharpening. The finish on the beech handle scraped easily and after filing and sanding it smooth, I gave it a couple coats of BLO. I much prefer the feel of an oil finish over a varnish or poly finish. The handle ready…
A few months ago, I responded to an ad for an old handsaw. When I looked at the saw, I noted a fairly bad kink in the plate, so I told the seller I'd pass on it. Realizing it was not worth much, he said "OK, just take it for free". Not only that, but he also gave me an old Craftsman saw and an old Dunlap smoothing plane. Those I'll address separately. 26" crosscut saw from E. C. Atkins The beech…
I had been having trouble getting this plane to work properly. The front of the frog does not make contact with the plane's main casting; it is essentially cantilevered over the casting forward of where its seat mates with the casting's frog receiver. With frog bolted down, can fit cardboard under the toe of the frog And this caused the plane to shudder as it tries to glide over a workpiece. You…
I was given this plane in pretty rough condition by a guy who really didn't know anything about planes. One telltale sign was that the iron was upside down when I got it (bevel up). And while I know a fair bit about planes, I knew little about this particular brand when I started on this one. The plane as found Something look funny here? Maybe the upside down iron explains why the cutting edge was…
At the end of January, I went to the PAST tool collectors show in Fremont, CA. Usually I don't come home with anything, but this time I did grab a few things. I'll show them below, but first let me show this router plane display that one of the guys brought! A collection of mostly craftsman-made router planes None of these planes was made by Stanley or Preston or Millers Falls, or any other maker…
It's been several months now that I've had problems with Unplugged Shop , the site to which many of us go to read woodworking blogs. For long stretches the site doesn't update with current blogs, and when it finally works again, it's short lived and then doesn't update for another while. I'm probably not allowed to use this image, so I'll just say it's trademarked and thank them for the use of it.…
Any time I rehab an old tool, I think about whether or not to leave as much patina as I can. In the past I've been more in the camp of trying to make it look like new, shining up the brass and other metal parts and cleaning the wood thoroughly. Lately though, I've been more apt to just make it useable and keep it looking like it is 100 or more years old. With this old moving fillister, though,…
During the holiday break, we took a trip north way up to the Eureka, California area. There are a lot of redwoods up that way, primarily in Humboldt Redwoods State Park and Redwoods National Park. But because of all the redwoods, you can guess what the main industry was in that area back in the latter half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th - logging. One of the remaining mills is…
For the mini chest of drawers that I recently completed, I struggled to decide what type of drawer handles to use. Eventually I chose small wood handles that angled on each side and had a tenon to fit into a mortise in the drawer face. After making a couple of one-off prototypes to figure out sizing, I decided on a shape I liked. The prototypes - one sticks out 3/8", the other 1/2" I needed four…
OK, so way back in July, I started on this project. Then knee problems made it more complicated to get in the shop. Over the second half of last year, I gradually got most of it finished. And finally 6 months later it's complete. The wood is reclaimed red alder. The main carcass is about 5" x 8". The sides, top and bottom were 3/8" thick, the dividers 1/4". Drawer parts were 1/4" or slightly less…
2025 was not a banner year for my woodworking. I did very close to nothing in the second half of the year due to knee problems and ensuing knee replacement surgery. I've been getting back to it lately, albeit slowly. Hopefully 2026 will be a better year. That said, here's what I got done in 2025. Projects This year started out with a (sort of) Shaker handled step stool. It was a great project from…