For the many people who have bought my peg rails over the years and those who may be thinking about buying one or more, I made this video to show exactly how they are made. Like any subject, there is more to a Shaker peg than one would imagine
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Thursday 17 June 2010
Scraper plane?
If you work in hardwoods, some time or other you are going to wish you had a scraper plane to work that difficult grain structure right in the middle of your masterpiece. Unfortunately, they are horribly expensive for a plane you may only use once in a while and you perhaps can’t justify the cost. Especially, if like me you would prefer to use a hand scraper for the added control they give. Never the less, faced with a large area, scraper planes do have their place. Fortunately, there is a crafty way around the cost, by making your own scraper plane from a block plane, or 
from any low angle plane, the principle is the same. All you need to do is buy an extra blade for your existing low angle plane and regrind to a negative angle. If you don’t have a low angle plane of your own, you can pick-up a Stanley 220 block plane, for a few pounds on ebay; these make great scrapers.
Lay the plane on its side, take a rule and felt tip pen, now mark an angle on the plane side, in line with the leading edge of the blade. The angle should be about 97° leaning towards the front knob of the plane. Draw another line parallel with the plan iron as shown in the photo, set a sliding bevel to this angle and use as a guide for re-grinding. (if you don’t have a sliding bevel, you can simply glue or staple two pieces of card together at the 
correct angle) Now remove the blade and regrind to angle indicated by your sliding bevel; this will give a negative cutting angle to the blade. Take your time grinding the blade making sure to cool it, by dipping it in water every few seconds of grinding, you don’t want to loose the temper of the steel; this would make it useless. Hone in the usual way, if you really want to be accurate you can cut a block of wood at the same angle and use this to steady the blade while honing. Just lay the wood block on the stone and run the blade along it while honing. 
You don’t need to form a hook on the blade like a hand scraper; it will work fine as it is. I use a 220 just as described; I have a few block planes, so keep this one just for scraping. If you only have the one plane it’s a simple job just to change blades as needed. I’ll tell you one thing, a scraper plane like this is much easier to adjust than the real thing. Although you will need a little practice to get it just right, this will be time really well spent and you will be producing gossamer shavings from that impossible grain.
from any low angle plane, the principle is the same. All you need to do is buy an extra blade for your existing low angle plane and regrind to a negative angle. If you don’t have a low angle plane of your own, you can pick-up a Stanley 220 block plane, for a few pounds on ebay; these make great scrapers.
Lay the plane on its side, take a rule and felt tip pen, now mark an angle on the plane side, in line with the leading edge of the blade. The angle should be about 97° leaning towards the front knob of the plane. Draw another line parallel with the plan iron as shown in the photo, set a sliding bevel to this angle and use as a guide for re-grinding. (if you don’t have a sliding bevel, you can simply glue or staple two pieces of card together at the 
correct angle) Now remove the blade and regrind to angle indicated by your sliding bevel; this will give a negative cutting angle to the blade. Take your time grinding the blade making sure to cool it, by dipping it in water every few seconds of grinding, you don’t want to loose the temper of the steel; this would make it useless. Hone in the usual way, if you really want to be accurate you can cut a block of wood at the same angle and use this to steady the blade while honing. Just lay the wood block on the stone and run the blade along it while honing. 
You don’t need to form a hook on the blade like a hand scraper; it will work fine as it is. I use a 220 just as described; I have a few block planes, so keep this one just for scraping. If you only have the one plane it’s a simple job just to change blades as needed. I’ll tell you one thing, a scraper plane like this is much easier to adjust than the real thing. Although you will need a little practice to get it just right, this will be time really well spent and you will be producing gossamer shavings from that impossible grain. Friday 7 May 2010
The biannual artisanal exhibition in Saint Amand-Montrond really proved to be a pleasant surprise. We were at first a little disappointed that the venue had been moved from the old Cistercian abbey, d’noirlac, because it has such a wonderful ambiance and practically unlimited space to display. However, the light and airy atmosphere of the custom built salle aurore at the cite de l’or complex proved a pleasant alternative and of course the facilities are so much more up to date. Besides this the organisation, accessibility was far better than at some of the much larger events, we have exhibited at and in addition it is virtually on our doorstep. So there was no long journey with a vanload of furniture, with the accompanying, often uncomfortable, hotel stay and meals out.
The real benefit of a local show like this is that many of the visitors are old clients and or friends and we get to meet many more prospective clients who live locally. Except for a very light shower just as we were packing-up to leave, the whole three days had perfect weather with not a cloud in the sky.
The real benefit of a local show like this is that many of the visitors are old clients and or friends and we get to meet many more prospective clients who live locally. Except for a very light shower just as we were packing-up to leave, the whole three days had perfect weather with not a cloud in the sky.
Sunday 3 January 2010
Louis XV Commodes
It’s always a pleasure to restore fine pieces of quality antique furniture, so it was a special treat to receive two almost identical commodes attributed to Louis N Malle. Cabinet maker, or the correct French term, ébéniste to Louis XVth. Both commodes were in the classic bombé shape that you can see from the photos and each heavily decorated with gilt ormolu. Both featured panels of lighter rosewood against a darker surround. However, the timber species of surround veneer differed, Kingwood was used for the larger commode, while a species of Ebony, ébéne verte, was used on the smaller more delicate commode.
Both commodes had marble tops, one of these was clearly the original, while the other, I suspect was a 19th century replacement. Moving these marble tops aside one could clearly see the maker’s stamp and seal, leaving no doubt to the provenance.
While the main structures were relatively sound, damage to the veneer from shrinkage of the supporting timber was pronounced as was substantial wear to the drawer runners and drawer bottoms. Apart from these two major items conservation consisted of careful cleaning and finish repair, the results I hope speak for themselves.
Both commodes had marble tops, one of these was clearly the original, while the other, I suspect was a 19th century replacement. Moving these marble tops aside one could clearly see the maker’s stamp and seal, leaving no doubt to the provenance.While the main structures were relatively sound, damage to the veneer from shrinkage of the supporting timber was pronounced as was substantial wear to the drawer runners and drawer bottoms. Apart from these two major items conservation consisted of careful cleaning and finish repair, the results I hope speak for themselves.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
