The “Stratocaster” Router Plane by Adrian Britt

Several weeks ago I was finishing up some sharpening stone boxes. I really needed a router plane and all I had was a mini L-N. A good plane but not ideal for big work.

After speaking with Jim Hendricks a bit and visiting with Bill Carter, I decided that the old English style high angle router was a bad idea. Instead, I would make a more modern 90-degree one.

Models of Millwright Joints by James E. Price

Did you ever wonder what was simply discarded or burned when businesses in the past closed due to changing economic conditions and technology?

Lots of hand tools survived but many of other ancillary but related things did not. My post today concerns a model set of millwright joints used in the constructions of factories and mills in the 19th Century.

My Pa's Shaving Cabinet by James E. Price

My Pa passed on Christmas Day, 2017, and I have since had time to reflect on his life. I grew up at his side in the world of traditional Ozark woodworking and much of what I know about the subject and the skills I have primarily came from him.

I have lots of things he made and one of my favorites is a little shaving cabinet that he made in 1940, four years before I was born.

This little plane was item 12 at the Richard Arnold charity auction. It was originally made by master plane maker Bill Carter. It was formerly in the David Russell collection and donated to the auction by David Stanley. This was a specialty plane used for a specific job. However, once I sharpened it, I found it worked very well to make concave chamfers and such. It’s very precise and it’s a beauty to use and look at.

Bulgarian “tri-auger” by James E. Price

How long does a type of tool continue to be made and used after its invention? Members of this group are really interested in planes and use them as have woodworkers for the past 2,000 years. Through time, planes have evolved thanks to improvements in metallurgy and innovations on more efficient ways to hold a blade in a stock but the basic concept of a chisel captured securely in a wooden or metal body still remains.

Sometime ago Jim Bode advertised a Norris marking knife. It was lovely. The knife was sold before I could move on it. I looked over the pictures Jim posted and decided to build my own.

Using 1” x 1/2” brass bar, I cut the brass in a size similar to the one sold. I used 1/8” x 3/8” 01 tool steel for the knife. In true Norris style, the knife had a rosewood infill. So would mine.

Drill from Lapland, Finland by James E. Price

Continuing my chore of prepping some drilling and boring tools from the past for a demonstration, one of the tools I selected is a pump drill with a heavy soapstone flywheel.

Provenance of this drill is that it was made and extensively used in Lapland, the northern region of Finland. I am posting this with the intent of informing members of this group that some of the earliest drilling technology can still be applicable ...

I won a couple lots at the last David Stanley auction. A box of interesting planes that will be fun to sharpen and make use of. A craftsman built shoulder plane made from a bronze casting and sweated steel sole, and a Norris Smoother with a steel toe. These will be fun to clean up. This is a beauty. Only lightly used and in excellent condition. Under the wedge and on the bed is marked “Russell”.

Morrill’s Patent Adjustable Bench Stop by James E. Price

Beginning unplugged woodworkers often ask me the best kind of bench stop to use and I do not hesitate to recommend a Morrill’s Patent adjustable stop mounted in the wooden jaw of a tail vise and directly aligned with the dog holes in the bench. For those in this group who have never seen or used this type of stop, this post is for you. There are two types of Charles Morrill’s stop...

Marking Gauge with Unusual Markings by James E. Price

I have owned this marking gauge for over thirty years and have shown it to tool users and tool collectors to try to understand the calibrations on it. Collectively we could not solve meaning of the calibrations and numbers. Perhaps someone in this group can. Unfortunately I do not know from what country it came from or when it was made.