hand plane — Sandal Woods

February 3, 2011 By Al Navas

The Art Deco hand plane

I first learned about Catharine Kennedy and her engraving work last year, during a Google search for hand planes. One of her recent engravings, on this hand plane, is a terrific Art Deco theme (click on the image to enlarge it):

Recent Art Deco theme on a hand plane. Published with permission from Catharine Kennedy.

Kennedy has the talent to transform ordinary tools into extraordinary ones. What is a utilitarian hand plane becomes a priceless tool; if in doubt, Christopher Schwarz said the following, after getting back his Anarchist’s Jack Plane from Kennedy:

…The work is simply stunning. I am a decent photographer, but I just cannot do justice to her work. The level of detail on the scrolls – each one is beveled on the inside like it was done with a V-tool – is intoxicating. And unlike the “engraving” you see on trophies or anniversary plates, this engraving is deep and obviously done by hand…

Christopher Schwarz
Lost Art Press Blog
December 2010

As I write this I can’t help but think of an old Stanley 4-1/2 I have that would be perfect for an engraving job. I best start saving my pennies…

Just how much better can Kennedy’s work get? I think her work is masterful; but she aspires to even greater heights. In her own words on her web site:

…As I continue to explore the design and development of scroll work, and to become more involved with the practice of engraving, the more I realize that this is a journey which will happily last me the rest of my life. It’s all good!

Catharine Kennedy, Engraver
From her web site

To view more of her work, and to discuss with her an engraving job, I invite you to visit her two web sites, here (her new web site) and here (the old web site).

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Blog, Tools Tagged With: Catharine Kennedy, engraving, hand plane

December 20, 2010 By Al Navas

A new Hock blade and chip breaker for the Stanley 4-½

Working with the 4-½ hand plane to smooth a board had become a chore; I was getting chatter (blade vibration) as I pushed the plane over the wood. This can often happen with the original thin blades and chip breaker. So I ordered a new blade and a chip breaker for the plane. I chose the regular high carbon blade. The items arrived two days later.

I installed the iron without honing, as I wanted to see how sharp it was. I normally hone the micro bevel when I get a new blade, as a minimum; but even the micro bevel looked good under some magnification. Immediately I was able to tell a huge improvement in the way the new blade reacted in the hand plane. I was getting full-width shavings; I tweaked the lateral adjustment, and soon the plane felt like a brand-new tool:

Using the 4-½ with a new iron felt great.

Using proper care, the new iron should last a long time. Proper care includes wiping the polished surfaces with oil:

Providing care for the sharp iron.

With maple, the full-width shavings were thin – less than 0.001″; the surface of the board shimmered when viewed with low angle lighting. I got nice, fluffy shavings:

Hock blade in the Stanley 4-½ hand plane - maple.

And with walnut I got similar results:

Full-width shavings using a thicker blade in the Stanley 4-½.

I won’t be ordering a new hand plane to replace this old one. It is a great feeling to improve the performance of a tool with something as simple as replacing the blade and the chip breaker for thicker ones. My biggest challenge will be to keep the iron sharp — but Ron Hock’s book (The Sharper Edge) has already helped me tremendously.

In his most recent blog entry, Ron shows us it *is* easy to preserve and restore these old hand planes, to “keep them on the road”.

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Blog, Hand plane, Hock Tools, Tools Tagged With: blade, chip breaker, hand plane, Hock Tools, Stanley 4-½

December 8, 2010 By Al Navas

Old Street Tool launches today

The news hit late yesterday afternoon, and spread quickly (link to the Woodworking Magazine blog announcement): Larry Williams and Don McConnell are launching Old Street Tool; Larry and Don remain Owners and planemakers. From the announcement at their web site a few hours ago:

Welcome to Old Street Tool

We’ve changed. For family reasons Bill Clark has moved out of town. He’s now too far away for it to be practical for him to continue in the business. Don McConnell and Larry Williams have reorganized the business and incorporated under the name Old Street Tool, Inc.

Bill had an important role in the company and we’ll miss him. Please bear with us as we make this difficult transition.

Sandy and I left the Woodworking in America conference one day early, in October; as a result, we felt like we never truly finished our “working vacation”. At least, this was the excuse we used to scurry away to Eureka Springs in late October — we wanted to chase the Fall colors in that part of Arkansas. I contacted Larry prior to our trip, and arranged for a visit in the middle of a crowded schedule that included major changes in their business.

Larry and Don were extremely accommodating, and welcomed us for a wonderful visit. The new shop was already functional, and planemaking was in full swing. I admired jigs Larry designed over the years to achieve terrific precision in his hand planes. Not wanting to overstay our welcome, we left with plans to return early next year. But we will always remember the warm welcome extended to us, and the wonderful visit with two talented craftsmen. Thank-you, Larry and Don. Congratulations on the new venture, and may you have long-lived success in Old Street Tool!

During our visit Sandy snapped the following photo: