Mailman14

I found a piece of tube the right internal diameter to fit a drill bit - I think they're 10mm but could be wrong. I cut bits of scrap pine blocks to the length+ of the dowel I need, hammer the tube through, and push the dowel out with a narrower drill bit. The sawn edge of the tube gives the dowel some 'fluting', which is enhanced further by the use of a craft knife. The end not hit by the drill bit is chamfered, and then the rest is tap it into the hole, and cut off the excess. Most of the work I do is pine, so I'm using up off cuts - less wastage that way! Sorry for the ramble, and if this comes on twice - didn't seem to appear the first time...

I found a piece of tube the right internal diameter to fit a drill bit - I think they're 10mm but could be wrong. I cut bits of scrap pine blocks to the length+ of the dowel I need, hammer the tube through, and push the dowel out with a narrower drill bit. The sawn edge of the tube gives the dowel some 'fluting', which is enhanced further by the use of a craft knife. The end not hit by the drill bit is chamfered, and then the rest is tap it into the hole, and cut off the excess. So, possibly the same as riving, but not sure. Oh, and most of the work I do is pine, so I'm using up old lengths of blocks, less wastage that way! Sorry for the ramble.

Now, I did this last time, what did I do to get round it again...?

Now, I did this last time, what did I do to get round it again...?

Hi Tim, Glad to see someone else does this too. I've made an Adirondack chair from a plan in a book, basically o.k., but some bits needed tweaking slightly. I drew the plan as the book dictated, then assembled it in sketchup, only to find some bits weren't quite as they should be... Hence saving a new version, then another for tailoring to the wifes dimensions. A new version is under way for my smallest child - roughly half the original lengths! Another is started for me. Then another will be created for my daughter... Yes they take up space - but if you email the .skp file to yourself, your email provider stores them till you want them!!!

Hi Tim, Glad to see someone else does this too. I've made an Adirondack chair from a plan in a book, basically o.k., but some bits needed tweaking slightly. I drew the plan as the book dictated, then assembled it in sketchup, only to find some bits weren't quite as they should be... Hence saving a new version, then another for tailoring to the wifes dimensions. A new version is under way for my smallest child - roughly half the original lengths! Another is started for me. Then another will be created for my daughter... Yes they take up space - but if you email the .skp file to yourself, your email provider stores them till you want them!!!

"I'm sure these work better if you let the blade out a little."

"Have you taken the photo yet?"

"Hurry up, I can feel blood..."

Any or all of the above!

Funny, but I've just inherited a LOT of leather, and was thinking of replacing my spanner holder (flimsy / brittle plastic) with a leather holder - now I know the process! Thanks, now I just have to find a "speedy stitcher", as above, I've never heard of, or seen, one.

Excellent tutorial, thanks for finding and sharing. Have just been bought some "really" old hand planes, which work quite well after a tickle on the blades, just need to figure out if I have these types! Don't have anything with a curved blade, not sure what make numbers 4 and 5 specific either... Will try my best, as always.

A friend of mine (now sadly passed away), had an extreme version of this happen to him. No fault of his own, and the police were involved for investigating if it was intentional...

A hydraulic press (iirc, 250T) had a cube of hardened steel left on top of a hardened steel tool, you guessed it, the top tool came down on it. The cube would have been a couple of inches high, the tool clearance about 1.5mm... It "shattered explosively" in my opinion, leaving him with a hole in his throat - about the size of a U.K. 5p piece, requiring surgery. He died from a completely different accident involving alcohol and a car (which he wasn't driving).

ANY hardened steel tool should be treated with respect, as you can drop them on toes, and cause injuries - that's not travelling too fast either...

Very helpful video, thanks Dave!

All I've got to do now, is go to the "change axes" blog...