woodrae

Godspeed, Sam. You lived a beautiful life, and touched many, many people with your soft voice and good work. I am blessed that we got to hang together a few times, and I will always miss your warm ways.

My sincere condolences and love to those you left behind.

Your life and your death have become a bright star in the heavens. May you shine forever.

My apologies, Ralph. No copper or flint. However, there's plenty of brass, bronze, steel and rosewood in the pages. Good luck!

You Aussies crack me up!

A good writeup—and nice work, Derek.

Very cool. I imagine a few of 'em would generate some surprise and laughter at a dinner party. :)

Yo, Greg! Nice shop; now it's my turn to visit.

The boxes on this page show an amazingly high level of design and craftsmanship, and boast the talent and diversity of the readership. Everyone here deserves a prize!

Wow! That's a beautiful design as well as a beautifully-crafted piece. I especially like the proud dovetail pins on the case. Tres cool, Mike.

Is that a clear finish over white oak? Or is there some fuming involved...?

Hey, leecabinets1!

It's astute of you to notice how I and other woodworkers handle their planes. Although I've had no formal training, I've had the good luck to have many woodworking mentors in my time. The man that taught me to lay a plane on its side—regardless of the style of plane—is master cabinetmaker Frank Klausz, who was trained in the European tradition. Frank was taught that laying a plane on its sides exposes the blade to damage from stray tools, etc. and it also exposes you and your fingers to the blade. (I have stories, believe me.) Frank was taught to place the sole on the bench during a break from planing, effectively covering the blade and keeping it from harm.

For me, I've found that Frank's advise is spot on: I purposely lay my planes on their soles to protect the blades and keep them sharp.

One caveat to this approach: Your bench must be clean. No stray bits of metal; no rubbed-in dirt. etc. You can keep your bench clean like I do by giving it a good coat of finish, and then waxing the top every so often.

—Andy

Good song. I'd like to hear it expanded into a full-scale melody. (I'm a Tom Waits fan too, Matt. Have you heard his woodworker's song?)