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My apologies for the delays in posting. The problem is my plane is last on the list of things to be done (in SWMBO's eyes anyway) so I keep getting jobs for the house to do. Since my last post I have made these which are beech kitchen stools copied from some we saw in Home & Garden. The tops...

Thank you gentlemen - all very helpful. I had another go at the knurling last night - and I agree hand-knurling better and more controllable. It does seem to me that once you start knurling and the grooves appear, they reinforce each other and the cutters of the knurling wheel automatically move...

Thanks James and Pete - I have read a lot of Jimi's posts but must have missed that tip about the diameter. Given that the diameter of the 'knob' is 22mm, then there must be 3.14 x 22 = 69 ridges on the outside of the knurled screw. If each ridge on the knurling tool is 1mm wide, then I don't...

Mmmmm... no one has commented which leads me to think I have committed some cardinal sin in using 2 bits of brass to mke the lever cap screw. Oh well! I turned my attention to finishing said screw. First to knurl the knob. New skill to acquire as well. I looked at a couple of youtube videos and...

I might get shouted at by the traditionalists but as I said at the start I am using this to learn about metalworking and this step can always be done again.... so yesterday I did the cap iron screw - well almost finished anyway I had bought some 8 or 12 inch lengths of brass rod - 1", 3/4", 1/2"...

I think my experiment with rapid drying of chunks of timber has failed :( Having done a 'dry run' of a piece of the figured beech which had far too many cracks to be the final front bun I started cutting down to size the final piece for the front bun, using a bandsaw, 12" sander, plane and a...

What I have definitely found is that after a night on the oven top, the wood feels very dry and hardly registers on the moisture meter at 6% or so. However after a few hours away from the oven the moisture content has crept up again - i.e. there is moisture in the deeper layers which takes a bit...

It is a bit stop and start this project but some progress made over the weekend. I think I had shown you the cap iron which was supplied just as a casting I think I have also mentioned the lever cap screw was awful - an M8 steel threaded rod secured into a rather inferior looking piece of...

thanks you I had kind of thought that I remembered that from one of Jimi's infill threads. I have my eye on one on eBay so hopefully won't be too much Cheers Mark

There will be a slight pause in this project as (a) I have to lay paving slabs outside my workshop and (b) the brass lever cap screw supplied with the St James Bay kit is awful - it has a steel threaded rod inserted into the brass knob and is ugly so I am going to make my own. I have ordered...

Thanks so much for the comments My wife came down during the peining and told me off for making such a lot of noise. And we are quite isolated here. I must have beaten the c**p out of it. I just re-examined it tonight and there is a little gap of about 0.5mm or less inside where the sides have...

Yes could definitely have done it with hand files - this mouth is quite big (but the iron is 6mm thick so it should end up being quite tight). I am new to metalwork and want to practice / learn milling etc so I just thought it would be a good thing to do Thanks for all interest Mark

Good progress today. After faffing around and wondering if I should drill the holes to mount the lever cap (I decided not to at this stage), I got on with the peining. Clamped up the base and sides with the piece of beech kitchen top to maintain the shape and started - cautiously - but it went...

Slow but reasonable progress - I only had an hour or so yesterday due to big family gatherings etc I used the mill in anger for the first time. With the benefit of hindsight I think getting an old scrap and playing around for a bit would have been good - but using the cutting fluid and going...

Thanks Pete - DCs book ordered from Amazon as you suggested - should be good Thank you everyone for comments and support. I have looked at many of the infill plane threads on here which are inspiring. Next instalment this weekend. Minor blip this week caused by outflow pipe in bathroom blocking...

Yes I agree I don't know how he makes any money. This kit is perfect for me to learn some new tricks so that, just maybe, I might make one from scratch in due course. Thanks to all for the interest and thanks Pete for the info on DCs book. Is it in David Charlesworth's Furniture-making...

I should qualify my comment about it being a bargain - by that I mean that I will have had a real hands on lesson in metalworking and plane construction at the end of this plus I will (might!) have a nice plan to use as well. Cheers Mark

By the way I meant to say the price I paid for it. At the time of buying I think it was £97 plus £15 postage - and then I paid customs duties, VAT etc of £26 in total. Time will tell but I think that might be a bargain Mark

Some of you may have seen my rather pathetic skirting round the subject in the matter of infill planes. I have refurbished a couple but the time has come to start making something from scratch. Despite reading many of the excellent threads on this subject, I was intimidated by just buying some...