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Actually, the problem I was having was that I simply hadn’t cut the bed exactly perpendicular to the plane body. It was very slightly out of square. So the iron cannot bed properly. I realised that there’s little that can be done other than start again. Ive made some new jigs now, for drilling...

Back on this project …. 3 new floats and a new line in tapered plane irons.

Hi I need to purchase some quartersawn beech for plane making, which is difficult to come by. I’ve been offered some by a local supplier that can cut a central plank from a log for me. This would be unsteamed and undried. He could dry it in a kiln for me, or I could let it dry naturally across...

Interesting… Old Street Tools website says theirs are 55deg. And Matt Bickford‘s video shows their use in widening gauge lines prior to a rebate plane being used, which is definitely a cutting rather than scraping operation. So I guess it’s all a compromise, best bed angle for a snipes bill is...

Morning Purely out of interest, I’ve seen a few snipes bill planes recently with an extremely high bed angle, often vertical. Why would this be? Surely it would scrape rather than cut. Steve

Hi Ed That’s really interesting. Your vise is different to mine. You just have the ACME screw section. I opted for the next level up, which has a fixing plate and an enclosure, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but required significant metalwork to fit. Yours looks altogether simpler...

Hi Adam The planes have gone on hold for a few weeks while I do the bench. But the first thing I made on the new bench… just playing with the round I made, trying to tune it better, a cove moulding. Now I have a bench that can properly hold work like that, the sky’s the limit. But the...

N Nic That is a real problem. It is designed to fit on an incredibly thick workbench, as far as I can tell. I ended up tapping the holes for the “cross bolts” and reinforcing them to make it solid. Then I welded up a u-shaped metal bracket that I could bolt to the vise to connect the sliding...

There you go, I did it. Thanks for all the advice. Split top in the end, no fancy dovetails on the end caps but they are mortised and screwed with slotted brass screws at the ends so it’s not too bad. Lessons learnt - don’t use Wickes construction timber! It flakes like crazy, can’t even really...

That‘s really interesting. I had noticed the inward slope of the “flat” side of the thread and was wondering how that was done - I assumed on a lathe with a single point tool, but even grinding a bit with a clearance angle to make that work effectively would be tricky. The bit would have to come...

Not at all, I find it as interesting as you. I think it’s a buttress thread. Normally one would expect a 29 deg ACME thread, but given the quick release it only really needs to be strong in one direction. ACME thread and home ground cutter. Never cut a buttress thread!

Interesting. I’m not sure the wobble does matter really. I just had it off the bench to put it on the new bench and I may as well fix anything I can while “in transit”. But looking at it this afternoon, I think it may be designed like that. The “ways” have a very pronounced taper - meaning the...

Hi I have this old Parkinson woodworking vise, it’s a really heavy duty thing. However, across the last couple of years it seems to have developed a left to right wobble when I wind it in or out. I am sure that when I first got it, the jaws would be very parallel in their action. I can’t see...

Ditch the power tools apart from a bandsaw. First hobby is tool refurbishment. The skills and knowledge of plane/saw/chisel maintenance will be needed anyway even if you buy fancy expensive stuff. Plus tools are interesting. Read a lot and watch lots of YouTube about tools. If you can’t...

Cos it has a certificate wot says so. It was inspected by an inspector. The surface plate is the reference surface in my workshop and if that isn’t flat, nothing is. As the previous poster says, you can ensure a surface is flat by comparing it with 2 other candidate flat surfaces, in a process...

I had a faithfull “engineering square” that was so out of square it was shocking. Bin. I have several vintage combination squares that are perfectly good for woodworking purposes. I have a few vintage engineering squares that aren’t square enough for engineering. All depends on your mission...

Unfortunately I think you’re correct. I think there are actually several problems, which come down to me not really knowing what I’m doing. It’s a process of trial, error and thinking. There just isn’t any text or video which really explains the process of plane making. The wedge needs to fit...

If you are a weekend woodworker your saw may need resharpening every few years. So cost of saw files is negligible. Disposable saws are good for modern builders.

So, the reason for not using different thicknesses is that the centre vise created by the gap between the left side of the bench and the tail vise is a key part of the design. I will line this with Then there’s the connection of the tail vise to the rear of the bench, if you look at the video…...

Hi John Yes indeed I do have concerns about the weight of the thing I’m trying to build, and the effectiveness of holdfasts in such thick wood. I actually started with 95mm wood, but the problem is the tail vise. I bought a Veritas (apparently) tail vise, seemed good at £85 I think, which I...