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Oops. My mistake. Thanks for the correction

Looks neat, but I can't figure out what you're actually doing with the block and graphite, and now need to know. Is it for marking high spots? What makes "alu" (aluminium?) special for graphite but cast iron best for pencil lead? Thanks.

They're for a tournament chess board. A novel "four boards in one" design I'm trying out (scratching a long term itch). The main emphasis is on the wood though (veneers). A reconfigurable chess board provides the perfect excuse to obtain more veneers to make more squares on an ongoing basis. Oh...

Ouch. Bought for "the project" but you're right, it is rather shiny. Perhaps I can up my cred some if I run a saw through it a few times... :)

OK, we all do. But for this particular task of making square sapele blocks to insane accuracy, my "manual edge fettler" works better for me. It's way more efficient and much more accurate! I struggled with the sheer hardness of this wood and the masses of grain reversals when trying to shoot it...

Just to conclude the tale. I fetched my Clifton No 4 today, and a lovely little smoother it is too. I got a deal on a demonstrator, so saved a little too. As a smoother, it's the best plane I've used (though only Stanleys before, and one Ryder low-angle block plane). Lots of adjustments...

Thanks for all your comments folks. Overall you've convinced me the 4.5 was just requirements creep on my part, and the heft of it will compromise every "normal" use anyway. I'll get the No 4. To those who mentioned 2nd-hand planes and fixing them up - I recently got some with that in mind...

I was determined to NOT buy any new tools after my recent return to woodworking but already succumbed to a Japanese saw. I'm really glad I did though! It made the repetitive task of accurately hand-cutting blocks from hardwood stock a lot easier and I get *much* more accurate results (and...

I'm sure I'll continue to use both Western and Japanese saws too, but for this job - Japanese all the way now! There definitely is a lot of technique involved. I currently get deeper "plumb" cuts (before it starts to wander) if I position myself behind the saw, on the line of pull. I'm gradually...

I thought I'd try a japanese saw for cutting square hardwood blocks. I made a simple magnetic jig and cut a few pieces off the end of a length of 66mm x 26mm sapele. I had planned to build a shooting board and a plane skid for further sizing and refinement of the blocks after sawing as they...

First, thanks everyone for your responses. I did order and receive some Semforite, but yet to try it out. I think the episode with Cascamite has rather knocked my trust in the urea resins. I never knew they had a shelf life until I looked into it. Wish I hadn't now. Ignorance is bliss, eh...

I've returned to woodworking after not doing much since I left boat building, around 40 years ago. I did continue using my small collection of hand tools for all carpentry around the house but never tackled "for fun" projects and didn't buy (many) new tools in the interim. I was well out of...

Thanks for the suggestions folks. Has to be thin veneer. African Blackwood looked promising, but is even scarcer as a veneer than it is in small blocks. Ebony is splitty (and subject Cites now). I tried a couple of versions of ebony (Macassar and "real") and both split often at the edges when...

Hi, I'm looking for an alternative to smoked oak veneer which I've been using for edging recently. It works quite well, but until the finish(es) are on, it's very easy to split out long stringy bits of grain which are tough to repair (invisibly). The most vulnerable period is during trimming of...

Hi everyone, I joined the forum yesterday, so just a note to introduce myself. Although woodworking played a part in my distant past it's only received sporadic attention since then because of a career change and my main, long-term hobbies crowding it out. These being microscopy and...