Black walnut suitable for infill?

[Paul Chapman]

That just looks so right. Looking at the photographs you can almost feel how comfortable that plane would be to use. A superb piece of work =D>

Paul

 

[Paul Chapman]

Just another thought - I know people (justifiably) rave about Norris planes and other tools by the old-time masters, but with some of the planes we are seeing produced by the likes of Karl Holtey and others, and the saws by Mike Wenzloff, I reckon we are witnessing a golden age in toolmaking.

Paul

 

[Jake]

Just another thought - I know people (justifiably) rave about Norris planes and other tools by the old-time masters, but with some of the planes we are seeing produced by the likes of Karl Holtey and others, and the saws by Mike Wenzloff, I reckon we are witnessing a golden age in toolmaking.

Paul

I was thinking exactly that earlier, except Dalziel was the name in my head, having looked at those two threads.

 

[MikeW]

Just another thought - I know people (justifiably) rave about Norris planes and other tools by the old-time masters, but with some of the planes we are seeing produced by the likes of Karl Holtey and others, and the saws by Mike Wenzloff, I reckon we are witnessing a golden age in toolmaking.

Paul

I was thinking exactly that earlier, except Dalziel was the name in my head, having looked at those two threads.

Having owned wonderful vintage infills--and I have one yet to be restored--I am so glad of Ian's and Karl's kits. I mean, not that the kit I want one day may turn out as nicely as Ian's plane above, but buying a kit will satisfy two things in myself. The desire for beautiful tools [that work well] and the need to make things.

And I do also think the resurgence in hand tool usage is fueling the creative individuals like Ian, Malcolm and Philip to make these wonderful planes, as well as the rest of us. I think of Dave Anderson's bow saws and marking knives, Dave Jeske's marking knives and especially his chisels. But I would also include Eddie at Adria, Lee Valley and LN. It was really LN and LV which has paved the road for us to follow.

It's a great time to be involved with handtools.

Ian, looking again at your plane above, it just says "touch me" so well. Again, thank you for the picture.

Mike

 

[Glen C]

<Snip>
Glen,
heres the 14 1/2 in boxwood
Ian

Wow! Beautiful plane and wood, Ian. :shock:

The dark accents in the boxwood look really nice. Is that typical for boxwood?

Cheers.

Glen

 

[Ian Dalziel]

Glen,
Not sure about the black running through the boxwood....i cut enough to give me 3 sets of planes and this bit was the only bit that had the black marbeling through it. Its also very difficult to find in plane making sized chunks without any splits...youve got to be very careful when drying it

Getting back to the original post i just bought a piece of walnut yesterday...4" thick 12" wide 24" long...i'll have a look at its suitability and stability shortley

Thanks for the kind words.

Ian

 

[Shady]

Ian: lovely workmanship. I have to say though, personally, I don't like boxwood on planes. I think it's because I always associate such planes, mentally, with rich dark wood tones... Sooo, if you want to mail that one to me, I'll keep it out of sight for you... :wink:

 

[deirdre]

Thanks for the kind words.

Here some of mine: Wow.

There's some very talented souls making tools (and tool kits) these days.

 

[wayne anderson]

I do think properly seasoned walnut would make a nice choice for infill. Some of the highly figured stuff rivals almost any wood for looks...IMHO. I plan to do a few planes in some very old and figured walnut, since I've got a couple of big hunks of both French and light colored domestic (US).
And Ian...gorgeous plane. It does look like it would be a joy to use. -wayne

 

[MikeW]

Welcome to the forum, Wayne--nice to see you here!

Another slightly denser choice that has been used for centuries as a Walnut substitute is Imbuia. Joy to work, smells wonderful [spicy] and is often found with figure.

Take care, Mike

 

[wayne anderson]

Almost forgot...I did do a smoother a while ago in black walnut. The rear infill is one piece too. *That* was fun...never again.

Cheers,
Wayne

 

[Glen C]

That black walnut infill looks very rich, Wayne. What did you use as a finish?

I'm looking forward to seeing what you make next. I was blown away by your recent chariot plane with the Damascus steel sides, brass lining, and ebony infill. Hope you don't mind if I post a picture for other folks to see.

Cheers.

Glen

 

[wayne anderson]

That black walnut infill looks very rich, Wayne. What did you use as a finish?

I applied a few coats of Minwax antique oil, followed by paste wax. I generally rub in the oil using sucessively finer grits of wet/dry paper to fill the pores on a wood such as walnut.
-wayne

 

[Ian Dalziel]

Welcome to the UK workshop Wayne......it used to be customery for the mods to welcome new guests but they must all be busy.

The walnut smoother looks lovely and as you said a real pia to do a one piece infill...very difficult....your hand skills are some of the best i've seen.

kind regards

Ian

 

[philip marcou]

That black walnut infill looks very rich, Wayne. What did you use as a finish?

Cheers.

Glen

I applied a few coats of Minwax antique oil, followed by paste wax. I generally rub in the oil using sucessively finer grits of wet/dry paper to fill the pores on a wood such as walnut.
-wayne

Wayne-awesome looking creation there. Great execution and plenty of character. Have I applied sufficient flattery to have you disclose how you did the knurling i.e do you use the "normal" type that one forces into the work thereby stressing a small lathe or do you use the type that clamps at the front? Most of all , where does one get that type of wheel pattern?
As an side I recently tried the knurler type that clamps/screws down at the front-not good , not good so back to the old type (which is unkind to my lathe)

 

[bugbear]

Almost forgot...I did do a smoother a while ago in black walnut. The rear infill is one piece too. *That* was fun...never again.
Wayne

You know Wayne, for a woodworker and metal worker, you don't do a bad job of photography!!!

BugBear

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Wayne

Welcome to UKW.

Cheers
Neil