Draw Boring Instructable

More for those of you who like Instructables, I have just published one which covers how to draw bore a mortise and tenon joint.

You can find the Instructable here

The video covering the process is here

Pallet Wood Blanket Chest Instructable

More for those of you who like Instructables, I have just published one which covers the making of a pallet wood blanket box, as made for a pallet upcycle challenge last year.

You can find the Instructable here

The video covering the build is here

New Instructable - The Flat Pack Pallet Table

For those of you who like Instructables, I have just published one which covers the making of a flat pack scalable table, as shown on my 'Get Into Woodworking' YouTube channel.

You can find the Instructable here where you can also vote on it in the Flat Pack contest that Instructables are running.

The first video covering the build here

And a summary video here

Ask Mitch - Planing out Plane Tracks

Not getting that smooth surface from a plane...

I am trying to get that smooth surface that feels so good without using much sandpaper. However my problem is that I leave plane tracks at times and always resort to sandpaper to get rid of them. What could I be doing wrong?

Leslie

If you have a straight cutting edge to your plane, then it's the corner of the blade that is leaving 'steps'. Ideally you don't want the corners to cut, so you can either knock the sharp corners off with a file, or use a curved/cambered blade so that the corners can be kept above the sole, feathering out the shaving. Sticking with a straight blade, you can use the lateral adjuster to hide one corner, then plane a set of shavings working across the wood so that the hidden corner side feathers into the previous cut. Each method will give slightly different results, as will varying the amount of overlap between shavings. The surface can never be totally flat, but the deviations are very slight and gradual, to the point of hardly being recognisable. Don't forget that a sharp blade without any nicks is essential too.

Good luck, Mitch

Recommended watching: Hone a Plane Iron

Email your questions to me at mail@womadeod.co.uk

And if you have a better answer, please comment below and/or email me

Ask Mitch - Vise for Router Plane Sharpening

If you want a precision micro bevel on your router plane, or just don't like free hand honing it...

I've been trying to sharpen the cutters for a Stanley Router by hand with difficulty as I find them hard to grip, so found your video on this subject very instructional. The machinist vise you use seems to be just what I need and was wondering which make it is as there seems to be many different types available and I don't know which one would be best. Any help would be most appreciated .

Melanie

They are tricky! My little machinist’s vise is by Brown & Sharpe Mfg.Co. of Providence RI U.S.A. and was an eBay find for a few GBP. Any small one should do, so long as the shaft of the cutter can be held ahead of the vise screw (to grip it effectively). Search 351683630301 on eBay.co.uk, or 162033502948 on eBay.com both of which look okay.

Good luck, Mitch

Email your questions to me at mail@womadeod.co.uk

And if you have a better answer, please comment below and/or email me

European White Oak - Mitch's World of Woods continues

Ask Mitch - Dog Hole Spacing

No need to call the RSPCA - this is a woodworking term, not the latest craze!

That's awesome man.. question how do u determine the spacing of your dog holes?? I recently built a new bench and I have yet to drill the holes because I'm not sure how to space them and how many to put in.

Joe

The spacing is down to the vice capacity - they mustn't be further apart than the distance the vice dog can travel, otherwise you'll get lengths that can't be clamped without packing pieces. Having said that, I frequently use a packing piece, against the vice dog, to bridge the vice jaws and get the work over the main bench top.

How many? That depends on the lengths you need to hold. You could lay out for a full run of holes along the bench, and just bore the holes as and when need them - chances are you'll have some you never use!

Cheers, Mitch

Email your questions to me at mail@womadeod.co.uk

And if you have a better answer, please comment below and/or email me

Ask Mitch - Gap between Frog and Iron

Good afternoon. I really enjoied your videos about No.4 and no.5 planes restoring and fettling. It helpred me a lot on working with a new No.5 Anant AA plane i acquired a month ago. Now i have the best  jack plane for a fraction of the cost of a premium plane, assuming i have to use a new iron and iron cap...in fact i installed a new quangsheng blade thast is made of good steel, and retains a good edge.  Followed your instructions, i obtrained a good work horse ( sole was almost flat, needed only ten minutes of lapping).
Only doubt still remained concerns blade bearing on the frog: if i look at my plane against a good light source, i can see a tiny gap between the blade and frog surface.  I know blade is flat  because i checked it on my diabase master plate, and have worked also flat my frog surface, as you tought us on videos. Does this gap affect performance ? Now i’m planning to buy  a No.4 wich is a finer plane..what i have to do if i discover this small gap again?

Many thanks, Carlo

This is no problem, and simply caused because you are clamping the flat iron against a concave chip breaker. Both pieces flex a bit, each one according to it's physical properties. The chip breaker is made concave (mostly flat, but with a deviation of some sort at the working end) in order to enable a tight fit against the back of the blade at it's extreme tip.

It might seem unimportant to flatten the blade with this in mind, but, doing so will ensure two, full width, contact points against a flat frog (that doesn't quite work out at the top of the frog, because of it's shape, but it does maximise contact).

The flex in some thicker irons will be so small as to not allow light through, but it will be there all the same.

Cheers, Mitch

Email your questions to me at mail@womadeod.co.uk

And if you have a better answer, please comment below and/or email me

Ask Mitch - Cutters for Stanley No.45

Hi Mitch, thanks for your videos, I am wondering, as I see you use the Stanley 45 plane, do the veritable plow plane cutters work in the Stanley 45? Thanks for your time.

Troy

I'm guessing you meant Veritas?
(don't you just love prediction and auto-correct)

In which case I honestly don't know. However, it's not strictly necessary to use the fine blade depth adjuster, so I suspect they would, even if they don't have a notch.

Thickness could be an issue, so check the cutter specifications to see if it's too thick.

Good luck, Mitch

Email your questions to me at mail@womadeod.co.uk

And if you have a better answer, please comment below and/or email me

Panel Gauge Plans

You can now find a SketchUp model of the panel gauge I made at Christmas, over on the Downloads page.

You'll notice an addition, which I shall cover in a future video.

Talking of video, if you didn't see the panel gauge video yet, then head over there now: