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This Months Issue
As you can see, we are starting 2006 off with
a new look for our Newsletter. We have been getting some great feedback from our
readers and have started to incorporate those suggestions into this new format.
I think that you will find it more ‘user friendly’, more informative, and much
faster to download.
Please let me know what you think, and, if there are any features or content
that you would like to see in future issues, definitely let me know.
Thanks, and enjoy!
Paul Fulcher, Publisher
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For Lovers of Wood
While
you can often find the more common species of wood, such as oak, maple and
birch, at your local lumber
supplier, obtaining that special piece of curly maple, or exotic imbuya, can be
a bit more challenging. A&M Wood Specialty, out of Cambridge, Ontario, is
one of North America's largest suppliers of quality lumber for woodworkers. They
stock over 120 species of lumber and veneer, along with specialty plywoods,
carving blocks, bandings and inlay material, as well as tonewoods and hardware
for instrument makers. While they offer a range of rough sawn and air dried
lumber, you can also have them dress your lumber purchase to your exact
specifications. Their mill rate of $60 per hour is quite reasonable. They can
also re-saw boards up to 22" wide for bookmatching. Shipments are made via
common carrier for larger orders, or United Parcel Service for smaller orders.
Prices on their lumber and veneer are very competitive. For example, 4/4 Makore
is $5.78, Pau Ferro is $11.92, and White Quartered Oak is $7.20. One of the nice
things about A&M Wood Specialty is that there are no minimum order sizes, you can buy
2 BF or 200 BF. I've ordered from them a number of times, and have been very
satisfied with the service. |
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Blue Spruce Paring Chisels
 Blue
Spruce Toolworks is one of a new generation of 'micro-manufacturers'.
Small companies producing exceptional quality tools, which generally are not
available from the mainstream manufacturers. Known for their outstanding
marking knife (see our review in Canadian Woodworking, Issue 36 June/July
2005).
Blue Spruce now has a new set of small paring chisels for working on dovetail joints and other fine
joinery. They are available in 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2". The blades are made
from A2 tool steel hardened to Rc 60-62. The sides of the chisels are sloped
steeply to allow maximum clearance (they are actually concave). The handles
are available in cocobolo, rosewood or other wood species upon special order. A
set of four chisels is $220 US.
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Tool Group of Canada
 The
Tool Group of Canada has a membership of over 190 people interested in
collecting and studying antique tools. The group meets five times a year at
the Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto (1000 Murray Ross Parkway, near
York University). They also publish five newsletters a year.
The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 4. The
meeting starts at 9:30 am, and there is no charge for non-members. The guest
speaker will be Caroline Petznick, Curator of the MacLachlan Woodworking
Museum in Kingston. The meeting includes a silent auction of antique tools.
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Thin Air Press Update
Roarockit, makers of the Thin Air Press, have changed the formulation for
their butyl tape used to seal the vinyl bags. The new tape is easier to pry
apart, and easier to remove and replace.
Read
our review of the Thin Air Press in the September 05 newsletter.
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3 Flute Router Bits
 Dimar
Canada has introduced three new sets of Woodpecker 3 flute router bits,
priced at $44.95 (12 pieces), $59.95 (12 pieces in a wooden box), and $99.95
(24 pieces in a wooden box). These bits feature high quality carbide, thick
carbide tips, chip limitation design, and hardened steel bodies. |
MultiMaster Star Mounting System
 Fein
Canada has announced a new 'star' design for the accessories used with
their 'MultiMaster' tool - a hand held, oscillating sander, scraper and saw
- one of the most popular power tools among finish carpenters and home
re-modelers.
To use the new accessories with the star center,
all you need do is purchase a Star mounting adapter (item 3-010-09-189-01-0)
for $10.50. The adapter also works with all the current accessories. Fein
claims that this new
mounting system will increase output torque by 40% and virtually eliminate tool
slippage. |
| Router planes
don't have the same appeal that block or bench planes have.
Nevertheless they are eminently useful in the shop. They excel
in plowing and cleaning the bottom of dados, rabbets, and
grooves. While you could use a shoulder plane for these tasks,
they have fairly wide blades, with 3/8" being about
the narrowest. Router planes, on the other hand, have blades as narrow as 1/4"
for cleaning all but the smallest dados. |
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The LV router plane comes
with 1/4" and 1/2" straight blades, and a 1/2" pointed blade, which is used for
final smoothing. A holder for sharpening the blades, along with an instruction
booklet is also included. An optional (and highly recommended) fence is
available for $17.50. |
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| Installing the blade is easy.
Insert the blade up through the opening in the base and into the collar, hooking
the lip on the end of the blade tang onto the disc below the depth adjustment
knob. Turning the locking knob secures the blade in place. |
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| It's best to adjust blade height with the router
blade positioned over the work piece. Loosen the locking knob a tad, and then
turn the adjustment knob to set the blade to the right cutting depth. The same
as for a hand plane, its best to go for light cuts. I aim to remove about 1/32"
of material with each pass of the router plane. In fact, each full turn of the
adjustment knob moves the blade 1/32" up/down. |
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There are two depth stop knobs located under the adjustment
knob. Once you have set the blade to the desired depth, raise the top
depth stop until it contacts the bottom of the adjustment knob, tighten it a
tad, and then raise the bottom stop knob. In the photos you can see that I use
the hex key to tighten the stops together. |
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| The optional fence ($35.00) can be attached to either
side of the router body, and there are pre-drilled holes on the fence so you can
attach a wider sub fence. The fence is flat on one side and curved on the other,
to suit the nature of the work you are routing. |
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| The blades come sharp, but do require honing.
The 1/2" blades can be un-screwed from the arms. You then screw them onto the
supplied 'carrier' and hone away. Simple and easy. |
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| For the 1/4" blade you hone by hand. Not a
difficult task. Follow the instructions provided and go slowly. A few passes on
my finest waterstone did the trick on the new blade. As shown in the photo, I
also lapped the back of the blade to bring it to a mirror finish. |
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| Because it has a wide base and two offset
handles, the router plane is very steady in use. The weight of the plane, about
2 pounds, adds to the stability. I find it very quick to cut my dados and
rabbets on the table saw, and then clean them up with the router plane. For deep
stopped dados, you can quickly chisel out some of the waste, and then clean up
with the router plane. For shallow stopped dados, just go to work with the
router plane. |
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| The blades have a 26º
primary bevel, and I found that they cut great either across or with the
grain, on soft or hard woods. The Lee Valley Router
Plane offers excellent value in a handy plane that will be a welcome addition to
your tool kit. |
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Woodturning Wizardry
by David Springett |
| Source: |
Fox Chapel Publishing
ISBN: 139781565232792
Soft cover, 8 1/2" x 11", 192 pgs. |
Price: |
$37.95 |
Rating: |
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| This revised edition of Dave Springett's
1993 best seller is an excellent introduction to the world of
intricate, small scale, turning. The first part of the book (pages 1 - 47)
give the basics - the kind of woods suitable for this type of turning; a
detailed, and very informative overview of the various jigs and chucks that
Dave uses for small scale turning; an equally interesting (if rather too
short, in my view) discussion of how to make a range of specialized turning
tools - given that the kit of tools you have on hand will likely be too
large for the projects in this book; and two short sections on turning and
marking out spheres - the central form that he uses in most of the projects.
The balance of the book is taken up with 14 projects, ranging
from somewhat easy (the arrow through the globe) to complex and challenging
(interlocking spheres). For each project Springett provides a list of what
you need to undertake the project, along with a step-by-step set of
instructions. The more difficult steps are amply supplemented with photos
and illustrations.
This book will be of greatest interest to the intermediate
and advanced turner looking for new projects to include in their turning
repertoire. Novice turners shouldn't shy away from this book either. A
lot of the techniques covered are applicable for general turning, and while
the projects initially look overly complex, they are within the scope of the
any turner who is willing to invest time and patience. |
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Collectors Cabinet
Kevin Shantz, Kitchener ON
The cabinet is made from Baltic birch
plywood. The raised panel doors are curly figured soft maple, the drawers
are hard maple and pine, and the handles are Zircote.
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Night Table
H.C. Sakman, Victoria BC
This is one of a pair of mahogany night
tables with oak and aromatic cedar drawers. |
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Acadian Tree
Monette Leger, Shediac NB
This 15 foot carved tree, entitled
'Historical Acadian Tree - 400 Years of History:
A Nation's Identity', took 2,300 hours to carve.
It depicts the odyssey of the Acadian people
since 1604, with the arrival of the first French explorers in North America,
their development, upheaval, as well as the 400th year Acadian celebration.
The pole is erected in front of Shediac's oldest historical house
belonging to Acadian senator Pascal Poirier, and now being used as a museum. |
Router Station
Gary Scott, Kanata ON
Gary's router station is based on plans
featured on the New Yankee Workshop. It's built out of birch
plywood and features solid oak edge banding.
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If you would like to see your work in
this newsletter, send an image along with information about your
project to:
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Issue #19
January 2006
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