steven newman

Everybody missed this was F R I D A Y? I thought I was the only one to lose a day....

Ok..a Before & After... the "Before" That Craftsman Jack plane in the background...needed the rear handle fixed, and.. The front handle needed replaced......Tried the drill press, could not keep the "mandrel" in the chuck....had to duck once....took the knob blank to the 6" disc sander...made a BIG mess.. But.. Finally was able to shape a new knob. Added a chunk to the tote....waited a long while ( mainly while I was sanding the front handle..) Fun part, was to find the bolt hole, again....so...the "After"? Like new? Made by Millers Falls, sold by Sears...Lever cap and the iron are both stamped Craftsman... Was a busy day..

Going to try with my drill press first....thanks, though. Shopping day, today..(Payday!) so it might be a while before any shop time, today....

Try again...decided to do another tote/handle.... Found out what was under all that tape....someone had tried a repair....had to actually drive the bolt out of the handle...traced around the handle.. Thought I'd try drilling the hole BEFORE rough cutting the tote... Followed the line, yet it wandered to the left a bit, flipped it over, and tried to meet somewhere in the middle...it didn't...cut the blank out, anyway.. Would have been nice to have gotten one more handle out of that slab....hole in the wrong spot... Forstner bit to the top of the handle, and the bottom....wiggled the bottom one until it fit the base....there is a nub in the base also...had to mark and drill a "dimple" for that...kept working inside the handle, until I could line things up, and fasten the handle to the plane... Finally. then back to the shaping.....bandsaw to hog edges a bit, into a bevel. Then the 6" disc sander had a turn....then a new drum on the Dremel.. getting there....had to switch out for another fresh sanding drum....went between this and that 6" disc sander, finally went with sanding strips.. Almost done, had a few spots to fix.. Then, when my hand fit the handle....and things were nice and smooth...added some of that smelly BLO.. A "Before & After"? Put the rest of the parts back on the plane.. And decide whether to just refinish the knob, or, replace it too.... Have another knob needs replaced, though.. Stanley Type 11 knob...looks a bit rough? You could say that... Will try this one first, as a pattern...work all the kinks out, BEFORE doing the Type 10's replacement.. Stay tuned..

Lowes is 2 miles from the house....HF is 35 miles. Lowes price for a single belt(marked as "Craftsman" brand) would be the same as a round trip to HF and get 5 belts.....have used both in that sander....about the same. May try to turn a front knob next....on the drill press....will need to drill the blank first, then start the rounding overs....Not sure I am going to do Paul Sellers way, by hand....way too much hand plane work, to get a round cylinder from a square block.... We'll see how it goes along....

Tried a little work in the shop, tonight.... Drilled a couple holes...ala P. Sellers......mine drifted a bit ...trying to follow a line.. Hard to keep this on track....follows the grain a bit....Larger hole is with a forstner bit... Shaping....meh...about halfway done, here...tried the narrow beltsander.. Belt so worn, it was useless...and Harbor Freight was closed. Re-did the Dremel...new drums.. Amazing what a new drum will do...and when I back the speed off a bit...no longer burns anything.. Got to the point I could test fit a couple bolts....then clamp the plane, handle and all in the end vise....and hand sand to 180 grit...then some BLO was brushed on.. Put the plane back together.. And allow to dry, and re-assembled...Stanley No. 5 Jack plane... Stay tuned..

Have a 6" disc, 4 x 36" beltsander.....I did have a 1" x 30" beltsander.....Also have quite a few rasps, and files handy. Fun begins when I drill....those two brace and bits will be doing that... Paul Sellers has a video showing how he "crafts" knobs and totes for his planes.....we'll see how this goes...

Well, the house now has HEAT! Took the guys most of Saturday to yank the old furnace out, and install a brand new one..... Have started cutting up a block of Rosewood...to repair a few plane handles....from this.. To... This...same handle as above... As for it being a MondayI'd rather be hibernating..

A friend of mine sent me a couple chunks of Rosewood....to do a few handle repairs, as some did need some work...hard on the hand, when the "horn" is missing... I had already roughed up a handle...and had a stack of leftovers.. So, while watching the Furnace crew replace the house's furnace....I went with a "Horn Repair".....took a bit, planed both surfaces as flat as I could...meh...then some glue and a clamp... Then went back to watching..until... They had the new furnace installed..and the house finally was getting heat! They added all that shiny metal, because the new furnace was that much shorter than the old one. Anyway, let the repair dry overnight....and enjoyed being warm, for a change...Then, today, bandsaw to rough out the horn's shape a bit better, then set up a Dremel.. Lots of sanding, shaping, sanding....needed a drill, because the new horn overlapped the hole for the tote's bolt... The larger bit was about the right size An electric drill would tend to "get away from me" and dig too deep. Sanded off all the old finish, back to bare wood...then slapped on a coat of Gunstock stain..because that is all I have on hand... Let it dry a bit, and then wipe it down.. A top coat later this next week should darken it right up.. Next? Well, this Craftsman version of that Millers Falls jack plane could do with a new horn...and maybe the correct sized front knob? He also set that turning square...figure I can chop off a chunk the right length, drill a hole through the center, and turn it down.....except, I don't have a lathe handy...but...I DO have a drill press...I can chuck a bolt through the blank, give it a spin..until a knob takes shape... As for that Tote blank sitting there...maybe have just the plane for it.. Not only missing the horn, but is is snapped in two...only thing holding it together? Is the bolt in it... Front knob is fine, though. Stanley No. 5 is about to get a new handle around in back...Still have enough leftovers, I could replace the one on a #4.. Tape was there when I bought it...think it is about time? #4 Type 10.... So...that is what I will be doing, for a while.. Stay tuned

Left me out....was too busy being a Radio DJ......even had my License.....Uncle Sam had...other ideas for me....

That "Cigar Spokeshave" is a No. 1 from Millers Falls....$$$$

Top coat is on, been rubbed down. Took about all day to dry... So, I guess I should post up in the gallery? More of them "Hand cut Dovetails"? Note where the saw cut went through....?

Keep and eye out for Seymour Smith & Sons spokeshaves.....just as nice, and sometimes will cost you less...