OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

-265 "Alan N. Graham" <agraham@m...> 1970‑01‑01 Bio & First Stupid Question

Hello all, my name is Alan Graham.

After lurking around and reading the postings for the last month, I feel like a 
6 
year old at an adult's party. I know they're talking about interesting things, b
ut I 
only understand some of the words they use. (Infill? - sounds like what you do t
o the 
hole after you buried the dog.)

I guess you could call me a "neaderthal wannabe. I discovered the pleasure of 
wordworking a few years ago after becoming inspired by Norm on the New Yankee 
Workshop. (I know, I know - even then I cringed every time he picked up a pneuma
tic 
nailer.)

After a couple of years of building furniture for my house (only 2 or 3
pieces a year) I have grown tired of the noise and dust of power tools.
I find I am turning to handplanes, scrapers and other basic tools to
prolong the pleasure of building and rediscover the nuances of wood.

Due to arthritis in my hands, I still find working with hand tools
somewhat difficult, but I love the feeling when rough wood first shows
its true nature under the first caress of a plane. I completed my first
"hand tools only" project recently - a Shaker style footstool with hand
cut dovetails and coping saw curved cutouts. I must admit that creating
a piece with traditional tools provides a fine sense of inner pride.

I have one basic question I would like to ask. I attempted to prepare
some rough red oak for dimensioning by using a jack plane. I found that
once the initial roughness was removed, the plane tended to glide on the
new surface without removing any more wood. I tried adjusting the blade
depth and even the frog, but could not get a decent shaving. I know I
must be missing something very simple, but I would appreciate any help
in pointing me in the right direction.

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Recent Bios FAQ