Thread: What tool(s) have you been loving lately?

My just restored No 4. Was my grandfather's.

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Well, I'm between workshops, so I've not been using much of anything, but I did get a new, 110v bench grinder and put two 6" CBN wheels on it. I've got an 80 grit crowned wheel for hollow grinding, and a 350 grit flat wheel with flat sides for sharpening turning tools and "softer" grinding.

Pretty excited to use it. No more dressing of wheels and making a powdery mess!

Cheers,
Luke

A couple of tools I've loved recently are my blue spruce 1/8" dovetail chisel and resin infused maple mallet.

The Gramercy holdfasts have been super handy lately. In fact, probably the most helpful tool I have in the shop.



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I love 'em all, but the one that's been giving me the most pleasure of late is the "no-set" saw I made after playing with Zac's Disston 77- 12tpi 45 fl.jpg

I had a rave about it (post #9), a few nights ago....

'Ave a good Christmas, & I hope the reindeer don't get too exhausted dragging all those heavy tools they'll be delivering tonight....

Cheers,

Today I'm enjoying my sharp kitchen knife as I prepare food for the family gathering this evening.
Season's Greetings to all.

Having only recently started woodworking and even more recently bought a swag of hand planes, chisels and other hand tools I've been loving all of my hand tools and now can't imagine woodworking without them!

Most recently I'm working on an outdoor table and my highlight tools have been; Veritas shoulder plane, Japanese ryoba and dozuki saws, some home made draw bore pins, a 42mm paring chisel and I have to add the Festool Domino as cutting 128 mortises was made super quick and easy!

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There are tools I use because they do the job and tools I use and actively seek out jobs where I can use them. However, today a job was forced upon me. I had to make up an improvised table to extend the kitchen table for the demands of Xmas cooking.

I had a small table on a lightweight steel frame, but the top was completely shot and far from hygienic enough for food preparation so I volunteered to make a new top very simply from a sheet of melamine covered 8 x 4 mdf. Easy: Grab the circular saw and away you go. There was nothing complex abut this job.

Trouble was the 235mm saw I had lent to a friend and the 185mm saw was temporarily bolted under a bench.

So I grabbed the trusty No.5 Simonds hand saw. The truth is I really like using this saw. 10ppi, a new Forest Red Gum handle and between 110 and 116 years old, it ate the mdf with as smooth a finish as you like. I didn't even sand it after (but I can be a bit rough ).

Loving tools 004.jpgSimonds No.5 CM rehandled 005.jpg

The second tool is brand new and is also pictured above, but much less glamorous. It is a small clamp that attaches to a stainless steel ruler. It can be use as a depth gauge or a square much in the same way a combination square is utilised.

This one came from Forum sponsor Smith and Arrow.

I have only had it a few days and already used it several times. Just a very convenient little device.

Regards
Paul

Very nice, Paul.

I've gotta ask... How did you find carving and shaping Forest Red Gum? That sounds like a colossal PITA, but you managed to make it look awesome. Well done.

Cheers,
Luke

My grandfather's Millers Falls No. 6 plane that I recently restored. This plane is a delight to use & I seem to be able to do a much better job when I use it, maybe a guiding hand by my grandfather from above.

Originally Posted by Luke Maddux

... How did you find carving and shaping Forest Red Gum? That sounds like a colossal PITA, but you managed to make it look awesome....

Yes indeed, maybe you took the pic from the very best profile (), but I'm quite impressed! Carving FRG would be a challenge for anyone, & you've not only done it, but done it very well!

Fortunately, our extendable table will cope with the number we have tomorrow (just), so I won't be cobbling up extra table space this year....

Cheers,

128 mortises DomAU! Bet you're glad you didn't have to cut those by hand 😂

Haha. Yep. Sure am. Just what I bought the Domino for!

Just though of another favourite piece of gear: Starrett automatic centre punch

Originally Posted by Luke Maddux

Very nice, Paul.

I've gotta ask... How did you find carving and shaping Forest Red Gum? That sounds like a colossal PITA, but you managed to make it look awesome. Well done.

Cheers,
Luke

Luke

There are two distinct questions there. I have produced these handles before and indeed posted somewhere before, but I can't recall where just now. However, just for the record, here is a pic.

Fork Handles Simonds No.5 001.jpg

I expect you remember now .

The shaping of the Forest Red Gum handles is a bit tough on the rasps (very tough actually), but the carving is relatively easy. I use a rotary cutter in the drill press and produce the wheat carving freehand by introducing the handle to the cutter.

This is not really cheating, contrary to what many of you will think, as this is precisely how the saw manufacturers produced wheat carving except for the very earliest examples well before the turn of the nineteenth century. They also used apple wood primarily being a much more friendly timber.

Regards
Paul