Search:

I would assume it's spruce or some other form of pine especially because of its colour, knots and his ability to easily work the wood with knives. If you look at the trees all around the mountains...

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments, particularly Luke. I agree a roughing gouge can be used for fine work, as I have tried, however there are serious limitations. I will certainly look for a...

I am still learning the basics of centre work, and over the weekend I was trying to do curves/beads with the skew gouge. I found it extremely tricky and continued to catch on the wood. I tried...

For an Aussie bench top, you can't really go wrong with most Australian natives, particularly with Eucalyptus varieties. They are generally very dense which will give the bench weight. Plus they have...

I like the ripple affect around the top of the bowl. however the square edges are too sharp so I think you lose that nice flow into the edges.

I agree with Jeremy. It's good to fix up the OzRacer to sail, but it's probably going to be more enjoyable moving onto a new boat construction project. I too plan to make a GIS one day, but the...

It is possible to start building many of the smaller parts of the boat without a large investment in lumber, ply, and epoxy. For example, the mast, centreboard, rudder, tiller, etc can all be...

I was at the show earlier in the week. Unfortunately by the time we got to the crafts, our kids were sick of all the walking. They'd prefer just to watch the animals all day. Even giving them a sugar...

It was just an encouragement for your build. I look forward to seeing how you progress.

Nice work Derek. Two questions:

1. On what basis did you choose your angles (1:7) for the dovetails? Type of woods? Aesthetics?

2. What is the fretsaw you're using? It looks like it was made...

Thanks for the offer Mick but I'm all good. Late last night I thought I'd do an image search rather than just the text thing. I found the lathe looks exactly like a Duracraft Wal 1236 or the Sears...

Well I'm glad I asked. I had no idea about the centres being tapered. I'll check that tonight. I'm pretty certain they're smooth inside. There is a thread on the spindle for a chuck.

Now I've got...

Here are some pics to assist with the model identification...

373554373555373556373557

Another question: are there standard sizes for the screw that chucks attach to? Because I have just been...

A friend has lent me his old 1995 Hare & Forbes lathe. Unfortunately he has lost the centres and any chucks he might have had. :~ I'm keen for some info on the machine before I purchase these...

Hey Alex .. after a year's silence it's good to hear you're still tinkering away. How is life in the mountains? I suppose the Napean River is your closest waters for sailing.

I'm back in Oz now,...

Thanks Ian for your kind comments. I did check my No. 5 1/2 as well. I adjusted the frog a fraction forward and that doesn't seem to have issues either. Thank goodness I checked before considering...

And strangely enough I can take a rather thick shaving and the yoke is still engaged. :C

Somehow between changing out the used blade (same 'tombstone' variety) with this sharpened blade, the plane...

Ok. I'll try to show you with my thickest blade. This was one of the "tombstone" blades made by someone on these forums in the mid-naughties. It comes in at 3mm thick.

371090

Here it is setup...

Thanks Derek. I think Rob's chipbreaker is the type of solution I was looking for. He also suggests widening the mouth.

It seems he doesn't sell just the chipbreaker separately unfortunately. I...

I'm currently using the old pre-WW2 Stanley chipbreakers on some modern, thick A2 blades (e.g. Hock) in my No 5 and 7 Stanley planes. I'm running into problems in that I can't screw out the blade...

I don't have much experience with the West System epoxy either. I've used Boat Cote and other generic brands. I think the West System filler powders have specific uses. So you probably only want one...

I'm just getting into wood turning so I'm interested what jigs you'd recommend?

I've been informed that turners just grind instead of any wetstone/oilstone/etc type work. Has anyone got some good...

I've got the wood set aside for my Moxon Vise, yet like Derek says in his fine article, it's the prospect of making the 2 wooden vise screws which has delayed the project. I'm delaying the purchase...

Gtz on launch. She looks great

I have been using Rob Cosman's DVD to teach myself dovetails. Having seen a lot of his videos I am pretty sick of his 'you need these best tools (read: my tools) to do this well' attitude. I just...

That Japanese footage is great.

So how do I check the chipbreaker angle on my old Stanleys?

I hear what you're saying Ian. And I agree. It's just that I have lost confidence that the edge of my no. 7 jointer being square. When I hold the jointer against the wood I'm flattening, I see the...

I wondered if Chris Vesper may have offered such a service. Maybe it would be a good excuse to visit his shop.

I'd also seen the scraping of the Clifton. However my main concern is not the...

I am wondering if anyone has taken an old Iron plane to a machinist to have it flatten and squared? I haven't required any of my planes to be square (other than for the shooting board, but I have a...

You went through all their tools to figure this out? Astounding! I'm very thankful for your work. It seriously simplifies how to find the right drill when you know that marking system. cheers!

I am looking to upgrade my hammer driver drill, so I have been doing a bit of searching around. I have been wondering if there is any way to understand the Makita blue numbering systems for their...

I'm actually rather sad to hear you've moved your duck away. The missus and I have decided to move back to Oz in the middle of the year, brining my OzRacer with us. Although we'll toss it in a...

If you set the course ending in Slovenia, I'd be more than happy to join you!

Nice job Alex. Do you have a pic of how the roof is lashed down?

Nice job Alex. It looks great. No doubt the bush turkeys will appreciate a drier location to roost under your new roof! I'm now keen to see the boat getting its final fixes completed. Summer is...

Thanks for your kind words everyone.I do believe I missed or could not find the answer to one question in Mik's plans: how do you find time to take your new boat out for a sail?

Thanks for the link and acknowledgement Alex. I realise now I forgot to mention that the mast down haul rigging was shown to me by you. So much stuff was running through my head at the time. It's...

Well I am proud to announce the successful launch of Orel, which means Eagle in Slovene. Before I get to some launch details, let me run the rudderbox setup question past you all...

Firstly, is...

Just a heads-up: I plan to launch my OzRacer on Saturday. I have finished all the preparations, took pics to clarify everything was set properly, but I am just too tired to load them onto Flickr and...

Well I have just returned from holidays, and while I have a few breaks from reading/writing this week, I hope to finish my OzRacer. Basically I only have the final anti-skid coat to finish on the...

Would "CR" refer to Concord Ryde? What does the "24" refer to?

How many OzRacers are in the Sydney area? (Will this be the opportunity for Alex to finish painting his boat and show his...

It's looking good Alex.

I might fiddle with the graphic over the coming week to see if I can do what you suggest.

I rigged the boat today to check everything. I need to figure how to bend my rudder box pin, seal the ends...

Oh. That is very do-able.

Thanks Mik.

I have just about finished painting the hull of my OzRacer, thanks to the help offered by my father-in-law. I have set up the sail in the boom and yard. All that is left to do is varnish the inside...

Thanks for the advice. Today we scrapped away the areas where the paint had flaked then sanded the areas in order to take off the sharp layers of built up primer and paint.

Unfortunately I have...

Next disaster...

So the boat has come along a fair way since I last checked in. The mast, boom and yard are varnished. The whole boat has been epoxy coated. The bottom, sides and deck have been...

Very impressive! The contrasting wood colours, paint and varnish are all looking brilliant. Look forward to seeing pictures of the boat on the water.

So it's going to be called 'Duckcote'? That's an appropriate name.

Alex, you might also be pleased to know that I not only saw 3 wood ducks roaming freely near the kangaroo and wombat enclosures...

I mix the epoxy first (2 parts which are both in liquid form as far as i know) to ensure it will set and harden. I would say that epoxy is actually the product you have once you've mixed it's 2 parts...