Thread: GIS - Sacramento

BW - You have touched the Sawdust Tarbaby. The madness has begun. There's no stopping it now. Soon you'll be selling your house, so you can get a smaller house with a bigger shop.

As far as the clamps go, they're not top quality, but it's hard to make really defective spring clamps. The biggest problem with the cheapies is that they spring is either too weak, or becomes weak quicker than the better quality ones (eg. Jorgensen). For that price I'd take the chance. You do know the trick of making spring clamps out of PVC pipe cut into short lengths and split?

David - If only I had a house my problems would be solved!

Are you related to Brer Rabbit?

Thanks for the comments on the clamps. Yes, I know about PVC clamps... I have a friend who advocates PVC clamps and takes every opportunity to show the buckets and buckets of them he has. Which reminds me... I'll ask him, but since you brought it up, I'll ask you too.

What size PVC "split pipe" clamp would work to hold, say, the chinelogs to the hull panels when it comes time to do that?

Thanks.

Bob

BW - I don't use that type myself, so can't be the authority. I just suggested them because they're cheap and have given good service to many. Trying to remember what those I've seen looked like. I'm guessing 3" - 4" would be ok. Given that I have a compressor, and several nail guns, I tend to shoot that type of stuff together with nylon (or, sometimes, stainless) brad nails. I'll sometimes add a screw or two as a temporary clamp. We did use every clamp in the shop, though, to glue on the inwale.

The nice thing about the inwale is because of the spacers it is just possible to stop halfway along and continue tomorrow.

Because epoxy doesn't need a lot of pressure the PVC clamps might work nicely.

Always do a dry run if you are in doubt.

Remember that a lot of it can be done with the drywall/plasterboard screws used temporarily too.

MIK

Bob,

I have been using cheap spring clamps from Harbor Freight for a lot of my work so far - I also have some nicer clamps, but the spring clamps get a lot of use doing the bulkheads, etc. My only concern was that the pressure would be too great, as MIK and others mention several times that epoxy does not require much pressure. I have had the glued bulkheads lying around for a few months now, including a move and several garage clean-outs, and my concerns about too much pressure squeezing the glue out didn't happen- everything is solid.

-Jamie

Bob,

I started with a low-angle block plane I picked up at Rockler for about $30. I have since added a #5 Stanley, but have yet to put it to use. The low angle block plane got me through the bulkheads and stem.

-Jamie

Jamie,

Thanks for the comments re the clamps and the planes. I'm looking around for a low angle block plane.

A good friend of mine who is a woodworker also recommends an 11" Shinto rasp/saw:

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/tools/shinto/index.htm

Coarse on one side, fine on the other.

Bob

After discussing PVC split pipe clamps with a couple of guys, I'll experiment with the PVC clamps and hold off on the eBay spring clamps - at least for the time being.

However, since I am in the more immediate market for bar clamps I think I'll buy a set of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/8-New-18-Bar-F-Clamps-Woodworking-Wood-Carpenter-Lot_W0QQitemZ360142110533QQcmdZViewItemQQptZClamps_Vises?hash=item360142110533&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50

Still shopping for a block plane. Jamie, where is Rockler? Haven't heard of them, but I'll look them up on-line. WoodCraft has block planes priced from $26 (for a made in India Grosz) to $65 (for their house brand Wood River) to out-of-sight (Lie-Nielsen). The big box stores carry Buck Brothers planes but along with being low priced look and feel kinda cheap. The local Ace Hardware wasn't any help. Does no one sell Stanley planes off the shelf?

WoodCraft was good today for a piece of ash for the foils, and at a better price than the hardwood specialist down the street.

Bob

Still shopping for a block plane. Jamie, where is Rockler? Haven't heard of them, but I'll look them up on-line. WoodCraft has block planes priced from $26 (for a made in India Grosz) to $65 (for their house brand Wood River) to out-of-sight (Lie-Nielsen). The big box stores carry Buck Brothers planes but along with being low priced look and feel kinda cheap. The local Ace Hardware wasn't any help. Does no one sell Stanley planes off the shelf?

Bob

Bob,
I am a Lee Valley fan and wish I had some shares in the company I do not pretend to be an expert on planes but the Veritas planes I have work very well out of the box and for blokes new to woodworking are great. Yes they are more expensive than most but well worth it in my opinion and Lee Valley service is very good too.

Have a look here at their block it has an adjustable mouth very handy.

Cheers
Mike

Bob,

Rockler is a chain I think:http://www.rockler.com/

They have a store in Pleasant Hill, but probably have a store closer to you.

I have been using the low angle block plane by Groz. Worked fine for me.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11136

-Jamie

Guys, Groz is crap. Trust me, it will be far cheaper and more pleasant to spend the money on a Lie Nielsen block plane. It is a beautiful piece of equipment. I have expertly tuned up a number of older Stanley planes (have thrown away the Groz we had at work when I started there) and I find I go for the LN everytime. Do it, but a LN plane. The next best option is to find an antique store online or locally and purchase the Hock blade that fits it (google HOCK blades, great tool metal) and I'll help you lap the bottom of the plane, adjust the frog, and get it working better than an out of the box newer Stanley could possibly be.

Looks like they ship.

Thanks for the advice and comments.

Jamie, I did find the Rockler site. They have an outlet/affiliate here in Sacramento -but I'd probably just order on-line. Interesting input on the Grosz.

Clint, I understand that concept - buy the best tool available. I do not doubt that Lie-Nielsen planes are the best - and beautiful to boot. But there are a couple of other factors at work here, too. One is budget. I honestly cannot justify $165 for a plane. I'm sorry if that offends anyone's sensibilities, but I cannot. Part of why I cannot is one of the other factors at work: The last time I touched a plane was in 7th grade wood shop so many years ago. The quality, precision, and ease of use of a top end tool would, I am afraid, be absolutely wasted on me. I don't have any frame of reference for comparison. Right now I would probably be impressed with the performance of an out of the box Buck Brothers plane (and even I can see they are not high quality).

Your suggestion to find an antiques store and buy an old used plane is a good one. I have read enough and talked enough to knowledgeable people about tuning and sharpening planes to know old planes can be brought back to life. I have a rudimentary understanding of the tuning and sharpening processes.. More importantly, those knowledgeable people are nearby and willing to help.

One way or another I will obtain a plane, learn how to tune, sharpen, and use it. Maybe, one day, I'll know enough to appreciate a Lie-Nielsen tool - but not today.

Bob

Found on the internet, from Robert Feeser

"One of the interesting things about hand planes is that there are a number of big catch-22s involved.

One is sharpening. You will never get really good results with planes until you can get them really sharp. "Sharp" is a moving target. What you think of as sharp in the next few months will seem dull in a couple of years. And that will happen over and over. Any time you happen to pull out a plane that you haven't used in a year or so will be dull even though you got it razor sharp before you put it away. The catch-22 is that you will continue to think your blades are sharp until you discover something, maybe a single figured board, that you can't plane well, but a friend can.

Then there's planing technique. The more you learn the more you can use your planes for, and the better tuned they have to be.

The other catch-22 is that your expectations of a plane are a moving target, too. At first, most people find that their decent planes do pretty much everything they think they should without too much trouble. But with time you keep coming across pieces of wood that defeat you. If you keep working at tuning and sharpening them, that will happen less and less often. That's one reason some people will say that one of the cheaper brands of plane works well and others say they don't. Differences in expectations.

Another catch-22 is that you can't learn to tune a plane well until you can tell when its well tuned, and you can't tell when one is well tuned until you have gotten one tuned well. Planes are so much fun.

You just gotta love 'em."

While this describes the Catch-22s of planes, it pretty much captures what I was trying to say earlier.

Bob