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Tongue Plane

I have been needing a Tongue and Groove Plane Set.  Not needing as in really wanting one.  Needing as in there is no other good way to do what I need to do.  Small changes in life require different tooling.

My car got hit.  The insurance company insists there is no such thing as loss of value when a car gets hit.  Even though they have  to pay for that loss in other states, Texas is all about rugged individualism.  In other words Texas protects the insurance companies instead of citizens.   In our “proving” there was a loss of value we decided to look at what a car company would give for our car as a trade in.  In doing so, we evaluated the cost of keeping our old car and the repairs that would now increase vs having a car payment.  We decided to get a Prius.  Better gas mileage, less impact on the climate,  but now my trailer is useless, and I can’t pick up a sheet of plywood anymore.  I can however manage a few boards.  To do the same thing with boards as I do with plywood, I need a tongue and groove plane set.

If the insurance company, call them Anole Insurance, had done the right thing, I would be able to squeak out enough to get a lovely Lie Nielsen T & G plane.  I probably would have, it is a sweet, sweet tool.   Sadly however I will have to make my own tool.  :)

Needing a blade that was not spoken for, and needing it pretty quickly, I went and looked for something to make a blade out of quick.  A spade bit can be a really good quick bit, but I saw something that also had some other nifty parts, and the price was right, so I looked real close at the $10 plane from Harbor Freight.    I bought two of them.  They don’t have an adjustable mouth, but for a tongue plane I don’t need and adjustable mouth.

So the first thing I did was to alter the blades.  One blade I put  a 1/6″ gap in and ground a HSS blank to the same width.  The other blade has a 1/4″ gap with the matching HSS blank.   The HSS blanks are going to be the blades for the grooving plane.

 

To mount a guide on the side of the plane I drilled and threaded a hole for a bolt to go in.

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May 13th, 2012 | Category: Hand Tools, Tool Making, Tools, Woodworking | Leave a comment

Testing For Lead

In my pursuit of toolmaking, I don’t want others to come to harm.  I use a lot of odd bits and bobs to make things with.  Brass and bronze have a special appeal.   The problem is that these items can be full of lead.  Leaded brass is easy to work and polishes up with ease.

As long as no one looks over your shoulder or cares about the dangers, there are a lot of good reasons for a business to use leaded materials.    Since compassion is only allowed in publicly traded companies when it is dictated by law, or demonstrably more profitable, it is just not safe to assume the products we buy are safe.

 10$ and free shipping for 8 test swabs is a bargain  considering that what you don’t know can make you and your children stupid and irrational. (Free shipping on $25+ orders, so you will have to get a few other items.   Getting this marshmallow gun with it will still leave you 2 cents short.)

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April 30th, 2012 | Category: Chemistry, Environment, Hand Tools, Injustice, Metalworking, Tool Making, Tools, Toxins, Woodworking | 5 comments

Hex Bit Sockets and What is possible Now

The first time I used a quick release socket it was a revelation.  I had seen the notch set up for them, but not the adapter.   For me being able to replace a bit, or use multiple bits, and not have them fall out at the first opportunity was wonderful.

Since then I have sought the perfect one.  Perfect may not be possible, but there are two of them that make me happy.   One is an adapter, and one is a creation of my own.

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April 25th, 2012 | Category: Hand Tools, Power Tools, Tool Making, Tools, Woodworking | 7 comments

A Spherification Rack, A quickly made Fixture from Split Prone Cedar.

Creme De Menthe Caviar on Haagen Dazs Vanilla Ice Creme

 

Sometimes you need to do molecular gastronomy, and you need to do it now!

Spherification is a rather nifty process where you react juice with sodium alginate in it and a calcium containing fluid to make little juice filled gelatin balls.

While adding sodium anything to your diet should always be questioned, sodium alginate has been shown to help lower retention and absorption of lead, mercury, and some other bad stuff. Depending on your situation a little bit every now and then might be quite good for you.   The entire reason I am doing this is to reduce the effect of some of my past exposure to lead and mercury.  I have been a technician for a long time and have ample opportunity for exposure.

There are reasons to fear sodium alginate and reasons to want sodium alginate in your diet. Spherification is one way to get a small amount every now and then.

The basic method of spherification is to drop drips of sodium alginate bearing juice into a bath of calcium chloride. To make a lot of them quickly you need to be able to make a lot of drops quickly. One method is to make a spherification rack.

Continue reading A Spherification Rack, A quickly made Fixture from Split Prone Cedar.

April 18th, 2012 | Category: Chemistry, Hand Tools, Recipes, Tool Making, Tools, Tutorials, Woodworking | Leave a comment

Making Tools with HSS Blanks

 
 
For under $5 you can obtain a set of HSS blanks from Harbor Freight.  Do this at a store, I have been so amazingly and expensively burned by online shopping with HF that I will never ever do that again.  The stores however are great as long as your are careful what you get.
 

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April 16th, 2012 | Category: Hand Tools, Metalworking, Tool Making, Tools, Tutorials | Leave a comment
 
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