Popular Woodworking 2005-12 № 152, страница 63
■ Lie-Nielsen Convex-sole Block Plane 800-327-2520 or lie-nielsen.com We generally reach for a hand plane when we wish to make a surface flat or true. But this year Lie-Nielsen Toolworks has introduced a small block plane that will make you think about curves and depth. Based loosely on the long-gone Stanley 1001/2 model-maker's plane, the Lie-Nielsen version has a sole that curves in two directions. From front-to-back, the sole is a gentle 27" radius. Across the width, it's a considerably tighter 3" radius. What's this tool good for? If you make seats for wooden chairs or stools, you will find this tool easier to wield than a traditional travisher - especially if you already have block-plane skills. I also use it for sneaking into crown mouldings to remove router burn marks or to trim two mitered concave surfaces. It is, quite simply, a plane that will go places that you would never before go with a plane. Like all Lie-Nielsen tools, the company has improved on the original. This plane has the cutter pitched at a low angle - you insert the cutter with its bevel up. This makes the plane more comfortable to hold and allows you to easily sharpen a steep pitch on the blade to reduce tear-out - for chair seats, this is invaluable. Also, the body is made using indestructible ductile iron. At $85, it's a small price to pay for entering the third dimension of planing. ■ Powell Manufacturing Odate Crowning Plate Long-time readers know that we're fans of sharpening jigs. We've watched beginners struggle far too much to simply allow them to flail while freehanding. One of the biggest challenges in sharpening a plane iron for a jointer or smoothing plane is establishing a slight crown - sometimes called a camber - on the cutting edge. You need this camber to plane a board without leaving gutters behind. To sharpen a camber, it usually takes selective pressure on the corners. Even with a jig this takes some practice. Now Japanese woodworker Toshio Odate and diamond sharpening expert David Powell have developed a diamond sharpening plate system that allows you to camber the blade reliably and easily - even your first time out of the gate. The 31/4" x 71/4" plate is available in a variety of grits from #220-grit up to #1,200 (I recommend the #600-grit for most work). The plates have a slight (.0025") dish to them. So you simply sharpen the tool like you would a straight-edged blade, but the plate sharpens a perfect camber at the cutting edge. You can then easily refine this edge on your polishing stone or you can buy one of the Odate plates that will dress your waterstones so they also have this slight dish. A curved blade is the secret to excellent work with a hand plane, and this sharpening aid is well worth the $110 in our book. 781-237-4876 ■ Ray Iles Mortise Chisels 800-426-4613 or toolsforworkingwood.com If you've ever tried mortising with a mortise chisel I bet you've been frustrated and wondered how our ancestors did it. Sure they had more hand-tool skills, but they also had the right tools. Almost every mortising chisel I've ever used has been designed to make mortising difficult. They are too lightweight or - even worse - they are ground poorly and twist in use. Ray Iles, the son of legendary toolmaker Ashley Iles, has finally fixed this problem by introducing mortising chisels based on hard-to-find 18th- and 19th-century tools. And, more importantly, he has made them with the details and attention to quality that will allow you to mortise with incredible speed and accuracy. The Ray Iles mortisers are made using durable D2 steel. The sides of the blades have been ground with a slight trapezoidal shape, which makes them easy to withdraw from the cut. The beech handles are tapered in two directions so they are easy to keep square in the cut. And the tools are heavy, which makes them beaver through the wood like no other new mortising chisel on the planet. The chisels come in V16" increments from 3/16" up to V2" and prices from $53.95 to $97.95. Here's our recommendation: Buy the 5/16" or V4" chisel and give it a try in some 3/4" stock. We think you'll be convinced after cutting the first joint that these tools are a different kind of animal. 64 102 Popular Woodworking December 2005 |
