The Far-Eastern Wood Butcher: Prime cuts from the far east.

(Edited 7th Jan 2014. A few dozen people actually reads this post, so I'll do my best to justify their time. This is my second scale, and this post is not meant to be a tutorial, but a sharing of my attempts to rescale a razor. If you are a woodworker, it is not as difficult as it looks. The more care, the better your work. I'm being casual here) R eplacement scales are usually made because the original are broken or badly warped. Or the maker must be feeling very creative. In this case, the original scales worked fine, just that it tends to cause the razor to rust badly in the same spots. I suspect it was some substance embedded in the scale. Perhaps moisture gets trapped in the micro fissures in the scales. A Kobar razor by F. Emde of Germany. Teak was chosen because of its oily nature, and also for its dimensional stability when wet. Warping or twisting is a very undesirable feature in razor scales, since the blade may hit the scales on closing on a twisted sca...

Everyone has their favourite methods. I tried some that was published. Citric acid, Vinegar:  Good for small rusted items like screws and bolts. An overnight soak leaves even the fine screw threads clean. Will re-rust rapidly if not flushed with tap water, dried and oild/waxed. Coke (the drink) and Aluminium foil: Most useful for folks with limited cleaning arsenal, works well on lightly spotted or tarnished chrome bumpers or bicycle frames. (Now you know why there's an ant farm under my Bailey No. 5's chrome lever cap) Sandpaper: Works on most metals, but removes patina and leaves scratches. Sanding in just one direction (lengthwise) helps the aesthetics greatly, as in sanding a hand saw blade. Electrolysis: Works like magic, all rust gone, no trace of any cleaning... or is there? Look closely, and you will see patches of discoloration (ok, I'm being very picky here), and the bare, rust free steel surface has a matted look. If you soak an item that has many cap...

        S ometimes, when you buy in a bundle, you get sorry looking tools like this.     and of course,   The tote has been dismembered into 3 portions, with the top horn missing. The knob has a befitting chunk gone too.   If these were beech wood, and the breaks are clean, I would have used hide glue, applied with a rubbed joint. ( A rubbed joint is this: Glue applied to 2 FLAT surface, surface is then RUBBED together, and left to dry. Clamps not required as drying hide-glue pulls joint together tightly )     Unfortunately, the previous owner of this plane continued to (savagely) use the plane in its broken-handled state, such that the joints were mashed and no long fit tight.Add to that, Rosewood is oily by nature: I resorted to epoxy. S o, I flattened all mating surface with a metal file, and added the rosewood powder thus generated into the epoxy mix. (My attempt to colour the ...

  The following account should be treated as work in progress. The come to me while I'm waiting for the bus, while I sat at the toilet bowl, or while I was skiving at work..... Why? My rubber footed whetstone holder skids around when the kerosene overflows to the feet of the box. Short of clamping the stone directly to my vise, I decided to find somthing to hold the stones firmly. Rather than buying an adjustable one made of rubber and steel, I decided to make one. Why pay when you can make a customised one? ( and a handsome one at that..) It gives your tools some workout. It uses some of the scrap you've been saving for dunno what. I need an excuse to make something. I did not put in any dimensions in the chicken scratchings below. Like I said, its a customisation. Built it to accommodate your longest stone. Having said that, it may not work for you. Some folks like to sharpen with a stone that comes glued to a box. In fact, I'm still doing it with that pre WW...

The Arts of the Cabinet Maker Sailor A good read is hard to come by, a good " how-to book" even harder. Well, I figure I should tell people should I chance upon one. Some time ago I finished reading a book. It wasn't about butchering wood, but I think sometimes we need to take a break between projects. I felt compelled to write a review on google books, though I know my review hardly do the book any justice. Anyway, below is a cut and paste job of a review I wrote some time ago. "... If you are into sailing small crafts, or are simply interested in an age old craft of the marlinspike, this book is a must-read. HGS brings you back to the days of canvas sail, often with a sense of humor. This book is probably written in the 1950s, but many of the lost arts can be applied to other uses. It is clearly illustrated. It does not pretend to be anything or try to be profound; In fact, the often complicated and obsolete stuff is weeded out, leaving the amateur sail...

  B elow will be many pictures of planes I've restored. I will be the first to admit my skills as a restorer is limited. I do what feel is right. What feels right for you will be different. Many ways to skin a cat, mine were just a means to an end.   Stanley No.5 Type13 cleaned by a 1 hour dip in an electrolysis tank.   Generally, my restoration philosophy (huh?)is to bring the plane back in time, without doing any thing irreversible. Where possible, the factory finish is retained. This includes the original Japaning and the factory mill/grind marks. For this reason, I hardly use sandpaper, except to sand off flaking varnish from the wooden totes and knobs.   Type 13 "sweetheart" #5, before restoration. Perhaps cleaning would be a better word.    A 100 year-old plane has taken a beating, suffered the ravages of time. Rust, chipping, flaking, pitting, dents, scratches, insect bites, put away wet,forgotten, neglecte...