Not Woodturning -- Wood Planing!

So, I didn't try to get to the lathe this past weekend...to much going on. Last night I went out to the shop, but realized I didn't have any blanks ready to turn....bummmer. Didn't have time to cut some up and turn, but I did remember I had found a slab of wood that I have been saving for about 2 years.

It's from my parents house in KS. My dad and I cut it up about 9 months before they moved here to Iowa. I wanted to get some wood from there to make a table or bench out of. I had thoughts of building a router sled to flatten it, but with my new found addiction to hand planes, I decided I should use KP's planes to do the flattening...(plus who wants to take the time to build a router sled?) Plus, the sound of the plane cutting the wood is almost as satifying as watching curlies fly off the lathe!

The results from about an hour of work are below. The first two pics are of what will be the top of the table. 

The next two pics are of what will be the underside of the table.

So...I've been off the crutches for a full week know. Still have the boot to wear for another week or so and then I will be looking for all my right shoes. I've been doing some cleaning in the garage preparing to get back to the lathe, maybe even this weekend.

Besides that, I  haven't done much in the shop at all. Two weeks ago I tuned up my Stanley No.7 jointer plane. I spent about 2 hrs sitting in the shop bringing my grandpa's No.7 back to life. I didn't take off all the grime/rust off the whole thing, just the parts that matter because I wanted it to keep some of it's character that grandpa had provided it. The plane hadn't been used for at least a decade, or more likely 20 years. I put some steel wool to the wooden parts and rubbed some paste wax on them to shine em up. Flattened the back of the blade, used a honing guide and sandpaper to sharpen it up (only to 800 grit so far). Then I took a brass wire brush to the japaning, sandpaper and steel wool followed by paste wax to the sides and the sole. Against my better judgement and doctor orders I stood up and put some weight on my right heel (not the whole foot) and made some curlies with it. I just had too!

KP's Toolbox

About a month ago I was helping my dad rearrange the chaos in his garage that we had just placed, shoved, and stacked his entire shop into after moving it from KS to Des Moines and rediscovered a heavy wooden box with hand cut dovetail joinery. I remembered it from loading the Uhaul back in KS too. I played strong man and lifted my grandfather's carpentry tool box by myself into the moving van. It was heavy, stout and showed signs of once being beautiful. I commented to my dad that it should be refinished and used as a show piece in his new shop. He was to tired and sore to hear me I think.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I'm helping my dad put up a wall in his new shop and we need to move the tool box. My dad says, "If you are interested, KP's toolbox is yours."  Instead of my dad restoring it, I get the pleasure to do so. My dad told me that my grandpa worked on a crew of 5-7 carpenters that went to work each day on the back of a flat bed pickup. They'd work all day and then had to spend most of the night sharpening their tools. If they weren't sharp in the morning, they got fired on the spot. Below are some pictures of how it looks now. The top half is spilt and folds down to reveal three small drawers and a storage space to the right. The box that folds down contains the 5 hand saws. The lower half is made up of 2 deep drawers that house the plans and brace bits among other things.

 

 

Possibly the best part of recieving the tool box are it's contents. Swedish chisels given to grandpa by his mentor, who name escapes me now, a Stanley No 7, another Stanley for inside curves, Miller Falls No. 9, 2 braces, bits, scoring knives, awls, 5 Disstons saws, saw tooth set, 2 more manual drills and 2 wooden planes, plus much more. I have the tool box on a shelf in my shop now. Eventually I will do a little refinish on the box, but I also hope to learn how to use and maintain the tools as well. I'll post some more picks of the contents soon...I will be making some new chisel handles for sure!