Call-Forward

I've now finished Dan's marking knife and will get it off in the post tomorrow. I've made this one from some English Walnut with a slightly different style of handle...hope he likes it. Dan very kindly sent me some very nice 65mm brass hinges which were to big for the Elm Cabinet II so I'm hoping that he'll exchange them for a smaller pair of 50mm.
Packing is under way for the trip next week...I'm expecting the 'call-forward' phone call from the Falklands airhead at some time on Friday, so will be eagerly standing to attention by the 'fone. Once I get it, I have 48hrs to organise myself and get over to RAF Brize Norton ready for the flight at 23.59 on Sunday night. Can't say I looking forward to the flight very much as it's a hell of a long way to go and takes about 15hrs with a stop over at Ascension Island for refuelling...must remember to take plenty of reading material.

Thin Ice

Things have moved on a little from yesterday as I'm making one of these little knives for Dan Tovey who hails from 'oop north'. Dan was kind enough to let me have a couple of highly polished brass but hinges for my Elm Cabinet, so this little knife will be a way of returning the favour. I've sorted out a variety of timbers and just need to find out what Dan's preferences are for the handle.
The Elm Cabinet carcase was glued up sucessfully the other day. I gave all internal parts four coats of matt Osmo Poly-X and then cut it back with 'oooo' grade steel wool and wax...the finish has turned out beautifully, matt with a hint of a lustre from the wax. I'm trying at the moment to source some more elm for the back panel as owing to a very slight re-think on the design, the bit I had earmarked is a bit on the short side now. Anyway, I've put out one or three feelers and hopefully something will come of it quite soon.
I'm starting to gather a few bits and pieces toghether for the trip next week, the main thing I need to do is get some stuff for Alyson from Boots for her hair which I daren't forget...that would be skating on extremely thin ice. Not nice.

Refined...and counting down.

I had another go at the 'scary sharp' method of chisel back flattening and and this time I used a bit of float glass which was about half as wide as the chisel blade. The idea is to keep about 50% of the blade back off the paper at any one time. The result is that the front bit is only flattened every other stroke or so, the result being that the blade will eventually become very slightly hollow, or concave in its length. I did my two skews and the Blue Chip with excellent results so I only have to do the LN's which are pretty flat to start with.



I had a quick perusal at Alfs webpage the other day and was intrigued by the little knife she made in the style of those lovely, but hideously expensive objects of desire that can be found here so I thought I'd have a little go at making one myself. The result was quite nice, if not a little chunky for my taste...could have made the handle about 20mm longer which would have made it look better. Still, it's a very pleasant little tool which I've now sold to a good pal, so it's going to a very good home.


















Now I can hear you chuntering to yourself that Woodbloke's really lost the plot this time...counting down to what exactly? Well courtesy of 'crab air', flying out of RAF Brize Norton I shall be making the long and arduous flight to the Falkland Islands next Sunday night to see Alyson for a couple of weeks. She's got a pretty action packed schedule for me that includes a lot of wildlife watching, a couple of decent battlefield tours and I daresay I'll be able to explore the bars and fleshpots of Stanley....and do the odd spot of fishing which I hear tell from someone that knows, is one of the best spots on earth for sea trout. It's going to be a tough couple of weeks, but I'll manage!

Scary sharpe?

The workshop is drying out nicely now and I've started to put it all back together inside...as long as it's under the tarp it'll continue to dry out, so best guess is that Pete and I will tackle the exterior at some time in May when the weather is set to get a bit warmer. I've bought the DPM, galvanised nails, some decent quality silicone and some expensive (£6 a tube!) acrylic sealant that can be used on a damp surface, so eventually I'll replace all the sealant with this stuff. I need to order the marine ply (9mm) later on next month.
I had a go at using the 'Scary sharp' method to flatten the back of an old chisel the other day with moderately good results. It's very, very hard to prevent 'drubbing' ie: lift the handle just the merest fraction and the front has been rounded over on the supposedly flat back. I'm going to have another go soon and use the David Charlesworth method of keeping only 5o% of the blade back on the medium. I've got hold of a piece of 6mm float glass which is 60mm wide so that this shouldn't be too hard to do. This also has the added advantage that the chisel back ought to become very slightly concave, good job it's only a Marples Blue Chip that cost me the grand sum of £1 and not a rather tasty brand new 25mm LN!

Final Delivery

Got the last bits and pieces from the postie the other day, the 25mm bevel edge and the 6mm LN mortice chisel and very nice they are too.
I've been playing around today with lapping the back of my Marples Blue Chip with reasonable success, I just need to refine the process and will make another entry later when I sorted out all the hick-ups, then I'll have to finish off the LN set and skews and get them polished to a mirror finish.
The shop is now drying out quite quickly and it won't be long before the floor can go back in place so that I can carry on as normal inside. All the while the exterior is under the tarp it's drying out so I'll have to wait a few more days until it's completely dry before Pete and I can tackle it. Need to order some marine ply and get hold of some galvanised nails before we can start so will do that the next time I'm in town.

Dracula Spectacula

It's been blowing more than half a gale overnight with driving rain. Guess what's been completely ripped out the ground?
All the bloody tent pegs.
The tarp itself is is position 'cos it's been held by all the lovely strong rope lashing it down but the bit on the corner's been flapping around like a spinnaker gone berserk. So I was out in the shop this morning at 7am making a few nice chunky stakes about a foot long to replace the tent pegs...so far everything is holding. Some rain managed to get in so it's a bit worse than it was yesterday, just take a bit longer to dry out, that's all. Looking on the bright side, this has to be a good test of the tarp...if it will hold in this, it'll hold in anything 'cos the bloody weather's not going to get any worse!
Christopher Lee, look out...I'm armed and dangerous!

Nursres Corners

Having had the Force 6 blow die out overnight I managed to get the tarp up and over the 'shop, took about an hour to do, so the corner that needs some work doing on it now has a chance to dry out.

Next thing to do is to let it dry out for a period so I can organise some materials...sheet of 6mm marine ply, galvanised nails and a few tubes of silicone.