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Cleaning old oil stones
Old oil stones are often covered in gunk, so much so that it can be hard to tell what they are. I’ve had some that were so bad that even after scraping as much gunk off as I could, I still couldn’t even tell if they were natural or man-made. I have no idea how…
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The world’s largest functioning hand plane
I recently came across a YouTube video of a massive European-style plane titled “World record – largest plane in the world” which made me curious to learn more. According to Guinness World Records, it was made by Schreinerei Fust who appear to be a Swiss carpentry business and it measured 7.13 x 4.37 x 2.10 m.…
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Removing pitting from plane irons and chisels
Removing pitting can be a real pain, especially if it’s deep. A disc sander or belt sander, if careful, would be ideal for removing pitting but if you don’t have access to one of them, there is another way. Lapping using long strips of coarse sandpaper on a flat surface will rapidly remove metal. Float…
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Restoring / cleaning up tools
Taking old, rusty or broken tools and getting them back into usable condition can be rewarding. It gives a sense of ownership, a feel for a tool that picking one off the shelf just doesn’t give, at least not right away. Even something simple like repairing a chisel with a split handle can be rewarding.…
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Wood turning safety
I recently read an article by Lynne Yamaguchi about her wood turning accident that is worth reading. It highlights how important appropriate PPE and using any safety features available are. Even so, all it takes is one distraction, a lapse of judgement, for things to go wrong. For some, the consequences can be even worse.…