Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2018 i Australian Wood Review

In June Tormek announced a new range of diamond wheels designed to fit the larger Tormek grinders such as the T8, T7 and earlier models which accept a 250mm wheel. Many would have considered a CBN (carbon boron nitride) wheel a more likely offering, however in true Tormek tradition, they have chosen to do their own independent research and move to a technology that they believe will eclipse the competition. There is no doubting the superiority of diamond abrasives, being almost twice the hardness of CBN, however, the one weakness remains exposure to high temperature. Even low speed spark grinders generate far too much heat for diamond abrasives. Hence, the decision to go diamond sees Tormek capitalising on the unique nature of their product, the near zero heat generated through…

From the moment you open the box, it is clear this tool is in a different league. The quality of machining, finish and attention to detail stand out. Although the sole of the plane I tested wasn’t perfectly flat, I was prepared to overlook this, as it could easily be flattened by hand and in this respect was slightly better than the others in this review. Depth of cut is regulated by the blade adjusting knob that registers in a single slot in the blade. The adjustment on this plane is a smooth and positive operation, with minimal backlash. Made from cast iron, with a bronze lever cap, the plane came quite sharp out of the box and only required minimal honing. The adjustable mouth sits perfectly flush with the…

Made from gidgee, this was the only plane made from wood that I tested. It has a higher blade angle (55°) than the others and is therefore ideal for hard and difficult timbers. The blade can also be reversed and used as a scraper at 85°. Without an adjusting mechanism the blade is held in place with a wooden wedge. Adjustment is controlled by tapping the blade or rear of the plane with a small hammer. While this does take some time to understand and practise, it’s simple and easy once mastered. Very detailed and easy to follow instructions are included with the plane. The HNT Gordon block plane was the only plane tested that came out of the box flat, square and with a ready to use sharp blade.…

The Luban low angle block plane was the least expensive plane tested for this review. I found the quality of the machining to be of a similar standard to the higher cost planes, with the exception of the knurling on the adjusting knob, which didn’t have a fine finish. With a cast iron sole and bronze lever cap, the Luban brand is manufactured by the Qiangsheng Tool Co in China. With some very minor tuning up (ie removing sharp corners) this plane will perform as well as those more than twice its cost. I really liked the narrow width (44mm) of this plane, which made it easier to use and hold in one hand. I believe this low cost, well made block plane offers excellent value for money, especially compared…

calling all year 11/12 students ARE YOU A STUDENT WITH A PASSION FOR WOODWORK? Wood Review’s Student Awards are open to secondary school students enrolled in years 11 and 12 in 2018. Send us photos of a woodwork piece you have made for your chance to win some amazing prizes. Students may enter on their own behalf, or teachers may enter on behalf of their students. Total prize pool $9,000+ entries now open Overall Best • Best Design • Best Hand Skills Best Use of Native Timbers • Popular Choice Award enter here woodreview.com.au/student-awards ENTRIES CLOSE: 12 DECEMBER 2018…

My personal preference is to cut dovetails by hand, whether it is for drawers, boxes or bench seats. I like the look of the handcut joint and also the freedom it gives me in layout and design. But there are times when I use the tablesaw to do the job, as is the case with this bench seat which has quite thick components. The method is also useful where you need to do a number of dovetail drawer boxes of similar size for example. Angles and sizes To cut the tails, the sawblade needs to be angled, while for the tails the work needs to be angled. Commonly used dovetail angles are 7° (1:8), 9.5° (1:6) or 14° (1:4). My approach is to use lower angles for wider stock and…

Like many other woodworkers I had been avidly following the development of the Shaper Origin for the past few years; curious to see whether it lived up to the hype. The first caveat is that the Shaper is currently not available for sale in Australia but I have been running the US version through a step-down voltage transformer with no issues to report after six weeks usage. The second thing to clear up is that it won’t be replacing traditional CNC any time soon, but perhaps that could be its best attribute – it’s simply not trying to be a standard CNC. On top of the ‘R&D’ price I paid US$290 for shipping and $220 for a transformer. Shaper Origin is currently only available on a pre-order basis. Shaper’s developers…

Shear Cuts When starting out, the outlay required for tools and sharpening gear can seem off-putting. For would-be and also experienced turners, enter Woodpeckers Ultra-Shear, a one-tool solution that even reduces the need for sharpening. With nano-grain carbide inserts that rotate to a new edge, and are then replaced when all are used, this is one sharp tool. Five cutters are available. From Professional Woodworkers Supplies. www.woodworksupplies.com.au Turners’ Gear Woodturners can add to their kit and boost their capabilities with several accessories now on offer from Hare & Forbes Machinery House. Faceplates in two diameter sizes (90mm and 150mm) with M40 and 2mm thread allow you to add different threaded inserts to fit multiple lathes. The PM-2 pen mandrel set holds small pen parts for creative shaping. CTR-4 curved tool…

Based on the original Stanley No.102, this was the smallest plane tested. I’ve owned one of these for 25 years and can honestly say it’s the most used plane in the workshop. I use it for making MDF templates, planing down edges on veneer work and planing endgrain. I can use it with greater control than a spokeshave when shaping larger curves and by skewing the plane you can actually get into some quite tight curves. This block plane fits perfectly in the palm of my hand and because it is so well suited to such a wide range of tasks, I believe it is the most useful and best block plane on the market today. Made from bronze with stainless steel fittings, this lightweight and small block plane is…

Made in Canada from cast iron, the Veritas standard angle block plane stands apart from many others, due to several unique design features. Firstly, there are two adjustable blade guide screws that prevent the blade shifting left to right. This is a handy feature when fitting the blade to the plane. The second point of difference is the high quality Norris style adjuster, which not only adjusts depth of cut, but lateral adjustment as well. I really liked this adjuster and I found this plane had the finest and most precise adjusting mechanism of all the planes tested. The cost of this plane is worth it for these features. The Veritas block plane also features a low-profile lever cap which fits the hand well and has three finger grips in…

The WoodRiver was the only tool tested that incorporates a knuckle-joint lever cap. In this design the nickel-plated lever cap is spring-loaded and the blade is held in rock solid when the cap closes with a snap. This makes blade changes quick and easy, although I think it would take a while to get used to. The WoodRiver plane has an old fashioned appearance, which is attractive. Although the polished lever cap fills the palm of your hand comfortably, I personally found this plane a little clunky to use. Because of its width and weight, I found it was necessary to use two hands. Made in China, the stress relieved ductile iron castings have a well finished appearance. The adjustable mouth is very smooth to operate and the plane produces…

‘My job is to make joins, basically…but not too basic.’ Daniel Poole, 28 doesn’t overstate things, however his work speaks volumes. Viewing the joinery of Daniel’s Wandel dining table is a voyage of discovery. It begins at the corner. From above there are angles, shadow lines and a flow of walnut grain you could swim in. Underneath, the joinery of the frame is sculpted. Curves, lines and transitions are resolved and refined – in other words, crafted. ‘What are you trying to say with your work’, I asked. ‘I’m not someone who needs to tell the whole story, not that I don’t have one,’ said Daniel. ‘If someone doesn’t appreciate this is a good piece, I don’t mind. It’s acknowledged by the people who can see.’ Daniel studied industrial design…

This particular eucalyptus leaf is larger than those native to this area. It has a dried out form that creates a lot of movement in its edges, and an interesting play of shadows down its length. I have chosen to carve it exactly as I found it, but some exaggeration could make it even more interesting. I carved it from my favourite native wood, Australian cedar (Toona ciliata). It is not the best wood for the job as the figure can clash with the carved form, but I have it, and I like it. Drawing 3D forms Design drawings, using the standard plan view along with side and end elevations are straightforward for the regular rectilinear forms found in most furniture. Compound curved forms are much more difficult. Luckily, there…

It’s 2pm on the day before the show opens, and the rain has started to come in sideways instead of just its usual downward inclination. I’m dripping wet standing in what is likely an increasingly rare industrial backwater of Brooklyn, New York. Kelly Harris is making her way down the rambling corridors of the ancient five-storey 1918 factory that holds her workshop. I’ve got three hours to get my Fred table to the Convention Centre in Manhattan. A second delivery guy has just canceled on us. ‘Congratulations! You’ve been selected for the 2018 ICFF Studio.’ Six weeks prior, the header grabbed me by the collar from my inbox. Each year the ICFF Studio invites designers from around the world to submit for the chance to exhibit at ICFF – the…

Since my last review of block planes in AWR#11 way back in 1996, a number of new brands have become available. As we now find ourselves in the middle of the great hand tool renaissance, it seems the perfect time to revisit this essential and versatile hand tool. Why get a block plane? A block plane is a small handplane which has the blade bedded at a lower angle than most planes, with the bevel facing up. They are basic tools and most consist of only four components – the body, cap, blade and blade adjuster. Most people tend to think the main functions of a block plane are for slicing through endgrain (due to its low angle), and also for planing smaller parts due to their size. However they…

By resurrecting a trademark last used in the 1930s that honoured Stanley president William Hart, the Stanley block plane proudly displays the initials SW framed inside a heart shaped border. The well-known sweetheart logo dates back to a period when Stanley offered a level of hand tool manufacturing and craftsmanship that was unmatched. This Stanley block plane was made from ductile cast iron, which was poorly finished and had knife sharp edges. I found this plane lacked attention to detail, however it could easily be fine-tuned if you have the time to spend on it. The Norris style blade depth and lateral adjuster is not finely made. It has a lot of backlash and a full turn is required before the blade begins to move. This plane is obviously made…

Made in Sheffield, UK this the most expensive plane tested. I like its solid and traditional look and the high quality bronze body has nicely softened edges and a good weight to it. Clifton say they aim to fit your hand comfortably with its wooden handle, but for me it failed in this respect. The only plane that wasn’t new out of the box, the finish on the wood was rough and not nice to touch, although it could easily be sanded smooth and oiled. The cutting depth and blade angle are controlled by a well-made Norris type blade adjuster which had no backlash. I found the adjuster to be very smooth and able to move the blade in small increments. Function wise, this plane worked as well as any…

Most of us have a scattering of life changing moments throughout our years. For me, this was one of them. We were standing in a logging camp in the sprawling Budongo Forest Reserve in north-west Uganda. On the ground, amid cobbled together bush dwellings, lay the remains of a giant mahogany tree, at least four metres in diameter. Its belly was missing. The loggers had taken the gold; a straight-grained section measuring no longer than a length of pine baton from your local hardware store. The rest was left, apparently unusable. At this time, some 18 years ago, I had just started a journey into green woodworking (with a slight deviation into chimpanzee tracking*), and I realise now that seeing the wasted mahogany tree led me away from the traditional…

It’s that time of year…my pile of wood shorts is threatening to take over my small part of the world. It’s a veritable graveyard of the odd one out in pine, blackwood, jarrah, mahogany and rosewood. So now it’s time to grow up and use my tablesaw to make my problem into chopping boards. The ubiquitous chopping board… all glued together and thicknessed beautifully can be handed to friends and family with a smile, like it was an inspired choice of wood and tools and talent. But we all know that chopping boards are a win all-round, they really are a genius solution to make our wood piles smaller while making our friends and family happy. The slightly annoying thing about chopping boards though is the lack of the means…

A lot of timber I use these days is roughsawn and usually two to three metres in length. I have a very large jointer with 2.6m long tables that are 500mm wide. Even with a machine this size it can be hard to safely manoeuvre long pieces of timber across the surface. I thought there had to be a better way and the three push/pull sticks shown in photo 1 were the answer. They were made back in 2008 and I’ve been using them ever since. Made for varying lengths of timber, they range in size from 550mm to 1000mm in length and all are 100mm wide. They are made from blockboard, because this is was what I had on hand at the time. If I were to remake these…