Wooden Square

In amongst all the tool cleaning and refurb, a strange and unaccustomed feeling swept over me. Gradually it dawned on me what it was.

I wanted to make something in wood.

I know! What the dickens? Worry not, gentle reader - I slaked the need by making... a tool.

Yeah, it's one of them wooden squares. I'm not convinced about them, but as someone who believes in trying something for myself before dismissing it, I figured what the hell. I happened to have some suitably thin pieces of ash that had spent some years acting as drawer dividers, so I reckoned it was going to be about as stable as any wood ever will be. Alas, the truly quarter sawn pieces were a little thin and a little narrow, so I had to slum it a little.

And honestly? I don't like fancy shapes at the end of the blade. Y'know why I did it? There was a partial saw kerf in the ash, and by making a wavy shape at the end of the blade I could eek out another inch or so of length. It'd be vastly amusing if that or something similar was how the practice came about in the first place.

Being well out of practice - and bridle joints giving one very few places to hide - the stock ended up a tad shorter than planned too. First up I stopped thinking and started cutting like it was a tenon. i.e. All the wrong side of the line. Abort. Recut, shoot, mark again. Second time was just, ack, horrible. I tried to rescue it it, but it was beyond hope. Abort. Recut, shoot, mark again. Third time went much better, although I thought I'd got a better fit with the blade at 90° than subsequently occurred. *shakes fist at gap* No matter. The fit was largely okay, and as a slight re-entry back into some proper woodwork, it was fun to do. 

And I dunno what's with my photography at the mo', but swear on my combi plane collection, the edge of the blade is not sloping as it appears to be in that pic. Really, if I had any sense at all, I'd have Photoshopped that away and fixed the gap at the same time, but 'tis all laid bare for you, gentle reader. In all its hideous reality. 

I must be mad. (Don't answer that)