Reversal of Fortune

In that arse-about-face way that I so often seem to find myself in, having had the rusting chisel discovery earlier last month, last week I had the leaking roof precursor. Except it came afterwards. If you see what I mean.

Folks, there is no sadder sight that a Veritas Small Router sitting in a small puddle of water. You may have heard the screams of "Nooooooooo!" from there. (Yeah, that's what's it was. Not some natural phenomenon such as someone pulling the toenails from a bull elephant.)

Oddly enough it was the only thing in the line of fire (apart from a few splashes on a Stanley #71 1/2 and the head of my panel gauge) and there wasn't even enough to seep through the join in the tool tray. Which was nice, 'cos let me tell you, I pulled those boards out in the full expectation of finding some horrific Lido type affair in the original tool well below. There was enough to cause some rust though, but a word of love and affection for those Garryflex abrasive thingies, which sorted it out in no time. Well worth having the fine grade at hand even if you're not naturally a devotee of ferrous oxide bargains. If it wasn't for the one single line staining the sole where it sat on the join of those tool tray boards, you'd never know. So Awww Buggerit, but mainly Phew.

Whilst on the subject of the Veritas Small Router Plane, I have to make a confession. Every time (and when I say every time, it's not like it runs into dozens of occasions. Three or four, tops) But every time I read on a forum or some such that people find the cutter slips or twists in the clamp, I feel the hot flush of shame that I utterly failed to notice this at the Beta stage. Honestly, I feel terrible. That's exactly the sort of thing The Elves have every expectation of even your dim-witted correspondent picking up on, and I failed utterly. I liked it almost unreservedly ('cept I found my digits are sufficiently not Canadian - i.e. Small - to risk squashing between the jaws of the bullnose area when loosening the cutter clamp - see above). But aside from that, not a problem. So when I had cause to use same again the other day, I bethought myself "Dammit, I must face this failure square in the face. Or sole." and thus did not baby that cutter and clamp at all. Indeed I positively encouraged it to slip.

It still didn't.

So yeah, I feel slightly less guilt, and can only apologise that I seem to have a perfectly working example. Some coarse abrasive applied to the shaft of the cutter is apparently the remedy. And yes, the cutter will fit in a Stanley #271 (there's always at least one person who wants to know that).

If you're waiting water-related w'shop mishap numero tres (as I was, things being what they are in coming in threes), I offer up the observation that it turns out the dye in tool rolls can be markedly fugitive. Thus what was once a classic off-white carpenter's apron chez Alf, is now a delicate shade of eau de nil. Sigh.