Anyway, all done. 4.5, 8, 10 and 14ppi. Except now I'm looking at them and wondering if really I ought to sell 'em. It's certain sure they'd be more likely to sell than the odds and sods I have otherwise, and I can make do with odds and sods...
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Sharpening Henry's Saws
What with one thing and another I've had a bit of a lay-off from the workshop over the last few days, but I'm back to the grindstone now. Or rather the saw file. Finally got round to sharpening up the remaining 3 of 4 Disstons. The rip and back saw just needed a lick of the file anyway, and I'd broken the back of the required work on the handsaw a few months back, but even so... Half the trouble is that Disston steel is so much hard work to file, but also 'cos I've got very used to sharpening backsaws rather than the larger teeth. Yeah, okay, so the larger teeth are easier to see than the small ones on the back saws, but holy moly, you don't 'arf make up for the lower skill requirement by the sheer volume of metal you have to file on a rip saw. I'm not built for a lot of filing (I'm built for large passenger liners to founder on...) and I'm knackered. Give me pesky little teeth you can't hardly see every time; barely need a full stroke of the file in comparison!
Anyway, all done. 4.5, 8, 10 and 14ppi. Except now I'm looking at them and wondering if really I ought to sell 'em. It's certain sure they'd be more likely to sell than the odds and sods I have otherwise, and I can make do with odds and sods...
Anyway, all done. 4.5, 8, 10 and 14ppi. Except now I'm looking at them and wondering if really I ought to sell 'em. It's certain sure they'd be more likely to sell than the odds and sods I have otherwise, and I can make do with odds and sods...
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Santa Claus existed
Don't think I mentioned that I'd succumbed to my chronic Woodworker Annual addiction last week, did I? My sworn policy is to try and confine myself to pre-WW2 ones, but volumes from 1980 and '81 containing all the adverts was too much to resist. Man, they're heavy blighters with 850+ pages a piece. Not exactly ideal for bedtime reading... Anyway, in amongst articles with such humorous phrases as "Alan Holtham is a young man" and Ashley Iles new factory opening are, of course, the adverts. Funny really; so much has changed and yet in amongst the unfamiliar are names that are still going strong now. And noticeably a lot more small concerns in both the tool and timber retail sector. The latter includes adverts from "Cornish Woodcraft". Naturally a name that'd catch my eye anyway, especially given the paucity of wood suppliers in this area, but the accompanying information is fascinating indeed. Viz:
Quote
Hardwood at Trade Prices Direct To Your Door
Cornish Woodcrafts are starting a new NATIONWIDE service for Turners, Woodcarvers, DIY and Trade customers. We will be running a Mobile Sales Unit in ALL areas so in future you will be able to select and purchase at the same time.
We will be carrying an extensive range of woods and veneers. There will be no obligation to buy, just drop us a line or telephone requesting our Mobile Unit to call on you.
Among the hardwoods we will be carrying are: Apple, Acacia, Ash, Chestnut, Cherry, Elm, Hornbeam, Lime, Larch, Poplar, Pear, Oak, Oak Burrs, Sycamore, Teak, Walnut, Yew, Mahogany. Also a full range of veneers. At a later date we will also carry a range of Exotic woods.
The idea of this new service is to allow you to select the planks you require on the spot instead of receiving them via carriers and finding they fall short of your expectations. The system also cuts down the high cost of carriage.
End quote
It doesn't take a great business brain to work out the profit margin on such a service would be small, bordering on non-existant. In fact, with no obligation to buy, there's every chance of a loss and indeed that part of the advert disappears later! But can you imagine it? A big lorry driving up on request, full of hardwoods for you to pick and choose on the spot? And based here, in Cornwall, where folks have ended up travelling to Oxfordshire to get cabinet-quality hardwoods? It's like finding out Santa Claus used to exist...
I googled for Cornish Woodcraft and found one reference that jogged my memory. When I first moved down here there was a tiny outfit of that name near Truro, catering to the turning fraternity in the main. I was frankly a bit scornful of it as a place to bother with at the time, fresh from London as I then was. Looking back now, from the perspective of being by and large in a woodworking desert, I really wish they were still in existance. Especially if they had such a glorious history of trying to bring hardwoods to anyone's door.
Quote
Hardwood at Trade Prices Direct To Your Door
Cornish Woodcrafts are starting a new NATIONWIDE service for Turners, Woodcarvers, DIY and Trade customers. We will be running a Mobile Sales Unit in ALL areas so in future you will be able to select and purchase at the same time.
We will be carrying an extensive range of woods and veneers. There will be no obligation to buy, just drop us a line or telephone requesting our Mobile Unit to call on you.
Among the hardwoods we will be carrying are: Apple, Acacia, Ash, Chestnut, Cherry, Elm, Hornbeam, Lime, Larch, Poplar, Pear, Oak, Oak Burrs, Sycamore, Teak, Walnut, Yew, Mahogany. Also a full range of veneers. At a later date we will also carry a range of Exotic woods.
The idea of this new service is to allow you to select the planks you require on the spot instead of receiving them via carriers and finding they fall short of your expectations. The system also cuts down the high cost of carriage.
End quote
It doesn't take a great business brain to work out the profit margin on such a service would be small, bordering on non-existant. In fact, with no obligation to buy, there's every chance of a loss and indeed that part of the advert disappears later! But can you imagine it? A big lorry driving up on request, full of hardwoods for you to pick and choose on the spot? And based here, in Cornwall, where folks have ended up travelling to Oxfordshire to get cabinet-quality hardwoods? It's like finding out Santa Claus used to exist...
I googled for Cornish Woodcraft and found one reference that jogged my memory. When I first moved down here there was a tiny outfit of that name near Truro, catering to the turning fraternity in the main. I was frankly a bit scornful of it as a place to bother with at the time, fresh from London as I then was. Looking back now, from the perspective of being by and large in a woodworking desert, I really wish they were still in existance. Especially if they had such a glorious history of trying to bring hardwoods to anyone's door.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Can you handle it - the book of the film
As requested, you foolish people, the how to on making London pattern octagonal chisel handles is up. Please indulge in corrections, typo-spotting and so forth and then I can add it to the (now functioning again) web site. Somehow web page Tuits seem to have mounted up again, dunno how that happens.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
They seek it here...
... they seek it there, those woodworkers seek it (occasionally) everywhere. Is it on line, or is the server down? That demmed elusive web site.
Yes, it's gone walkies again. No, I don't know why. Sorry if it's caused inconvenience and you may assume I'm not getting emails again... What I don't understand is it's supposedly on the same server as UK Workshop, so why does mine go Lord Lucan on me and UKWS doesn't? Heigh ho.
Yes, it's gone walkies again. No, I don't know why. Sorry if it's caused inconvenience and you may assume I'm not getting emails again... What I don't understand is it's supposedly on the same server as UK Workshop, so why does mine go Lord Lucan on me and UKWS doesn't? Heigh ho.
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