At last!

Sale flyer from a well-known purveyor of Chinese knock-offs flopped onto the doormat this morning. I'm ordering one of the Deluxe Pen Turning Kits asap -

"Contains Everything You Need to Make Beautiful Pens"

At last, they must have worked out how to include skill and w'shop time in the box as well...

Oh, if only that were so. I'll take a Bumper Pack of Workshop Hours and a sampler pack of Mortising Skill to try out, next day delivery, please and thank you.

Still Here. Sort of.

Honest. Promise. About three months ago (Three months?! Eeep!) I took some pics for blog entries, and thought "I'll hang on to those a bit, until I've made a bit more progress". And yes, you've guessed it; no further progress. Anywhere, on anything. It was only when the "Alf, where are you?" emails started to pile up in the inbox, that it occurred to me I should probably pop my head over the parapet and give anyone still watching, a wave. So here I am. Waving.

Hopefully the few hours I've just spent going through my inbox has picked up all the emails I should have replied to, but if you're one of the neglected (and it's not about me valuing your combination plane) then shoot me another and I will trying to shatter my current seven day personal best.

One of the most neglected was that of Tony Konovaloff, who's name you may recall has popped up on this blog before, and who was doing the hand tool thing way, way before it was fashionable again. Some time ago he let me know about his website, and then subsequently about his book finally making it into print, both of which I failed singularly to pass on to the reader. The latter, by now, you've probably found put about via The Schwarz (thanks to Ethan for drawing my attention to that), but for us overseas folks, shoot him an email and I gather he'll look into pricing on shipping it overseas.

Anyway, as to more regular updates to this blog, I can't promise anything. The spirit is reasonably willing, but the flesh is basically buggered at the moment. Heigh ho. Nothing terminal or even moderately exciting, just an old familiar foe who fancied to reminisce. Lucky me...

So, um... That's about it really. I dunno, perhaps it's just me, but that "I aten't dead" sign I've shamelessly swiped from Google images - do those letters look kind of like cut nails to you? In which case someone had a serious hammer malfunction when they tried to drive those ones that make up the Ds. On which musing, I go.

Free (like the river)

Just a reminder of Free Thing Being Given Away. For Free! Like a river. Only less wet and winding and flowy and other river-esque qualities. Quite unlike a river in all respects, in fact. Except for being Free. (Did I mention that?)

Ack, whatever. Have some Stevie Wonder while you wonder if it's worth taking the trouble to send an email for something Free.

 

(Infinity not included) (Neither is Stevie Wonder)

Patriotic Case Study (and giveaway!)

Well I don't know about any Brits out there reading this, but I'm currently feeling like I'm in imminent danger of drowning under a sea of Union flags. What with HM Queen's Jubilee this weekend (God bless her), the upcoming Olympics later this summer (God help us), and even the European football championships (God will be asked, but honestly, we haven't a prayer), you can't get away from the patriotic fervour. So if you can't beat 'em...

The observant will have noticed that a) Lee Valley Veritas have started supplying their plane blades in nifty clamshell cases, and b) You can buy said handy cases separately. See? Veritas Plane Blade Cases. A useful accessory that had been long-promised, and finally realised - via (and this is a the patriotic bit) UK manufacturing! Yes, I know - I wasn't sure there was any left either, but there ya go.

So because I've been very good, eaten all my greens, and clean living apparently really does pay (could have sworn that was a fib), I have an example or two here chez Alf. Behold:

They hang:

They stack:

They hold blades:

And, well, that's where you want to be careful. If, like me, you see a device designed for item X and immediately wonder if it'll hold item Y, be careful. Turns out not all irons for Bailey style planes are the same. The Hock I knew wouldn't fit, owing to its distinctive square top, but when the *cough*Lie-Nielsen*cough* turned out to be too long, and the Quangsheng only just made it, I thought I'd do the assembled and visiting multitude a favour. Viz: Nick the pic off LV's website and apply a few crude but hopefully helpful measurements.

Turns out when LV say 8" long, they mean from the very tip of the hang hole, so watch it if you're wandering away from Veritas irons and the One True Canadian Path, eh?

But they're good. I like them very much - they clip shut nice and positively, look after your precious sharp edges, and I shall be investing in some more in due course for my other bevel-up irons, once the coffers have refilled (but that's another story).

However, if you know me at all, it's that any spare Bailey pattern irons tend to be stored in, well, "spare" Bailey pattern planes. It's one way to justify them, I suppose... As a result, I asked El Presidente if he'd object to spreading the beneficence a little rather than let things lie around gathering dust, and he said Go Ahead.

So, in a Jubilee kinda way, FREE, GRATIS and for NOTHING, two lucky persons can find a UK-made bevel down blade case upon their doormat in virtually no time at all. You'll need a UK mainland address for me to send it to, but if you're Yuri in Odessa you can still enter, as long as your mate in Basildon is willing to accept the parcel and send it on. i.e. As long as I'm just sending it within the UK, that's fine. Just email me before midnight BST Friday 8th June to enter (address is on the website). I was going to come up with a question or something, but failed; so if you can come up with a relevant (and amusing) one for me I'll stick an extra entry in the hat for you instead.