Peter McBride |
Antique and Old Tools |
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Updated :- Saturday, 15 November 2008 |
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Page 8 |
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| To make certain I got all the small corners of the dovetails filled, I peened the corners of the steel base into the corners of the brass. This has an undesired effect, especially on a rebate plane, of drawing the top of the sides in a little | |||
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| I haven't started the infill yet, and thought about making a temporary infill to hold it all square while filing and linishing the waste off, but then realised I already had the hardwood buck to use....so back into the buck, and into the vice for more filing. | |||
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| To get the sides square again I used the 12mm (1/2 inch) thick steel plate in the vice, and "G" clamped the base to the steel and used a couple of large adjustable spanners ( wrenches) to bend it out near to square again. Using a straight edge, I also found I had a small bow in the base. So with the same piece of steel I placed a jointer blade under the throat as a pivot and bent it using a couple brass blocks and the "G" clamps again. Both these steps were very successful. | |||
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| Back to the dodgy linisher that trips the earth leakage switch...off with all the covers and a blast out with compressed air seems to have delayed its inevitable demise for a while. I used a 40 grit belt some more and got the body cleaned up nicely. The sides are close to square to the base and I've got the surfaces nice and clean. I had the body on my Tool Sale table last weekend, and some tool people picked it up and recognized it, and I was fascinated by the number of people who's attention was drawn to the rough front end. This base is an off-cut from the scrap metal merchant, and I could cut it square, but I never work something twice if I don't have to. I just don't see it when I'm working on it knowing it will be cut off later, and I haven't decided if I will do a curved front and rear on the base yet. The principle of never cutting something away until the last minute to preserve future options is a cardinal rule for me, but one clown looked at it and commented on the careless rough work at the front...guess the kindest thing I could say about him is that he must have been in that "fault finding mode" as he scanned the tools on display. | |||
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| With a bevel gauge behind the blade, I can see my lever cap is too short. I want it to go further down to the hump on the back iron, and I need the pivot pins higher up so I don't cut away the strength in the side. So the next step will be to make another lever cap. | |||
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| page 9 coming soon............. | |||
Copyright © Peter McBride 2008