Tuesday, CU WoodShop gave members of there mailing list, a sneak peak of their new show room. Since the show rooms is only two miles from my home, I made sure to stop by. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found, the had a nice selection of router bits, finishing supplies and wood. This store is going to be a great resource for woodworkers in the Champaign Urbana area, as we will no longer need to drive to Chicago or Indianapolis to pick up basic supplies.
Some of the hardwood racks.
The plywood rack
I finished Rebecca’s shoe racks a few days ago, And tonight, I could no longer smell the finish, so it was safe to bring them inside. I had originally thought about finishing them with polyurethane, but at the last minute, I decided to finish them with boiled linseed oil cut with 50% mineral spirits. They didn’t turn out as nice as I would of liked, but Rebecca loves them none the less. The main flaw with the design is the dado joints used to join the top cross beams to the sides. Getting all of them cut to just the right length and thickness was tedious. Ultimately, I spent more time with chisels fine tuning the fit than I would have liked. If I had to do it again, I would use through dovetails.
As promised, Here are some shots of the refinished Stanley #15. I’ve only spent about an hour using this plane, but I like it’s size and lateral blade adjustment a lot more than I do my #60-1/2. Within a minute of putting in a new Hock blade, I was using it like a miniature smoother, and taking full width transparent shavings in scrap cherry. I also like the size of the #15 better, it’s greater length and width fit’s into my hand better than the #60-1/2.
I haven’t spent much time in the shop the last month or so because of a big project at work. Thankfully that project is now over, and I’ve been able to get into the shop again. One of the projects I want to get completed before Christmas is refurbishing the Stanley #15 I picked up on eBay about 6 weeks ago. I picked it up, because I wanted A regular angle block plane to supplement my #60-1/2. I’ll probably do the refurbishment after I finish Rebecca’s Shoe Rack. The following shots (I went a little overboard) are as I received it from the seller.
