Regards_from_Perth

Derek Cohen, Perth, AU
member

I live in Perth, Australia where I have specialised in paediatric clinical psychology for the past 20 plus years. My woodshop is where I recharge my batteries.

I am drawn to handtools, their design and history. Most of my machines gather dust as I prefer building furniture by traditional vintage methods. Woodworking is fun, and I hope that the contributions I bring here will be fun for you as well.

You can also find me at www.inthewoodshop.com where I have articles on furniture building, handtool reviews, tool restorations, and tool construction.

Regards from Perth

Derek Cohen

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Contributions

A Plane from Matjiesfontein

Sep 18, 2009
3 comments

Rekindling a memory of a long, long time ago.

What do you do while glue dries?

Aug 23, 2009
6 comments

What do you do to maximise your time in the workshop? For me ..

The Brese Small Smoother Kit - Final Build Session

Jun 28, 2009
2 comments

This is the third and concluding build session of this small infill smoother.

The Brese Small Smoother Kit: Session Two

Jun 18, 2009

For those interested, follow me through the second session of building Ron Brese’s Small Smoother kit.In Session 1 I had infilled the plane with a practice Jarrah infill. This was to work out...

Make a Plane from a Kit: Brese Small Smoother - beginnings

Jun 15, 2009
2 comments

This was the first session of building the small smoother kit from Ron Brese.

Making a Wooden Hinge for a Box

Jun 6, 2009
12 comments

Shaping a wooden hinge with hand- and power tools.

Letter Knife

May 7, 2009
1 comment

Guidelines to creating a letter knife of your own.

Coopering a box lid

May 2, 2009
12 comments

Coopering a lid without any jigs, using a combination of hand- and power tools

A Sharpening Strategy: beyond a sharp edge.

Feb 27, 2009
3 comments

Getting a sharp edge is critical for optimal use of handtools. Keeping the edge sharp is even more important.

Recent comments

Re: A Plane from Matjiesfontein

Hi Mark

I did ask the seller about the plane. They must have acquired in a bulk buy since they had no history to offer. Rats.

Regards from Perth

Derek

posted: 9:24 pm on October 9th

Re: Making a Wooden Hinge for a Box

The hinge pins are made from nails. These were shown in one of the pictures. They are a tight friction fit and will not fall out. I chose not to epoxy them in in casethey need to be punched out.

Regards from Perth

Derek

posted: 10:11 am on June 26th

Re: Making a Wooden Hinge for a Box

Hi PM

No problem - ask as many questions as you like.

With the lid and base together, the hinges are centred on the line between the lid and base. They were held in place with clamps until the two-part epoxy dried (which took 24 hours).

Regards from Perth

Derek

posted: 12:07 pm on June 15th

Re: Making a Wooden Hinge for a Box

Hi Pm

The "keys" are drilled into the hinge and the box to form a mechanical joint between the two items. It strengthens the join.

Regards from Perth

Derek

posted: 9:45 am on June 14th

Re: Making a Wooden Hinge for a Box

Hi Jeremy

The Veritas is an excellent dovetail saw - cuts straight and starts easily. I have a few other dovetail saws that cost at least double the Veritas, such as a LN and an IT (sharpened by Mike Wenzloff. The Veritas performs in their price range.

Thanks all for the kind words.

Regards from Perth

Derek

posted: 6:01 am on June 12th

Re: Coopering a box lid

Hi Chuck

The smoother is a Marcou. Philip Marcou is an active contributer on the Handtools forum. He makes spectactular dovetailed handplanes.

Regards from Perth

Derek

posted: 2:10 pm on June 6th

Re: A Sharpening Strategy: beyond a sharp edge.

I have tried this method as well (I have tried a great many methods! :) ). I have no doubt that this method(using the Tormek's leather wheel) can work well for creating a smooth/sharp bevel. I have found it useful for chisels especially. However ..

It is an unreliable method for BU blades with specific microbevel angles, and it is not a method that one can use on the backs of blades (any blades).

I would also argue that it is much easier to dub an edge on a wheel strop than on a flat strop. I have compared both motorised versions of the above and a manual strop.

The bottom line, however, is what works for you.

What I have attempted to do here is draw attention to what lies beyond sharpening, that is, thinking ahead to when one will need to re-sharpen the edge. What then? What you did to get a sharp edge, is that going to make the next step easier or more difficult? Will you have to re-grind to re-sharpen? Or can you restore the blade to a working sharpness with minimal effort and time?

Regards from Perth

Derek

posted: 11:27 am on March 1st