Returning to this space and an I. Sym jointer plane

It's been 363 days since my last post on The Eaton County Woodworker... you may ask what the heck I've been up to! Well, I'll tell you... I've been writing a book for the F&W Media / Popular Woodworking folks! It's all about how to make period furniture (six projects representing the major 18th century styles) entirely with hand tools. It is not a how-to book on how to tune or use (in a theoretical sense) tools; it is how to use them to actually make furniture. It should be due around Halloween of this year and will be nationally available wherever books are sold.


The draft is almost ready to go to the publisher, so I'll have time, energy, and topics to write about once again on this blog. Please keep an eye on this space as I have some pretty cool stuff in the hopper. Stuff like this late 18th century I. Sym jointer plane. 200 years old and still perfectly flat and square. Just took a few minutes to sharpen the plane (it needed nothing else) and it was taking those whispy shavings we all know and love.


Zach


Lovely I. Sym jointer plane on my desk, home base for writing my book

Hand prints from a long-dead user in the patina

No twist after 200+ years; this is why I like English planes better than American



Perfectly flat and straight in length with no work



Whispy full length shavings in walnut (some sapwood)