The final step in putting our vintage in-cannel gouge back to work is to re-grind and hone the bevel and back of the cutting edge.
It is often said that the true mark of a master is that they can repair and hide their mistakes in such a way that they are invisible to the observer. I tend to disagree with this cliché.
Even if you have no intention or desire to regularly work on a pole lathe, I encourage you to at least try one out for a bit. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the improvement you see in your electric lathe work.
In this video, I discuss using a frame saw for resawing, and planing the end grain of thick hardwood pieces.
In this video, I discuss drawboring a mortise & tenon, work holding for planing small stock, and hand sawing and planing veneer.
The more you use your brace and bit in different situations, and at different angles, the better you will get at boring straight by eye. Until you get there, here are a couple of aids you can use that will help you along as you practice.
How small of a space can you really work with?
I have received quite a few requests to publish the list of fasteners that I discussed in episode numbers HTT018 and HTT019 of the podcast. So I’m listing everything out here for easy future reference.
While you may not be able to work really quickly in very dense, kiln dried hardwoods, there are some strategies you can employ to make the work a bit less physically demanding.
About 6 years ago, I spent a couple of months putting together a set of straight sided firmer chisels for my period tool kit. I sold that set of chisels last year, but I still have a few more that need some new handles.
Last time, I finished up the construction of the saw. Now all that’s left to do is to file in the teeth.
Just one more use for blue (or in this case green) tape.