Hand Plane Foundations News
It may seem from the outside looking in that it’s been very quiet around here lately. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve actually been in the shop almost every day since my last post, working on Hand Plane Foundations. I just haven’t had anything to share over the last few weeks. However, things are far enough along now that I can provide a couple of updates.
Hand Plane Foundations
I’ve been hard at work filming and editing videos for my upcoming Hand Plane Foundations course. So far I’ve edited and published 19 of the 31 videos that will be included in the course. I expect to complete two or three more videos today, with the remaining videos to be done next week. The current target for the official opening of the course is March 1st.
I’ve decided that all the courses in the Foundations of Traditional Woodworking series, will be offered for free. Each course will have an option to offer a donation if you feel so inclined, as it takes a crazy amount of time and work to put these courses together. But there will be no obligation to donate in order to view the course. I want the information in these courses freely available to everyone (and honestly, 98% of it is not new information that isn’t already available elsewhere).
I’ll be doing things similarly to Hand Saw Foundations. Once the Hand Plane Foundations course is released, I’ll be adding two videos per week until all of the videos have been uploaded and added to the course. Here’s a rundown of the 31 videos that will be included in the course:
| 1.1 - Introduction | 3.5 - The Try or Jointer Plane |
| 1.2 - How a Hand Plane Works | 3.6 - The Smoothing Plane |
| 1.3 - Bench Planes vs. Block Planes | 3.7 - The Scrub Plane |
| 1.4 - New Planes vs. Old Planes | 4.1 - Fixing a Clogging Mouth |
| 1.5 - What Bench Planes Do You Need? | 4.2 - Preventing Tearout |
| 1.6 - Bench Plane Anatomy & Cleanup | 4.3 - Eliminating Skitter & Chatter |
| 2.1 - Tools for Sharpening Plane Irons | 4.4 - Difficulty Taking a Fine Shaving |
| 2.2 - Preparing the Face of the Iron | 5.1 - Cutting Board Introduction |
| 2.3 - Straight Irons vs. Cambered Irons | 5.2 - Planing the First Face |
| 2.4 - "Grinding" & Honing Using a Honing Guide | 5.3 - Jointing the First Edge |
| 2.5 - Grinding & Honing Freehand | 5.4 - Planing to Final Width & Thickness |
| 3.1 - The Mechanics of Hand Planing | 5.5 - Gluing the Cutting Board Parts Together |
| 3.2 - Reading the Grain | 5.6 - Final Sizing & Planing |
| 3.3 - Making Winding Sticks | 5.7 - Applying a Food Safe Finish |
| 3.4 - The Jack or Fore Plane | 6.1 - Closing Remarks |
Hand Saw Foundations In-person
I’ve been working with the Chestnut Creek School of the Arts to schedule some in-person classes this spring and summer. The details of the first class are almost finalized and registration should open on their website soon. We’ll be building the bench from my Hand Saw Foundations course.
While this project may seem simple, we’ll be building it in a single day, using only hand tools. The pace of the course will likely be pretty quick in order to complete the build in one day. You’re sure to get a lot of practice using your hand saws. If you’re interested in this project, the class will be held on Saturday, April 30. Get your saws sharpened and tuned up ahead of time, as we won’t be covering saw sharpening during the class.
I hope to see some of you there!
7 Comments
Thanks for all your hard work. Cheers
Bob
This is an in readable amount of work. God Bless you for this contribution to future generations of hand tool wood workers and those who supplement their power tools with quiet dust free precise beautiful hand tools. Thank you!!!
Looking forward to this.
I am happy to read this good news. I live too far away for your in-person classes and consider myself lucky to watch your instructional videos. I have greatly enjoyed the Hand Saw Foundations. Even though I consider myself intermediate level, I learned several things. The section on sharpening allowed me to greatly improve my skills. I now have so much fun ripping with my handsaw since I learned how to sharpen it properly. You fully master your subject, your teaching methods are excellent and your explanations are clear. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. It’s honorable to allow people to donate according to their budget.
Thanks Luc! I greatly appreciate your feedback and am excited to share this new course with everyone.
It is great to see more videos from you, Bob! I am really looking forward to seeing this.
Please add the link to this site in your video descriptions, or pin a comment with the link for people to follow easily. More people need to see this content!
Thanks Rick! That’s a great idea!