May 1, 2005 12-3pm
Luthier's Coop, Acton MA

The topic for this month will be hand planes.

A lot of us spend too much time standing over the thickness sander or with router in hand (myself included), but the handplane can perform many common tasks quickly, cheaply and quietly. We will cover this ancient (and often frustrating) tool and give you some ideas for incorporating it into your work. Besides, what is more fun than making shavings?

Eric Jensen will demonstrate techniques for tuning a Stanley/Bailey type bench plane, as well as how to prepare scrapers and plane irons for maximum performance. In addition to being a skilled woodworker and guitar builder he will draw upon his machinist background to get your yard sale plane in top condition.

Steve Spodaryk will be covering some aspects of wooden planes - different styles, construction basics, and some specialty planes (including Japanese planes). Steve's interest in wooden planes goes back more than 15 years and he has built nearly 20 wooden planes. Currently he uses a mix of Japanese, Stanley and home grown.

Al Carruth has a few demos planned - including shaping saddles and radiusing braces. You've already seen how he creates his beautiful rosettes and purfling. Al has logged more hours with a plane in his capable hands than he can count. We will also demonstrate a shooting board, plate thicknessing and some other lutherie tasks. We will have wood and tools on hand to give people a chance to try some planes they might be unfamilar with.

This will be a fun and informative day - hope you can make it. A list of resources is available. Please contribute if you have information to share.