Its time to share another limited edition tool to commemorate Handworks 2015! I have about 30 of these Saddle-Tail units with socket head screws that I think are just lovely, bigger and bolder than the black oxide phillips head screws. Available Friday and Saturday at Handworks until they are gone. I have a limited quantity of each slope.
Saddle-Tails are both Dovetail Markers and Saddle-Squares in one tool, to read more about them click here.
To commemorate the very special event that Handworks 2015 is, I will be giving the first 25 customers that purchase Sterling Tool Works tools this special edition Tool woobie with the Sterling “Seal” logo.
The tool woobie is otherwise the same as the standard Sterling tool Woobies: High quality micro-fiber cloths that are 16″ X 16″ in size (20-30% larger and and double the weight per square foot = more material and last longer) than the cloths found in retail stores like Walmart, Target etc. The Sterling logo is dyed into the fibers as opposed to a screened logo that would flake off after use and washing. More info on Sterling Tool “woobies” can be found here.
I will be at the Lie Nielsen hand tool event tomorrow May 1st at Exotic Lumber in Frederick Maryland. Unfortunately due to a family commitment I will not be attending on Saturday May 2nd. Come by for a great day with Lie-Nielsen and others Artisans Issac Smith of Blackburn tools, Mark Maleski of SAPFM, and Dan Schwank of Red Rose Reproductions!
I would like to thank one of my Customers, Ryan @eartroots on Instagram for telling me that the newly released “Dutch Toolchest” DVD from Lie-Nielsen features Chris Schwarz gang marking his Dovetails with a Saddle-Tail2 dovetail marking gauge. The picture above is taken at approximately 52 seconds into the preview. I have wanted to make the Dutch Tool Chest for a couple of years now, so I ordered up the DVD today.
You can watch a 6 minute preview of the DVD on YouTube here.
You can purchase the DVD for $40 from Lie-Nielsen here.
You can purchase the 1:4 Saddle-Tail2 here in the Sterling Tool Works Store.
I met Daniel Schwank in October of 2014 at a Lie Nielsen hand tool event, we started talking about how I got started in making tools and he spoke of a spill plane that he had made a few of and after a quick trip to his car he produced one. Dan is an accomplished artisan and the spill plane he makes is top notch! Dan has launched Red Rose Reproductions and I expect to see other tools from him soon. I have offered these planes at shows that I attend as I use them for demoing and now I offer them for purchase here in the Artisan Toolchest.
The spill plane was a unique 18th century tool that was not used to improve the surface of the wood, but rather to create a shaving with a tight stiff curl that could be used to transfer a flame from one place to another, such as from a fireplace to a candle or lantern. Spills would have been made of pine or similar resinous wood. The plane was used as any wooden plane would be, using straight grained scraps of wood about 12 inches long. Each pass produces a spill, so named for the way the chip “spills” out of the escapement hole in the side of the plane. The blade is sharply skewed, and the chip is forced into a tight curl by the contoured bottom of the wedge. The edges of the spill overlap each other, which gives the spill a tapered shape.
While there are many types of spill planes, the ones that Dan has made are patterned from an 18th century original, and feature a two piece body, skewed blade, and escapement hole in the side through which the spill exits the plane. The blade is adjusted using a small hammer; the Sterling Tool Works Plane Hammer is an excellent choice. Dan has made planes from both hard maple and steamed European beech, both quarter sawn wood. The plane body is actually two pieces, with one side ripped of to make it easier to create the mortise and bed for the blade. It is then reattached with brass screws. The blade is 1/8″ thick O-1 tool steel, hardened to Rc 60-62, and surface ground flat before honing the cutting edge.
This plane is a real crowd pleaser at shows, and its fun to use the spills to light candles and campfires. $135 plus shipping here.
I have used Jeff Hamilton (of Hamilton Woodworks) marking gauges for years, in my opinion they are one of the best on the market. Beautifully crafted from select hardwoods they are excellent tools for the craftsman. The design is genius with several features that are unmatched in the industry. I love these gauges and am very happy that I am able to offer them through the Artisan Tool Chest. Here is a review of the features that make the gauge so useful.
The 4″ gauge features a 3″ wide fence, with inlaid brass wear strip, that provides a large surface to ensure complete registering on your work piece. Other marking gauges that are circular on the market have only about 30% of the area that registers the work piece. Not to mention that circular marking gauges like to roll off your bench.
Here is a comparison of contact area of two types of gauges. The length and area of the fence that will contact your stock are extremely important.
The fence is also very shallow in comparison; extending just 3/8″ below the blade. This allows the user to layout lines on the bench surface when working common thickness stock. Allowing you to comfortably mark your stock while on your bench.
Here is a comparison of two gauges on ¾” Stock.
The 4″ beam is attached to the fence with a sliding dovetail joint. This gives the beam more surface area to help keep the beam and base square. The bar has a brass block that is tapped for a #6 binding screw that holds the blade firmly on the end of the beam. The depth of marking with the 4” gauge is just over 2.5”.
The marking depth from the knife to the fence is regulated by a brass thumbscrew on top of the beam through a compressible washer that ensures sturdy purchase to lock in your setting.
The knife is where further genius of this gauge rides. The blade is made of 1095 spring steel, hardened and then cryo-treated to a rockwell hardness of 62-63. This helps to retain the edge through many layout lines before honing is required. The blades are shaped and honed concave in two directions providing excellent slicing with and across the grain. While some gauges can follow the grain the use of this blade and the large fence make this nuisance issue a problem of the past. All blades are laser cut to size and then shaped by hand. After shaping and honing the blades are polished on an 8000 grit Japanese water stone.
The slot in the blade provides the ability to project the blade further if needed but allows the blade to be sharpened for lifetimes before a new blade is needed. Wheel cutters by comparison will wear out as the depth of cut is reduced with each sharpening requiring a replacement blade purchase.
The gauges are lovely to hold and the correct purchase of your fingers provides excellent control and feedback while using the tool. Your index finger and thumb should slightly pinch the beam close to the knife end. Your middle finger will naturally fall in the cove on the back of the fence (what I call the Batwing, for its shape). Hopefully these pictures help further explain the description above.
I am happy to announce the new Sterling Tool Works “Store” and Checkout Process. I have been limited to how many products I could have in my store, but through some upgrades I have launched a new online store where I am not limited to how many products I can have. In addition to the store I have launched “The Artisan Tool Chest” section. The Artisan Tool Chest contains excellent tools made by other Artisans but are available for sale at Sterling Tool Works. These offerings are tools that I use myself and have offered for sale at woodworking shows that I attend. I will write additional blogs very soon with more information on the specific tools and makers offered in the “Artisan Tool Chest”.
I also have a new accessory in the Sterling Tool Works Accessories area. Through another collaboration with Jason Thigpen, I am offering Sterling Tool Works “Ranch mugs”. These mugs and the long awaited Router Plane Wallets (prototypes were shown at WIA2014) will be available for shipment next month!
Thank you again for your support!
Last week I received an order for a 0:0 slope Saddle-Tail. The issue is that there is no Tail on a 0:0 slope unit, so here is a Sterling Saddle-Square for those that would like one. Available only by special request, unless there is a demand this will not be a stocked item.
Anne of All Trades will be demonstrating and selling Sterling Tool Works Tools at the Seattle Lie-Nielsen event at University of Washington on February 20 and 21st. Anne has become a great friend and regular supporter of Sterling Tool Works, helping me out at woodworking shows and with special projects. While I am unable to attend the Seattle event personally, Anne is very familiar with Sterling Tool Works tools and their use. Getting Sterling Tool Works tools into the hands of woodworkers has always been the best method to feel the quality so I am thrilled that Anne has offered to spread the Sterling Tool Works word in the Pacific Northwest this coming weekend. Thank you Anne for your continued support!
Keep your Noggin WARM!!!
With the colder than normal temperatures we are experiencing this winter, (along with the continuing reduction of hair on my head) I decided it was time to offer a winter edition of a Sterling Tool Works hat to keep your noggin and ears warm.
I am offering this Hat in Green and Black. Its made in the USA from 100% Wool. I partnered with River City Leather an artisan leather company owned by Aaron Buckley in Ohio. He does excellent work, the Sterling logo is burned into a high quality leather patch with a laser and then sewn to the hat brim. Available in Green and Black; Price is $20 plus shipping. Go to the PURCHASE page in the MENU above.
