Sometimes I need a diversion. Now and then I just can't get motivated to do the work I'm supposed to be doing and instead I'll take on something small to get over the hump. Such was the case about a week ago while staring at a recently completed and delivered piece that was back in the shop for "alterations". I just couldn't get to it. I had been meaning to rebuild my bench top for about two years. I had a slap of maple (a recycled bench top itself) sitting in the shop as well as a second vise. I decided that after years of procrastination it was absolutely essential that I fix up my bench immediately! I spent the better part of a day getting the new top together. I added a wide apron and mortised the vises in behind for more practical holding. It still needs some tweaking but it's a huge improvement over the old top. Once that was done it was time to get back to work... but wait, there's that chunk of Arizona Desert Ironwood a friend gave me a few years back. And there's that spokeshave kit my wife gave me a few Christmases ago. Yup, I really need a new spokeshave. I'm only part way through the process of making the new tool but the wood is really something else. Beautiful figure and colour and a truly unique, almost smoky, smell. Here are a few progress shots of the shave-to-be with some other handmade tools. The first is of the wood after re-sawing and flattening. the plane in this shot is my Beech bodied jack plane. I restored this antique and added a white oak sole and a walnut handle. The second picture is the wood looking a bit smoother and is shown with my James Krenov smoothing plane. Next is a shot that shows the beautiful colour of the ironwood and finally there's a shot of the blank complete with a rather long crack that I've reinforced with epoxy. Now, back to work!
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