A couple of times a year we try to bring in well-known figures from the craft we all share: makers, manufacturers and other experts who are happy to share their knowledge of woodworking. On 4 April, Phil from Philly Planes in England is visiting us in Farsta. He makes wooden planes, mainly moulding planes, and looks forward to meeting as many people as possible and explaining how he makes his planes. Phil is very chatty and loves to share what he knows. This is not to be missed. More information on our Facebook page.
There will be more events in the autumn, and we will come back with details. One is already booked: on 26 September Klaus N. Skrudland from Norway is visiting. Klaus mainly makes chairs and will show how he does it. We met Klaus in England last autumn, when he was on a course with Christopher Schwarz building a Welsh stick chair. See the book Welsh Stick Chairs or Chris's updated book The Anarchist's Design Book: Expanded Edition, where you can build the chair yourself.
Our shelves are full of Lie-Nielsen, and a little more is coming soon. Lie-Nielsen has put together a list of how to think when building up your tool kit: which tools you may need and in what order to buy them (these are of course Lie-Nielsen's ideas and their tools). In short, for planes it looks like this:
Everyone needs a block plane, and the No. 60 1/2 Adjustable Mouth Block Plane is the most versatile. If you start working rough timber, a short jack plane is the next step, and the No. 62 Low Angle Jack is their favourite.
Next comes a larger plane for flattening and jointing, usually the No. 7 or No. 8.
For finishing you need a smoothing plane, and a No. 4 or No. 4 1/2 (both in the next delivery) is a good start. Then a shoulder plane for the small details, where the No. 073 Large Shoulder Plane does the job easily, and other special planes such as the No. 71 router plane.
Over the past year Tormek has taken big steps with us. From having a small range, we now have everything they make on the shelf, which means more people find what they are looking for with us. That, together with our very well-attended open house with Tormek a month or so ago, has put us on the Tormek map, which we think is great fun. If you drop by, you can try both the T-8 and T-4 together with whichever jig you are considering. This spring we have two sessions where you can learn how to use your Tormek. The first, on 21 March, is sold out, but there are still places on the second, on 21 April. We will of course continue our collaboration with Tormek in the autumn and will come back with dates.
Veritas has picked up production speed after last year's problems and delays. A couple of weeks ago we received our largest shipment ever from them, and another arrives next week. It includes the popular bullnose plane, which has been out of stock since last summer. One we have waited even longer for is the large scraping plane, last in stock in December 2017. The delivery also includes a bunch of products that have been out of stock for a while. We will update the site once we know the delivery has crossed the Atlantic, and then it is only a few days until it lands with us.
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