Whatcha Doin' Harry

Funny, nobody commented and asked "why do you call your husband, whose name is clearly Dave, Harry..." I don't actually have an answer. Its just one of those things... I just thought I would mention it.

Today's Installment of “Woodworking with Harry” ;-) involves hand planes and draw knives. Below are several prized hand planes, all of which have been handed down.



From left to right… No 6, K5, Unmarked, No 78, No 65. Small Draw Knife. I do have a much larger draw knife as well as another block plane similar to the 65 but they are in the shop being refurbished at the moment. What is not pictured is an assortment of Hock blades. Have to say that although not cheap, the Hock blades are some of the best I have EVER seen… they are thick and will hold and edge like a scalpel. As part of the next few projects it’s likely that I will rely heavily on the No 6 for the mass of the plane in order to finish off some rough lumber that will be ripped by hand. Speaking of Ripping and Crosscutting…..Next episode will cover several styles of saws. Bonus segment on what I would consider the best all around chain saw.

I Axed Dave to Post! :)

I have been bugging Dave (the husband, aka Harry) to help come up with some ideas for this blog. Finally he has provided me a MARVELOUS piece! He has also promised me that he will be contributing to the blog in the future!!! So look for his posts!! Thanks!

It’s not very often that I post, however once in a while I get the bug :) when something grabs my attention or if its possibly something that others may be interested in. Several weeks ago my Wife got two amazing documentaries… One I recall seeing MANY years ago but the overall concept had not stuck… this time however it was as if I were in a trance… I'm referring to the “One Man’s Wilderness” story about Richard Proenneke. What an Amazing story and equally amazing accomplishments with such a tiny compliment of basic hand tools. I was fascinated and look forward to watching it again. Highly recommend it, just wish there was more. Seeing this documentary sparked the creative juices again as well as the interest in hand tools… As you can see from some of the other posts I grew up with woodworking and tools and have many prized tools from my Dads collection which I still use today. The collection of power tools is HUGE and fills a two bay garage at home and I’ve used them over the years to complete cabinets, furniture, vanity’s etc… that could be a post all its own, however what we are focusing on here is the human powered.

Last year though I started to gain a much greater appreciation and fondness for the hand tools that my Dad passed down to me as well as the ones that I’ve been collecting since that time. Starting with the more basic (Similar to what Mr Proenneke had in his video) I’ll try to give some detail on each and then move on to some of the more task specific tools as we go. If you want any specifics, just drop a comment and I’ll get back to you.

Lets kick off the “Woodworking with Harry” Miniseries with an assortment which includes (Axe, Broad Axe, Double bit, Hatchets. Adz)


Some of these were handed down by my Dad, More recently, I purchased the double bit axe from ebay in Oregon for about 12 bucks and slapped a new handle on it. Didn’t take very long to put a nice razor edge on it. The Broad axe is probably to pitted to work with or restore but I’ll give it a shot and keep an eye out for a broad-axe that is in good shape. Other notables here are the $9.00 bowl adz that just arrived…. Ebay has proven to be quite a good resource for vintage tools. Some of these were previously painted and are in various stages of being brought back to original condition.

Stay tuned for the next installment which covers assorted Planes

Woodworking Zen-David

I'm not sure how to put everything into a post like this, other than to just write down a few things that have been bouncing around in my head lately. My Wife has a very keen eye when it comes to if I am enjoying something or not... This is especially true of some jobs around the cabin. As far as my background goes with respect to woodworking, I have "no" formal training... Everything I know about wood, tools, how and what to use as well as being safe comes from my Dad. Growing up, I spent a lot of time following my Dad around the shop or the house either watching or helping out with projects, probably like a lot of people my age. My Dad, Who passed away in 1995 was a carpenter and cabinet maker for basically his entire life. When I was growing up my tool box did have what today may be referred to is the little plastic "Bob the Builder" type tools.. Plastic hammer, saw, drill etc... These play sets were quickly replaced with the REAL DEAL and under my dads supervision most play time involved REAL TOOLS. Of course, today if you were walking through your neighborhood and saw an 8 year old with a power drill or electrically powered "sharp thing" some may let out a GASP! and call the authorities.

When working on projects around the house or cabin, I constantly find myself being reminded of something my dad may have said in the shop or some trick that he taught me and am extremely fortunate to have inherited a huge shop of quality tools that I have a sentimental value. Unfortunately, many of these very special tools had fallen into disrepair or had become rusty in the garage. When not at the Cabin on weekends with the family, I've been spending a lot of time in the shop restoring them. With all the specialty type work being done on the cabin these cherished items will once again have life. This is the ZEN part of the building...Not simply putting two-by-fours together.

Quotes from Dad

"The most dangerous tool in the shop is the Dull one"
"The quality of the tools you use is very important to the quality of work that you can do, so if you are going to buy something, get the best you possibly can and it will last a life time."

"Always use the right tool for the job, if you don't have it, save up and get it."

One of my favorite past times when I was 8 was (one which I never got in trouble for and my Dad found to be very humorous) was my habit of drilling into the sawhorses he made. Yes I had my own set of mini saw horses and still use them today, over 30+ years later.

This is a picture of my saw blade carrier (super handy when dealing with so many different blades)

These were a gift presented to my Dad at his retirement. They are only used for the finest work and I wouldn't dream of driving these things into a piece of pressure treated lumber or other abusive job.