IndyFest - Pics - Link

wobbly bench

Warren in PA

>Thanks for the pictures. I think there were many who would have liked to have been there.

That bench looks kinda wobbly from this distance. Did any particpants notice shakiness? How high was the board? Any changes you would make for another contest?

Re: wobbly bench

Ray Thompson - Middletown,IN

>I will let the contestant chime in with better info, but the bench had 6 pieces of rebar about 15 inches driven into the ground to stabilize the structure. I didn't notice any end to end movement while the planing was going on. We shortened the frames on Friday based on initial feedback and they seemed to work well. They were about 32-24 inches high, I didn't measure them.

As for changes, yes there will be several based on feedback from those who competed. I am going to send out some questions that I had and most said they had some ideas for future contests. I think the one thing most agreed on was the selection of cherry as the contest board, it worked very well.

Ray

Thanks. Good job!

Warren in PA

>

Thanks. Good job!

Warren in PA

>

Re: wobbly bench

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>Working with hand tools is not a lost art, but there are billions of people who don't know much about it and don't do very much of it. When I first read some of Adam Cherubini's responses to questions about what type of bench to build I thought, surely here is a guy who has gone way over the deep end and is most certainly drowning. But such is not the case. We tend to look at a board that needs to be planed and try to figure out a way to lock it in a death grip so it can't move if you drive a tank into it. This is simply not necessary, and I think work holding techniques could be modified in such a way as to take much less time to clamp the work. The supports we used for this competition are a good example. The boards were screwed to the holders, but they could be easily modified to simply drop into a pocket with a stop in one end and an open U shape on the other. The end with the stop on it would be temporarily pinned into the ground so it can't slide forward, and the back support would just set on the ground and could be adjusted for whatever board length you had. Boards would then be easily jointed without having to mess with clamping them, simply drop them into the support and joint away.

If the plane sole is waxed so that it slides evenly, and a consistent force is applied the wood is easily planed without rocking. I like the low knobs on the Bailey style planes because I can put my thumb on top of the knob, with the rest of my left hand underneath the plane, referencing the front of the plane to the side of the board. My right hand then simply applies a downward and forward stroke. This plane contest I think will grow over the years if we can make it an annual thing; I hope to see much more competition next year.

Re: wobbly bench

John Jesseph

>I am sorry that I haven't had a chance to post much about the contest. Our lives have been very hectic, and I am typing with one hand with a newborn boy in the other arm (beep beep!)

I "won" by the criteria they used, but Moses did the best planing. I wish I either followed him instead of going last, or had a jointer plane to do some board prep, because there were some issues with the surface after the previous contestant's planing. Mac and John W. also were serious competitors. IMHO Moses ended up with the best prize, and I am happy with the little block plane I chose.

More thoughts, and pics of the drive-by gloat, later...

Re: wobbly bench

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>Moses,

In my (unfortunate) experience, planing a board on wobbly or bouncy supports is like trying to use a bad plane on a good bench. There is hopping and skipping and bouncing of the blade in and out of the cut. Like with a plane that has a hollow in front of the blade.

It ain't no fun.