Zen Toolworks Plane

So with my Christmas money I went out and got myself a new wooden plane. I found this small one person shop, Zen Toolworks, that was resonable and had great reviews. This plane actually came off his ebay store for $36.99. Hand made with a great blade. That is a great price considering what the price of a new plane costs these days. So today I received a small box well packed with this inside.




So the details: Measurements are about 9x1.5x2.5. The blade itself is with my none caliper ruler 3/32" to 1/8" thick, nice and stout. Instead of a wood blade holder it has a brass cap with a well knurled thumbscrew.


Here is a close up of the throat. It is square with the body and well cut. The blade ramp is smooth and there is no wobble with blade that I can feel.


Overall I am quite happy with the plane. I have not made any shavings yet but I have not been able to properly sharpen the blade yet. I have my eye on a Veritas MK II honing guide and setting up a "Scary sharp" system. This blade will be the one I run through that. Should just be a week or so.

Just as a side note. Hard maple is a pain to cut dovetails in when it is 3/4" thick. I am making a shelf for over the stove and thought this would look nice. It will contrast with the oak trim I put on for the kitchen remodel.

Also a tip of the hat to Kari at The Village Carpenter. I don't know what you use to compose your thumbnail pics but this was with powerpoint. Yours always look great so I thought I would try it. More refining needed on my part.

Woodwright school

Well it has finally happened. Roy Underhill has opened his own school. 'bout time. Anyway we all knew of its existence about a year ago but they finally have it all going and even a schedule. You can find it at www.woodwrightschool.com. The prices seem inline with other schools and the projects are what you would expect. I hope one day to be able to attend even for just a seminar.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll.

peace

want a $100 subway giftcard?

Hello,

If you want to enter to win a $100 Subway gift card go to Mommygoggles.

Want a Sams gift card?

Go to mommy23monkeys and enter her contest for a Sams club $100 gift card.

Alexis 3001 Dual flush/Low Flow Toilet

So this is way off topic for this blog, but this is a great product and needs to be reviewed.



We were shopping at Sam's club and I saw they had "Alexis 3001 Dual flush/low volume toilet in a box" on the rack. I have never seen these at Sam's and they were $100 each. Have you priced such an item lately? They regularly go for $200 at your local big box hardware store or $300 at a kitchen/bathroom showroom. I jotted down the model and went to google to find some info on them. All of the reviews were excellent, not a bad one in the lot and now I know why. We have had them in for a month now and no hiccups yet. They are quieter than the ones they replaced, vintage 1963 water hogs, but that's no surprise. Low volume, yes the refill time is 8-15 secs. depending if you choose flush 1 or 2. As far as assembly goes, everything and I mean everything you need is in the box, all the screws, bolts and even a toilet seat are in the box.

The only hiccups I had on installation were 1) the flange on the drain pipe was rusted out so that needed to be fixed and 2) whoever installed the water shut off valve put it at an angle and so the connection hose that was supplied was just quite not long enough. Both of those issues are not related to the toilet though.

If you need a new throne to sit on, I give this one a hardy thumbs-up!

Plasma car

I know it's way off topic for this blog but. I want (no really my kids want it) a plasma car and the great lady at this blog (mommy23monkeys) is giving one away. If you have not seen or driven a plasma car, go forth and find one. Plasma car makers site.