Quite a while ago, Paul Womack sent along two great PDF files of articles from the journal Work, 1889, Vol. 1. To my great regret, I've been so caught up in a multitude of stuff that I neglected to get them posted to The Toolemera Press website. With abject apologies to Paul, I am hereby rectifying this most heinous of crimes against woodworkers.
Let's start with this one, A Mitre Block and How To Make It. By David Denning. Over on this side of the Atlantic we call them Miter Jacks. Whatever you choose to call it, it does the job. If you've ever lusted after a Mitre (Miter) Block (Jack) but could not afford one or even find one, here is your chance to exercise your tool making skills and build one. Make it from common fir or make it from Rosewood with Ebony and Pearl inlays. Whatever your choice, these are essential tool holding devices. Plus they look way cool.
Now we go on to what I prefer to call The World's First Forum. Before there was an Internet, before there were Bulletin Boards, Forums, eMail lists, Social Networks and all those new fangled pestilences that beset us with their clamoring for attention... there were Journals such as Work. Someone took the trouble to write an article or a letter extolling the virtues of their particular design or method and like-minded people wrote in to support, to critique, to build upon or to get all tangential in their reasoning. Sounds like a Forum or eMail list, doesn't it? The main difference was the time delay. You had to wait for the next issue to be published to see what people thought of your submission.
Here we have a person going by the nic of J.H. Pretty catchy, eh? J.H. wrote about Home Made Tools, specifically an Iron Trying Plane. E.P.W responded with a short piece on a Pattern of Plane for Casting. A Foreman Patternmaker responded to E.P.W. response with a further discussion of foundry work and plane casting. Bert wrote a short piece about Home Made Planes. J.H. jumped back in and wrote, yet again, about Home Made Tools. This time J.H. wrote about an Iron Smoothing Plane and a Chariot Plane. Lastly, A Foreman Patternmaker trumped everyone by writing up A Block Plane and Plane With Lever Adjustment, followed by A Rebate Plane. Clearly, A Foreman Patternmaker was not to let anyone outdo him in the tool making department.
Both PDF files can be found, where else, but at The Toolemera Press website under Books and Booklets > How To Make Things. I know, Work is neither a book nor a booklet. Such are the trials and tribulations of life.
Just to add spice to my life, I added two new features to the website. You can now avail yourself of subscribing to The Toolemera Press updates through either an RSS feed or through eMail feeds. Both come through Feedburner. The choice is yours.
Till next
Gary
