This is the last episode in the shaker coffee table build and it is a big one. In this episode I finish up the top, chop the mortises, cut the tenons, and put the finish on the table. 
     I will be making one more video to go along with this series that will deal with the end table companion. The end table will have a drawer and the future episode will deal mainly with that. 

    I hope you like the last episode. It is a little long and could of been two episodes, but with the footage all shot, I really just wanted to get it out. 

Like always, thanks for watching and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. 

   Though the hammer has basically evolved from a rock to a rock on a stick, it would almost make sense to only have one or two hammers. But, I own lots of different hammers. As far as my woodworking goes I use about 10, pictured to the left.          
   Everything from different dead blow mallets,  the basic 16 oz claw hammer, purple heart plane adjustment hammer, and my carpenters mallet, I own and use many different types. 
   Now , this doesn't include sledgehammers, ball peen hammers, metal working hammers, framing hammers and all the others I own.  


               So, my question to you is:        How many hammers do you use in your woodworking shop? 

     In this video we are just a few hours into the coffee table build. It is night two, after work, and I am planing the top to final thickness and I cover making tapered legs. Now, I have to admit, that after editing this video I was surprised at its length  Not a ton goes on in this video but there are many steps that need to be followed to ensure a well made table. Specially time in planing the top flat and square. 

    One thing that I will cover later is the actual final height of the apron for this table. The reason this is important is that it changes the taper on the legs dramatically. I eventually change to a 3" apron, which moves the start of the taper further up the leg, so it starts right where the apron stops. I also decrease the size of the leg from 1 1/4" at the bottom to 1 1/8". May not seem like much, but it makes a dramatic difference in the legs. Though, all of this adjusting and decision making happens in the next video. I think it is still useful to watch the entire process. This is how someone works by hand and by eye during a project, or at least the way I do. 

      I hope you enjoy the video and like always, if you have any questions, comments, or otherwise, please let me know here on the site. Just comment below the video in the comment section. 

  Thanks for stopping by. 

   This is one of my most prized tools. It is a #119 Sandusky Tool Co. plow plane. It has  a beach body and was the forth model made by the tool company. Sandusky made 28 different models by 1926, they where usually made of one or two of the following materials: Ivory, Ebony, Beach, Rosewood,  or Apple wood. 

   This model is a no holds bar workhorse. It has been kept well over the past 100 years and has no major flaws. That is why I purchased this plane in the first place. Now I will say it wasn't cheap, but it was less than the new metal body plow planes made today by Veritas (small plow with 5 irons sells for $275) and a lot less than the new wooden planes made today by specialty makers. And after using the Veritas, Stanley, and Record models, I know this plane works  better than they do. I believe they work better for several reasons: the body of the plane is larger, it glides well over the wood, the blade is set more firmly in the skate, and it ejects the shavings onto the bench with ease. Plus, it is just as easy to adjust the plane iron, depth adjust and fence, as any of the more modern metal body planes. 

     Don't let any body trick you into thinking that the old screw style arms are hard to adjust/align either. I can adjust mine very quickly and change the blades out just as fast. Plus, I have more blades for this plane than are available for the smaller metal body planes. And if what I am saying wasn't true you better believe I would sell this plane and buy a new Veritas model in a second, but I believe these old wooden planes are way better. And yes, they are faster than a router or a stacked dado head in a table saw. By the time you set one of those up I would already be over half way through my cut, without noise or dust. 

    Now, I know most are thinking that I had to spend hours cleaning this plane up to get it to work correctly. Actually, I haven't done anything to the plane, I have only sharpened the irons and put it to work. With that said, I will also tell you that their are tons of these old plows on the market and most of them are garbage. If you want one for yourself I have a few tips. 

    One, do your research on the planes before you buy it, not only the company but if possible the history of the actual plane you are looking at. You really want to find tools that were owned by a craftsman, then you know they work well and were taken care of. Just make sure it wasn't loved to death. 

    Two, make sure everything operates on the plane, you really don't want to buy something hoping you can bring it back to life. You may end up wasting your time and your money.  

    Third, wait for the one that speaks to you, don't just rush out and buy the first one that looks good. I have been very patient with my vintage tool purchases. It has taken me several years to acquire the tools that I have, but once I got them I new I was never letting go. 

    I hope that others out there enjoy these wonderful tools. They are a joy to use, specially when they make working with wood even easier. 

    If you have any questions for me about this plane or anything else please don't hesitate to ask. 

Like always, thanks for stopping by, now get in your shop and do some work. 

PS. When this plane sold in 1926 you could buy the plane with eight irons for only $13.00 , those were the days . 

   I am now starting to build furniture for my living room. The first project that I have chosen to start with is the coffee table. I think that the coffee table is the most used piece of furniture in a living room and without one you really notice it. I am building the coffee table from Sugar Pine which is a really nice West Coast wood. It may be available in other areas of the country, but because it is cut out here it is a little easier to get a hold of. Another great thing about this wood is the price. I paid just under $3 a board foot for this lumber and will have enough to make a coffee table and a side table with a drawer. 

  I do want to take a minute and say that if you are going to build matching pieces of furniture for a room it is a good idea to use the same batch of lumber for the pieces whenever possible. This assures a true match between the pieces. Specially with this project because I will be staining the Sugar Pine, so I really want the two pieces to match as much as possible. 

  I hope you enjoy the video and if you have any questions or comments please let me know. I always want to know what others are thinking. 

Also, if you like my videos you can find me on iTunes and on YouTube. Just subscribe in those respective places and you can follow me on this build and other future builds. 

Thanks for watching. 

 I purchased this plane for $30 a few years ago and my only regret was not getting it up and running the day I bought it. Not that it needed much work. 

 The plane was made by D.R. Barton & Co. in Rochester, NY. The label stamped on the blade and the plane date it to about 1874-1880, at the end of Barton's life and business. 

The overall condition of the plane when I purchased it was great. The handle needed a little work and the blade needed to be sharpened but that was it. 

I first want to say something about the blade on this plane. This plane has the original plane iron. Now, not that this is always the case, but many old irons sharpen better than anything you can buy today. I am not a supper knowledgeable person when it comes to the finer points of metal, but I have read enough to know this is very common. With this blade it is very very true. I have never had a blade that stayed as sharp or got as sharp as this one. It can cut your eye just by looking at it. I believe it is one of the main reasons why I love this plane so much. Paired with the fact that the plane is so light and smooth, it makes it quick at any job I put it up against. 

The only major issue with the plane when I bought it was that the handle was just a little loose. So, I just used the plane until the handle popped off one day. Then I started the clean up. It looked like a couple people had tried to fix the handle and failed. So first thing I needed to do was clean out all the old glue and do a little sanding. In the pictures below you can see the process I went through. I used finish nails as guide pins for setting locations for pegs. Once I lined up the pins and cut them shorter I smacked on the handle to make marks in the mortise. With those marks I could now drill holes in the body of the plane and in the handle. Being supper careful not to drill all the way through the thin part of the handle. Once that was done it was time for some pegs and glue. Since the fix the handle is nice and tight and will not come off every again. 

This plane has become my go to plane when it comes to ruff stock removal because it glides so smoothly over the material, is supper light weight , and the blade gets supper razor sharp. I would encourage anyone out there to try a good old wooden plane, if you haven't already. They are easy to fix up and fun to use. 

Any questions or comments feel free to ask. Thanks for stopping by.