Replies

1. 
   C_R_Miller_Planes | Mar 26, 2006 11:15pm | #1

   Wonderful planes, Malcolm. I'm liking the scalloped tote of the chopper plane, along with the brass beds. I absolutely love the design on the Art Deco plane and it's always good to see some new designs as far as planemaking goes.

   Now you've just got to work out some prices, set a page up on your site and take some orders.

   I've also put your interview up on the H.C. site.

   Handplane Central

1. 
   Malcolm2 | Mar 27, 2006 12:09am | #2

   Thanks!

   Here's the photographs - uploaded from work!

   Malcolm

   
1. 
   pzgren | Mar 27, 2006 06:44am | #6

   Malcolm, Those are some mighty handsome planes!! Great patterns and very nicely executed. I especially like your use of steel to reinforce the tote on the art deco plane; looks good and appears to be super-sturdy. That shiny knob on the chopper plane is almost too nice to grab ahold of to use..... ;-) Most impressive: you keep coming up with very attractive and innovative plane ideas, one after the other after the next...... Must be something in the water in that part of the world...LOL. Again, very, very nice planes! Looking forward to seeing your next one(s).James

1. 
   Malcolm2 | Mar 27, 2006 06:54am | #7

   Thanks James

   My better half doesn't like the balloon knob on the panel plane, and Philip Marcou seems to have his doubts as well. It is a bit over the top! I like it, and I'll be using it.

   Cheers

   Malcolm

2. 
   Malcolm2 | Mar 27, 2006 12:19am | #3

   > Now you've just got to work out some prices, set a page up on your site and take some orders <

   Hmmm. One-offs are one thing, production standards to a price are quite another (as every studio woodworker and toolmaker knows). I'd love to be able to make tools professionally, and when my current day job finishes (in 2 years or 5 years) I may try to mix shop time with another part-time mission.

   Meanwhile, the next job (while we work to begin demolishing and rebuilding our house) may be a run of 'palm planes' - with the purpose of refining the design, ironing-out production techniques, and setting a reasonable price. Not in a position to take orders, yet!

   Looking forward to seeing the interview, by the way.

   Edit: I've just looked, and you've got the interview up already! You work fast. Thanks very much - I think it reads OK!

   Cheers

   Malcolm

   Edited 3/26/2006 6:10 pm ET by Malcolm2

1. 
   C_R_Miller_Planes | Mar 27, 2006 04:29am | #4

   If you sell one or two then you're a professional - regardless if you go full time or not.In the meantime just go the Wayne Anderson route. Make the planes you want to make, when you want to (kinda like what you're doing now anyway) and don't worry about production numbers. Become a niche market within a niche market. Work out an absolute base price (but reward yourself properly for the work as well) and adjust it up or down according to the flourishes and features you've incorporated into a particular plane. Let people know it's a "one-off" or a limited production run and don't try to take on too much. The customers will understand and you'll probably find that the demand for your planes will rise accordingly.Also learn from other makers. While it's obvious that Doug and Ben loved making planes they probably found out the hard way that making them in high volume can quickly become a drag. When it becomes too much work and not enough play you can still become in love with the "idea" of being a plane maker, but not actually enjoy the hard work that needs to be done on a day to day basis. Believe me it's a lot more fun inventing, designing and learning than it is to do production, but you already know that by now.If you set yourself up from the start to be a strictly low volume and specialized plane maker, like Anderson, then you can often take the drudgery out of the work. If you have no more planes to sell at a particular time then just don't take on any orders until you do have planes. That way you can deal with orders quickly and have the freedom to do what you want, when you want.Whether you make production planes like Lie-Nielsen, Lee Valley, Steve Knight, HNT Gordon and Clark & Williams, or more limited runs like Holtey, Hutchinson, Carter, Sauer + Steiner and Anderson, the fact remains that you're still a very talented plane maker and that you've made your marque in the plane making world. The numbers themselves aren't so important.

   Handplane Central

1. 
   Malcolm | Mar 27, 2006 05:12am | #5

   Thanks for all that - good advice!

   The one thing I do need to work on is fabrication quality. Philip has just sent me some photos of his latest low-angle plane (one of three) and the technique is flawless!

   Another reason for doing a short run of the same design is to perfect the execution. Philip says "Come on, get yourself a nice lathe, small mill and a linisher or belt grinder and you will be  turning even more radical ideas into reality". The point being that the test of real quality is the engineering ... he has it mastered, I don't. Yet.

   I have some ideas for milling brass using a shop-made dovetail jig that might resolve the key joinery question (tight, precise, gap-free dovetails). I'm going to make perspex (I forget the US trade name) templates from now on, so that I can mark out from a precise pattern, not scribe directly onto the metal.

   Philip is suggesting trying some new alloys - titanium, silver nickel, copper. I'm going to buy some recycled copper in Dunedin tomorrow if I get the time after my meeting. At $7 per kg (US 5 per pound?) metal is not that expensive.

   Cheers - thanks again - Malcolm

    

    http://www.macpherson.co.nz

1. 
   C_R_Miller_Planes | Mar 27, 2006 08:54am | #8

   The quality will come with the experience (as you know).We all have a tendency to point out what is wrong with our own work rather than what is right, while the people we show off our work to may not even notice that there is a flaw in the first place. Kinda like if you're in a band and you stuff up a chord during a song then you just repeat the mistake all the way through and most people will be none the wiser (unless it's a well known piece of course, then you just tell them it's your interpretation of the song). From seeing what I can see of your recent dovetail work I don't think you have anything to worry about in that regard.If you're ever concerned about the build quality of a particular plane then you can always let people know beforehand that it has a flaw, or that you regard the plane as "second quality", and thus carries a reduced price to reflect this.As to the equipment needed for limited production work... lathes, end mills etc. are great to have but, as you know yourself, you can make great planes without them. Billy Carter must have made well over 1000 planes by now and, at last count, he didn't even have a bench drill to help him out, let alone a mill or lathe. While I've not quite reached the 1000 mark I'm also without a mill and lathe - though I do have a bench drill, a bandsaw and a linisher/belt grinder (or two) which speed things up considerably. For the most part though most of my work has been done by hand.I'm all for the idea of using unorthodox materials in planemaking, and perspex and Plexiglass are a great idea for templates too by the way.Looking forward to seeing what you and Philip come up with next.

   Handplane Central

2. 
   philip | Mar 28, 2006 10:57am | #9

   ....."looking forward to seeing what you and Philip come up with next."
   I am afraid that I may disappoint folks on that one for the time being-I must concentrate on fairly standard items which can be repeated to a consistantly (high) standard. Malcolm is the clever one at innovative design and not shy of turning idea into reality.
   BUT, my days of knifemaking taught me how to make an exciting full tang handle, much the same as Malcolm has used, so this is in the cerebral brewing pot now.If he did not live at the South Pole I am sure that some constructive collaboration would be taking place.Philip Marcou

3. 
   Malcolm | Mar 28, 2006 12:06pm | #10

   I'll be keen to see what you come up with on the tang/knife handle front Philip. I've been looking at a few custom knives on the internet - there's some wicked-looking work being done, eh!

   Karl Holtey tells me he has wondered about trying a tanged tote as well.

   Speaking of whom - Karl has a new web site:

   http://www.holteyplanes.com

   My next project is to be more like Philip (and I agree, it would be neat if we were geographically closer!) and do a production run - I like Karl's 11S design (click above) and will try a high-angle bevel-down single-hand block/smoother in the 11S style. Probably a run of 5 or 6.

   Philip - I bought some chunky copper bar in Dunedin today - what are the pros and cons of copper? It works well for high-end kitchen ware! The guy at Treeworkx is sending me a banana box of choice black mairi and puriri - which he says oils up real dark. We'll see. I'm also trying to buy some more Indian rosewood from Australia (this time sans Andrew - sorry mate).

   Malcolmhttp://www.macpherson.co.nz

4. 
   derekcohen | Mar 28, 2006 02:44pm | #11

   Hi Malcolm

   Very impressive work on both the Chopper and the Art Deco planes. I applaud your courage in expressing your skills in this artistic way (although I am not mad about the ding dong on the Chopper). The effort (both time and financial) is large and few are prepared to venture down this path. It is safer to produce a traditional Norris or Spier type infill (and here am I tossing up whether I should be more adventurous with my restoration of a craftsman-made Spier smoother).

   My apologies for not replying till now to your question about my "Stanley infill", which has Deco leanings. The design evolved with inspiration from the side curve. It was just an attempt at designing my vision of what a modern Stanley-made infill might have looked like (if there had been such a thing). Of course, I made it several years ago and I would like to believe that my metal/wood abilities have developed  since then. However, after looking at your work I shall again retire to a quiet corner. :)

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

5. 
   Malcolm2 | Mar 29, 2006 01:06am | #12

   > I am not mad about the ding dong on the Chopper <

   Thanks Derek, good to hear from you! My wife is less than enthusiastic about the balloon knob, and Philip Marcou has his reservations as well! Trouble is, I don't have a lathe, so can't turn something a bit more dignified! The knobs on Philp's latest (see elswhere, this forum) are more like it, I guess.

   Personally, I do like it. More to the point, it works well - great to grab hold of, easy to stay hung on to! But I hear the contrary opinions - wouldn't do it on a commercial plane, if one ever eventuates in this style.

   The Deco plane has had great support. I wasn't sure whether it would, but people seem to really like it. Now there's a lesson!

   Cheers - pity about your Super 14 rugby team, eh! I'm going down to Dunedin to watch the Highlanders beat them at Carisbrook, in a couple of weeks. 

   Malcolm

6. 
   Ronaway | Mar 29, 2006 04:57am | #13

   Malcolm I just figured the round tote on the chopper was supposed to represent the headlight on the front of the bike and the bent back frog extension is the handle bars, right? If that thang had wheels I bet it would make a hair piece fly!! Did you send pictures to Paul Jr. ? Or for that matter Paul Sr. You never know you might end up on the telly, or better yet they might build you a bike!!Ron

7. 
   Malcolm2 | Mar 29, 2006 06:30am | #14

   ... or I could build them a plane!

   Great suggestion - I'll find them on the internet and send some pictures!

   Malcolm

8. 
   derekcohen | Apr 08, 2006 02:28pm | #17

   Cheers - pity about your Super 14 rugby team, eh! I'm going down to Dunedin to watch the Highlanders beat them at Carisbrook, in a couple of weeks. 

   Malcolm

   25-22! We wuz robbed!

   Did you enjoy the game?

   Regards

   Derek

9. 
   Malcolm | Apr 08, 2006 02:58pm | #18

   > Did you enjoy the game? <

   Well, we won! Not much of a game, but a really nice early autumn day, a close finish, best seats in the house ... good day out!

   Malcolmhttp://www.macpherson.co.nz

10. 
    philip | Mar 29, 2006 12:10pm | #15

    Malcolm, Puriri is eminently suitable for plane making- someonre gave me a small piece and I used it for the knob on #2 pictured. It is very hard and smooth and looks like walnut-with chitoyency (spelling?). I also was given a small lentgth of Mairiri- sort of dark hickory like, but smoothand hard like glass- would look good too. Trouble is I never seem to get decent sizes....The ultimate stuff must be the ancient bog Kauri-if it has not all been exported to the States(!)
    I would think copper is good for decorational purposes mainly-would be good for beds too, rivets, base rings for knobs-high crow pulling factor.
    What is this Treeworks??Philip Marcou

11. 
    Malcolm | Mar 29, 2006 12:23pm | #16

    There is someone in Kiwi selling bog kauri - try a Google search. I'd have thought too soft, tho. The dealer in Australia is happy to sell me some more rosewood (he's calling it Rio rosewood, I think it's Indian) but I think Andrew got me the best - the photos of what's left look pretty ropy!

    For those who have missed a link in this discussion, I've found a supplier in the North Island called Treeworkx (who specialise in supplying big lumps to turners) who can supply me a banana box of choice puriri, black mairi and southern rata - all of which are dark, hard, and finish well (root walnut similar). Here in NZ we're short of dark hard wood. It'll cost me about $US65 delivered to my home.

    I bought a lump of copper (about 350mm of 50 by 6mm bar) yesterday, and am wondering about using it to make a small plane. Suspect it's a bit soft, and may tarnish quickly, but we'll see.

    Malcolmhttp://www.macpherson.co.nz