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“Trust that little voice in your head that says ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if…’ And then do it. ” — Duane Michals
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There is no progress without screw-ups, and I must be going somewhere fast because I have made too many mistakes the last two days. OK, last 30 years.
We just concluded our little caulking gun contest on this Totally Awesome, and Worthless Blog. Each of the Drivelite finalists won a whopping $50 gift certificate as a reward for their participation and creative spirit.
Here’s the oops part: if your entry was one of the finalists and your name is not Peter F., Mike B., Chris W., or Gary P., you need to send me your contact info (john@bridgecitytools.com). In my haste to rid my PC of clutter, I nuked the contest participant folder this morning. (I remember the names above because of the graft I proudly accepted by agreeing to include their entries…)
NEW TOOL DEPARTMENT:
The HP-6v2 Mini Multi-Plane is about to get a major versatility injection. We are pleased to announce the addition of two new dado/groove kits; 3/8″ and 1/2″.
Like all of the dado/groove kits, these new sizes will also cut with the grain, across the grain, and on end grain with zero tear-out (yes, you need a sharp iron). The reason they work so well is our unique scoring cutter which does two things; scores ahead of the iron, and determines the precise width of the cut. They are reversible, depth adjustable, and easily sharpened on our “V” hone. Here is a close-up;
Both of these new sizes will cut grooves, dados and rabbets (attach wooden shims to the bottom of the sole with double stick tape to restrict depth of cut). One or both of these dado profiles will be required when we introduce the sliding dovetail profiles in 2012. OOPS! That slipped. The maximum depth of cut is equal to the width of cut for both.
NEW HP-6v2 FENCE SYSTEM…
We are discontinuing the original fence system and replacing it with a new, dual purpose fence. (NOTE: If you have the original fences, you DO NOT need this fence system.) Milled from aluminum, these fences will work with all of our profiles, either with the miter guide option or as a side guide. FYI, by using two straight fences for grooves (the set-up pictured below) assures your cut will be parallel to the sides.
Also visible in the image above (and below) are the new accessory long posts. They work great when added capacity is needed. (If you haven’t visited our HP-6 Forum lately, check out Rutager West’s latest HP-6v2 project)
Lastly, your Tool Potentate is far from perfect. We are now going to discontinue the original clamp pad with a magnetized version. I don’t know how many times I have dropped that part…
If you don’t have an HP-6v2, we are doing our annual manufacturing run this fall and we are now accepting pre-orders. Delivery will be late December/early January.
3/8″ and 1/2″ grooves are two of the most common cuts in the woodworking community. From drawers to cases to whatever, you can now make flawless cuts while listening to Rocky II (Rachmaninoff’s Symphony no. 2).
It doesn’t get any better than that.
–John
PS: The email announcing pricing and availability should be in your inbox before weeks end.
Nice, John. Those new fences and fence posts are da bomb! (It’s probably a regulation somewhere that a person with a PhD can’t say “da bomb”, but HA! I did it. With aplomb.) (Probably people who say “da bomb” don’t know what “aplomb” is.)
I have to admit that I’ve been kicking myself lately for not having jumped on that amazing HP6-v2 package that you had during your sale earlier in the year. I’m beginning to warm to the infinite possibilities of the plane and its interchangeable soles. A very versatile piece of woodworking equipment. Or maybe Rutager’s finally getting to me…
What? WHAT?!? Sliding dovetail profiles? Yow! That’ll be fun. Do you run a dado and then use the dovetail to get it to final shape? Or use the dovetail the whole way down?
Love the nickers on the new dado profiles. (That would be really rude in English English, though it would require an additional silent “k”.)
– Peter
Peter-
Thanks for the comments-the scoring cutters are not new, been that way for 6-7 years… they work awesomely! Soon to come are dovetail cutters and they will depend upon the dado cutters to do the bulk of the work.
I have no clue why our HP-6 system did not catch your fancy years ago… for whatever it is worth, you are in the majority.
-John
Love the new dado profiles and mostly that you’re going to hit the sliding dovetails next year (early, right?) When I see people use sliding dovetail planes, I kept wondering if that profile was going to make it out. It would even be useful for people using a router to do it if you had the same angle to ever so slightly taper/thin the back part for no-bind assembly.
But you know what would be even cooler?! A run of the V-groove profiles.
Since Peter used aplomb with his bomb, is it heavier and fall faster? 🙂
Paul-Marcel-
We are running V groove kits with this run.
Tapered sliding dovetails, particularly the female, are tough by hand. I am working on it…
–John
I’ve been thinking I need a V-groove profile for a joint I’m experimenting with. Will you/do you have a V-groove that’s 90 degrees (45 degrees to the vertical on each side)?
Anyone want to lend me an HP6-v2 to whet my appetite?
– Peter
Peter,
Our V groove kit creates a 90 degree groove with sides 45 degrees to the vertical AND horizontal.
-John
LOL! I guess if it’s 45 degrees to the vertical, it has to be 45 degrees to the horizontal. Silly me.
I could imagine other angles being useful and attractive. Are there other V-groove profiles that do different angles?
– Peter
Peter-
We want to do a 60 degree and maybe one that is 30 degrees-for really sharp and deep decorative cuts.
The 60 degree has some cool applications. Use it with a fence to create a 60 degree chamfer. Now make a 60 degree plunge groove adjacent to the chamfer. This can then be liberated with our thin grooving cutter to create a strip that is a perfect triangle in cross section. These can be assembled into bundles, and cross-cut to create tortoise shell type inlay. Look at the luthier work from Jameel and you can see the applications.
Perhaps you should put your gift certificate to work and start playing with the HP-6v2…. And once you start making really cool moldings you will see why we developed the Jointmaker Pro. Just think of us as your legal crack dealer… 🙂
–John
John,
The larger size rabbets are going to be great; the HP-6v2 will now get to play with the big boys doing case work. The 60 degree set up made me drool a little- I’ve seen Jameel’s beautiful inlays and I just thought of some other cool ones.
Peter,
I have 7 or 8 Hp-6s and would gladly lend (almost wrote borrow, professor!)you one with a couple of profiles; but I seem to remember already offering you that and you had a lame excuse about not using detail in your work so you wouldn’t need an HP-6. Sooo should I send one your way, or are you just going to order a few?
-Rutager
Rutager, you’re a gentleman among gentlemen (I think I mentioned that before in some dog-related context). The project I have in mind could use a crowning plane and the 90 degree V groove for a particular joint. Actually, it could probably use the 1/2″ dado plane too. And the fence system.
Hmmm – this is adding up. You having any more contests, John? 🙂
Rutager – I’ll email you. Thanks so much for your offer. It’s incredibly generous. I’d never lend my BCTW tools. Except to you, of course…
– Peter
P.S. John – I’m looking at that image of the HP6-v2 with the new fence making a 45 degree profile along the edge of a board. Is it necessary to have the unused fence posts sticking up into the air like that? Or could you use only one pair of posts?
– Peter
Peter-
I was too lazy to take them off–but one can.
–John
john, will the fences for the new hp-8 be compatible with the hp6v2?
Regarding fence compatibility between the HP-8 and the HP-6v2…
The fence hole spacing for the planes are identical but the distance to the bottom of each plane sole is dramatically different.
The fences for the HP-8 will crash into most of the soles on the HP-6 because these soles are thicker. So, the fair answer is “sorta”. The HP-8 is smaller and the fence needs to be as close to the sole as possible making it only useful on the HP-6 if it ever needs to clear the bottom of the sole.
The new HP-6v2 fence will fit the HP-8 but may not engage thin stock at all.
Hope that makes sense.
-John
Those new guides are neat, but I still like the wooden ones better because you can make different angles, not just the 45º that comes with the new ones. Now of course I am going to have to get the groove kits to make the sliding dovetails. I guess I am lucky I don’t have a wife that will call you asking you not to sell me more tools because I make ugly things… 🙂
Jorge,
Completely understand your view on the original fence system-the new system doesn’t apply to you. For those that are new, this will save $$$. And with the new fence, one can always skin either fence to achieve whatever non-traditional angle desired.
Lastly, from all of us here at BCTW, we greatly appreciate your wife!
-John
John, it is always amazing to see how nice you can be. I mean, heck you are answering all Peter’s question as if he had a HP-6v-anything. But luckily he can always ask about the JMP-, oops not there either. Hmmm, I am pretty sure he has a BCTW ruler. 😮 😮 I am very excited about the magnet as I have three planes that now need those little pups. 😮 I also used my V groove setup today just for the heck of it and it is wonderful. I have to thank Rutager because without him and his eagle eyes on ebay, I would be without. Fred
Fred,
Always happy to tell you how to spend your money.
John,
Please tell me that the blue on the new fence is just to help it stand out in the pictures; it would look a lot sexier in black- and I would know because I’ve graduated from two tool making classes.
-Rutager
Rutager;
Regarding the tool making classes–I have yet to mail your report card. But here is a clue to your grade–what is the first letter of the word “farm”?
That said, we can do black. Purple too.
Maybe we should have a vote?
–John
Vote on my grade or on the fence color?
What a coincidence. Farm and Fence both start with the same first letter.
Let’s start with….color.
John
John,
I will place a vote of black for the fence and f..arm for Rutager’s grade. 😮
Fred
John,
Since I was there and saw Rutager work so Hard. And as an Expert in words starting with F… and the owner of the largest collection of report cards with red Farms on them. I Think I can say with some authority that Rutager deserve better than a F…arm. He should get a nice D…iamond.
As far as the Fence color. What do we care, you said we don’t need it. But Black would look cool.
Masood
Any thought to a 3/4 dado, John?