Ah HA!

Late last night I had one of those rare Ah HA! moments. I've been working on tuning, honing and sharpening the block plane. The trouble is, although I can read and follow directions (found on-line) I had no confidence in, or understanding of, what it was I was trying to do. I do this with most things I've never done before. Once I figure it out I'm fine, but until then I am lost.

After stabbing myself with a chisel while shaping the stem yesterday, I decided it was time to see whether I was making any progress sharpening the blade for the plane. I assembled the plane and tried it on a piece of wood I held in my hand. I was not impressed, but I thought, "Why not try it on the stem?" Making sure the stem was clamped into the Workmate, I took a pass at it with the plane. And... Ah HA! It worked like a charm! The prettiest curl of shaved wood seemingly floated off the stem. I was so excited I stayed up late shaping the stem and making a mess.

As I gain experience I am sure I will get better sharpening the blade and using the plane. But as it is, I finished shaping the stem this evening! I am quite pleased with the results - particularly so as two other builders struggled with shaping their stems; one ruined his first attempt, and the other needed three tries to get it done. I did, however, benefit from their experiences.

Oh, and yes, the new bar clamps arrived today. They may not be precision instruments but for $4.50 apiece they are every bit as good as the $12 ones Home Depot has for sale. I think the rudder blank will be the next piece of the puzzle.

For now I will savor my Ah HA moment...