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Last Friday, I skipped out of the office for a trip down to Kelly Mehler’s School of Woodworking in Berea, Ky., (the most bucolic woodworking school I’ve had the pleasure of attending) to visit with Kelly and Larry Williams and Don McConnell of Old Street Tool.
I arrived just in time to cadge a piece of cake from lunch (well-planned, that!), then had a lovely time talking with the students in the class, each of whom were making a pair of hollows and rounds. And I spent some time talking planes, sharpening and marking knives with Larry and Don (more on that next week).
Mostly, though, I spent my visit wiping the drool off my chin. Watch the short video below to see why. And if you want to make your own moulding planes (the students made it look easy!), check out Larry’s DVD “Making Traditional Side Escapement Planes.” For help on sharpening profiled blades (such as those in hollows, rounds and dedicated moulders), watch Larry’s “Sharpening Profiled Hand Tools” DVD. If you want to learn how to use these tools, Don can help with that, with his “Traditional Molding Techniques: The Basics” DVD.
I’m happy to report that I’ve recently learned the basics of using moulding planes (thank you Christopher Schwarz), and I’m now well and truly hooked. I’m astounded by the number of profiles one can cut with just a pair or two of hollows and rounds (and a rabbet plane), and not having to sand afterward is, to me, an incomparable joy. You’ll get a small taste of what moulding planes can do in an upcoming Popular Woodworking Magazine article by planemaker Matt Bickford; if you’re not already a convert, prepare to be amazed.
