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If you are curious
about or struggle with moulding planes, planemaker M.S. Bickford has
recently launched a new blog that will open your eyes: Musings from Big Pink.
Using
SketchUp drawings and full-motion video, Bickford has been using his
blog to demonstrate how to create various profiles with hollow and round
planes. The illustrations show you how to create the rabbets and
chamfers that then guide the hollows and rounds to make the completed
shape.
I, for one, am thrilled to see this sort of hard-to-find information being put out for woodworkers on a regular basis.
A few good posts to get you started:
Bickford makes very nice moulding planes, of which I wrote a full-page review in the current issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine (December
2010). Let’s hope Bickford keeps up with both the blog and the
toolmaking. Oh, and what the heck’s the deal with the name of Bickford’s
blog, Musings from Big Pink? It’s two-fold: Bickford loves the London
electro-rock group The Big Pink and his workbench – scored from
Craigslist – is big and pink.
— Christopher Schwarz
Interested in Moulding Planes?
• You can visit M.S. Bickford’s main site here: msbickford.com
• Also worth visiting: Old Street Tool, Inc. (formerly Clark & Williams): planemaker.com
• Larry Williams and Don McConnell (of Old Street Tool) have made several excellent DVDs on making, sharpening and using traditional moulding planes. We like them so much we sell them in our store.
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
I met Matt a couple of weeks ago while he was in San Diego. A very nice young man, he took a lot of time to go over his planes and explain them and provide lots of information. I almost sprung for the starter set, but picked up a LN #8 and some other goodies instead.
I wish him well, he was a pleasure to meet.
I think big pink refers to what Bucky Cat calls Rob Wilco in the comic Get Fuzzy.
Nah, it refers to an album by The Band, "Music from Big Pink", after the house they were staying in, in Woodstock.
Weird name for a blog, but filled with awesomeness. Definitely looks like something I’d like to try, but it’s unfortunately preceded by a couple dozen more basic skills… and mundane setup.
It’s a great blog-I’ve been checking it out for the last week or so since it popped up on another blog. It has heightened my already intense curiosity about molding planes and the irrational desire to have them. Wallet be still, router beware!
ps. Im pretty sure "Big Pink" refers to his hue of his workbench. Why do I know this?
cheers,