Improving Shop Tool Storage with Mag-Bloks

Organizing tools in the shop is always a challenge for everyone. Using available space to keep every thing you need close at hand without creating clutter is always a balancing act. This post focuses on my bench tools which I like to keep close at hand on my main bench.

A while back I bought a few of the Benchcrafted One-of-a-kind Mag-Bloks. if you are not familiar with these Mag-Bloks, check them out here. I purchased some cherry ones a few years ago and they have very strong holding power, with a nice wood covering. The one-of-a-kind Mag-Bloks are offered from time-to-time on their website and are always made from unique woods - a serious weakness of mine...

Once I received these nice pieces in the mail I set them out on the bench for a few days and noodled on how to best use them. Eventually I settled on attaching them to the back of my bench for rulers, awls, screwdrivers and a few pieces I wanted to keep handy. But for me, just attaching them to the bench was not enough, I needed to upgrade them!! My solution was to insert a piece of wood between the Mag-Blok and the bench back to hold a row of hand tools. This picture shows the layout on a piece of 5/8" tigerwood and some of the tools layed out for the best arrangement.

Once I had a layout I was okay with, over to the tablesaw to dado out the openings to about 3/8" depth, this provided plenty of clearance for all the tools I was planning on storing there. This piece was then attached between the Mag-Blog and Bench using the Mag-Bloks screws and voila lots of storage for my collection of mostly cocobolo handled hand tools - I very nice setup I must say so myself.

Saws and such...

Chisels and Marking tools.

A nice addition to my bench storage without taking up too much space.

RDW

Old Plane gets new look.

This is my trusty Lie-Nielson No. 4 which I have had for many years and is probably the plane I use the most on a day-to-day basis. I had seen some of the work done by Catharine Kennedy online before and thought this trusty old standby could use some new clothes. I ripped the plane apart and sent the body and lever cap off to Catharine to do her magic. My only guidance was "less filigree and more acanthus" and I think she got it bang on.

She also engraved my initials on the lever cap, which looks great as well. Once this gets mauled a bit and the bronze patina restored it will look like the =trusty ole steed that it is - just with a new pair of shoes!

RDW

Beautiful new planes land in new home

I just got back from one of my all too regular trips to Toronto, but this time I got to do a little something for myself for a change. I rented a car and drove up to Kitchener to visit Konrad Sauer to pick up my new infill planes he has been building for me. More about the planes in a little bit; but first I need to say Konrad is one of the good guys in this business and a real pleasure to meet in person, after many months of online dialog.

Of course I got a tour of his awesome shop, but we had a chance to talk about everything from the business to our boys - like running into an old friend I have not seen for years. A couple hours went by all too quickly and I had to hit the road to catch my plane home.

From my reading and personal observation, Konrad is one of the pre-eminent plane builders working today - and Canadian too! His approach very much seeks a complete balance between form and function - his planes have a stunning visual presentation, as well as dreamy usability. I had a chance to look over a number of his works in progress, and there are many other lucky woodworkers out there, all sizes and styles of planes, matched with exquisite wood choices - illustrating the true artist at work.

  

The first plane I ordered many months ago was a small Norris No. 7 Shoulder plane to give me the tool to clean out dadoes as well as tenon shoulders. I picked the small one to give me the flexibility to cover most sizes. I am very pleased with this little guy, executed in Brazilian Rosewood infill and bronze sides, it looks and feel amazing in my hand. And oh yeah, it is sharp as a razor and leaves a flawless smooth edge in its wake.

After I waited a few weeks for the No. 7, I felt now was the time to replace my Record No. 6 with an infill. I use that plane for rough jointing of lumber by hand to better control the process, and often to waste less material, I will finish it with a tiny skim on the power jointer to make sure its square and flat after the plane is done. While I do not do much surface prep by hand, I feel if I had the hand tool to do so, I would go this route over other more aggressive options - like the belt sander!

This plane is an A1 Panel Plane, which serves many purposes from true jointer to flattening flat surfaces for finishing. I chose Brazilian Rosewood for the infill as I love the colour and Konrad had more from the same piece the No. 7 was made from, so why not? This picture shows this magnificent beast in all its 16.5" glory. A little shorter than the No. 6, but much heavier and much smoother to use. It takes shavings you can see through with virtually no effort.

These two planes will have a permanent place of honour in my shop as well my go-to planes for many uses. I am also sure my grandchildren will get many years of use before they hand them off to their children, a true heirloom piece I am honoured to be the custodian of for future generations.

RDW