30 Years in 2012  
S H A R P   &  T O   T H E  P O I N T

A Shameless Shill for Hock Tools

The HOCK TOOLS Newsletter
#5/12
QUICK LINKS:
IN THIS ISSUE:
HOCK TOOLS PHOTO ALBUM: Juan Hovey Falls Down the Rabbit Hole
LET'S GET SOCIAL!
PEOPLE PROFILE: More Blood and Gore; An Interview with Patrick Leach
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Kenneth Speed
YOUR DISCOUNT COUPON TO WIA WEST
 
 
 
HOCK TOOLS'
PHOTO ALBUM:
Juan Hovey
Falls Down the Rabbit Hole Into the Wonderland of Infill

Planes
Juan Hovey gold Plane
All that glitters may not be gold...But Juan Hovey's got his own alchemy -- he's added to his life by making infill planes. So, to continue mixing metaphors, if that's not a rabbit hole...!

     Woodworkers are ever curious DYIers who sometimes find themselves channeling

Alice in Wonderland while descending that hole called "making your own tools."  

 

     In Juan Hovey's case he's enjoying the spiraling ride and living the high and satisfied life on the other side of the mirror, as a maker of infill planes. 

Juan Hovey with Infill Plane
Juan Hovey with an infill plane he made from scratch.

 

     As Juan tells it:

     "I've put a Hock iron in many an old plane over the years, and when a friend asked recently what he ought to do with an old Stanley he was rehabbing, I didn't hesitate.      Then I thought: If I think these irons are so good, why not make a plane to do them justice?

 

    "It couldn't be that hard, right? I checked e-Bay, saw some crude kits, gazed in wonder at the planes made by Sauer and Steiner and the like, then Googled for articles on making a smoothing plane from scratch and gave them some serious study.

 

     "Meaning, I lay awake at night staring into the dark trying to decide whether I knew what I was getting into.  I didn't, of course, but persevered.

Juan Hovey's Two Totes Disassembled
What Juan got into.
 

     "The first three I made landed in my reject pile, but then I made the two you see in the photos, and I thought,  "Well, well, what do you know?"

 

  
Juan's first two successful planes: An Infill smoother (front) and a bevel-up smoother.  

 

     "I decided to do everything by the book in making the plane with a tote. The iron is bedded at 45, the plane weighs 4 � pounds and measures 2 � " x 10 " +/-. The mouth is vanishingly narrow - a mere sliver - and gives me a thrill to see the thing deliver a lovely shaving.  

By the book.

    "I threw away the book in making the other plane - my bevel-up tote-less baby. This one measures 2 �" x 8"+/-, and weighs about the same as the other plane. The bevel up iron is both beveled and bedded

at 25 �. 

 

     "As an experiment in defying conventional wisdom, I filed the mouth at 25 all the way through the sole of the plane, so as to support the iron all the way to the point of contact with the wood. Does it work? Sure. Will I do that again? Probably not. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, Freud said, and sometimes the conventional wisdom is better than my own."

 

Juan Hovey's Infill Smoothers Facing Right 

Juan loves his plane. He uses them, he trades them for incredible wood, and he's selling a few, too!

 

Juan planes a gorgeous piece of spalted Pashaco Amarillo. Expect this wood to appear as infill in the Hovey line.

 

Proof, the rabbit hole and the shavings left behind.    

Proof in the shavings, and so close to that rabbit hole!

 

Can a person have too much fun at the bench? Naah!

 

Thanks Juan Hovey!

  

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LET'S GET SOCIAL!
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Greetings!

Ron in HOCK Shop
Ron in the
Hock Tools' Shop

 

 

     Just to let you know that we have two important events coming up. Linda and I will pack up the truck and drive to WIA 2012 in Pasadena, where on Thursday and Friday, October 12 & 13, we'll be on the marketplace floor selling blades, books and kits.  

      Woodworking in America has always been a good show for us; we meet up with other tool makers and enjoy talking to our customers in the casual atmosphere. It's always a good time and very productive.
     We're also going to Brooklyn toward the end of October. While  there, we're gonna hang with Joel Moskowitz and the gang at Tools for Working Wood on Thursday, October 25.
     Joel and I decided that I should take a little "jump to the left" and conduct a few spokeshave classes as well as invite woodworkers to bring in their problem planes for troubleshooting.   

     Makeville Studios will generously host this event sponsored by TFWW. We'll build spokeshaves and hold a plane clinic at the same time.  

     Linda says we're just plane crazy. Ha! You can read all about it on Joel's and my blogs. We'll send you a shout-out soon. In the meantime, please start spreadin' the news...

     Also, we've got an incredible interview with Patrick Leach as the People Profile column in this issue of Sharp & to The Point. It turned out to be so long that Linda created a PDF for you to read it more easily. Don't forget to come back to the rest of the newsletter, though. There's much more here!    

      We're just moving forward here at Hock Tools and thanking you for helping us do that. If you need anything from Hock Tools, please let me know.  

      

Sincerely,
Ron's Signature  

 

 
Ron Hock

Hock Tools
(888) 282-5233
(707) 964-2782
[email protected]


         Don't Forget to Scroll down for Your Coupon!  
  
WIA I'm Exhibiting Logo
P E O P L E   P R O F I L E:
More Blood and Gore --
An Interview about Collecting Old
Hand Tools with Patrick Leach

 
 
     We can all blame Patrick Leach!
     Yes, he is the fearless maven who coined the moniker "Galoot," which is now the woodworker term for the surprisingly dedicated and populous neanderthals who look at electrical outlets as a last and unwelcome resort.

 The Superior Works Logo  

So as not to diminish his soul, let's agree that this logo is
T h e   F a c e   o f   P a t r i c k   L e a c h
.      

 

          What's more, Patrick Leach puts his entire being where his mouth is on The Superior Works website, where you can sign up for Patrick's latest list of available old tool offerings.

 

     In all, The Superior Works provides even the least expert on woodworking handtools a clear picture of the Galoot ethos and an insider view of how and why the collecting and using of old hand tools instructs the present day bench with the heart and craft of the past.

 

     The site is so like Patrick himself, a non-commercialized businessman who believes in the venerated traditions of hand and custom made, in the innate values these traditions convey - quality, longevity, respect and self- worth.

 

     Plus, Patrick talks about old tools with great candor, a delightful wit and a self-deprecating humor, not to mention a communicable passion.

    

     This is all to the good because browsing The Superior Works website is a deep and wide browse, the place where Patrick Leach offers his readers the history and taxonomy of vintage hand tools, the core and pulse of which is a thing called Patrick's Blood and Gore . Once there, you may find yourself happily lost for days in an old tool thrall.

  

     Before you do that, though - or if you just cannot help yourself, and once you've been restored to your former capacity - please read this interview; a talkative thing by any standard and an excellent look at the truest of Galoots, one Patrick Leach.

                                                             - Linda at Hock Tools

  

 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

G U E S T  C O N T R I B U T O R
Kenneth Speed:
Father of Gizmozilla, and DIY Strong
  
"I think the first product I bought from Hock Tools was a replacement blade for a No. 7 jointer plane, I was impressed with the quality of it so I tried some other Hock products. One of the things I really like about Hock Tools is the solidity and honesty of the products, there's no gimmickry or phoniness." -- Ken Speed
      Ken Speed at his bench 
     As a semi-retired professional woodworker who, well, who is a woodworker, Kenneth Speed continuously comes up with gadgets and helpmates to improve his tools and the efficiency in his shop. One such helpmate is the  Gizmozilla, which you can read all about in the October issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine.
  
    Ken's also turned a Hock Tools VK075R into his favorite marking knife: a simple yet quietly noteworthy task. 
      
     "The truth about how I shaped the handle on my Hock Tools Marking Knife is utterly simple. I used walnut because I had off-cuts from another project and thought the dark walnut would nicely complement the dark blade finish.

Ken Speed's VK075R #1
  
Violin Knives Grouped
Hock Tools Violin Knives
    "I drilled a hole in the walnut pieces to match the hole in the blade and cut down a nail for a pin. Then I then glued the slightly over-sized handle blanks to the blade with epoxy, used the pin to center them on the handle, and clamped the pieces together with spring clamps.

 

    "After the adhesive had cured I sanded the handle to a shape that felt good in my hand and was pleasing to my eye. I finished the walnut by wiping on mixture of boiled linseed oil and turpentine, which gives the walnut a soft sheen and a smooth, secure grip.
Ken Speed's VK075R #2   
   
 "The handle has short bevels going towards the cutting edge, is wider near the cutting edge and tapers back to the end of the blade blank. It's really little more than a tapered rectangle with rounded corners.

Ken Speed's VK075R #3   
  "So, maybe it's not the most sophisticated and challenging woodworking I've ever done.
 
Ken uses his favorite marking knife, a Hock Tools VK075R.  Who can argue with such success?
  But the grip fits my hand,
works well with the ways I grip the knife and has no protrusions to get in the way.
 
     "I must have about half a dozen marking knives, and while I use the others sometimes, the Hock �" right hand violin knife is far and away the one I use the most."
 
Thank you, Kenneth Speed!