Any woodworkers?

...sounds like you've got a homemade "toothing plane"

 

with a plane I feel like shrek at a tea party...

 

I've had good luck finding some really nice planes at estate auctions. I picked up a Stanley Bailey no. 7. I wad able to date it back to the early 1900s. It's a regular user in my shop. It tuned up nicely. Paid about $15 for it. Goes on eBay for around $300.

 

I only dabble, but here is my desk (not complete) and a table I built using purple heart lumber. Not to the level a lot of you all are at.

 

Yep best planes are at buy/sell shops or anywhere second hand. I don't think they make decent quality hand planes anymore.

 

I have some new Veritas (by Lee Valley) hand planes, and they are fantastic. Lie Nielsen also makes high quality hand planes.

But the majority of my planes are antique Stanley.

 

This is a great option for those who know how to tune a plane. The addition of a modern, thicker blade/cap from Hock or IBC makes these older tools perform like premium planes. But I'm with @chertzog ...my Veritas and Lie Nielsen planes are very fine indeed.

 

I'm a fan of Hock irons. I've made a few wooden planes, and have used Hock irons in them. They are fantastic. But put a thick hock iron on an antique Stanley #4 and you have a real treat of a tool (assuming its tuned). I am a student of Paul Sellers, and have learned a ton of information from him in regards to restoring old planes. Here is a video that goes through the entire process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYyV6IUpsYk

 

Speaking of old planes and irons, I found this old girl in my grandfathers barn last week. "W Butcher Warranted Caststeel" iron in it. has an unusual marking that I cant find mention of on the interwebs, so who knows when it was made. but all the dates I was seeing was pre 1900's. old things are pretty cool though. sorry to derail.

 

i have a sofa table looks identical to that, ...elegant and simple design, ...and you can't go wrong w/ cherry! back-bevel on the underside of the top is a great aesthetic touch... one of these days, if i ever get done w/ the home "improvements" i want to make two end table / nighstands just like that (cherry of course)...

 

Nice! did you poly it?

 

I wanna get into wood working but don't know what I need to get started. Like the basic tools and what not..

 

..it's a never-ending journey for us all (which makes it fun!), ...i've never worked w/ purpleheart, but i hear it can be a bear to work w/, ..nice job on it!

 

good traditional joinery, especially for table like that w/ long legs and no lower shelf/support... what method did you decide on for attaching the top to the aprons?...

..oil-based or water-based topcoat?

 

...lots of great resources on the internet and in books, so don't be afraid to "dive-in"...

...many different aspects of woodworking, ..so it'll be driven by what "kinds" of things you want to create... some folks like to make small elegant boxes, fine furniture, chests, cabinets, other casework, ...built-ins (i.e. for the home), cutting boards, clocks, various custom decor items (candle holders, etc...), fretwork, carvings/signs, ...and the list goes on!, ...and then on top of that, there's "turning"!...

...to get started, i recommend a good purpose-built workbench for the kinds of work you want to do... you'll need to amass some basic tools in the process of building that, and you'll also be developing your skills...

 

...the top being solid wood, ...i think the traditional way is to have a groove on the inside faces of the aprons, ...then small wooden "buttons" (small pieces shaped to have a lip that floats in the groove and a screw hole for fastening to the top) are places around this inner perimeter, screwed to the underside of the top, i think a more modern thing are small metal s-brackets that are designed for the same purpose ...since these pieces have some ability to "float" w/in the grooves, front-back seasonal wood movement of the top is accommodated...

w/ pocket screws all the way around, i don't know if that will be a problem or not (i think folks have done it w/out issue, ...but i don't know from my own experience thus far)... it may be just fine, but if it becomes an issue over time, you could probably take out the screws from the side and back aprons, ..install some "cleats" w/ elongated holes (oriented front-to-back), then screw up into the top, ..that would achieve the same effect as the groove/buttons...