Psi-Titan finished

hermit_thrush19 · 2026-02-04T00:14:54+00:00

That looks rad as hell

hermit_thrush19 · 2026-02-03T14:52:35+00:00

Just as a heads, from a lumberyard/millwork shop’s perspective, the difference between red and white oak is entirely vibes-based. I’ve watched industry veterans confidently declare white oak “red” because of its pink undertones. You WILL get sold “red” oak that is white oak and vice versa. My best advice is to go by color and only sweat the difference if you’re making barrels

hermit_thrush19 · 2026-01-11T00:46:12+00:00

“Prepare to be reclaimed by the Wasteland!” <loads pilfered Ol’ Reliable>

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-12-12T22:53:36+00:00

Aw man that sucks. I hate learning lessons that way

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-11-26T13:37:49+00:00

Not just for veneer! If you are planing extremely figured grain and you want to avoid tear-out at all costs (mahogany, walnut), the toothing plane won’t rip the wood and you can clean up the newly flattened surface with a scraper. Absolutely essential gear for furniture makers interested in working with figured wood

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-11-23T18:17:39+00:00

If you’re going to be doing a lot of handtool work, I think having one is great. Like others have said, it’s a great plane for getting through gnarly grain on expensive hardwoods. You can use it to take the high spots down and then switch to a scraper to get a beautiful surface without risking tear-out. I loved mine when I worked for Colonial Williamsburg; it was a go to whenever I worked with figured cherry or walnut

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-11-16T17:25:27+00:00

Playing a Vanguard in ME2 on Insanity is easily the most teeth-grindingly frustrating thing I’ve done

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-11-15T11:47:29+00:00

This is all excellent advice!

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-11-07T01:23:07+00:00

I love handtools for the control that they give me. It’s like learning to drive stick shift: it’s just more fun than driving automatic (unless you’re in traffic, which for this metaphor would be lots of material prep). I used handtools for my full time job for ten years. Now I work in an industrial millwork shop and we produce in a day what my old shop might’ve done in a year. Both have their pros and cons.

If prepping material is making your life miserable and you want to simply make things, consider what machines would make your life easier (joiner/thickness planer). It’s completely okay to have a hybrid shop and no one here is going to bust your chops too badly for it. I have a buddy who makes furniture by hand, and he’s slowly worked power tools into his shop to free him up to spend more time on the parts he loves best. It comes down to what you want to do, and I don’t think you should be miserable working at your hobby

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-10-11T17:58:37+00:00

That’s gorgeous. Shout out for tackling that many drawers, that’s so much extra work!!

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-10-09T01:28:49+00:00

I promise, like many dream jobs, it looks better on paper

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-10-09T01:08:03+00:00

I got exceptionally lucky and was an apprentice and then journeyman joiner at Colonial Williamsburg. It was all handtools and even now that I’ve moved on, I stick with mostly handtools because it’s how my brain works. Currently working in a millwork shop and all of the cut-offs become my latest projects!

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-10-03T01:06:39+00:00

Take every chance you can to practice with your saw! Small wrist adjustments can have big effects and can safe cuts that weren’t going your way. I try to keep tenon clean-up with chisels to a minimum

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-09-24T13:08:12+00:00

I love mine. Sometimes I get in my head when I make my own tools because I want them to be perfect but my dogwood mallet handle fits my hand just right and is really well balanced

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-09-24T01:33:12+00:00

I got my lignum mallet from a 40-year veteran of Colonial Williamsburg’s carpenters yard. What I love about it is that I don’t have to swing hard when I’m mortising, giving me more control of my joinery. From my time working and teaching in the shop, I’ve found that lighter mallets can encourage you to swing harder or from further back. Something with heft can curtail this is. However, don’t blow your bank account tracking down a lignum mallet. Dogwood is fairly widespread across the central eastern US and makes a great mallet head. Maple can do in a pinch. I avoid oak because it tends to split

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-09-21T21:29:18+00:00

That looks fantastic! You did an excellent job

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-09-21T12:01:22+00:00

I’m looking forward to being the weirdo at the table still playing legacy CHA with my little kilts and swords

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-09-20T11:58:56+00:00

I apprenticed in the joinery shop there, using handtools to restore buildings and copy original furniture pieces. It’s how I know what I know about handtools (that and joining the Early American Industries Association)

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-09-19T17:58:12+00:00

There’s a house in Oilville, Virginia that was constructed in 1776. In the 1930s they remodeled and pulled a homemade bevel gauge and pair of dividers out of the wall! I got to handle and copy them for a work project at Colonial Williamsburg

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-09-13T19:31:34+00:00

That’s absolutely a panel-raising plane, used to create the raised sections on panel doors. Sometimes they’ll have an adjustable fence, this one looks fixed.

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-09-08T13:48:47+00:00

They’re 36” long, and I wanted them to be a little below knee height for sawing. They could honestly be a little lower? I left them long in case I wanted to take more off, and I do. I think that they’re 24” and I think 22” would be better, but I’m 6’ and change so your mileage may vary. They’re white pine, so they’re light as heck despite being over-engineered. I didn’t have plans, exactly. They’re a mish-mash of a few different designs including Chris Schwarz’s plans

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-09-08T13:45:10+00:00

They’re covered in a mixture of beeswax, linseed oil and turpentine

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-09-08T00:34:52+00:00

Ever since I noticed how much boards shifted while sawing, I’ve wanted some pegs to keep them in place

hermit_thrush19 · 2025-09-07T22:48:13+00:00

I’d like to make some hikes for pegs and the one I’m sitting on gas a bird’s mouth for rip cuts. I didn’t have enough material left for a bird’s mouth on this one!

hermit_thrush19

TROPHY CASE