A boxwood smooth plane I made in 1970

[george wilson]

I am going to ask Zahid to not post this plane in FAQ yet. I may find other views of it among the hundreds of other slides I still have to look through now that I have this slide scanner.

I was 29 in 1970,and had never had access to the Diderot Encyclopedia,and other historic material like it. They kept an original complete set of it in the Historic Trades office,and I looked through it a lot.

I saw these 18th.C. French planes with their sea shell front knobs,and thought they were pretty nice. These shells were octagonal in form,and also twisted to 1 side,to allow the hand to get a firmer grip as the plane was pushed.
Around the edges of the handle,and along the top edge of the plane's body, there is a 1/16" 3/4 round section put into the wood with a simple scratch stock made from a saw blade.

I was new to the Woodcraft catalog then,too,and had one of their Ulmia smoothers with lignum vitae soles,and the palm rest under the blade.

Under the influence of these 2 things,I made this boxwood plane with the old Roman style cross pin-though the plane's body is ONE piece,and not glued up like Krenov planes. This plane has a lignum vitae sole also.

A top view would be nice if I can find it,and I'll re post this if I can find more views,because I want to show the twist of the shell,and I also carved panels into the top surface of the plane to fill the empty spaces around the octagonal shell of the front grip.

This is not something I'd ever do again,though I don't think it's bad. I just fell out of the influence of the Ulmia plane soon,and gave it away. The English style planes soon became my favorites.

I gave this plane to the head architect at Williamsburg when he retired,as he had always had a lot of interest in my work. It is about 10" long.

[Chris Vandiver]

Absolutely stunning! More views would be nice.

[Gary Herrmann]

George, let me know if you need someone to test drive it and report back.

[george wilson]

I may find more views. There are many slides to go through,and the pictures of that plane were made by an apprentice I had in 1970,so I have forgotten what there may be available. I'm holding off getting it into FAQ since more views may turn up.

[Derek Cohen]

George, even in your "youth" you had an eye for detail. The small features there, such as the curl on the curve at the rear of the blade bed, are just wonderful.

Best wishes for the coming New Year.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[george wilson]

Derek,I was wondering when you would show up ! Months ago you did the "come on George" post,requesting more pictures. I am now able to post slides that have for many years lain unused. Enjoy.

The curve goes with the curve of the front knob.

This plane was a deviation from my usual line of thinking,but I was under new influences as I mentioned. When I first got a Woodcraft catalog(which were MUCH different in the 60's),I was all excited by the European tools that I was seeing for the first time. Strange how I lost all interest in my Ulmia deluxe plane about a year afterwards. I just gave it away. Didn't even ask a dollar for it. And,it was like new. By that time,though,I had become well exposed to the collection of antique tools in Wmsbg.,and my education was happening rapidly. 1970 was probably my most formative year since I parted company with Will Reimann,my sculpture teacher in college. I had just come out of 6 years living in a vacuum in rural North Carolina,except for the high class classical guitars I saw at the School of the Performing Arts in Winston Salem,where even Segovia taught master classes to my friends.

Have you talked to Chris Vesper about his stay with me? I didn't realize you 2 lived so far apart.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi George

Australia is a big place! Perth to Melbourne (where Chris lives) by air is 5 hours. That is about halfway across Oz. Chris usually comes to Perth once, perhaps twice, each year for the Wood Show. Over the past couple of years I have joined him on his stand and we have generally put on a show for the crowds (such as the fastest houndstooth dovetail competition). He has also stayed over at my home, and proved that he is indeed house-trained. A good fellow, and a wonderful toolmaker.

Yes, Chris speaks of you with much fondness. Obviously that crusty exterior hides a warm heart! He mentioned that your equipment was so-so.

I'll be posting a build soon, hopefully later today.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[george wilson]

As poor as response has been to some of my pictures,I'm thinking about not posting. It is a lot of trouble.

[Dave Schwarzkopf]

George,

I can't speak for others, but every piece of your work I've seen has been well beyond my capabilities; truly something to work towards. The fact that you've had 40+ years since to 'refine' your skill leaves me wondering if there will be a George Wilson museum one day, or at the very least your own wing in a respectable establishment. Please don't stop posting; while many might not post replies, I'm sure the 'view' count is doing better than my stocks, and it'd be a shame not to have your work posted for a wider audience.

What really leaves me awestruck is that you don't seem to have any single niche mastery, I've seen everything from tools to musical instruments done better than most who spend a lifetime doing just 1 thing.

Dave

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I was going to post pictures of a panel gauge I knocked out over the holiday, but with all this beautiful work of yours, I'm ashamed to admit my hackery.

I'd hate to see you stop posting these George. I haven't been able to comment on each thread, but I love seeing these. I know it can be a lot of hassle, however. Even if you just finished scanning these into the computer (assuming that was something you were planning to do) and uploaded all of the pictures at once sans commentary, I'd love to see them. If it's too much of a bother, don't let us pester you into doing it though. I know I, as well as others here, would gladly volunteer to help, but there's obviously nothing we could actually do.

I learn something from every one of these posts, if I keep my eyes open and pay attention to what you say. Regardless of if you continue of not, thank you for sharing as much as you have.

[george wilson]

I appreciate your comments,Dave and Joshua. If no one leaves a remark,I can't tell if they hated the work,didn't understand it,or just didn't bother to say anything.

[Jack Curtis]

I appreciate your comments,Dave and Joshua. If no one leaves a remark,I can't tell if they hated the work,didn't understand it,or just didn't bother to say anything.

I'd need more photos to even attempt to say anything usefull. Looks great so far.

Jack

[Jim Koepke]

George,

Your work is inspirational even if I don't post a response for each one.

Hopefully you will post more.

Once they are up here they may be something I can share with my grandchildren in the years ahead.

jtk

[John Shuk]

George,
You must keep posting pictures though I do understand the work involved. There are precious few examples of the type of work you showcase. I think if nothing else your work inspires people to put a bit more into their craft. I know it has that effect on me.

[Mark Wyatt]

George,

There are many of us who don't say much but study your picutres and descriptions closely. I've looked at this boxwood plane about 15 different times. I'd really like to see a cross section of the front half if you find more slides or photos.

Please keep posting pictures and describing how and why you created something. It really helps me understand more about this craft and art.