Friends, woodworkers, countrymen - I come before you to praise George Wilson, maker of the lever cap screws in this photo. I am in process of making four, maybe six infill planes to take to the Pasadena woodworkers' show in October, and I asked George to make the lever cap screws for me. Are they lovely, or what? Many thanks to George from me.

The wood you see in the photo is spalted pasyhaco amarillo. My friend Kevin Manville here in Santa Maria, CA, who makes very fine furniture, gave me several large blanks of this gorgeous wood in exchange for a promise to make him a plane. It was an offer I couldn't refuse. As you can see, I've drawn the outline of the plane and iron and am preparing to rough out the rear infill.
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