Thursday, February 28, 2013

Crafty Crockery Colouring


Apparently, you can write or doodle on dinnerware with a Sharpie marker and bake it at 350°F (180°C) for 30 minutes and the design will stay permanently.

Use white crockery. Make sure it is clean and absolutely grease-free. Remove any stickers.

Any colour Sharpie will do.

Don't know if the result is food-safe.

May not be permanent on some crockery; do a test first. Hasn't been tested in a dishwasher, but appears to be safely washable by hand.

I found it here, where you can see some examples. Cool idea; I must definitely try it.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Oldie but goodie

I bought myself this old beech rebate plane today, for about twenty-five bucks. I see them around in antique/junk shops a lot; they're not rare, but they're often in pretty sorry condition. This one is pretty good.

The blade needed a fair bit of attention; the back was pretty far from flat, and of course it was hopelessly blunt. Still, there wasn't too much rust or pitting, which is the main thing.

I'm not experienced with these old wooden planes, and I have to say that they're not easy to use — all your blade adjustment is by careful tippy-tappy on the tang of the blade, and it's just held in place by friction, so it's easy to get it out of whack again. I don't think it will be replacing my electric router, but it will probably be useful for touch-up work and the like.

My respect for Olden Tymes cabinetmakers increases every time I try to use the tools they used every day.