Record "Testa Rossa"

When I decided to change this Record 4 1 / 2 into a "super" plane, immediately I associated it with a racing car and the comparison with a "Ferrari" and therefore the choice of the red color were the natural consequences.

It is equipped with an old wooden plane blade which thickness is considerably higher (ca. 4 mm) than the original one and it has a 10°back bevel* and then a 55°cutting angle, very good for "difficult" grain.

It significantly increases the performance and justifies the time spent for it. 

* Using the plane I found it very hard to push so I decided of decreasing back bevel value to 10° instead of 15°. This last is good for a narrower plane as a #4.

Lesson in carving

 

We knew Salvatore Mastrangelo at one of the many pleasant meetings we organize in the shop of our friend Daniele (left in the first pic). Salvatore is a really pleasant and exclusive person,  full of life experiences. A true professional, filled with an uncontrollable passion for everything is related to woodworking. 

He expresses with great skill most of all his outstanding artistic vein  in the art of carving. 

This time we have "forced" him to teach us some good rule to acquire the best practice in this work and, under his leadership, we have tried to do some exercise. The quality of carving tools and their sharpness are fundamental prerequisites for best results.

In this regard, it is very useful to have a sharpening stone on the bench for honing more frequently the cutting edge of most commonly used tools. In the picture it shows a concave shaped oil stone that best fits the profile of some edges.   Unfortunately the time available is never enough, but we memorized some good advice on strategies of work, the importance of a good initial design and  the respect of plans on which the various details are located, in order to obtain a perspective effect.

Finally we add a couple of pictures that illustrate the Salvatore's work. I think they comment themselves.