Sadly, I know I have been a bit slack in posting the last few days, but I have a good excuse: along with the frantic lifestyle that having a 7 month-old entails, I have been working in arranging some interesting new content that you can expect to see in upcoming weeks. So to give you a peek at some of what to expect:
I am in process of producing a video podcast about the new Triton Spindle Sander, hopefully due in the next week or so. I think we are going to get to have a good play with one of the new Triton bandsaws too, in the not too distant future! 
Terry Gordon of HNT Gordon & Co Plane Makers is kindly letting me have a couple of his plane blades so I can demonstrate some of the myriad of sharpening techniques that are out there. I will be looking at the “Scary Sharp” system, Japanese waterstones, using the Triton wetstone sharpener, and possibly diamond plates, if I can source some in time.
Preparing raw stock – from rough sawn (and resawn timber) through to square and true stock, ready for your project at hand. It will include using handtools (including some of the HNT Gordon range of handplanes), as well as the modern duo of the planer & thicknesser (or jointer & planer, if that is the terminology you prefer)
Another very exciting development, is that Carb-i-tool are interested in having some of their massive range of router bits highlighted, which is going to be very cool. Some of these I only have an inkling about how they are used, and what to expect from these bits, so I’m really looking forward to learning more about them myself.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Miscellaneous, Router Bit, Sharpener, Sharpening, Spindle Sander
“Sadly, I know I have been a bit slack in posting the last few days” … do not worry about the quantity as we do love the quality of this blog
Simple question: you did refer to “planer” and “jointer” as two different terminologies. Is there an official terminology that the industry (tool’s makers) prefer?
The two sets of terms is dictated by where you live. In Australia, we use a planer to achieve the first flat face, and then to achieve an edge at 90 degrees to this face. In America, this same machine is called a jointer.
Where it gets really confusing is we then use a thicknesser to get our stock machined to the required thickness (it really should be called a thinnesser – (just being facetious!)). This second machine planes the second face so it is parallel with the first. The term the Americans use for this second machine is “Planer”.
So the combination of machines is the same, only the terms differ.
Australia calls the two machines “Planer & Thicknesser”
America calls the two machines “Jointer & Planer”
What really gets frustrating, is that companies that are trying to sell to both markets end up calling the thicknesser a “Planer/Thicknesser”. How that complicates the issue is that you can in fact buy combination machines – one that is a planer that converts to being a thicknesser (or in American speak – it is a jointer that converts to being a planer)
So in brief(er) summary: if you Australian, use the terms “Planer and Thicknesser”. If not, you probably will use the terms “Jointer and Planer”.
Sorry – probably clear as mud – writing this at about 1:30am!