Bump for a new Thanksgiving audience...

I would buy a LN.

I would not have a Woodriver plane in my shop, just on general principle.

Great plan, looks and use of space. Win-win-win! Goes well with the wainscoting too.

Nicely executed.

Joel

In this case a picture would really help.

Able to lift its own weight in iron oxide?

I am not as familiar with the Stanley drills as I am Millers Falls, but if the crank arm is original, then the Sweetheart logo dates it to between 1919 and 1932.

As for the stuck chuck, screw it out as if you were trying to open the jaws. Lightly tap the end of the jaws with a piece of wood. They should pop loose. Squirt some penetrating oil in there and work it back and forth. That should get it working again. If this doesn't work, then you will need to disassemble the chuck to clean and lubricate it.

Proud is better than shallow. If I understand your question correctly.

Dullblade,

I have used Woodworkers Source mail order at least 4 times, to buy wood for turning. Now that I live in CO I bought some 1/2" BB from them. Merchandise was always as represented and service was good to excellent. My last order was sent to my old address by mistake. They made it right immediately.

Doug

Jim,

Shellac does deteriorate in the can after opening. Sometimes old shellac won't dry. That's the only deterioration I know of from age. It's easy to find out if its good -- just brush some on a piece of wood and give it 30 minutes. See if it dries hard. Sand with 180 grit or so. It should produce fine dust with no gumminess.

As many coats as you like. I would say at least two. The first coat will raise the grain slightly. Sand lightly and evenly until smooth with 180 grit. The second coat will then dry smooth and nice. Additional coats will improve the appearance of figured wood.

The thing about shellac is that it dries, literally. Additional coats will dissolve the earlier coats somewhat. This is good for adhesion, but it means that you need to apply the coat and leave it alone. Don't go back and fuss with a wet coat. If you don't like it, let it dry, sand and apply another coat until you are happy.

Doug

I use a Freud FT2000 in my router table. I converted it to allow raising and lowering from the router table top using an allen wrench through a hole in the table top. If you wanted to you could use a small power screwdriver of some sort to turn the screw.

I found plans on how to do this on the web. It involves taking apart the lift mechanism, removing the springs and doing some minor 'machining'. Nothing that you can't do with common shop tools. I will see if I can find the plans for it. I believe that the plans were posted here on woodnet, but that must have been more than 5 years ago.