Home DIY

Strip it, dig out the crumbly bits, fill with cement?

Maybe drill in some wire mesh, and make a form, if there are really big crumbly bits.

Hadn't thought about cement. But that's a good shout.

One of the trade favourites at the moment for this job is Fibrex from guess who. That bit hanging off underneath can be chipped back as far as possible and then skimmed with Fibrex. Although you need to own a plasterers float large enough.

large enough

Hmmmm... Mine is just a normal size I think.

I mean it helps if it's longer than the patch, I guess it's not entirely necessary. You can get some tiny ones though.

Fibrex is pretty easy to work and you can finish it with a sponge to feather it or add texture if you're re-facing bricks.

Although you need to own a plasterers float large enough.

#boastpost

Prepping the chase for the plaster usually involves a bit of PVA mixed with water splashed about. Just helps the plaster to set without the dry walls sucking the moisture out and making it crack

I usually just spray water at the wall until it stops disappearing into the substrate, then slap on the bonding. House hasn't rotted away yet.

Yeah we still have tools that my papa used and still use sometimes (big pipe benders and stilsions). My dads tool just aren’t like really branded, they are still in use every day. I just like buying the expensive tools, although I’m not like some folk that buy everything fancy and branded as they don’t make you do the job better that’s for sure

I'm in the process of fitting an Induction Hob (this one) and it hasn't come with any fixing clips, just a foam sealing strip. There's no mention of fixing clips in the instructions.
Is it ok just to rely on the foam strip to seal the hub / stop it from moving etc or should i look at finding some fixing clips to pull it onto the worktop?

Baby steps.

Had a small window so managed to make the most of it and cut the feet for my bench. One down (almost - just needs a bit of finishing). The other two cut and measured.

Thought I'd have a crack at making them a bit more shapely.

Idk if it'll make them less obtrusive, but part of the point about any wood work for me is trying things. Main reasons for feet are actually to give more flexibility for what wood to use for the legs to mitigate any flooding (there's an iffy tap in the space).

Want to get a set of chisels, so I'm not solely reliant on this one from my dad (maybe even grandad?). Also idk how I've lasted so longwatched so much YouTube without a roofing square. Such a handy thing.

Is there a cheap tool/technique that will allow me to a shape a bullnose shape into MDF that doesn't involve buying a whole router? Trying to shape the size of two window sills I'm going to install

Files.

It's a bit ghett but what you want to do is clamp the wood to something flat that you can stand in front of and then hold it with one hand at each end and run it down the edge like a plane.

If you make sure you keep the angle and go the whole length you should be able to do a bit at a time and get them matching. I put a.... double bull nose(?) on some retro fitted mdf shelves this way to match the one existing shelf.

Moulding planes are considerably cheaper than routers (unless you have a moulding plane collecting habit which some do) and are traditionally what an apprentice would be using all day to make mouldings for their master.

Vintagetoolshop is a decent place to buy them.

Also can be done with a block plane and sanding paper.

Edit. They can be tricky to hone.

On the subject of vintage planes:

Is there a specific technique to getting the blade to stay put (and true) in one of these?

I've got one we used to use as a doorstop pre-kids and I sharpened up the blade the other day. It worked really well... for 2mins.

I don't have a link, I'm afraid, but I have watched a bunch of youtube videos on this - particularly the ones where they do competitive planing

Has that chisel ever been sharpened?

You to fix it or it'll move.

The fitting instructions for that unit make no mention of fixing clips. Personally I'd go with the manufacturers fitting instructions as using your initiative can lead to voiding the warranty.

Ha!

Yes I gave it a super quick once over when I fist borrowed it. Probably with my gardening folding sharpener. It was alright but I think I may have misjudged how little time I spent sharpening it and how many times I've used it since then.

Ultimately it was used to take out wood roughly and quickly, so I could finish it off with files and sanding.

Now I have a whetstone I should really give it another going over... you've also made me think it would have been more useful to test the stone on this than a vintage plane blade.

Forgot to grab a pic but I've finished the foot and attached it to the leg. Next up is attaching it which will require a sharp chisels. Unfortunately it will also require emptying the space again, so the project is probably going to have a little hiatus.

Once you've got a good edge on them I find the best practice is to keep a loaded strop nearby and regularly, say every 10 minutes of use, give it a couple of strokes on that (oh err etc). Much less effort than having less frequent but longer sharpening sessions.

Re the vintage hand planes setting them is an art in and of itself that requires patience and a light touch with a mallet, which is why I've never tried to use them. There is a reason why bailey pattern steel sole planes became took over so quickly once the necessary mass production techniques arrived - much easier to use, set and adjust than the wooden ones, with the added advantage that you can keep planing while you make adjustments.

On the vintage moulding planes, each one tends to have an amount you need to tap the wedge in to keep it tight enough. I spend a bit of time setting them up before using them on any real stock. When they work they are great. You can sharpen them with fine sandpaper wrapped around a dowel, flatten the backs on a stone.

They are really basic and force you to work with the grain of the wood to begin with. Once the basic shape is appearing it's quite easy to get a good result with time. I'm often surprised how well it works.

Cheers. I'll have a play.

I was surprised by how sharp the blade got, and how well it worked until the blade shifted.

Not wanting to sound too douchy, but it had such a nice organic feel it had vs my Stanley no4. Could just be the size tho.

I can see from the piece of chiselled off softwood in the photo that your unsharp chisel is just splitting the wood where it wants to split rather than cutting it where you want it cut. You don’t want to go down a cabinet maker’s sharpening rabbit hole
but showing it an oil stone from time to time will help.

I went through a phase of buying old chisel sets on ebay and getting them scary sharp, backs all flattened and edges perfectly square. It’s the work of a weekend for a full set of averagely treated chisels. Fifteen minutes with a double sided oilstone and a honing guide, if you want to drop an extra tenner, will suit your purposes.

Thanks.

Last time I looked on eBay it didn't really seem worth it vs a set of Magnusson ones from Screwfix. Probably gonna grab these as they have a free honing guide that sounds like it could be hit or miss, but I reckon should still be able to be made to work.

They're the sort of thing that I'd normally try and get at car boot sales. But the seasons over now. There was a lovely full set at the last one I went to, but they weren't super cheap I didn't have the cash at the time.

Unfortunately at some point ‘old tools’ became a thing on ebay and the prices went up. I bought a set of 8 old style Marples chisels for a tenner years ago, you won’t find them at that price any more. I’ve examined the Irwin set you linked to in the shop and they are excellent. A cabinet maker would want to put some hours in polishing the backs to take off the machining marks but their out of the box sharp alternative costs £80 (for a single one inch chisel from Lie Nielsen, for example).