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Looks like something is happening at last.

The woods are: River Redgum, Pink Gum and Myall.

 

This beautiful scrap of driftwood – tossed up in the latest storm – does not need additional work….

 

Roland, Angela, Andrew Pietro, Massimo and Rinaldo called in to inspect the Boatshed -and in particular, to try out the cypress floor (which passed the test).

Looks to me like a new Wells generation of shipwrights and seafarers is taking shape….

 

 

 

 

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

Henry David Thoreau

These  planes are from Dad’s collection of woodworking tools. They have been in storage for some twenty years – but the time has come for their caretaker to polish them up, and apply as much TLC as they can absorb.

Dad restored all three to working order, and he was especially fond of the largest: ideal for straightening long edges, and smoothing wide, irregular surfaces.

After so many years of solitude, they will soon resume their familiar vocation in the company of old friends – and so will I.

The first Camellia Beatrice Emily blossom: of small size, and already vanished….but there are more to come, and I am reminded once again that ‘small is beautiful’….

Made from Ironbark and Native Cypress.

I cut the wood in the Boatshed, and then assembled it on site – which is not my usual Way. Indeed, I was astonished that it all came together without a (serious) hitch.

I think it should do the trick….

A month  ago I decided that the Boatshed required a good, low-angle block plane  for special projects….so, after much research, I purchased one: the Luban Low-Angle Block Plane made by Qiangsheng Tool Co.,  a Chinese firm with a world-wide reputation.

It is an excellent plane, with a nice weight to it, and handsome bronze fittings – as you can see in the accompanying photos.

About a fortnight later, Simon Scott alerted me to a massive auction of vintage woodworking tools at the Unley warehouse of Small and Whitfield. It was, I suppose, meant to be….after submitting my modest absentee-bid for the only low-angle plane listed: a vintage model made by Stanley, in the UK, some time betweeen 1913 and 1950 -I forgot about the whole business….until an unexpected email message (and invoice) arrived, informing me of my good fortune.

As it turned out, a previous owner had lost a vital component, and that might explain why I emerged victorious. But no matter: I found a replacement part easily enough through The Tool Exchange, and we now have a second, Low-Angle Block Plane in the boatshed, just in case one isn’t enough.

You can admire the Stanley plane below. It might look less spectacular than the Luban model, but it has its own value and fine reputation.

Between those two purchases, I discovered a miniature Japanese ebony plane (at Japan Tools Australia) especially designed for instrument-making, and reasonably priced. It seemed to me that this important and necessary tool must be secured without delay – and so it came about.

It is three and a half inches long, beautifully crafted, and thoroughly adorable.

Who could resist such an item?

Call it a whim, or stubborness, or yet another example of eccentricity….whatever the case may be, I decided last year that I would attempt to grow camellias in this unfavourable climate. The growing of camellias is a sort of family tradition and – perhaps as a result – I have become fond of them.

Early on there were a number of failures. Indigenous plants thrive in the salt air, but not much else.

I am pleased to report, however, that Japonica Bob Hope and Camellia Beatrice Emily have produced flower buds which look set to blossom in the next few weeks.

Sam will keep his camera close at hand to record further developments….