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Subject:
From:
Owen Daly <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Harpsichords and Related Topics <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 5 Feb 2008 12:18:43 -0800
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I'm with Bill on this. With a very, very sharp, and very well-set 
plane, jacks will be smooth as teflon.

For final trimming, I use a Lie-Nielsen low-angle jack plane, razor 
sharp, set with a mouth opening so small as to be almost invisible.

On a beech jack body, the results are so slippery the texture feels 
almost as though the wood were impregnated with talc or teflon or 
wax. Same is true of pear.

But this is no ordinary plane: much closer in function to the best of 
the old English infill planes, the Spiers and Norris guys, which are 
so spendy and collectible.

It does matter, too, what sort of wood is chosen. Beech and pear 
yield silky-slick surfaces planed this way. I once used a set of 
boughten jacks from a maker who substituted cherry for pear, because, 
I presume, it *looks* similar superficially, and, of course, because 
it's more common and cheaper. Nicely planed, the cherry has never 
been as slippery as beech or pear.

owen


-- 
Owen Daly Early Keyboard Instruments
557 Statesman St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-362-9396
http://www.dalyharpsichords.com

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