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Fine Woodworking magazine Transatlantic Planing Editor takes a course with David Charlesworth in a remote English village
After joining Fine Woodworking three years ago and visiting authors, my eyes were opened to the perfection that results from a finely tuned plane in the hands of an expert. Therefore, when the chance arose to take a class on tool tuning and technique with the renowned expert David Charlesworth, my plane and I were on the next flight to England. David lives in a medieval house and works in the barn next door, both of which he restored from near ruin. They are located in a remote village near the sea in the west of England. He runs 12-week courses for aspiring professionals over the winter, but in the summer he offers five-day courses on particular aspects of woodworking. Over the next five days, I and three other students learned how to strip down our planes, file and grind the parts for a perfect fit, sharpen and fit replacement blades, and finally flatten the sole of the plane.
Getting a perfect plane was only half the battle. Next, we had to learn the proper technique for using it. Under David's patient guidance we learned how to flatten and square a board until it met the exacting standards of a Starrett straightedge and an engineer's square. What previously would have seemed a monumental challenge was now, with my purring plane, a series of easy steps. On a piece of tight-grained sycamore, we tested our planes to see how thin a shaving we could produce. Too thin to measure with regular calipers, the shavings were as transparent as a snake's slough and as soft as a butterfly's wings, leaving the wood gleaming and translucent. David is working on an article for Fine Woodworking about tuning up a new or used plane. If you want to learn from him in person, visit his Web site: www.davidcharlesworth.co.uk
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