New shield

One of the few things I missed when moved to my new workshop was the little shield for saw sharpening. It just disappeared between the planes and the shavings. 

So today I made a new one and I like it even more than the previous one. 

It's made out of a piece of hacksaw blade grinded to a thin edge and polished in a diamond stone. 

A shot for a size idea

And the taper and central nick the shield has

This is how you hold it:

My small fingers are touching the back of the saw, it's a very gentle grip, I reckon you can see that from the pictures.

And that's a madonoko that finally is getting ready. Since I gave mine to Jason haven't had time to play with one. 

Summer school 2017

Well well, I know is a bit of a short notice but I have consider this instance more of a holiday than a project, but maybe some of you are traveling down south and want to drop by and help a bit.

Image totally not related.

We are heading south to Puerto Varas from 5th of february or so to finish the roof of this baby, you may remember it from last year:

 We need to finish the hip roof this time

At the moment we are 3 confirmed plus a dog. We are staying there for 3 weeks to have plenty of time to cut joints, travel around, make bbqs and visit the hotsprings.

If you would like to visit the place and see people building a timber frame by hand with japanese tools and methods, just drop me a line and I'll give you the address. If you want to be part of this you are welcome to join but you need to arrange your own accommodation. There will be space to camp but no electricity or running water (there is a spring 30m from the gazebo though, so there will be a lot of chop wood carry water). A good time to arrive would be from the 14th of february onwards so we have time to set up shop. If you want to work you need to bring your own saw and your own chisels, and you will be only allowed to work if you have previous experience. We may run a short introductory course but is not my aim for this year, I'm more interested on finishing the roof and traveling around and forming an even tighter group of friends working together.

So yeah, summer school 2017 is happening again.