My big new tool was the compleat Scraping 101 deal from LV. Sure, I could have made a jointer easy enough, and I could have burnished with a screwdriver, and I could have bought some cheap saws at yardsales to cut into scrapers... It's all a bit of a silly extravegance, really, and not something someone who is on a paper thin Christmas budget ought to have invested in, but...
Me likey! Good, wholesome gadgetry all around. The only toy I had to take to grandma's house today was this set of stuff and a little scrap of walnut that was rough on two sides, and had wild grain on two sides.
Now I have a scrap of walnut that's smooooooooth. I'm hooked on scraping, and don't think I will ever sand anything again. I want to get some really wild and crazy grain to play with, and see if this will actually tame it. I had some wild maple in that big chess box project I did. Those squares are outstanding for their beauty, but also for their fudginess. I never did get them tamed to my satisfaction, with a super ultra finely tuned #4. If I could use grain like that often, instead of sparingly, it would be a most awesome thing. I have some scraps of that with the same kind of figure, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with them tomorrow.