Make Your Own Japanese Plane

Hiroshi Yamaguchi is a trained Japanese woodworker and teacher who moved to Canberra in 2012. Since then he has furthered his craft by working in furniture shops in the ACT before opening his own woodworking school, bringing the craft of traditional Japanese carpentry to both experienced and beginner woodworkers in Australia.

Japanese Tools Australia is pleased to announce that Hiroshi-san will be holding a five day course in Kogarah, Sydney in June. The five days take in a detailed journey across two weekends June 2, 3 and the June 9, 10, 11 long weekend.

The first weekend begins with participants receiving their high-quality chisel purchased from Inoue Hamono, a small specialist store for professional woodworkers in Tokyo. Hiroshi then instructs the students on fitting the ferule of the chisel, flattening the back of the blade and sharpening the bevel. Students also receive their new plane blade and tune it to a fine finish, all on traditional Japanese waterstones.

Once students' chisels and plane blades are tuned and ready for work, the long weekend is spent selecting a blank, marking out the required openings and making a perfect custom dai for the plane blade. Hiroshi's guidance comes into its own as a tuned Japanese plane emerges from the block of timber you carefully select, capable of taking beautiful shavings.

The cost of the workshop is $850 including all materials and students finish with their tuned chisel, hand-made plane and a wealth of knowledge and experience about these wonderful tools. Places are unfortunately limited, though a spot can be secured with a deposit. For full details see the booking page here.