December - February - Things are a little slow this month due to workload and  hospital visits - Father-in-law has been diagnosed with an aortic aneurism some 7.5cm in diameter, but the NHS has been superb, and he's due for the Op. Monday 13th, so we're sitting with fingers crossed for a successful outcome.

 

The few bits I have done all revolve aropund getting the stock prepared for the decks - a different take on "spring-fingers"

 

 

has allowed me to split all of the narrower stock to 16mm thickness boards.

 

In essence, the right hand stop is set to give a nominal 17mm thickness from my 37-39mm stock, as this should be the most consistent plank. To the left, a solid 18mm ply backing then has a piece of polycarb (waxed for friction reduction) sandwiching a 20mm thick layer of seating foam, giving a much taller face with which to apply a consistent pressure to the plank & keep it in position.  (My original idea involed spring loaded rollers, but that would have been waaay too much hassle)

 

Once started, it was relatively easy to guide the plank through the splitting process without any significant lateral wavering

 

 

the planks are also pretty heavy at original thickness, but slow progress through the cut zone gives a nice, clear groove some 73mm deep. (Note the difference in deflection of the polycarb guide between the pictures)