BJS Planes and Woodworking

Edition Four Feature
Words by: Brian Shugarue 
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 
Photo Credits: ©Brian Shugarue

I make handmade infill hand planes, one at a time, on a commission basis. My workshop is a humble two-car garage located in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, near Melbourne, Australia. 

I was born in Newfoundland, Canada. Newfoundlanders are resourceful people: they make what they need and make do with what they have. Growing up, I always had an appetite for making and there were always plenty of old hand tools available for me to use and create with. 

As a young man, I moved to Calgary, Alberta, to do a cabinetmaking apprenticeship. During my training, I started experimenting with making wooden-bodied hand planes. I went on to make many of these over the years before attempting my first infill plane. 

In Calgary, I met my Australian wife and in 2008 we decided to move to Australia. I soon began working in the trade in a busy cabinet shop. I would work 60 hours a week yet somehow still found time to set up my home workshop and hone my skills as a plane maker. Factory work paid well but was very uninspiring. I wanted to work with my hands and be in control of what I made; not be a glorified assembler for computerised machines. After years of hard work, I was finally able to start making my infill planes full-time in 2018, and BJS Planes and Woodworking was born. 

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