Rage fixing a Stanley 21-399 rasp plane

So, the other day I was finally installing the trim around the windows, when the drywall rasp I was using slipped out of my hand and fell to the floor. For a construction-grade tool, this wouldn't have been a problem. However, for this particular sloppy chunk of yak dung, the plastic screw which holds the blade in snapped in half. While Stanley has a great warranty, I would in fact have been stuck with a shiny new piece of said dung, and that's just unacceptable. So, I rage-fixed it.

First, I grabbed a piece of scrap hardwood, a bolt, and a matching threaded insert.

Coffee Table build, Part I

My friend Cody got married recently, and asked to make him a rustic coffee table. Actually, at first he asked me to make a table from pallets. A request to which I promptly said no. Why? Pallets are gross. They're full of nails, they've been in the sun and the rain (which hardens them beyond reason), and they're full of grit. However, I can certainly make new wood, which is nice to my tools and psyche, look old. After putting together a couple of dimensions, I got started with some rough sawn cedar from the orange store:

 Here's a sample of the stain, iron acetate (aka steel wool soaked in vinegar), which literally ages the wood to that grey patina that you'd find in weathered boards, without the headache of cutting through nails and burning your motors out:

And the first boards off the plane: