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Polishing, polishing, polishing.  Unfortunately we were so busy and occupied with our tasks I did not get many pictures.  Maybe next year I can be more attentive to that task.

 

dry fit

Things weren't going well in Disneyland today boys and girls. The left side leaned inward and I had to clamp these in order to keep it square. The right side gave me fits too.

still scratching my bald spot

The front top stick is a frog hair over a 16th longer than the back one. The diagonals at the top are less than a 32nd off. The bottom left is square - stopped playing with the square here and moved on to playing with the tenons.

making them deeper

I eyeballed the tenons on the dry fit and they were still shy of the end faces. I started correcting it by making the dadoes a few frog hairs deeper.

nope

Awfully close but not proud yet. It took a couple more runs with the router before all six tenons were proud.

back to frustration

Without the spreader, the bottom read dead nuts. However, just above the top of the square, the end runs out to lunch. Not by much but enough to be annoying IMO. I played around with positioning the spreaders in different spots along with clamping some of them that were short on the length.

gave up

Without the spreader, the bottom read dead nuts. However, just above the top of the square, the end runs outward. The board is pretty close to dead flat and there isn't any hint of a cup in it. Residual stress from being thicknessed?

interesting

I sawed the sides to rough length with the Ryobi saw. Almost zero fuzzy wuzzies on both of them. A western crosscut saw would have left it ugly looking.

sides and the handle

Moving right along with these three being the last of the parts. The lid is resting on the shitcan. I think I thought this through and I don't need anything else. But I am thinking of putting a sliding till in it.

hmm......

Changing how I'll attach/do the sides on this toolbox. I like the 3 rabbet idea that I've been kicking around in the brain bucket but things changed. With the square headache I'm going to inset the sides between the ends and the bottom. I will scribe/plane the ends instead. I think I'll have a better fit and easier time doing this vice making out of square rabbets.

This is subject to changing again. The original I'm basing mine off had the sides nailed to the outside of the ends and the bottom. That saves a 1 1/2" of interior space over inset sides.

confusing

These dovetails confused me a lot when I tried to picture them on the movie screen in the brain bucket. They are face dovetails but the orientation is 90° off. I marked the waste before I sawed them. That is something I rarely do.

tails done

Stopped here for a few to think of a way to hold the handle in place so I could mark the pins.

worked

Clamped a scrap on the baseline and marked the pins with a pencil. I marked the pin waste because there were so many extra pencil lines. And I am easily confused.

good fit

I left the pencil lines when I sawed these. If they came out too tight I had meat to trim.

dry fit

Sneak peek says this isn't a tiny toolbox. Looking at this pic has the gears turning in the brain bucket with new roads to do down. No hinge lid but taller sides than planned along with a sliding till or maybe two sliding tills.

nixed

Laid out for the mortise for the handle support. After I took it apart I didn't like where the mortise was. It would be under the center tail and I think that would weaken the handle directly where it shouldn't.

glue up in the batter's box

Did a simple cutout for the bottom of the ends. The original pattern was to fancy for a toolbox. I'll glue this up in the AM.

hmm.....

The handle is quarter sawn and by itself I don't have a warm and fuzzy with it being able to survive picking up this toolbox fully loaded. I will glue the oak to the underside of the handle between the two ends to strengthen it.

accidental woodworker

Glue extractors at Young & Co., Bermondsey, England, circa 1905

Short answer upfront. 250 bloom became the everyday shop standard because it was a practical, widely produced and widely stocked grade that balanced working time, tack and speed of set. 192 bloom was and is favoured for veneering and fine work because it stays workable longer and dries to a slightly more forgiving film. Gram strength measures gel strength not adhesive ultimate strength. If two joints contain the same amount of dry glue the final bond strength is largely similar. What changes most is handling, pot behaviour and how the cured glue film behaves mechanically.

Gram strength is the result of the Bloom gel test. The test measures how firm a standard gel of glue is by recording how many grams of force it takes to depress a standard plunger. That figure correlates with the average molecular weight of the collagen chains in the glue and with how the glue behaves in the pot.

Higher bloom numbers mean the gel is firmer and the glue tends to set faster and feel “stiffer” when it is gelled. Lower bloom numbers mean a softer gel, longer open time and a film that is a little more flexible once fully dry.

It is very natural to assume that a higher gram number equals a stronger glue but that assumption confuses gel strength with adhesive bond strength. Gel strength is about how the glue behaves in the pot and in its undisturbed gel form. It does not directly tell you the strength of a well executed joint when the same amount of dry glue is present.

Practical tests and the experience of makers show that when joints are prepared and clamped correctly and when the dry glue content is roughly equal, the ultimate bond strength does not scale directly with bloom. The differences makers notice are working time, tack and cured film behaviour rather than a clear superiority in tensile or shear strength.

The dominance of a midrange grade such as 250 bloom came from supply and shop practice rather than from a formal demonstration that it was stronger. Industrial and regional glue mills made a small set of grades and merchants stocked what was available. A versatile, midrange product sold in volume and became the default everyday glue for joinery, cabinetmaking and general shop use.

Veneering and marquetry are specialist tasks. They need longer open time, gentler tack and a less brittle cured film. Softer glues were therefore preferred by veneer fitters. That practical division of labour and supply is why you see 192 bloom repeatedly recommended for veneer work while a midrange grade was the general shop staple.

Bloom gelometer patent drawing, 1925, showing apparatus to measure gel strength of glue

You will not find many 19th century adverts or catalogue entries that use numbers such as 192 or 250. The Bloom gelometer test and the numerical bloom scale were developed in the 20th century. In the 19th century makers spoke in different terms. They named glues by their raw material, by trade names, by intended use or by how a glue behaved in the pot.

Large glue works were already in place in the 19th century and they supplied tanneries, bookbinders, cabinet shops and other trades. Those works produced a limited palette of grades. Shops therefore used whatever general purpose stock their local mills supplied. Over time one of those midrange grades acted as the practical standard even if it was not labelled with a bloom number.

The Bloom gel strength test and the Bloom machine were introduced in the early 20th century and the numerical labels we use today start appearing reliably after that. Once the test existed suppliers and technical writers began to express those midrange and softer grades in numbers such as 250 and 192.

Manufacturers and trade literature of the mid century show the same pattern we see in modern writing. The midrange bloom was treated as the general purpose product while lower bloom grades were recommended for veneering, marquetry and other tasks that benefit from longer open time and a less brittle cured film.

A typical industry narrative in the early 20th century explains how standardisation emerged, and later supplier catalogues and technical bulletins use the bloom numbers to recommend which grade to use for a given task.

What I recommend

If you need one glue for everyday joinery choose a midrange bloom around 250. It is a practical compromise that historically served as the shop standard because it works for many tasks.

If you veneer, do marquetry or work on instrument tops choose a softer grade such as 192. You will get longer open time and a slightly more forgiving cured film.

Laying veneer with glue in place before clamping — longer open time helps you adjust and seat the veneer fully before the glue begins to stiffen.

If ultimate joint strength in an ideal test is your only concern the bloom number is not the decisive factor. Control the amount of dry glue left in the joint, prepare and fit the joint well, and clamp correctly.

Remember that both low and high bloom hide glues are brittle compared to many modern synthetic adhesives. Use hide glue when you need the specific advantages it offers for restoration, reversibility and working practice.

Luthiers and restorers choose bloom numbers for handling reasons. For example a luthier might pick a lower bloom for a top joint and a higher bloom for quick tacking of small parts.

Luthier’s workshop showing workbench, partially-built guitars and tools — a glimpse of where glue strength, handling and fit really matter

 

done

Started at 0851 and had the paint brush cleaned at 1430. Worked straight through lunch to get this done. I was tired when I was done but it was a good feeling knowing this is over with. The important thing is the wife is over the moon happy about it. Tomorrow she said she going to roll another coat on this side and the front. Why, I don't know. 

made a command decision

I'm leaving this as is. The interior length will be about 26 1/4" and that is what drove my choice. Besides I would have had to cut the bottom back 2 1/2" in order to use the original sides. Instead I'll make two new ones from the Gurney's sawmill haul.

I think I came up with a way to do the sides. The plan is to put a 3 sided rabbet in the sides. The rabbets will be flush with the outside edges of the bottom and the ends. Glue, screws, or nails will keep everything together.

figuring the lid out

 These 3 planes are the ones I think I would need to transport in this toolbox. The height of the iron determines where the bottom of the lid will be. The #7 has the highest iron at a little over 6". Starting with a side height of 7 inches which includes the thickness of the lid. 

plenty of room

 The lid will be about 11" in width and the compass is set to that. The arc which is the outside swing of the lid, was an inch under the bottom of the handle. Based on this I could raise the sides up another inch.

This is all I got for shop time today. I'll get back into this in the AM.

accidental woodworker 

In this video, the penultimate in the series, the bass gets the Karate Kid treatment and its various components re-fitted, ready for its final testing.

Cheers Gary 

Twenty-three years ago I worked with green woodworking pioneer Jennie Alexander for three weeks. It was a major experience for me:  I’d never spent time in a big city (Baltimore) before, never traveled alone (by train) before, never lived with someone so eccentric before.  Here’s a story – one of many – about my time with Jennie:

“I have the range of a frog, but I do like to sing.” Jennie and I were flying down one of those big noisome roads that surround every large city and have the personality of a cement mixer. We could have been in Portland or Palm Beach or Istanbul for all you could tell by looking. We happened to be in Baltimore, going to Macy’s to buy Jennie a tie for her Jazz combo’s upcoming wedding gig.

“I love this  —  we’ll have some fun at Macy’s expense.”

The debonair salesman looked sideways at Jennie’s stained shop pants and frayed dress shirt as he let the way to the ties. I was a scrawny 17-year-old kid, wearing jeans a couple sizes too big and a thrift store tee-shirt with large horizontal red stripes. This outfit seemed normal to me. 

Jennie rummaged through the ties, not finding what she wanted. “How much are these anyways?” she asked in a rather loud voice. 

“They start about $65 and go up.”  

“Gosh, that much? My, my. I’d better count my pennies.” said Jennie. The salesman looked like he’d rather be selling ties to a snake. But just then an older well-dressed couple came in the front door, and relief spread like a balm across the salesman’s face.  

“My associate, Joe, will be happy to help you,” and he hastened away. 

Joe was tall, young, and nervous. Jennie’s voice immediately softened. “I’ll take this tie. Do you have any suits?”

Jennie quickly picked out a $500 suit, had a seamstress with a French accent fit it for her (I had a swift crush on the seamstress), and we checked out. At the cash register, I noticed the older couple leaving empty-handed. 

On our way out laden with packages, our debonair salesman looked downright shocked. 

“Tootle-loo” said Jennie.

The post Jennie Alexander’s Tie first appeared on Elia Bizzarri - Hand Tool Woodworking.

 When I rolled out of the rack this AM it was painful. Usually my back hurts and is stiff when I first got up but today it was upped by a factor of 10. I am lucky in that the stiffness and pain goes bye-bye in about 20-30 minutes. Today it took a wee bit longer. It wasn't a good start to a day of going up/down a ladder painting the house. 

It was cloudy when I got up and it had rained overnight so painting, thankfully, didn't happen today. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny so I don't have an excuse to postpone again. It is looking like I'll be painting in the AM.

wow, double wow, and a triple wow

Coat #5 going on to cover streaks. It was hard to pick them out initially but after shining a flashlight on the back stop it popped out. I feel sorry for who ever will strip this in the future because I don't have a warm and fuzzy that I won't be slapping another coat on it in the AM.

bottom layout

Used my 1-2-3 block to layout the through tenons for the bottom. Two, 2 inch ones an inch in from each outside edge, and one in the middle (centered) 1 inch wide.

started here

Partially chopped the mortises from the face side first. This way when I finished chopping from the other side, there wasn't any blowout on the face side.

first one

Happy with this - it is clean with crisp outlines and zero fuzzy wuzzies.

hmm.....

I was shooting for a snug fit but it appears I went nutso in the wrong direction. The dado is too narrow. Or the bottom thickness is too fat - half empty, half full dilemma.

The dado is also deeper than I wanted it to be. I had to go this deep because I chopped the walls too deep. I originally wanted the depth to be 1/8" and it ended up being 3/16". 

hmm......

Had to ponder this for a few. Normally I would just thin the end of the board to fit the dado. However, the tenon/mortises have already been done and planing the end of the bottom would change the fit of the tenon/mortises. What to do, what to do.....

Yikes

I'm a 16th too much from being snug. The tenons fit the mortises well and the reference edge of the bottom is flush with the end. A couple of things are working in my favor and I just to solve the fit of the bottom into the dado.

how much

Decided that easiest and best way to deal with this was to make the dado a wee bit wider. There isn't any way I could think of to plane, chisel, beat on the end to trim it to fit without changing the fit of the tenon/mortises. 

I could have done that and the resulting gap I might have been able to expand the tenons with wedges but I want just a plain mortise and through tenon.

easy peasy

I will say it is much easier to chisel off a 16th then a 32nd. Chiseling the wall over the open mortise wasn't the headache I anticipated it being. 

happy with this

Look Ma, no gaps. If there had been any gaps I would have resorted to using wedges to close them up. I had to do a bit of trimming the dado to get the tenons flush with the face.

next day from Amazon

I saw this on the manufacturer's website but I couldn't see/find any way to order it. I also ordered extra blades for the Makita hand planer. I found a bazillion YouTube vids on how to change the irons, including these and the thicker monster ones I thought I had.

nope

This is not what I wanted to see. I don't want the end proud of the tenon. I wanted the easier to deal with option of the tenon being proud of the end. I'll play and trim and fit to at least it is flush.

fitting the right side

Had to deal with the same hiccups on the right. Although it wasn't as bad as what I had to deal with on the left end.

sawing the tenons

Feeling a wee bit smug on how well I sawed the tenons. Square across the tops and plumb down the faces and no gaps to obsess about.

fitting the end

This end of the dado is snug and the tenons fit as good as the first set I did.

too tight

Tried the side rabbet plane first to open up this end. I got the end to fit into the tenons but not the dado. I planed the end of the bottom 3 wispy shavings and got it to fully seat in the tenons and the dado. Used the LN skew rabbet plane to do this, just planing the bottom face and not the tenons.

sigh

Wasn't thinking when I sized the sides. I wanted the overall interior length to be 24" and I made the rough length of the sides 24". The overall length, outside edge R/L is 26 1/4". Going out on limb and saying I might be short. FYI, you can't stretch pine.

handle is short too

Stopped working on this after eyeballing this me-steak. My first thoughts on a fix was to shorten the bottom. Discarded that and then moved on to making new sides but that decision will happen tomorrow. This me-steak sucked all the wind out of my sails.

Noticed another potential problem. The lid is now the culprit. I don't think that it will clear the handle. Didn't think that one all the way through. 

accidental woodworker 

 At 0711 I was on the road headed to Gurney's Sawmill to replenish my pine supply. The sun was shining and on the trip up I was driving into the rising sun. What I don't understand is how fast the idiots were driving. The traffic up and back wasn't that bad. It is usually heavier on return leg but today it was half of what it was the last time I did this. This stash should keep me from playing in the streets for a couple of weeks.

ten boards

I wanted 12 footers but all that was available were 10 footers. I sawed the boards at the yard so I don't have any overhanging the tail gate.

6', 5', and 4'

I sawed 6 of the boards into 6' and 4' lengths. The others I sawed in half giving me two 5 footers.
 

tomorrow's work

My wife scraped and primed this side. The painters only did the other 3 sides and tomorrow I'll dig out my brush and I'll paint this. The bump out with the door needs to be painted too. 

My wife bought a new light fixture because this one stopped working years (?) ago. It was supposed to be activated with a motion sensor but that never worked. I could turn the light on/off but that went south too. Wife bought the fixture but not the two lights it needs.

before I forgot again

Putting a 'colored' dutchman in to cover the pitch pocket. I put the board on the door before I went to Gurney's. If I hadn't done that I'm sure I would have forgotten to do it when I returned.

sigh..... gaps

I knew this was coming - I saw the gaps in some of the miters when I glued the retainers in place. I used veneer to fill in the biggest gaps and I'll rely on paint adhesion filling in the smaller ones. I had to shim 7 of the 32 miters.

nope

Half of the retainer was glued fast to the muntin rabbet with the other half not glued. I could squeeze it tight to the muntin rabbet with hand pressure. Got these two glued and cooking before I left for Gurneys.

done

All the stock for the toolbox minus the top is ready for joinery. Now that I'm this close I'll have to decide how it will go together. The bottom into the sides isn't a problem, but how to attach the sides is still hazy. I have time because the cabinet door is hogging the workbench now.

this sucks

There are streaks of the accent color peeking out in spots on the back stop and the moldings underneath the top. This is the 4th coat I'm putting on to cover this. The bottom cove moldings covered with two coats.

toolbox lid

Purposely picked this for the lid. Two brown knots on this side and one on the opposite face to dutch. I could have picked a clear board but this way all the boards in the toolbox will have at least two dutchmen.

toolbox lid

Got lucky with this board. It was flat and twist free and I planed both faces down to 11/16". Looking at the lid and comparing it to the other boards I couldn't see a difference in the thicknesses. 

accidental woodworker 

Life has been keeping me busy with my job and antiquing with my wife on the weekends. It seems my shop time is a few minutes a week and even then, I spend that time restoring old tools. But when I saw these pipe clamp holders on an Instagram ad, I had to have them.

I’ve been fighting with my Jorgensen pipe clamps for decades. When they came out in 1980’s they were a must have woodworking tool, so I bought as many as I could afford as a teenager. Fast forward 35 years, I still use the heck out of them. The issue, is that when I use them, they have a tendancy to roll over during glue ups.

These fixtures allow you to slide the foot of the pipe clamp into a pocket and lifts it a few inches to allow you to turn the handle without hitting the bench. Simple and straight forward. Even the height of the fixture is short enough that if it is in front of back clamp pad, it won’t hit the wood being clamped, which is nice if I’m clamping a panel that is wider than my bench.

The guy who sells these makes them on a 3D Printer. They’re about $30 for four of them but they’ll last a lifetime. If you have these style of Jorgensen pipe clamps, it’s a no-brainer. I know they sell newer versions of pipe clamps with a taller base that do the same thing, but I don’t want to spend the money to replace all my pipe clamps.

You can find this guy on instagram @artisanmadethings.

Plastic molded tray (probably imported!) or hand made Steamed Beech?

I’m sure I’m not the only woodworker who enjoys creating something that’s relatively simple and challenging that will serve a purpose. I love the challenge of making furniture and picture frames but this had some techniques not usually used and would be useful — enter the bathroom drawer tray! I have some leftover Beech which was resawn from furniture projects that required 8/4 material, the pieces were approximately 3/8″ and 3/16″ thick.

That’s about it, fun project to make and helps to maintain my hand tool skills. Used the table saw and planer to rip to width and surface to thickness. I aways use hand planes to remove planer chatter marks. The miters began with a miter saw but were fine tuned with the Donkey Ear shooting board.

 Still prepping the stock for the toolbox. Still haven't gotten the stock for the lid which is ok - the run to Gurneys tomorrow will solve that. The offset strap hinges are supposed to be here on monday. Found them after searching/googling it for a couple of days. There might be a slight hiccup with the offset being 3/4" and the stock thickness being 5/8". I already have thought of a few things that will silence that hiccup.

Closing in on the finishing the glass door cabinet. I'll know in the AM if I need to paint it anymore. Fingers crossed on closing that door finally.

looks promising

This was my first look see at what I thicknessed yesterday. From this end of the bench it looked like none of them did any stupid wood tricks.

ta da

Everything is flat and straight still. That aside I wish that stock was 3/4" thick but losing an 1/8" to remove twist and cup isn't too bad.

hmm.....

Two small brown knots left. I wasn't going to dutch them but in for a penny, in for a pound.

two red knots

A double knot at the top, one small brownish one and a red/brown one. Bigger red knot at the bottom. I wasn't going to do these two but if I didn't they would be the only 'defects' visible in the five boards.

pesky, (^@%)@%@) PITA

I tried gluing this chip out 3 times before I finally secured it here. I had to clamp it with a deep reach clamp and wax paper.

had to show it again

I really like how these two dutchman are done. It would have looked better if I had used two contrasting pieces of wood but they still pop.

sigh.....

If I hadn't chamfered the edges I probably wouldn't have to redo them now. Thought of leaving them thinking I would put this on the inside (this is one of the sides). But knowing me, I wouldn't notice it nor pay attention when the time came. It only took less than 10 minutes to do the both of them.

yikes

I got a split for my efforts chopping out this dutchman. It ran out pass the dutchman to the left about 5".

it fits

 Flipped a coin on whether or not to glue/clamp the split first or glue the dutchman and the split at the same time.

been a while

This is blurry pic of glue squeeze out on the split. Two clamps and I got a even line of squeeze out, even the end closed up solidly top to bottom. Glued and clamped the dutchman and the split at the same time.

sigh

Last one and then I'm done. I am going to have this dutchman run into the one below this red knot.

pitch pocket

These can be problematic - they can leak pitch which is sticky and it sucks to deal with it. I was going to dutch this one too but I forgot it. I only remembered it after I saw this pic.

gaps filled

Decided that I am going to shellac this toolbox. Partly because I don't won't to cover up the dutchmen. The gaps aren't that wide so the putty shouldn't pop that much.

hmm.....

That is similar to the glazier point tool that I remember as a kid. I'll be searching the WWW for a seller of it. Maybe I'll get lucky and they will also have one for the smaller points. 

hmm.....

Decided to install the glass in the door before I hang it. Painting the muntin bars with it hung would be a headache. With it laying flat on the workbench I can paint the muntin bars lickety split. 

I didn't use glazier points on the smaller glass lites. On those I just glued the retainer bars with  hide glue. On the four large glass I used four glazier points and I had to chop a teeny mortise so the retainer would lay flat on the glass. The large retainers got glued with hide glue too.

center ones needed help

Hide glue pulls while it sets but the center retainers bowed a bit, especially the large ones. The other retainers looked good and I don't think I'll have any problems with them securing themselves in place. The hide glue is reversible in case of any future glass repairs. 

accidental woodworker

I’ve not been to the world headquarters of Lost Art Press since forever (at this point our interactions are via email) but found interesting the video tour James Wright and daughter created on their recent visit.

 Week 3 of the football season is behind us now and I still haven't watched one game. I briefly found and watched a game on my digital air wave TV for all of 3 seconds. I don't miss TV and nor do I miss TV football games. Instead I'm into watching highlights on You Tube. I can pick and choose which game I what to see and I can fast forward or rewind at my leisure.

Of course this year the highlights are different then proceeding years. They are shorter with a ton of subjective editing. There is almost no commentary or video of penalty calls. It is almost like they don't exist anymore. There is zero controversy and zero questioning of penalties called. We have entered a new era and it is looking like I'll probably stop watching the high lights before the Super Bowl rolls around.

happy face on

I saved this board for a side. I still have to get one more board for the lid. But back to this board and all its dutchmen - no knots to see and they look super cool IMO.

missed this

I didn't catch this when I bought it, also missed similar defects on another board. Both of them are the sides and this will be waste when they are sized in the width.

can you see them?

Bare wood, standing 3-4 feet away and I can't pick them out. Both dutchman are to the right end of the two sticks. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure they will pop with a shellac finish. Maybe I should paint it? The inspiration for my version is a painted toolbox.

might as well

Since I dutched the sides, I am going to do the same for the ends. I'll repeat it for the lid when I buy a board for that.

first two

Had left over dutch material from yesterday. I only have to do the larger brown knot on this side - it doesn't go through to the other side. And it does get easier to do the more you do.

deeper than I wanted

Got some tear out chiseling the waste and due to that I had to make this mortise deeper than I wanted. The depth of it is determined by the thickness of the dutchman.

first two cooking

I got these two deep reach clamps at Home Depot in the late 1990's. They were marked as$15(?) and I told the HD tool guy that the price was wrong. At that time these were going for about $50 each. He insisted the price was as marked so I didn't argue with him and took them home with me. I've been kicking myself in the arse ever since then for not buying the other two. Anyways deep reach clamps that can really apply serious pressure are worth it if the opportunity comes up.

time for thicknessing

Of the five boards I have for the upcoming toolbox, all of the them are cupped. Some a wee bit and other just a bit. Nothing drastic and I'm hoping that once I get them to thickness, they will stay flat.

all five had some twist too

After getting one face flat, I checked it for twist. A couple were easy and the others were obstinate and a ROYAL PITA to get flat.

the biggest dutchmans upcoming

The one on the right might be a problem because the bottom is awfully close to the edge. I'll have to make sure that this edge gets the absolute minimum of trimming.

too chippy

The edge of the dutchman fractured as I was chiseling. I was able to glue 3 smaller ones but this big one got away from me. As I was gently pulling it up to apply super glue it disintegrated into a bazillion teeny pieces. 

this is why Frank

My friend Frank said that I should be able to get the depth with the 271 but it ain't so. The area in front of the bevel is barely a quarter of an inch. So when you turn it around to go in the opposite direction, there isn't a flat reference depth for the iron.

dutchman isn't big enough

The pencil line is where the back end of the iron is when the router is in the mortise up against the wall. It is impossible to get a sufficient flat (to depth) area for the router to be used in opposing directions.

no problem with this router

With this router it will flatten to depth the area in front of the iron so that when reversed to go the opposite way, the iron will have plenty of wiggle room before it levels the opposite end. Any router that has this orientation of the iron to sole will work well with small mortises like this one.

hmm.......

Too fancy for a toolbox? The little horn detail might be a headache as something that will break, chip, dent, and look ugly real quick. Just thinking out loud on something for the end panel bottoms.

I went nutso

When I was doing plane restorations I went nutso buying irons and chipbreakers for the planes I had. What I found out was that other chipbreaker/iron setups always didn't work in the plane. Now I keep the original chipbreaker that came with the plane and just swap out the irons. 

I needed to swap out the iron in the #7 because it was dull. Having extra irons means I can keep on working after a couple minutes of swapping out the irons. I have 5 irons for the #7 and other planes that use the same size iron.

it is harmless

The #6 shavings have a habit of circling around my left arm. The shavings from the other planes don't do this - just the #6 with its cambered iron. 

hmm.....

The boards are all getting thicknessed to 5/8" and the dutchman (these two) were a frog hair over an 1/8". I'll have to redo the dutchman for these two. The others I did were 3/16" to a 1/4" thick.

done

All are 5/8" thick which should be adequate for a lidded toolbox. I probably couldn't have gone down to a 1/2" if needed. Fingers crossed that none of these will do any stupid wood tricks over night.

hope it never stops

I packed the shitcan done twice filling it with the shavings from thicknessing the boards. I am still amazed at how big the pile of shavings that comes from doing this. 

accidental woodworker

The weather over the past month has been weird. Most days were cloudy but there were only a couple of rainy days. Last night thunder boomers woke me and usually it doesn't. Today it rained off and on all day. No post lunch stroll because I won't walk in the rain. Tomorrow is back to cloudy/partly sunny with the same forecast for saturday. I will go to Gurney's to get some pine because my stash of pine is nothing by teeny scraps.

what to do, what to do

I've been thinking about how to install the glass and the retainers. That in itself isn't the problem - the problem is how to hang the door. Do I do the glass and retainers on the workbench and then hang the door? Or hang the door and then do the glass and retainers? Still haven't decided which fork in the road to take.

breaking down the stock

I should have listened to the little man on my shoulder. These are the ends and I could already see that I didn't buy enough to make the upcoming toolbox.

hmm.....second side

Don't have to worry about this brown knot falling out, it already did.

sigh

The split runs from the end over to my finger. This is a shop project so I'm going to try and glue this and keep on trucking. And I don't want to make a Lowes run in the rain.

blood pressure was spiking

The split closest to the end was easy to spread glue on. Around the half way point it turned into a nightmare. I finally got glue in the other half by forcing glue into the split with canned air.

incredibly frustrating

The split was a steep, shallow angle that slipped by each other as I tried to clamp it. After fighting, cursing, and threatening it I settled. I got the end of the split flush and tight. Closed up the opposite end of the split about the same. The real estate between them didn't look good. I couldn't get it flush nor could I clamp the split down flush. 

some of the toolbox

Got two ends, the bottom, and one side. The opposite side is iffy for now. I won't know its outcome until it comes out of the clamps.

it looks ugly

The glue or something has caused this end of the split to swell. It looks like something/someone pumped air into the split. This wasn't looking so good only 5 minutes after clamping it.

monochrome like B&W TV

It is probably going to take 3 coats to cover the accent color and 2 coats to cover the wood putty. Sneak peek is lowering my BP a lot. I am liking this one color much more then then the previous two colors.

yikes

Out of the clamps this spot was spongy feeling. Not only that it looked like it wasn't solid. The plan was to cut the sides down to 10" but that doesn't help here. 100% of this defect would still smiling back at me.

hmm....

I planed both sides of the glue joint and this side is acceptable the other isn't. It was looking like this turning it kitchen filling burnt toast. 

It was too early to leave the shop so I thought I would practice installing dutchmans. I will put one on both sides of the missing brown knot hole.

knifed out

For me the key is to make the patch first and then knife the mortise. Not make the mortise and then try and fit a patch. I have tried it both ways twice and this one works best for me.

ready to glue in

My small Stanley 271 router (and the LN version) didn't work well here. Because of where the iron is positioned in relation to the sole - it leaves a hump in the middle. This small router worked perfectly flattening and leveling the whole of the bottom of this dutchman.

helping chamfer

This makes it easier to get it to lay flat in the mortise.

done

I tried to get a grain/color match but none of the scraps of pine were cooperating. Now that it is done it looks almost perfect. The color is good and from 3 feet away I couldn't see it. One down and one more to go - the opposite side is getting the same treatment.

why not?

It would appear I didn't snap any pics of the opposite side dutchman. It is there just to the right of the lower right corner of the long dutchman in progress. In fact part of the long one intrudes into the brown knot dutchman.

After doing the brown knot and seeing how well they turned out I decided to fill in this defect with a dutchman too. It is a shop project and if it goes south that is ok. Got some practice in and knowledge for the next time I have to do this.

surprised me

I thought this was going south on me when my knife wandered while trying to deepen the knife lines. I got a teeny bit of a gap but considering the size of the dutchman I'll calling it acceptable. This one was the tightest fitting of the 5 that I did on this board. I had to shave one long edge a couple of times before it fit.

I was on a roll

Chopped out this one while it was clamped and cooking the long dutchman. It is looking like this is going to become one of the sides.

another one bites the dust

I was so happy with how well these dutchmen were turning out I could have wet myself. I did the opposite side of this one after the clamps came off the long one.

cool

The long dutchman ran into the brown knot dutchman here. I've been watching a chinese craftsman on You Tube who works mostly in black walnut mostly by hand. He filled in a huge branch knot with four different types of wood dutchman. All four at some point intruded into one of the other dutchman. I only used pine and two of them but the effect was the same - it looks cool (IMO).

Not too bad for less than an hours work. One long dutchman and 4 smaller ones covering brown knots. The ultimate goal next is to do a butterfly dutchman.

accidental woodworker

YouTube is a fantastic place to learn woodworking. Free lessons, tool reviews and clever tips have helped thousands of people pick up a saw or plane for the first time. Beginner friendly content matters because no one is born knowing how to square a board or sharpen a chisel.

But there is a catch. More and more creators are chasing the same audience of newcomers. Their channels are filled with “Five Easy Projects for Starters” and “Essential Tools for Day One.” It makes sense from a business perspective because videos aimed at beginners draw the widest net, bring in more clicks and keep the ad revenue flowing.

The problem is that woodworking does not end after you learn to cut a straight line. It is a craft that can take a lifetime to master. When channels focus only on first steps content they stop challenging viewers and themselves. Viewers who are ready to tackle complex joinery, hand tool mastery or fine furniture construction have fewer resources to grow. Experienced woodworkers either tune out or keep rewatching the same introductory advice packaged with a different thumbnail.

This race for easy traffic also shapes the projects shown on camera. Instead of exploring bold designs or traditional techniques many creators repeat simple builds that can be filmed and monetised quickly. The craft risks being treated as a trend rather than an art.

Beginner content will always have its place. Everyone needs a starting point. But a healthy woodworking community thrives on depth. We need videos that shows the thinking behind a complex cabinet. How to construct a high boy entirely by hand without using machinery. How to carve the ornamental details that adorn the cabinet. How to interpret complex, fully detailed plans instead of relying on simplified beginner drawings. Learn to read and understand every component of a plan. How to prepare your own varnish from scratch. How to craft the specific tools required for a project rather than simply buying them.These projects inspire newcomers to keep learning and give seasoned makers something to strive toward.

If you create woodworking videos consider mixing it up. Teach a skill that took you years to perfect. Share the mistakes and the slow victories. Your audience might be smaller at first but you will be feeding the craft rather than the algorithm and that is what keeps woodworking alive.

We turn to little planes when the regular big ones, such as the #4 smoothing, #5 jack, and #7 jointer will not do the job or are awkward. These five little planes are worth having in my shop.  Left to right in the photo above: 1. Veritas Bevel-up #1. The blade bed is at 15°. […]

Tonight I learned, that Mike Wenzloff passed away 25/7/25. Thanks to Chris Schwarz to let us know: https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/09/22/losses-to-the-craft-mike-wenzloff-charles-hummel

Mike Wenzloff and Leif Hanson are the two guy, who lead me into saw making with their Blogs and Forum entries. I spend the evenening rereading Mikes entries on UKW: https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/search/2338188/?page=50&c[users]=MikeW&o=date He was such a nice guy allways sharing his big knowledge. I missed him for a long time.  

 

The armoires

Now that the house is painted, my wife pointed out that one window on the back of the house needed shatters. I'm pretty sure that I meant to make these shutters for said window way back when but it never happened. I have a lot of things like this waiting to be done. Good thing I don't write any of them down but instead rely on my porous memory. Whacked out said shutters staying in the shop past quitting time to finish them..

3 coats

The 3rd coat went on this AM and after I was done I didn't have a warm and fuzzy that 3 would the charm.

big holiday missed

Not exactly missed but caught up. I wasn't to fill any divots or tear outs in the interior. This big one looked like crap and it is right where the snap catch will live - it would be highly visible.

might as well

Decided to address all the sins on the cabinet. Like the interior, I wasn't going to fill in any of them on the exterior. Initially I was just going to do the door and the front edges but that changed and my OCD is thanking me.

had enough

I had enough scrap pine in the shop to make one shutter now. The pickets have a few brown knots but I'm not obsessing about them. These are shutters and if the knots fall out it won't be that visible.

got lucky

One knot popped out when I sawed this picket out. I was able to saw this one out but the others are still around. I hit all of those with super glue, just in case.

totally clueless

Happy feeling with getting the first one done. Glue and 4 penny nails. I would have used screws but I didn't have any spax screws. The clueless part? Look at the angles on the two outside pickets.

fixed

I only noticed the angles after I had set it aside to cook.. Easy to whack off the offending picket and reposition it. 

hmm......

Sneak peek and I'm not liking what I see. I like the contrast between the two colors but I don't like what and where it is highlighting the cabinet. I'll wait until the AM, but it is a definite maybe this will be one color by the PM session.

Lowes run

Bought three 1x12's by four feet for the next project. I have a sinking feeling that I'm going to be short one board. Should have listened to the little man sitting on my shoulder.

two 1"x3"x6'

Bought 1x3s because they are already the width needed for the shutters. Needed 3 pickets and I have an extra for an oops.

not again

Made sure that I got the angles in the right directions this time. I remember when I made the other shutters the angles bit me on the arse a bazillion times.

sigh...

Houston, we have a problem. The cross batten on the bottom right shutter is off. Why is it that something as simple as this makes me feel like my IQ is a single digit number. There is absolutely nothing overly complex about this. At least I saw the misalignment between the two of them before it cooked.

whacked it off but it wasn't easy this time

I shitcanned the cross batten and made a new one. The nails are angled because they are 1 1/2" long and the two boards are a total thickness of 1 1/2".

?????

I think I'm getting senile or early dementia. Stared at this for a bazillion hours and for the life of me I couldn't say how I screwed this up so bad. I sawed off the overage and glued/nailed the new cross batten on.

done

Got to say it again, this simple project kicked my butt and drew blood. I can see myself not getting the angles correct - not checking before nailing - but how did the 2nd shutter pickets came out over an inch longer than the first one.

I rough sawed the pickets out to 33" long and to the final length of 32 3/4". Measured the first shutter at 32 13/16" long and the 2nd shutter at 32 7/8" long. Did I forget how to read a tape measure? I filed this away in the brain bucket for now. Regardless, my wife can paint these now. And I shouldn't have to make any more shutters before I take that dirt nap.

accidental woodworker