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I know that you're probably all tired of more bandsaw stuff, but I thought that I would share my method of improving my fence.  Before I had used washers to shim the fence, but I began to find those annoying and coarse to use.  So I tapped a hole for a thumbscrew into the t track.  I can now correct for drift with almost infinite angles.

Joel over at Tools For Working Wood is putting to press their reprint of Paul Hasluck's Carpentry And Joinery Illustrated, that superb compendium of articles garnered from the magazine Work, arguably the best of the vocational journals of the turn of the 19th Century. Admirably reproduced in full as facsimile pages, it's good to see this classic back in print. Even more so, Joel has issued the color plates from the book as an internet download, free for all to view. A very nice touch indeed. The writers and contributors to the magazine Work were both professional and serious avocational...

Hi all,

Well, after all the hassles and general annoyances dealt out by my once good and decent web hosting folks I decided to pulled the plug on them and move to somewhere a little more secure and ‘with it’ in regard to the store more than anything else.

It has meant some changes though, which you may or may not be aware of…

The site in general has added a decent turn of speed. This is obvious, and a pleasant surprise. Instead of a little twiddle of the thumbs, it’s become positively snappy.

There is a spanky new SSL certificate installed. This was part of the reason for shifting things around at this time. I can’t call myself ’secure’ without that little detail, so it is essential and ready to go for 2 years.

The new host is PCI compliant, which means a few little changes here and there. Basically it means that the security is such that credit cards can be run through the site. Just a little added security, and you may notice a few changes related to this, but maybe not.

Part of this added security is that I cannot send out email (though webmail is ok) through the site’s server, so I have to send out actual email through another means. Slightly annoying, but no deal breaker and manageable. If I had known that earlier, I would have saved myself a lot of grief!

Some parts of the site are not yet functional. Specifically the homepage! Ack, an unforeseen annoyance but not beyond repair. That may take some time to resurrect, but it will happen. Might be even more useful into the bargain.

There should be fewer interruptions to the site. Most of the previous hassles were due to the server being updated, failing completely or someone hacking the site through the back door. That’s not going to happen any more. Well, I don’t think it’s going to happen any more… This new host is geared toward online commerce, and takes it seriously.

And that’s about all I can think of right now.

What’s satisfying for me is that it already looks like I can spend more time getting important things done and less time fixing broken stuff that should never have been broken in the first place. That’s good for me, and I hope good for all of you as well, because lets not be bashful here, if it were not for all of you out there in interwebland, then none of this would have been even remotely possible so thank you all for your support, assistance and help when required.

Now if you will excuse me, I really do have work to do.

Stu.

VII. He beareth Argent, an Axe, (or Carpenters Axe) in Bend Azure, the Hawme, Or; between a Ginnet and an Auger of the same: These are three Tools used principally by the Carpenters of which in their order.

First, the Axe used by the Carpenter, is the same in form to the Hatchet, only larger in the head, and longer in the Hawme, because it is to be used with both hands, and is for Hewing and Squaring of great Timber, to make it fit for use.

The Ginnet is used to cut and take off Irregularities in all sorts of work lying under hand or flat, which the Axe or Hatchet cannot be handled to touch: Some term it an Addice or Adz.

Of these Ginnets or Addices, there is another sort also used by Carpenters, which hath its Blade made thin and somewhat arching (as this doth) but the other end is faced or headed like to a great Hammer. These Instruments as they have their edge athwart the Handle, so their Grinding to a Basil is on the in-side to the out-edge, which is the cause, when it is Blunt, it cannot be ground, unless the Helve be taken out of the Eye of the Addice.
B. 3 such with a Fess between A. the Hafts O. is born by Ginnett.
G. 3 such O. born by Froburgh.

The Auger, or Augre, or Oger, as some call it, hath in it, the Handle, which is of Wood, and the Shank, and the Bit which Boreth; its office is to make great and round holes suitable to the rotundity of the Bit; and when it is used, the Stuff worked upon, is commonly laid below under you, or set equal to your Breast; that ones strength may be the easier used for the twisting the Bit about by the force of both hands.

There are several sorts of them from a quarter of an Inch Bore, to 4, 5, or 6 inches in the Diameter, but big or little, their form and make is all one and the same.
A. an Oger B. Handle O. born by Neber.
A. 3 such S. Handles O. born by Oger or Auger.

— From Randle Holme's "The Academy of Armory, or, A Storehouse of Armory and Blazon" Book III, Chapter IX. Why am I reading this?

This is Professor Oliver Rackham talking in the Cressing Temple Barley barn (built c 1205-1235)
Prof Rackham is an acknowledged expert on woodland history and he talked us through the timbers of this great barn, 600 individual timbers which he calculated came from 480 mostly quite small oak trees. In the UK today we have lost the connection between woodworkers, foresters and woodland and there is a great deal of misunderstanding and misinformation. We often hear our woodlands were decimated by the iron industry (cutting for charcoal, or by boatbuilding in Tudor times or by felling during the great wars. It is often said there are few really big trees now but in fact there are far more big trees now than there ever were historically.

The huge Barley barn was built 800 years ago and of those 480 oaks the vast majority were 6" 12" diameter. At the time the Knights Templar who owned the site struggled to find oaks big enough for the job, Rackham remarked that if we attempted a reconstruction today we would struggle to find that many oaks small enough. From Tudor times onwards we started growing bigger trees and cutting them into smaller pieces, in medieval times they grew trees to the size of timber they wanted. The largest timbers in the barn are 16" square which would come from a 2 foot diameter tree. Rackham calculated that a 10 acre woodland of coppice with standards would produce this much timber every 50 years and the Templars had a 110 acre woodland nearby. The vast majority of woodland in the UK at this time was managed as coppice for fuel, that is it was cut every ten years which makes for easy conversion to firewood with hand tools.  UK woodland was already down to around 12% coverage not much more than today. In each acre of coppice a certain number of larger trees were allowed to grow on for 3 or 4 rotations to produce timber trees for housebuilding. The timber though was almost a by product of the woodland having a lesser value than the fuel wood.

I was at Cressing for the weekend meeting of the Carpenters Fellowship. This is the annual meeting of the UK timber framers and as well as Oliver Rackham we had talks by Peter McCurdy who built the Globe Theatre amongst many other projects, Damian Goodburn, ancient woodworking expert and occasional Time Team specialist. I did talks on the Japanese Kesurokai  project and the Heritage Crafts Association as well as a hands on session of carving with knives. So here are a few more pictures of the site and event, the evening in the Barley Barn.
Timbers in the roof of the wheat barn (built 1257-1280)
and what carpenters get up to just for fun, flinging balloons full of water 150 yards.
It was a fun and inspiring weekend. On the way home yesterday I spent a few hours walking round Hatfield Forest, Oliver Rackham said “Hatfield is of supreme interest in that all the elements of a medieval Forest survive: deer, cattle, coppice woods, pollards, scrub, timber trees, grassland and fen,...... As such it is almost certainly unique in England and possibly in the world …….The Forest owes very little to the last 250 years ….. Hatfield is the only place where one can step back into the Middle Ages to see, with only a small effort of the imagination, what a Forest looked like in use.” , 1976, The Last Forest (Dent Books).

I spent a very happy 3 1/2 years working as a National Trust warden at Hatfield from 1991 and wanted to see how things had changed in 20 years, so pictures of some of the biggest and oldest trees in Britain in the next post.

Here are the pipes I have made so far

Seeing as I am doing pretty well on the rustic side, I decided to go full out rustic and make a pipe with some character.  So I am carving one to suggest a tree stump.

It is still a work in progress, which is good since I am having fun with it.

Bob

You may remember the front of this cabinet from my post The Beginning from way back in December in which I created the door with a cherry tree motif using a bolection inlay technique which left the branches and blossoms lightly proud of the surface.

Im Bild sind die Elemente der Tiefeneinstellung. Die Rampamuffe, die Schraube (in zwei verschiedenen Ausführungen) und ein Bolzen. Der wird zwischen Blatt und Schraube eingebbaut, da das Blatt die Schraube sonst zerstört.
Subtitles:
The parts of the deepth adjuster. The Rampa Muffe (???) the screw (actually two different makes) and a pin, becaus the blade will hurt the brass screw.

III. He beareth Sable, a Frame Saw, or a Framing Saw, Argent, the Cheeks, Or. The use of this Saw is to cut Miter and Bevile squares for Frames and Cornishes on the top of Wanscot. The use of the Cheeks to the sides of this Saw, is to keep and strain the Blade streight, which of it self is thin and slender, and cannot do its work without such an help. It is also termed a Bow Saw, and a Tenant Saw.

IV. He beareth Sanguine, a Joyners Mallet, Argent. By the name of Mallet. There is much difference between the Masons, and the Joyners or Carpenters Mallets, the first being round and heavy; the others square both in the face and sides; though in this place my Graver hath not performed his part; yet elsewhere you may see the true shape of them chap. 8. numb. 141.
S. 3 Mallets A. born by Von Schleyer of Alsatia.
A. 3 such G. born by Van Falcken.

V. He beareth Argent, an Hatchet Azure, the Hawme Or: The Bearer goes by the name of Hatchface.
S. a Fess between 3 Hatchets A. born by the name of Wrey.
B. 2 such endorsed O. born by Sturmfeder of the Rhine.
G. one in Bend O. born by Trzinsky.

The use of the Hatchet is to hew the Irregularities of such pieces of Stuff, which may be sooner Hewn then either cut with Chissels or Sawn; for that end it is used as an Instrument of Execution for the Beheading of great Offenders, and Rebellious and Irregular Livers: The right side of it (in its use of cutting) is ground down to a Bevil, or edge, which is afterwards set or made more sharper, with a Whet-stone, as other Working Tools.

VI. He beareth Vert, an Hatchet Head, Argent. Some term it an Hatchet sans Hawme, or Halve.
O. the like, the Basil or edge erected G. born by Franckenstein.
A. the same in Bend Sinister G. born by Finchen or Fincken.

— From Randle Holme's "The Academy of Armory, or, A Storehouse of Armory and Blazon" Book III, Chapter IX. Why am I reading this

This is going to be the last entry in the Blog for a couple of weeks, so you, dear reader, can revert to something a bit more cultural, learned and high brow. Rather than peruse this nefarious drivel from dawn to dusk, it'll do absolute wonders for your 'edjumacation'...innit!

You see, unlike poor KH a while ago, (I nearly slipped in 'old' there, but that would be skating on the very, very thinnest of ice) my bags are packed and I'm ready for the 'off' at 0300 tomorrow morning, as SWIMBO is whisking me off to warmer climes.

"Where's the fool off to now?" I can hear you muttering.

Yours truly is off on a pleasant boaty jaunt down the Nile in Egypt, hoping to see all the ancient sights around Luxor (the old Egyptian capital of Thebes) including the Valley of the Kings and The Temple of Abu Simbel...that's only the first week though. The second will see me loafing on a beach in the Red Sea with some relaxed swimming and snorkeling.

There's even a remote chance I'll come back slightly more 'edjumacated' than when I left...it's a tough life for the Bloke, but someone's got to do it...

While waiting for the tylenol to kick in, I spent a bit of time on Ebay. Something I rarely do... It's incredible how the parting out of woodworking planes has become an industry in and of itself. Seems it's almost rare now to find a complete plane for sale. People are breaking them down into all their respective parts and selling said parts to what I guess is someone out there who needs that one single part? Or someone who wants to make his own plane from all the parts? Not being one to ever buck the trends or challenge...

II. are again three other sorts of Saws, which are used by Wood-men. 

The first is a Tennant Saw, this is a thin Saw, and therefore hath a Back of Iron to keep it from bending; it is for one hand use, and cuts forward, as all others Saws do. Some term this sort of Saw, a Faneering or Inlaying Saw, being so small and thin that the Plate of the Saw is only a flatted Wyer cut with Teeth, which is termed also a Bow Saw.
G. the like in Bend A. Handle S. born by Malkas.

The second is a Lock Saw, whose use is to make Key holes in Doors, and to Saw any hole in the middle of a Board where other Saws cannot get in: Some are made thus with a bended or square shouldering; others are streight to the handle.

This kind of Saw is by some Artificers termed a Compass Saw, because it is used to cut a round or any other Compass Kerf, and therefore the edge where the Teeth are is made broad, and the back thin, that the Back may have a wide Kerf or Nick to turn in.

O. a Stags Horn to the Sinister S. and such a Saw to the Dexter Barways G. is the Town Arms of Winlingen in Germany.

The third is a Pit Saw, or Sawyers Saw, with which great Timber is slit or Sawed into Boards, Rails, Spars, Joyce, or any other sort of Building Timber: This Saw is managed by two Men who stand one upon the Timber (called the Top-Man,) and the other under the Timber in a Pit, or laid upon Tressels, above Mans height (called the Pit-Man,) where with this large Saw they rent the Tree into what manner of Stuff the Work-man pleaseth; having an Instrument fixed at the end of the Saw, to take off, and put on at pleasure, called a Box, by help whereof he doth with ease pull the same down, and lift it up in Sawing. The Frame Saw see chap. 8. numb. 133.

— From Randle Holme's "The Academy of Armory, or, A Storehouse of Armory and Blazon" Book III, Chapter IX. Why am I reading this

It is with great pleasure that I report the imminent disolution of A1Books, aka Webnotions Inc. A company supposedly based in New Jersey but actually located in India, A1Books is, er, was, one of the numerous sleaze jobs trying to undercut everyone on Amazon, to sell ripoffs of Google Books as their own, sort of forgetting to refund money to irate customers, etc. etc. A1Books was one of the more annoying Bammers (just made that word up, it stands for Book Spammers) on ABE, Amazon and numerous other venues. If it has an ISBN, if it exited in some digital...

Some Projects are Just More Important than Others:

Bob Rozaieski on doing woodworking projects with your kids:

So it’s important to just let them have fun. If that means just driving some pegs into a board to make beds for their babies, so be it, even if the bed resembles nothing more than a board with some pegs in it. To them, their creation is a masterpiece, serves their intended function, and provides them with enjoyable time in the shop with Daddy. This is not the time to teach fine joinery. These are glue and nails projects.

Of course, Bob being Bob, even if it is a kid’s glue and nails project, he still uses liquid hide glue, as you’ll see if you look closely at his photos, which completely rules.

This is the pinnacle of woodworking experiences, and if anyone thinks that, say, making a copy of a 17th century Italian style guitar inlaid all over with marquetry represents a higher level of the craft, then their priorities need a major realignment.

Teaching Dad to Saw Straight

Precise Placement of Pilot Holes is Vital

Showing Dad How to Not Hit His Thumb

1. IN the beginning of this Chapter we shall give you all sorts of Instruments and Tools used in Armory pertaining to the several Trades of Joyners, Carpenters, Mill-wrights, Wheel-wrights, Turners and Coopers, &c. or whatsoever other Trade, whose use consisteth, and is exercised in working or framing of Timber, or any sort of Wood.

I. He beareth Gules, a Saw (or Hand Saw) the point dejected, between a Gimblet or Hand Bit, and a Paring Chissel, Argent, the Handles, Or; of each of which in particular.

The Hand Bit, of some called a Gimblet, a Piercer, or Nail Piercer, it hath a Worm at the end of the Bit, or half round with sharp edges like the Auger, some for small holes are square in the Bit; of these there are several Sizes.

A. 3 such S. is born by the name of Gimblett.

G. a Cheveron between 3 A. Handles O. born by Van Holler.

The Saw, called also a Hand-saw, or a Board-saw; is used by Joyners and other Wood-men, to cut or slit small Timber, as Boards, Spars, Rails, &c. though indeed the Saw cannot properly be said to cut or slit, but rent, break, or tear away such part of the Wood as the points of the Teeth strike into.

B. a Saw A. Handle O. born by the name of Sawyer.

The Paring Chissel, is a Chissel with a broad flat, which is not used to be Knockt with a Mallet, but is taken in the hand by the Shank near the top of the Flat, and the top of the Haft or Helve is placed against the right Shoulder, which being pressed hard upon the Haft causeth the edge to cut and pare away, and smooth the Irregularities of other working Chissels: These are much born in Arms, and have several terms for their several parts, of which see chap. 8. numb. 154. to which add these two.

The Flat, is all the broad part of the Chissel, which is ground away by often Whetting.

The Head, the top of the Handle.

G. a Chissel between 2 Roses A. the Helve O. born by the name of Chisselrose

— From Randle Holme's "The Academy of Armory, or, A Storehouse of Armory and Blazon" Book III, Chapter IX. Why am I reading this

Looks like one of the kittens walked across the keyboard once again, doesn't it? Not quite. The first two are color models and the second two are associations. The first two can give me a headache and the second two are worthy of their acronyms. I've been getting the copy of The Art And Craft Of Cabinet-Making, by David Denning, ready for publishing. The original cover is a dark reddish brown, gold lettering with some blind embossed lettering and scrollwork on the cover. Much as I like to produce an accurate reprint, sometimes things just don't translate. Part of the...

I apparently didn’t make one thing perfectly clear when I posted this before, and before, etc.  At the onset, I do not want to say, nor do I say, nor do I imply, nor even hint at that the steel in the nineteenth century is better than we have today, I just don’t know, but that is not the point.  Now what is the point by my bold heading, the key work here is laminated or restated laid steel tools are better, not the steel but the configuration of soft wrought iron and hard steel.

Now in order to prove this theory, I had a blacksmith friend make a laminated [laid] steel tool and when finished and ground to rough sharp, the blade will be properly heated and quenched in brine.  There will be no tempering process.  And yes you may say ‘the steel will be brittle’ and that is true, but it will also be very hard, so it will hold an edge better, but again you will say ‘the steel will be too brittle’ and because it is supported with the matrix of soft wrought iron [which can not be hardened], so brittle is not a problem.  The very hard steel is more difficult to sharpen, but it is thin, so most of the sharpening is softer material, again not a problem.

The photograph above is the billet of wrought iron [from an old wagon wheel] with a piece of steel forge welded on the working end.  The blade on the right is the original blade [early nineteenth century] that I lent the blacksmith to copy.  Mark Schramm, the blacksmith at This is the Place Heritage Park made this for me.  I had him bring it in before grinding so I could shoot these photographs, as I have never seen this part of the process before and wanted to document this historic event.

A side view of the blade clearly shows the thin piece of steel laminated [laid] onto the iron.  Mark did an excellent job and when asked about the economy of doing this instead of solid steel, the answer was that this took much longer.  So if it wasn’t to save money it had other purposes, those I have alluded to.

I and others feel that these blades have less chatter than solid steel tools because of the unique construction techniques of the softer wrought iron dampening any vibrations that may cause chatter.  The blade also has a lower center of gravity putting more mass closer to the thicker working end of the tapered blade.

This is completely subjective, so you can’t disagree with me [but some will].  The real subjective part; these tools just fell better when you use them.  There is something about them that makes them feel different.  I don’t know that I can describe the difference but when I plane a board, the sound is not as intense with a laid steel tool verses a solid steel tool.  The tool seems to work easier, I have two chisels that are about the same size and weight, but the laid steel tool feels better in my hand [identical handles] and seems to cut better as well as definitely hold a sharp edge longer.

I didn’t really want to get Zen with this, but I have used a variety of tools over the last nearly 40 years, and these old tools are better for reasons beyond the materials involved.  There was a reason our ancestors went to the trouble to make laminated steel tools or they would not have continued to do so.   They were not knuckle dragging hay seeds that just fell off the cabbage wagon.

When it is completed I hope to make a worthy wooden plane body to properly show off its unusual properties.  Will this prove my theory?  Well I am already convinced and so are others, but at least I will have one fine unique tool.

Stephen

Finally worked out a deal with the hardware store to secure a quantity of these Stanley #47s. A depth gage for auger bits. I only have a limited quantity and many are owed to OldTools list members. I may have some extras, comment if you'd be interested in one.

We've narrowed down the entries for our contest to pick a T-shirt slogan for our Woodworking in America event. The front side of the shirt will say: Woodworking in America 2010." And the back will have a slogan.

Pick your favorite slogan using the poll below, but do it fast – we're choosing the winner on Wednesday, Sept. 8.

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