Hand Tools

Opening up the panels glued up the night before is always a thrill for the students to see their work coming to fruition.

The next step is to trim the fields to make them good rectangles for the banding followed later by the borders.  A variety of veneer saws were at work, ranging from pricey French saws to inexpensive Japanese ones.  They all work.

The perimeter banding was applied and adhered with 192 gws glue, and the banding held in place with aluminum push pins that are surprisingly similar to those used by craftsmen 250 years ago.

Throughout the day and overnight, if a panel was not being worked it was placed in front of a box fan to drive off as much moisture as possible, to harden the glue under the parquetry.  That strategy was somewhat successful.

Thus endeth Day 2.

done

It took over an hour to sand, and clean up both spokeshaves. The JB Weld didn't stay 100% in the voids I filled. Enough of it stayed and I'll elevate it after the first coat of paint has dried.

hmm.....

The right iron profile is way off on the right. The flat on the profile is gone and it is beneath the bottom of the spokeshave base. The left one is a better match - the left one is going to take a lot of work to make it right.

ready to hang

Maria had these ready for me when I got there. I think they look great and they serve a purpose other than tool porn. They show the breakdown and parts of everyone of these hand tools.

back hall has a blank wall

This is the only blank wall space left in the house. It is enough for the four frames I want to hang here. Three of the four large frames are going on this wall.

more free space on the opposite wall

One large and one small frame will populate this wall.

not easy

It took me quite a while to hang the four frames because this heebie jeebie ladder placement. I made sure the door to the right was shut tight and latched. If I had fallen from the ladder I didn't want to end up in the cellar. I took my time and if anything felt off I stepped back and changed it. Ate up a lot of time but I got them hung without hurting myself.

not even

The middle one and right one were kind of close - level across the top. Instead of trying to get them even across the top I staggered them. They drop down about a 1/2" from each other. The hanger wires on the back weren't all positioned at the same point on each frame which made trying to hang them from a level line I drew maddening to do.

hmm.....

orphan

I wanted this to be with the other 6 on the right. Not enough room no matter how much I tried to shrink the frames to fit the space.

something to read tonight

Been waiting on this for a while. The durability and coverage of milk paint, IMO, is better than any latex paint available. Making my own on a need to use basis is appealing too.

 accidental woodworker 

 Spent some of the day helping the wife with her shipping books. I had errands after and that made feel like my IQ didn't make it into double digits. Went to the same store 3 times and 3 times I forgot to get what I went there for. I had been in a fog since I got out of the rack. This was one of the days when going back to bed made a lot of sense. Hope I didn't mind fart on the books I shipped.

hmm.....

The JB Weld looks and feels good. I am going to let this go until 24 hours has elapsed. I don't want it falling out on me again.

glue residue

These are 12x12 granite tiles that I glue sandpaper to. I use them to flatten the backs of plane irons and chisels. The sandpaper on them was old and needed to be replaced. Used a heat gun to warm the paper to ease scraping it off. Flooded the tiles with mineral spirits and scraped the residue off with a razor blade.

spokeshave irons

100 grit all the way to 600. Started by flattening the irons I did yesterday again. 

better

I could see a change in them after the 100 grit. The outside edge by the profile had consistent scratches on it. 

done up to 180 grit

Looking a lot better than what I had done yesterday on the worn out sandpaper. 

done

Nice and shiny on the back - flattened up to 600 grit. I was going to use the diamond stones next but I am stopping here. The  burr on the other side of the irons wasn't as large as a plane iron or chisel but I could feel it. Good enough for a molding iron?

wash, rinse, and repeat

Backs done on both sets. One thing I have seen with all the molding planes I have and spokeshave irons, none had anything done to the backs. Certainly nothing that was close to what I whacked out today.

.

hmm.....

Looked down to check the mouth and the iron was parallel to the mouth. The headache was the rabbet on the plane wasn't square. Used my smallest Record plane to square it up. Still can't tell what wood the plane is made of - even with the freshly planed rabbet yielded no clues.

haircut time

A haircut at the barbershop next to the diner where I get breakfast on mondays costs $35 plus a tip. Makes me smile every time I cut my own hair. One month away from being 71 and what hair I have left is still black. Graying at the temples but the rest of the roof is still black.

better

Not a perfect 90 but a hell of lot better than yesterdays offering. The plane felt different this time running the rabbet. Still have to practice more to get the plane plumb as I plow the rabbet.

hmm.....

This is the purpose of this holder. The tang lays in the groove the profiled edge overhangs the front. Allows two hands to sharpen/hone the iron. I needed to make an alteration to it to do the spokeshave irons. I hdd to cut the shoulder at the back of the iron about a 1/2".

small burr

With the shoulder on the holder cut back, less of the spokeshave iron extends past the front edge. Not sure about the burr on these spokeshave irons. I can feel one but it is small and on the concave part of the profile is it hard to detect.

done

After using dowels wrapped in sandpaper and a slip stone, I finished the irons with stropping. They show an improvement over my sharpening from the other day at least visually. Fingers crossed that I'll see an improvement working the edge of the stock.

for tomorrow

Yikes. There is huge difference in the profile on the irons. This is something I don't know how to address. I have only seen one video on making molding plane irons with files and not how to make a new profiled edge. It was time to kill the lights and I'll fumble my way through with these two in the AM.

hmm......

Definitely a difference between the marine JB Weld and the JB Weld I used this time. The 80 grit sanding pad isn't exactly roaring through leveling it. It is going to take some calories to sand it flush. This small spokeshave has the most JB Weld applied. The larger one has only about 10% as much.

it is sticking good

Decided to wait until tomorrow to sand this. That will give it a few more hours past 24 to cure and harden more. I don't think it will give the problems the other one did. I did sand one small spot flush to the metal and it is sticking fast.

accidental woodworker 

The story starts at the top left of the lid and then continues on the backside, the side, the front and ends at the other side.

The casket's reliefs retrace the tragic love story of the Chatelaine of Vergy and a knight. The Chatelaine, niece of the Duke of Burgundy, secretly loves a knight, whom she arranges to meet by sending him a small trained dog. The Duchess of Burgundy, also in love with the knight, tries to seduce him, but the knight rejects her. Rejected, the Duchess takes revenge by accusing the knight of having wanted to insult her. The Duke, angry, draws his sword and threatens the knight. The latter has no other option but to confess his love for the lady of the manor. The Duke witnesses the two lovers' meeting and then reveals the secret to his wife. The Duchess then invites the lady of the manor to a ball where she compliments her on training the puppies. The latter, seeing herself betrayed by her lover, dies of grief. Discovering the tragedy, the knight commits suicide. The Duke finds their two lifeless bodies and seizes the knight's sword. The Duchess's ignominy is revealed, and the Duke beheads her in the middle of the ball. He then confesses to a clergyman and leaves for the crusade. 

The inside of the casket.

Whereas the French Minnekästchen were made from ivory and the Italian ones (cassonetti) were highly ornamented and gilded, the ones from the German language regions were made from carved wood (fruit woods like pear and cherry, and linden) and painted. Kohlhausen (1928) compiled a listing of at least 300 German examples. Unfortunately, I do not have this book, but many other articles describe these chests (for example Kohlhausen, 1925, 1963; Würst, 2005). These caskets were very popular with collectors in the 19th century - so popular that fake Minnekastchen were all around. Of these 300, at least 20 have been identified as fakes (Appuhn, 1984; Diemer and Diemer, 1992). For some, like the Münchener Minnekästchen, the debate is still going on (but in nowadays in favour of being genuine) (e.g. Diemer and Diemer, 1992; Ferber, 2001; Himmelheber, 1984; Wurst, 2005). For my project this debate does not matter. Also the fake caskets were based upon the genuine ones, and both can function as a source of inspiration. In fact, you might view my project as creating a new fake Minnekästchen.

The Münchener Minnekästchen is decorated both on the outside as on the inside. The openwork panels are nailed (gilded) onto the main casket. The inside also has a large inscription in the Middle-German language. Made from linden, with bronze hinges, dated around 1250 from the Upper Rhine region.    Height 8.5 cm, Depth 10.5 cm, Length 23 cm. Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, München, Germany, inventory number R 8071. https://www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de/en/collection/00038540

The use of these minnekastchen is pure speculation: love letters, tokens of affection (like hair cuttings), jewellery are mentioned by some. As far as I know, there is no hard proof of the contents of these caskets. However, for the use of the non-love-scene caskets, there is; many of these caskets were used to hold important certificates and bills (Appuhn, 1971, 1972).

Construction of the casket

The panels from the Hernen tresoor were made from oak, with carved gothic arches on them. My leftover panels were suitable for the two small sides of the casket, and I had to make two new larger panels for the front and back, using the similar technique as for the tresoor. This also meant that the side panels had upside down arches. I used a dovetail joint to connect the sides with each other, . Further, I made a groove in the sides with the electric router for the bottom board (an oak panel with a thickness of around 6 mm). The bottom board was chamfered a bit for a tight fir in the groove. Then the parts weres fixed together using hide glue. Finally, the piece was sanded and finished with linseed oil. 

The casket base is relatively thick, around 12 mm and allows for a groove to hold the bottom panel. 

Carving of the casket lid

Left: Ivory casket plaque with a man and a woman in amorous conversation. The man wears a long, flowing robe; the woman is dressed in an Italian-style gown, low-cut and belted under the bust. Dimensions: Height: 5.6 cm; Width: 5 cm; Thickness: 0.35 cm. made in France between 1300–1400. Musee de Cluny, Paris, France, inventory nr. OA2764. Right: Backside of a writing tablet (lower leaf), showing an encounter with a young woman, followed by her servant holding a small casket, offering a rabbit to her companion. The hairstyles and costumes of the figures place these leaves in the mid-14th century.  Musee the Louvre, Paris, France, inventory nr. RFML.OA.2018.24.1.2, ivory with tracesof polychromy. Height 10.6 cm; Width: 5.8 cm.

A small ivory casket with shallow carved reliefs depicting courtly scenes. On the lid, the space is divided by four arches housing amorous encounters: a young man embraces a young woman and takes her hand; he caresses the young woman's belly as she plays with her belt; a young woman crowns the lover kneeling at her feet; a young people are about to kiss. On the front of the casket from left to right: a young man tends his falcon; a lion sits between two pairs of lovers, and a standing young woman makes a gesture of astonishment. On the right side, a young man holds his falcon in his right fist, strokes the chin of a young woman with his other hand, who is carrying a flower.The back and left side show other scenes. The figures are dressed in the long, flowing robes fashionable around the first decades of the 14th century. The silver lock with the silver frets ending in fleurs-de-lis that adorn the lid, the corners, and the body of the chest are modern. The attachment points of the old handle can still be seen on the lid. Musee de Louvre, Paris, France, ivory with traces of polychromy and silver, inv. LP 615. Length: 14.4 cm ; Depth: 8.9 cm ; Heigth: 4.8 cm.

I wanted to have a late 14th century style for the carved lid, as we also portray a group from around 1370.  The French ivory caskets also date from around this time, as well as some 'romance' ivory pieces (see the examples above). However, I liked to create an unique scene for my casket and decided to use two illuminations from the 'Roman de Alexandre' from the Bodleian Library (MS 264) as a source, and combined them into one new scene using Photoshop. This version was printed in a very light black and white version on paper. I tracked the outlines that I wanted to use for carving with a thicker black pen resulting in a carving plan.

The two pages from the 'Roman de Alexandre', Bodleian MS 264, London, UK. folio 59 recto - left scene at the bottom margin, and folio 121 verso - the scene at the top of the second column.

This is the cutout portion of Bodleian MS 264 folio 121v. Note the monkey on the shoulder of the woman on the right.

The cutout portion of Bodleian MS 264 folio 59r. Only the woman was used as the man was missing a leg.

The version with the woman holding the heart mixed in. The monkey has now moved to the shoulder of the woman on the left.

The black and white tracing version of the pattern for carving the lid.

For the lid of the casket I chose a different wood type. I chose linden, because this wood is easy to carve, hardly shows any grains and knots, and also because for its whitish colour resembling the ivory a bit. The carving plan was transfered to the wood by pricking the black pencil lines with a needle. These small needle points in the wood then would be used to reconstruct the image with a pencil. 

A detail of the carving plan showing the needle pricks along the lines of the clothing.

The top left and right of the carving plan was empty. My plan was to add some rose vines filling up these spaces, like in the illustrations in the Manesse codex. Carving was done using an assortment of Pfeil fishtail gouges and a carving knife. The carving itself was relatively shallow, with a maximum depth of 0.5 cm. The finished carving was oiled with linseed oil (making it darker that ivory).

The plant tendrils with flowers and flower buds come from the Codex Manesse (Codex Manesse, UB Heidelberg, Germany, Cod. Pal. germ. 848), fol. 249v: Herr Konrad von Altstetten. Date between 1305 and 1315. http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cpg848/0494.

I did not take photos from each carving step, but these show some of the progress. In the final photo the ivory blancness of the linden wood is obvious.

Finishing the Minnekästchen

The box was lined with red felt on the inside. The felt was glued to the wood using hide glue (from the gluepot, as this has a short drying time; and not the modern Titebond one, which is too fluid dries too slow for felt). The following step was to add the hinges to the casket. I bought some commercial available medieval type hinges which were pre-rusted. As my casket was newly made, rusted hinges were not to my liking. Therefore, I removed this nostalgic rust with sandpaper and steel wool. Then I blackened the steel by heating the hinge with a gas torch until red-hot, and then quenching it in vegetable oil.

A part of the hinge would overlap with the carving.

The hinges were relatively large. To prevent them from sticking out on the carving of the lid, they were added at the underside of the lid. A piece of wood was removed for a smooth fitting of the hinge. On the backside the hinge was attached with nails that were bent back into the oak. For the lid this was not feasible: either the bent back would be visible on the outside, or they would be bent over the metal of the hinge. Therefore, I planned to rivet the hinge on the lid instead. The square nails were converted into rivets by rounding them with a file, and cutting of the excess metal. A ball-peen hammer was used to rivet the nail against the hinge.

A wooden block with two holes that easily fitted the nails was clamped in a vise. The thickness of the wooden block is such that it corresponds to the thickness of the lid. The protruding point can be filed round to fit the hinge holes.

Some square nails with filed rounded ends.

The nails cut-off to the approximate size of the rivet. 

A rivetted hinge on the inside of the lid.

No small locks were available for purchase, and at the time I was not proficient in locksmithing. So similar to the box of the Vatican courier chess set, two nails with a rope to connect were used to close the casket.  Note that the Münchener Minnekästchen also does not posess a lock. Any remaining parts of the minnekastchen were now also coated with linseed oil.

The finished minnekastchen closed (above) and open (below).

What will be put inside this minnekästchen? Love letters, a lock of hair, or ....  (I won't tell :)

Sources

• Appuhn, H., 1971. Rosa und die anderen Briefladen aus dem Rathaus zu Dortmund. Zur Bedeutung der Sterne und Rosetten an mittelalterlichen Möbeln. Aachener Kunstblätter 41, pp. 267-274.
• Appuhn, H., 1971. Briefladen aus Niedersachsen und Nord-Rhein Westfalen. Museum zur Kunst und Kulturgeschichte der Stadt Dordmund, Schloss Cappenberg. 38 pp.
• Appuhn, H., 1972. Briefladen. Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 34, pp. 31-44.
• Appuhn, H., 1984. Die schönsten Minnekästchen aus Basel: Fälschungen aus der Zeit der Romantik. Zeitschrift für schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 41, pp. 149-160.
• Carns, P.M. 2005. Compilatio in Ivory: The Composite Casket in the Metropolitan Museum Gesta 44, No. 2: pages 69-88. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25067115
• Diemer, D. and Diemer, P., 1992. Minnesangs Schnitzer. Zur Verbreitung der sogenannten Minnekästchen. In: Festschrift Walter Haug und Burghart Wachinger.  Max Niemeyer Verlag,  Berlin, Gemany, pp. 1021-1060. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110937114.1021
• Ferber, A., 2001. Das Münchener Minnekästchen. https://www.grin.com/document/107921?srsltid=AfmBOoqJftTdIN6u0c2FRGkVgBJS250AY9j-apgyQpXE5qADuaQCYcay
• Himmelheber, G., 1984. Das Münchner Minnekästchen - eine Chronik. Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 47, pp. 243-247.
• Hoopes, T.T. 1926. An ivory casket in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Art Bulletin 8(3): pages 127-139.
• Kline, N.R., 2016. From Harmonious to 'Rough Music' on Late Medieval Boxes. In: The Profane Arts. Norms and Transgressions. Brepols, Turnhout, Belgium, pp. 111-127.
• Koechlin, R. 1924. Les ivoires gothiques français (Band 1, 2 and Planches). https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21674, https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21675, and https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21676. (only a small part concerns caskets)
• Kohlhausen, H. 1925. Rheinische Minnekästchen des Mittelalters. Jahrbuch der Preuszischen Kunstsammlungen 28, pp. 203-247.
• Kohlhausen, H., 1963  Ein höfische Minnekästchen-Werkstatt zwischen Maas und Niederrhein um 1430. Anzeiger des Germanischen Nationalmuseums 1963, pp. 55-61.
• Musialik, E., 2022. A 14th century ivory casket with scenes from medieval romances. the newest addition to the socalled coffrets composites group.  Folia Historiae Artium Seria Nowa 20: pages 9-28. 
• Randall, Jr., R.H. 1997. Games on a medieval ivory. Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 56(1/2): pages 2-9.
• Ross, D.J.A. 1948. Allegory and Romance on a Mediaeval French Marriage Casket. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 11: pages 112-142. https://www.jstor.org/stable/750464
• Wurst, J., 2003. Pictures and Poems of Courtly Love and Bourgeois Marriage: Some Notes on the So-called Minnekästchen. In: Love, Marriage, and Family Ties in the Later Middle Ages. Brepols, Turnhout, Belgium, pp. 97-120.
• Wurst, J., 2005. Reliquiare der Liebe. Das Münchner Minnekästchen und andere mittelalterliche Minnekästchen aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum. PhD thesis, München, Germany. https://edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/4623/1/wurst_juergen_alexander.pdf

Source

 I thought today I would be painting the spokeshaves but it didn't happen boys and girls. Ran into a hiccup that I shook hands with me after lunch. Sigh. Had to make a U-turn. That and having my final PT appointment ate up a chunk of shop time today. Glad that I'm retired and set backs while a PITA aren't deal killers.

Stanley Bailey #2

I thought of this plane and I had to take it out of the grandkids toolbox to play with it. RML shavings but I had to fiddle with it a wee bit. Unexpected so I took it down to parade rest and sharpened and honed the iron and started over from square #1.

hmm.....

I could see light between the chipbreaker and the iron except for the very ends. Wasn't getting any shavings jammed up there though. Spent some quality time addressing that that also involved spending time flattening the back of the iron before it went dark.

getting quicker

Bevel is nice and shiny with zero scratches in it. Sharp enough to slice through the air and pull it apart. One thing I noticed from the first RML shavings was the sloppiness of the yoke knob. Zero feeling of the iron moving up or down. This is the only iron/chipbreaker I have for a #2. I still haven't found a #2 iron in the wild anywhere. Been keeping any eye open for that for years too.

excellent RML shavings

I was expecting to have to play with this before I got RML (right, middle, left) shavings to spit out. I bought this plane for the grandkids because it is small. It feels like a toy in my hand. Borderline awkward to use - tote barely fits for 3 fingers. I was able to get RML shavings one handed too. The #3 is the smallest bench plane I use and feel comfortable using.

toy like but functional

You see the scale of this plane in relation to my left hand. Still waiting for either one of the grandsons to try it out. Hopeful that watching the shavings curl up out of the mouth excites them too. Made some face grain shavings - full length and width before putting it back in their toolbox.

Stanley #10 1/2

I used this plane a lot when I first got it. It is about the same size as the #3 and easily does its job with the added bonus of being able to do rabbets. This plane was repaired and it was done well. This plane type suffered a lot of cracks and fractures on the cheeks due to the continuous mouth opening. Author Aldren Watson (Hand Tools book)recommends it over the #3 because of its versatility. Iron was still sharp in spite of sitting in the tool cabinet for several years.

another to do project

Hopefully I'll around to this before the interest wanes. These were drawers that I had made for a cherry cabinet but I didn't use them. Ended up making new ones and these became orphaned. Thinking of making a two drawer thing and fitting them to it.

hmm......

Leftover cherry from ???? I think I have enough here to make the carcass for the two drawers. I will probably have to glue up stock but I think the widest board will work for the top. The sides, back, and the bottom aren't as visible as the top and don't matter if they are glued up.

hmm.....

The JB Weld feels solid but I didn't have a warm and fuzzy with it.

80 grit

This grit was barely touching the epoxy. I thought it would eat it up a lot quicker than it did but it wasn't. The epoxy was built up a lot based on it filling in the defects etc so I could sand it flush. I thought I would knock some of that down with my marking knife first.

yikes

Came off completely. The knife pulled all the epoxy out with ease. It didn't seem to adhere to the spokeshave anywhere I applied it.

wow

See the dot - the epoxy fell out and that is the one spot I wanted filled. The epoxy flaked off when I cut it with the marking knife. Epoxy had gotten hard but nada after that.  

Wally World

I have used this before several times on hand planes, Stanley spokeshaves, and some hand drills. I didn't have any problems with any of them with this JB Weld.

hmm......

The top one is obvious and the bottom one I think is missing a letter(s)? I googled OVELOE and nada. 

the other side

The width of the irons for the lambs tongue are 5/8". Clueless as to what the 2 defines, if anything, for the OVELOE spokeshave.

two days

It is 4-6 hours for this to be dry to the touch and 15-24 hours before use. It is 1445 now and I plan on letting this cure for 24hrs. I'll probably be painting this wednesday rather then tuesday.

planed a rabbet

I couldn't get the rabbet square with the wooden plane. I used the 10 1/2 to do it. After looking at the iron I saw that it was skewed and not parallel to the mouth. Should have checked that before and while using it but I didn't. Assumed that it was still good from its last use.

up against the blade

Did a lot of left turns today and ended up playing with this last one. I can't remember if I had ever do this, even when I first put this saw together.

it's an 1/8" off

This is the closest I can get the indicator to zero. I got this saw and this fence over 20 years ago and the memories aren't even hazy. They are nonexistent especially about this set up. I seem to remember that the measuring tape was already fixed to the tube. I'll have to look up the instructions for it on the WWW. I doubt that I'll use if I do fix it though. But I started to address it and I might as well check it off if I can.

accidental woodworker 

Modern day tool makers mainly concentrate on hobbyists with very little knowledge about the craft. That’s not an insult, it’s just the truth of where the market has gone. Most modern plane buyers are not tradesmen or full-time users. They’re enthusiasts who might use a plane once or twice a week, and that’s perfectly fine. But tool makers design around that group, not around those who spend hours at the bench every day.

I agree that metals have come a long way, but the real question is how has any of this actually improved our craft? What benefit have we really gained?

We’ve been told that thicker irons were made to reduce chatter, but that’s just marketing talk. In truth, chatter rarely comes from a thin iron. It’s usually the result of poor bedding, a loose cap iron, or sloppy setup. What thicker irons and A2 steel really did was make sharpening slower and rule out oil stones for anyone who prefers them.

Then there’s the matter of weight. For hobbyists, a heavier plane might seem fine, but when you use one all day, it quickly becomes exhausting. Old Stanley planes were light, nimble, and easy to control. The modern premium planes, on the other hand, often feel clumsy and tiring, especially when you’re planing something like a raised panel.

Manufacturers love to say that the extra heft helps the plane glide through timber. That’s nonsense. If you need the weight to do the cutting, your iron’s blunt.

Yes, today’s planes are machined to high tolerances, and that’s impressive, but in practice, a well-tuned Stanley does the job better. It’s lighter, faster to sharpen, and more comfortable to use, exactly what a plane should be.

Tool makers love to use terms like precision machining and modern performance steel because it sells. But in the hands of someone who knows how to sharpen properly and set a cap iron correctly, an old Stanley will run circles around most modern planes. It’s not nostalgia, it’s experience. Those lighter, simpler designs were made by people who actually used them for a living, not by engineers trying to appeal to collectors.

The first person to bring this topic to light and reveal its bitter truth was Paul Sellers. I was one of his first opposers, mainly because I had just replaced all my old tools with Lie Nielsen and Veritas planes. My pride got in the way, and I hadn’t used the modern planes long enough to form an informed opinion. Looking back, my biggest mistake was selling my old Stanleys and Record planes. They weren’t in the best condition, but they still performed beautifully.

The truth is, the craft hasn’t improved because the tool itself didn’t need improving. What’s changed is the audience. Toolmakers now cater to people who admire tools more than they use them. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s led to a generation of planes that look impressive on a bench but don’t necessarily work better in the wood.

So before anyone believes the hype about thicker irons and added weight, ask yourself: is it really an improvement or just another myth we’ve been sold?

 I awoke this AM and I thought I had lost power overnight. The clock in the bedroom said I was rolling out of the rack at 0554 and the clock in the living room said it was only 0455. Oops, I forgot to fall back and do the _+)@^&$%%)@_%*@ changing of the clocks. I knew it was coming but just not today. Oh well stercus acidit again.

living room

The shop is staying at a toasty 66F - 19C but the living room is even toastier at 71F - 22C. Brought the miniature hope chest to cure there. A week or so should do then I can give it to my sister.

hmm.....

99% of the japanning wiped away with the rag. Gone without a whimper. The steel brush worked wonderfully raising a bit of shine on both of them.

stubborn spot

On both spokeshaves, in the same spot, there was japanning left that the rag wouldn't, couldn't remove. A couple of strokes with the steel bristle brush and it was history. Happy and amazed at how clean the spokeshaves were with just Simple Green.

 In the past I spent a bazillion hours hand scraping japanning without get it all. Soaking in Simple Green did the trick. I hand scraped planes, drills, and a lot of other japanned tools and then I used Simple Green to remove japanning from them too. The only headache with Simple Green is finding something that the tool can soak in.

2nd use

Bow sander worked with the rounded ends of the spokeshave. A smaller one would have been better but I only have this large one.

finally

The filed areas (the mouth) took a long time to do because of the limited stroke of the files. There was a lot of casting defects and roughness in the area where the irons lived. The smaller spokeshave was the worse of the two to clean up.

marine JB Weld

Filled in the voids and defects with JB Weld. It looks a lot worse than it actually is. I expect that most of the JB Weld will sanded off. This should leave a smooth surface when it comes time to paint them.

the big spokeshaves

On this this one I was able to use a small file that fit through the mouth. I could file from the top to the bottom in one fluid stroke. I didn't go nutso on this - just looking to ensure that the bed for the irons is flat.

hmm.....

The iron for the left side was tight and wouldn't go down beyond the 1/2 way point. I don't recall this hiccup when I bought it and I hadn't done anything to shrink it or the spokeshave. Head scratcher for sure. 

partial fix

I filed the two outside edges lightly - just enough to make them shiny and smooth. I also filed the inside cheeks of the left side. The iron now has some lateral adjustment.

surprise

I was expecting this black paint to be toast. Past experience with it has shown me that any non use time between uses and it skims over and turns thick and syrupy and useless as paint. Glad for that because most stores that sold these pint cans don't anymore. I have more than enough to do both of the spokeshaves.

not today sports fans

Wiped this one down with acetone and I was going to paint it. However, I noticed a couple of casting voids that I had to fill it. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to paint them.

still tacky

This is JB Weld is a 5 minute marine epoxy but over 5 hours later it is still tacky. I'll let it go until the AM and hopefully it will be ready to sand and paint then.

glazier point box

It was too early to kill the lights so I decided to shellac this box. 3-4 coats should put a smile on my face. Got 2 coats before I killed the lights for the day.

accidental woodworker

hmm......

My favorite store for buying Simple Green didn't have any. A boatload of of ZEP products but no Simple Green. Wally World had it and I bought this concentrate instead. Supposedly this will make 5 gals.  I only need enough to cover the two spokeshaves in that pan.

took 6 cups total

It didn't quite cover the spokeshaves but it was close. I didn't want to put any more liquid in this thin aluminum cooking pan.

one more

Last coat of shellac on the lid and the exterior. I think that is 8 but I'm not sure.

I don't think so

Both of these spokeshaves came from England so I was expecting them to be metric screws. The screw wouldn't fit in any of the M5 or M6 threaded holes but it fits in the imperial 1/4-20 threaded hole. It didn't feel quite right though. It was loose and initially I thought it was because the screw looked battle worn. It looked like it had been sand blasted, all dimpled and rough.

I tried it in all four of my gauges - metric and imperial - and nada. I'm pretty sure now that it is a 1/4-20 Whitworth thread. They have a 55° pitch thread whereas UNC threads are 60°.

interesting

I took this spokeshave out after letting it soak for a couple of hours. The japanning embedded in the casting defects is already loosening. I wasn't expecting the japanning to give up this quickly.

looking better

I didn't go nutso sharpening this because it is all free hand and I'm not that good at it. I kept at it until I got a burr on the back.

brass washer

The washers in both of the spokeshaves were brass which surprised me a lot. I would have bet a lung that they would be steel. That aside, this washer hole was a few frog hairs too narrow. When I removed it I had to tap it off with a screwdriver and a hammer. Drilled it out until it was slip fit over the screw down to the shoulder.

it ain't easy

I am in the dark about how to use this spokeshave. I'm not sure that it can make a profile on the face. And at what orientation do you push it at? I tried this, parallel to the face, and at various angles balanced on the edge. Tried it on both edges with both irons. The results sucked pond scum.

nope

The profile is a bazillion percent better than the one I tried to get when I first bought this. However, it isn't developed nor is it consistent end to end.

better

Working the edge was easier but the profile didn't change much. I think maybe I should spend a few more calories sharpening. It did matter which side of the spokeshave I used, the profile was the same.  

Working with the grain was better than working against the grain. It tore out a lot going against the grain, more than I anticipated. I expected some but not the amount I got. The grade after this test run is mixed. Not knowing how to use and having to figure it out by trial and error is going to be brutal.

wow

This has been soaking in the Simple Green for about 5 hours and a ton of the japanning is gone. What is left on it I wiped away with a finger. It isn't going to take 2-3 days of soaking to remove all the japanning.

gone

This flat on the back had a thick, shiny chunk of japanning on it. It is gone, completely. This is one spot I was prepared to remove with a scraper. I'll clean them up in the AM for sure.

hmm......

I'll be buying this again for sure. First it is a lot cheaper then buying a spray bottle of it. Mixing it up to refill my spray bottle was easy peasy and I had control over the strength of it. I refilled at 1:1.

accidental woodworker 

 When I killed the lights for the day I realized that I had put a check mark in the done column for three projects. I had forgotten that I had finished one and only remembered it just before I started this blog post. Two of them are or will be going to someone and one will end up in the boneyard.

three knots and a dutchman

The underside of the lid is done. Four coats of shellac is ok for the underside. Only one knot shows through to the up face. I saturated all of them super glue twice before I put on the first coat of shellac.

hmmm......

Test time with the stencils. This is my first attempt at it and on You Tube I saw them being done with brushes and rollers. I'm going to use my wife's stencil brush on the leaf stencil.

questionable

I brushed this and then I dimpled it by hitting the stencil straight up and down with the brush. The biggest question I had was there any bleeding paint beyond the stencil pattern.

no bleeding

The pattern is clear without defined edges. However, there are raised ridges of paint in several spots. Too much paint but no bleed through. On the second one I used a drier brush. Oops, forgot to snap a pic of #2 but it was much better.

done

I kinda like this stenciling. Not exactly well done but it also doesn't look like a monkey did it neither. When I try this again I'll practice a few more attempts more then two. This was only glamour pic I took of project #1. This will live in the boneyard now.

two coats on

I got a third coat on before I went on my post lunch stroll. Only doing 3 coats on the inside and 4-6 on the lid top and exterior. You gotta love shellac because I knew here that I would be done with this today.

chamfer

Chamfered the outside edge of the base to make it look thinner. I thought of doing a round over but I thought a chamfer fit better than it would. Although a round over would have been been the opposite of the cove molding.

glamour pic #1

Calling this done. I have 5 coats on it but I am going to put a couple more on the lid top and exterior. In spite of that I'm calling this done.

back/side glamour pic

Happy with the dovetails on the chest and base. Something I didn't try for was the chest tails and the base tails look to be the same size. The shellac made the tails pop too - no gaps and in spite of being hand done, they look uniform but not machine done.

glamour pic #3

I will keep the lid propped open with the stick for a week or so. That should be enough time for the shellac to cure and harden.

project #3 glamour pic

I'm calling this done. The paint looks good, not perfect, but more than acceptable. There are minimal brush marks and the coverage is 100%.

glamour pic #2

hmm.... I may not be done with this. I assumed that Jessica is hanging this on a wall. I'll have to ask her and if not, I'll have to paint the back. Fingers crossed along with the toes.

interim project

I've had these two lamb tongue spokeshaves for a couple years. Before I start on the two door cabinet I'll rehab these two. The plan is to strip them and repaint along with doing some needed TLC on the irons. I wanted to let them soak in Simple Green for a few days but I don't have anything big enough to put the irons in. Found out from a comment left on one of my plane rehab posts that Simple Green will dissolve japanning. Filing and sanding it off is a PITA. I'll go to Wally World and buy a disposable aluminum cooking pan for that.

Whoever owned these was right handed (?) because one iron is worn and the other is almost unused. I am guessing on the right handed use based on how I would use it. But it is my understanding that these spokeshaves allowed the user to account for reversing grain - left or right.

accidental woodworker 

Source

Last month, for the first time in many years, I was able to offer an Introduction to Parquetry class at Joshua Farnsworth’s Wood and Shop near Charlottesville VA.  We plan for me to offer the workshop again next year.

I had two exercises in mind for the students, all based on sawn veneer edge strips from boards.

The strips were then cut into identical 60-120-60-120 parallelogram “diamonds” or lozenges with a simple jig and a dovetail saw.

NB/ mea culpa – over the years I have attended and spoke at countless woodworking clubs and guilds, and invariably there is a show-n-tell session, and invariably they feature prominently some elaborate jig a member made to do this or that function.  (Yes I know I used “invariably” twice in one sentence.  That is a purposeful literary flourish.)  In the old days I would just roll my eyes and tell myself, “That’s not woodworking.”  Then we started the Roubo Transalation Project.  Turns out the world of the ebeniste’ was all about jigs and patterns.  To quote LBJ, “I reserve the right to be smarter than I used to be.”

Once the pile of lozenges got big enough, they laid out X and Y axes on a piece of paper to guide them then started assembling the composition by gluing down the lozenges to the paper with 135 gws hide glue.

Once the composition was large enough to cover the “field” of the substrate panel, in this case 1/2″ Baltic Birch plywood, the working face of the parquetry (ultimately the verso) was slathered with 192 gws hide glue, followed immediately by the face of the substrate panel.

Then the wo glued surfaces were brought together and clamped using another 1/2″ panel as the caul and a double layer of corrugated cardboard as a gasket.

Thus ended the first day.

hmm.....

I initially thought that I hadn't thought the bearers all the way through. I set them down a 1/4" from the top. So I thought that would negate the 1/4"bottom that I had planned on gluing to the bottom. I also thought that bottom of the 1/4" plywood would be flush with the top of the base. I hadn't looked far enough ahead to see that the 1/4" rabbet would house the 1/4" plywood bottom and keep the chest captured in it. DUH!

hmm..... again

There is a 1/4" of the bearers sticking past the edge of the chest. That little bit of real estate is enough to glue a 1/4" piece of plywood to.

fitted

Found a scrap of nice 1/4" plywood in my off cut pile. I sawed it out square to match the ID of the chest. Used a blockplane to shave the lower right corner until it fell into place.

fitting the base moldings

Sawed all four over length by 2". Now that I figured out the bottom for the chest, I almost ready to do the base moldings. Needed to first attach the chest to the bearers.

helping hand

Applied some super glue to the hinges and positioned the lid on them. I find measuring and screwing these type of hinges is hit or miss for me. Super gluing the hinges has worked like a charm for the last 3 hinges (of this type) I installed.

needed some weight

Even though this is an 'instant' super glue I've found out that it isn't unless you hit it with accelerator (which I don't have). A little weight and time and the bond is made.

 I killed the lights here to go to a VA appointment. As I was backing out of the driveway my wife texted me that the VA had canceled the appointment. Worked for me because appointments mid morning really screw up my shop/strolling time.

they are stuck

Lid opened and closed easily. Not even the slightest hint of either of them letting go. I wasn't expecting such a good bond - held long enough to get screws in them. 

stuck real good

Got two of the four screws in each hinge and then I removed them. I wanted to remove the hinge to facilitate applying shellac to the lid but it ain't happening boys and girls. They are stuck on solid - a sharp rap with a mallet did nada. On to plan #2.

base attached the chest

Screwed, no glue, the chest to the bearers.

hide glue

Just in case I or the next owner needs to replace/repair the bottom. 

fitting the moldings

My mini mitering jig - right and left hand moldings can be shot on it. It will also do 90° and that is the one thing I would change. If and when I make another one I will make the 90° bigger. As is I can square stock about 1 1/4" wide and the next one will be around 2".

switched

A 120 grit sanding stick instead of the blockplane. A little slower but no blowout from the blockplane to deal with.

done

Used super glue and yellow glue to attach the moldings. Where I could nail the molding was too thin even for a pin nail. I didn't have a warm and fuzzy about that being secure. An hour later the moldings were stuck tight still.

helping hand

I wasn't thrilled with wee bit of glue surface for the plywood bottom. If I had thought ahead more I could have secured the bottom with just these. Nailed on with no glue - again to facilitate repairs if needed.
 

last stencil came today

This is the one I'll use on the white spice rack. Perfect size and it was the only 4" stencil with a flowery motif that I could find.

fingers crossed

Hopefully this is the last coat. If it is I'll let it cure for a week or so and ship it out to Jessica.

two coats

I found enough shellac flakes to make one cup of a 2 pound cut. That should be sufficient to finish the chest. For all intents and purposes this done except for oohs and aahs.

I ordered another pound of flakes and the price went over $11. I was expecting it to be much worse. With S/H it was $70. Ouch 

accidental woodworker

after dinner work

Finished the pins and checked the base for square. Check. Put the chest inside the base, check. It fit with less than a 16th all the way around. I'm not that fond of these skinny tails. They may look visually good but to me I see a tenuous fit that looks fragile. I should have go with one tail based on the width but I didn't.

fixed

The half tail on the left broke off while cleaning up the half round. It felt secure this AM and the base was ready to glue up.

I showed it who was the boss

When I sawed out the base I removed the labels at the corners. I applied glue to all four corners before I saw that brain fart. The first time, I put two corners together, the other two wouldn't. Broke it apart and tried another combination that didn't work neither. When I tried to break it apart (long side) it split into two. 

I (usually) don't go nutso anymore when I make a bad me-steak but today I lost it and went postal on it. Just as well because this base was questionable. One rap on a long side (to the left of the mallet) and it snapped into two. Not even a hard rap. That and a big red knot lent credence to  destroying this one and making a new base.

sigh

I didn't want to but I had to use a cut off (that I didn't want to use) to get the stock for the new base.

single tail

I felt better making the new base with single tails. I think it is a better fit with the width of the base.

I can learn still

I didn't make the same me-steak this time. I labeled all the pins and tails this time where they won't disappear. I didn't do it on the first base because I thought I didn't have to.

ta da

Base #2 has the same slip fit that the first one had. 

base cut out

One inch fortsner bit drilling a 1/2" on each one. Wash, rinse, and repeat for the short sides.

glued and cooking

I didn't bother to check the diagonals on the base. It had to fit as is so it didn't matter that it was square.

hmm.....

Cut this down from 2 1/4" to 1 1/2". Visually the 2 1/4" height looked too tall for the scale of this. Next up was what to do with the ends. Angled, left as is, or round overs? Then the profile, chamfer or something with an electric router.

ready to glue on

Rounded the ends and routed the same profile on it as the lid edges.

moldings

I have more than enough for the top of the base. It was a toss up between this cove molding or a 1/4 round. The cove one only because I can nail it more easily than the 1/4 round molding.

needs one more coat

Still not done and after painting the last coat I let this cure for a couple of days. I wasn't happy with how it felt after I sanded it. It felt cold and clammy but today it feels warm and dry. I'll put on another coat (final coat hopefully) in the AM.

bearers done

Glued and nailed rather then glue and screws.

finishing the base

Bases are easy to do - you don't have to do any clean up on the interior.

)@&%)*@_%(_)+5()^*&^% gaps

Mixed hide glue and pine sawdust to make my own wood putty. Two corners (tails) needed some help. I thought I had closed them up on the glue up. Used this because I am using shellac as the finish on this.

no mortise hinges

These hinges are easy to install because they don't require a mortise. However, they leave a gap between the lid and the chest which I don't like. I made the notch for them to be within a frog hair flush.

looking for screws

I don't understand how or why hinges are sold without screws. That is like selling a car without tires. I don't have any #5 or #6 screws long enough. I do have some but they have oval heads and I need flat head. I'll make do with what I have until I can order some.

glued and cooking

I'll be heading back to the shop after dinner tonight. My wife is away at a dead people's event and I will no have no adult supervision until saturday. There isn't much more to do on this chest. Attach the lid, the bottom, and screw the chest to the bearers, apply shellac and ooh and aah.

accidental woodworker 

 Time to make a start on these big logs.

Look at all that lovely, fresh oak flesh.

Should get some wide panels out of these.

It can take a while to get the split started on these big logs....and then pop, the sound of it giving up....music to my ears.

There's a bit of twist along the 7ft length, but I'm mainly interested in wide, short panels from this, the fattest part, so I can live with the twist.

Source

Something you do not see every day, a gilded throne heading down the road.  Image courtesy of my son-in-law.  Just gotta wonder what the back story is.