Hand Tools

Here are the angle gauges that I use for the method discussed in the previous post.  The size for all is about 4 1/2” long, 1 1/2” wide, and 1/2” thick  and made from cherry or African mahogany. They about 10 to 20 years old.  The sharpening angle goes back about 1” for all the […]

 Out in the autumn sun, to trim the pegs, and tie in the rails carving to the stiles carving.

 

not looking good

Got the other side primed after dinner and first thing in the AM, I got the first top coat on the back side. Based on the primer coat and what I saw after the first top coat, it is going to take a minimum of two coats.

got fooled

Going on the top coat looked promising. Twenty minutes after applying it I could see the primer coat peeking through. 

toolbox lid

Been in the clamps for two days and no surprises when I unclamped it.

not flush

Used the chisel to scrape off some glue squeeze out. The piece I glued on wasn't flush anywhere along the length on both sides.

done

Flushed on both sides in less than 3 minutes.

flushed on the ends

 I realized that I have been spelling the name of this saw. It is a Ryoba, not Ryobi. That aside I used the Ryoba to flush the ends of the glued on piece. I find this saw is better at sawing off thin slivers vice a western saw. Smoothed the saw cuts with the low angle blockplane.

parallel

Marked the ends of the lid parallel to the ends of the toolbox. The toolbox isn't square across the ends at the top on this side. It is also not straight and square across the long sides R to L. Wee bit of a headache fitting things and it reminds me of when I first started out going down this rabbit hole. Been a while since I've had to deal with something this far out of whack.

tapered

I eyeballed marking the parallel and planed down to and removed the pencil line.

left side

Happy with how this looks - much better than the before one. This gap is now even from front to back.

right side

Right side looking just as good as the left. Now I'll have to deal with the non OCD gap. This will allow all kinds of garbage to fall past it into the bottom.

screwed only

I'm not sure that I will stick with this. It cuts off light sneaking past the gaps and it is a resting place for any debris. But I can't think of another way to deal with it.

it fits

The gap is a frog hair less than a 1/8". I checked Lee Valley where I got these hinges and they don't sell any other, only 3/4". I'm not waiting for the strap hinges and instead I'm using these.

hmm.....

I had been thinking about the best way to install these hinges. It is important that the back edge of the lid be flush with the back of the toolbox. The lid swing arc is tight and it is based on these two being flush.

superglue to the rescue

This worked on the first attempt. The lid barely cleared the handle - I'll round over the top edge of the lid to open up some clearance there. When the lid was fully opened the hinges let go of the bond. Put some more glue on the hinges and left them clamped. I'll check on them after dinner. 

accidental woodworker 

Veritas released their new saw set: https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/118411-veritas-saw-set

 I had the chance to test a prototype earlier this year. First impression: 

Wonderfully made tool. 

 Smooth comfortable handle. 

Clear view on the teeth. 

Wide flats to rest on many teeth. 

Extrem slim hammer, to meet the tiniest teeth. 

An anvil adjustment with letters, not numbers. No more confusion.

Any downside? Not really. The set weights double or more than the Stanley 42x, wich it was mostly inspired by. And I have the same problem as I have with the Stanley 42x: I cannot set blades in my saw vise, because the handle and the vise need the same space.  

 

 

 

   

Throughout this whole process of repairing the north side of our house, something that had been nagging me was the tilt of the building. The level and direction of tilt varies a bit throughout the building, and it’s most pronounced on the north side. So, before closing up the walls I decided to see if… Read More »Tomobe – North Side Plastering

The post Tomobe – North Side Plastering appeared first on Big Sand Woodworking.

In answer to Joe Leonetti’s request for more information on working it with hand tools, I can say mesquite is more predictably unpredictable and then unpredictably predictable than most any wood. There is nothing in any way uniform or straight-grained about this remarkable wood and there is no doubt that it is a thousand times...

Source

I didn't get much done in the shop on either the toolbox or the glass door cabinet. Errands to run in the AM, 2 hour post lunch stroll, and house work in the afternoon. That felt good because it was actually something that I finished. I have one more thing to finish but no one but the wife and I will know when that will happened.

I like these hinges

These hinges are designed for 3/4" stock and the sides are roughly 5/8". Not a deal killer - a thin piece of veneer will make up any shortfall. Still clueless on where or even who I ordered the strap hinges from. I'll have the same headache with them too - they are meant for use on 3/4" thick stock.

nope

I sawed off the front of the lid. As much as I liked it I knew it wouldn't last. In one day it had already suffered two big chips in the toe. This pine isn't working because the far end dog legs. It is straight and flat until about the 3/4 point where it twists to the left and slightly upward.

better match

The dog leg board was quarter sawn and this one is flat sawn like the lid is. It isn't a color/grain match but it is a better match than the quarter sawn one.

found a use

My small japanese tool boxes have a purpose now. I have four boxes of nails that I can fill them with.

what's inside

Super glued one of the nails to the lid to ID what is inside.

last set of shutters

My wife is/was hesitating about painting these. Rather than wait for her to do, I decided to whack it out. Step one was super gluing all the brown knots including the faces. There is one red knot on one shutter and it is on a side edge. Red knots will bleed through paint but since this one is on the side I'm leaving it unsealed. If and when it bleeds through it won't be noticeable.

primer

I doubt that I will get away with a primer and top coat. I'm betting the odds highly favor at least two top coats. After dinner I plan on returning to the shop to prime the opposite face. Tomorrow I'll try my hardest to get both sides top coated. Any  takers on the odds?

accidental woodworker

 Just a few photos for you................

When we hand sharpen a tool, such as a chisel or plane blade, it must be accurately and consistently held at the desired angle to the stone. Most woodworkers and most teachings use an angle holder. With some exceptions such as tiny or odd blades, I generally do not. I do have a metal gauge […]

Recently my brother and his wife were visiting, and their routine included a long evening walk.  One of the walks was in the aftermath of an early evening rain, with this being the result.

In the 1988 movie Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder, as Lydia, professes her strangeness with quiet self-assurance: “I myself am strange and unusual.” About a year ago I was asked to incorporate that line into a piece, and the idea developed in … Continue reading →

 Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12692353908068506678noreply@blogger.com0

out of the clamps

Looks good but it is rocking a lot.

confirmation

Front left and the back right are high - the sticks show 1 1/2 lines out of whack.

box miters

This is the best looking mitered box that I can remember doing. Miters are flush along the toes and at the top and bottom. It laid flat on the workbench with no rocking.

flushing the tenons

The tenons didn't swell when glued and close up as tight as I expected them to. They have acceptable  gaps that I can live with.

wavering again

I had kind of decided on overlay sides last night and I was still driving on that road when I came to the shop. Now that it is time to put the pedal to the metal, I'm questioning myself again. Looking at the inset on the right and the overlay on the left, I decided to go with inset sides. I don't like the end grain look on the overlay. The inset side is cleaner looking and I can accept the 1 1/2" loss of interior space.

another choice

If I put the keepers in the bottom they would have been 3" wide. Keepers in the lid are only an inch wide. Of the two I prefer have them in the bottom but I didn't want to make 3" keepers - I could have made 3 sets of keepers for the lid with them.

first one done

Scribed and planed to the pencil lines. The left side was square and the right side was out of square - the end leaned in a wee bit. The fit is snug and self supporting but there a sliver of a gap. I clamped it and that did nothing for closing it up. I'll live with it.

left side

This is what I wanted to be on the right side but I'll take one out of two.

much better

Opposite side and gapless this time. I left the pencil line this time and that paid off. On the other side I planed it away leaving just a hint of it.

left side

This side is square between the end the bottom. No gaps. I thought of redoing the other side with the teeny gap but nixed it. I didn't want to use another board out of my Gurney sawmill stash.

helping hand

I put 4 Miller Dowels in both ends to reinforce the bottom/end connections.

Container Store haul

The small plastic boxes are no more - haven't been sold for several years. One of the reps there found these for me. They are stackable and twist lock into each other. The glazier points in the pkg above the mouse will go in one of the smaller ones. The others I'll toss into my junk drawer.

nope

Lid doesn't fit in either orientation. It is an almost fit so a little work with 100 grit sandpaper (because it was on the workbench) loosened the fit.

done

A couple minutes work and it fit - snug and only in this orientation. A few more calories and the lid fit both ways.

laying flat

No rocking, not even a teeny bit. No finish as of this typing but that is subject to change.

hmm......

The board had a bit of twist and a cup to it. The original plan was to flatten the outside face and leave the interior face as is. It didn't work because I couldn't get the outside face flush with the ends and the bottom. The inside face which I had flattened was supposed to be the outside face but it had to face the inside due to the scribed and planed end. I had to flatten both faces but I didn't go nutso trying to make the faces dead nuts parallel.

just screws

Went back and forth on glue and screws and decided on just screws. I put five in the bottom and 4 in each end.

fitting the lid

Should I leave it overhanging a wee bit? 

no overhang

This is the clearance I have with the lid opened. With the overhang it wouldn't clear the handle.

potential hiccup

I planed the front edge of the lid to match the slope of the ends. I'm not sure the toe of the lid won't fracture and chip as is. I am thinking now of ripping off the angle and gluing on a new edge piece. Another hiccup is the clasp for the lid - will it clear the handle when the lid is opened?

The strap hinges I ordered didn't come on monday. I deleted the confirmation email so I don't have a way to check on it. Maybe it is coming this monday? I'm already thinking of alternative hinges just in case.

accidental woodworker  

The gift notion of my possibly becoming a maker came to me in 1963; it’s taken a lifetime to achieve my ambition. Of course, that does not mean that it is only achieved late in life. It simply means that the journey had the power and dynamism to start it, to begin the journey, and...

Source

And here we have it; the completed bass!

Thanks for watching, cheers Gary

 I haven't forgotten the glass door cabinet. I worked some on it today and I should be snapping glamour pics before the weekend. Made progress on the toolbox too - got it glued and cooking. I'm back to square one on the sides and the lid. I have overnight to decide on what to do, what to do. 

happy with this

Last night after dinner I went back to the shop and shaped the handle. I had glued it before I killed the lights earlier. A simple round over on the top just to knock off the sharp edges. It felt solid and secure but I'm still a bit leery of the dovetail connection of the handle. Time will tell how well that will hold up.

last dry fit run

Used bessey clamps on the middle of the bottom - had enough room between the through tenons to get two clamps to bear there. The top is a bit trickier to clamp. I had tried two clamps on the outside and that didn't apply even clamping pressure across the tails/pins. In fact the clamps pulled the half pins inward 1/4".

last dry check

I like this handle a lot. It feels comfortable to grip and it has a nice balance. It feels substantial and secure and I'm probably over thinking it too much. After all the toolbox I'm using as my inspiration is well over a 100 years old.

glued and cooking

Figured out the clamping headache for the handle. Placed a scrap directly below the baseline and used that to close up the tails and pins. The half pins were in line with the end - they weren't pushed inwards. I'll let this cook until the AM.

clean up

It was difficult to cut up all my small scraps and shitcan them. I'm sure that I could have used them eventually but I don't hang on to them anymore. Cutting them up into smaller bits makes it easier to fit in the shitcan. Garbage pickup is tomorrow.

sigh

The painters said that they would deal with this. Update - they didn't. This is/was the exhaust port for the bathroom fan. That got changed years ago when I replaced the bathroom exhaust fan. The maroon who put this in did it with nails which made removing it a PITA. Got that done and the replacement cover my wife bought wouldn't fit.

I had to push part of the metal tube inward, stuffed it with insulation, and covered it with a shingle. One coat of paint today and the 2nd one tomorrow. Happy face on the wife and me.

survived

Got the door hinges hung again. This door is heavy and I'm glad I went with thick hinges. The door swings open and close easily and smoothly. There are a few spots that I have touch up. The black on the front edge of the shelves and several hiccups on the inside and outside of the cabinet.

new box coming

I got asked why I make so many boxes for whatever? I dislike throwing things like  this into a drawer. I like having boxes that contain/group specific/related items and not having to hunt for them in a crowded drawer.

oversized

This is box is taller than it needs to be. I'm going with a lift off lid for it so the lid space won't usable. Besides it will give me room to add new pushers if I come across any.

dry fit

I got a snug fit with the 1/8" plywood that is the top and bottom. Usually the plywood is a slip fit. 

glued and cooking

The box held together after glue went on and I could have left it as is. The miters were tight because the 1/8" plywood was snug and it was holding the box together. I added clamps for insurance against something getting bumped and to prevent any other stupid wood tricks.

sigh

I thought I had a larger one of these but nada. I searched my 3 junk drawers and I only found the two small ones. I need one to put the large triangle glazier points in. I'll have to make a run to the Container store at Garden City.

hmm.....

Found this while searching for that MIA clear plastic box. The last time I used this I found it to be very frustrating and it mostly centered around on how to clamp the stock in the jig. It is surprising how well something like this will works after a long non use. I know I didn't use a spring clamp in my last use but it worked surprisingly well today.

dead nuts

You can't argue with the results. I still like the wooden one I made. It is larger with a wider reference surface to guide a chisel on.

accidental woodworker 

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