Hand Tools

 I went dead in the water yesterday on the ladder build. I had ordered some supplies from McMaster-Carr and they came today. However, they came too late for me to use them on the ladder project. I'll pick that one back up in the AM. Because I couldn't work on the ladder I starting making frames for the Stanley advertising posters (reproductions).

looked good

The broken piece was flush and even on all sides of the break.

fits

It isn't as snug as it was before this broke, but it is a loose snug. It will be ok because the stretcher will be glued and screwed.

caught it in time

The back legs go on the outside of the front ones. This ladder will not fold up with the front and rear legs flush with each other. It will close a lot more this way then if the legs were on the inside.

giving me fits

Because the legs were moved from the inside to the outside I have to make a new back bottom stretcher. No matter what I did or tried, I was getting a ton of ugly looking tear out. This is the stretcher and at a minimum the top edge of it has to be smooth because it visible. Unfortunately for me both the top and bottom edges were tearing out equally.

Stanley #80

Happy to write that the #80 erased all the tear out on the top and bottom edges. The triangle scraper on the workbench didn't work but a card scraper did. I thought the triangle scraper was ready to go but I couldn't feel any burrs on the 3 edges.

nice and smooth

I now have two edges to pick from to be the up face.

nope

The new, longer stretcher doesn't fit in the notches. It looks like I have about a 16th more needed to come off one edge.

lots of frames here

I sawed up the 6 foot long 1x12 into 1 1/2" wide boards. I don't know how many frames I'll get out of it - I need 6 frames just for the Stanley posters.

hmm.....

I thought I was on the right track here. The poster just fits the inside of the frame. I get one point for that but I lose it a bit further on down in this post.

first one done

I plan on making each of the six frames for the Stanley posters using different joinery. This first one was made with bridle joints. I did most of the joinery with a tenon jig and the tablesaw.

caught it

 On the first frame I made it to fit the poster but I forgot to add for the mat. I initially made the same mistake with the second frame. 

2nd frame

I could have used the long sides of the first 2nd frame for the short sides but nixed it. Instead I'll save this for a 5x7 frame.

shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't

I want about 3/4" between the outside gray border (on the poster) and the inboard edge of the mat. On the top and bottom I went 3/4" from the bottom edge of the writing.

the look I'm after

I already have the mat color picked out. It is going to be sepia toned. For the frames I'm thinking about just painting them black with no other details such as chamfers or molded edges.

done

The margin I am leaving between the poster and the mat is the same 3/4" space between the gray lines on the sides and the poster edges.

sigh

Realized here that I hadn't allowed for the mat. I can use this as for a 8x10 pic. I'll make a new bridal joint frame tomorrow.

2nd frame

Using the Kreg loose tenon jig to do the 2nd one. So far I have 4 of the frame joints in mind. Those four are visible - you can look at them and know what type of joint they are. The last two are iffy. There is no way (unless you have x-ray vision) to tell what joinery was used on frame #2.

no major hiccups

I got all eight of the mortises done without any problems. The jig was easier to use this time but I still need more time on the pond with it. I did make one mortise too shallow. I was able to go back and get it to depth. 

The drilling to depth is something that I am still working on. I don't have a good idea of when the drilling is to depth. Some of the problem with that is that I am not cycling the handle fully to the R before moving fully to the L. I'll get the hang of it eventually.

2nd frame glued and cooking

Wasn't expecting this tidbit to reveal itself. I only need two clamps for the loose tenon frame. There is nothing to pull in or apply any pressure to in the opposite direction.

I survived

Putting this together and taking it apart wasn't the nightmare I had anticipated it being. I do plan on buying some hex screwdrivers for it though. I takes 3 different size allen wrenches to take it apart and put it together. It is a bit awkward using allen wrenches and hex screwdrivers would be easier and I have room for them in the box.

ain't going to work

I bought a bag of ten of these plastic washers. I thought they were a lot bigger than this but they are exactly what I ordered. I plan to put a plastic washer between the legs to make it easier to open and close it. I'll make a run to ACE in the AM and see what they have to offer.

brass tube

The 1/4-20 machine screw I'm using to hold the legs together fits the ID with room to spare. The OD of the tubing is 9/32 so I'll be drilling out the 1/4-20 hole which hopefully doesn't turn into a shxt show with the drill bit dancing all over.

not even close

I had to see and satisfy my  curiosity on how far off the fit is. Too much for trying to press it in.

accidental woodworker

Man, I had a lot of trouble writing this blog entry.  It has been tough trying to come up with a coherent story.  But here goes.

Last week I had taken a 1/2" dowel and, after careful layout, used a square file to file about an inch of threads into it at a pitch of 8 threads per inch.  Then I made a wooden nut and was able to screw the threaded wooden dowel into it.

A 1/2" x 8 tpi screw into a tapped hole

The method of making the nut involved a block with an angled kerf cut in it, into which a metal plate is inserted to engage the spiral slot sawn into a 7/16" dowel.  The dowel was fitted with a cutter which, when rotated in the block, can cut inside threads in a workpiece that is clamped to the block.

The tap without a workpiece

The tap with a workpiece ready to get an inside thread

A couple years ago, I made some larger diameter wooden screws and nuts.  To cut the external threads, I made a screw-box based the one in Roy Underhill's "The Woodwright's Workbook".  But this time I'm trying something different.  A guy named Paul Hamler has a YouTube video where he shows his method of cutting wooden threads for miniature plow planes that he makes.  I'm particularly interested in what he shows at about the 22 minute mark.  In this blog post, I'm borrowing some ideas from that video.

Like last post, I'm working with 1/2" diameter dowels for outside threads, 7/16" dowels for making inside threads, and I'm making 8 threads per inch.  This method takes advantage of a large 1" diameter metal bolt that happens to have 8 threads per inch.  By attaching a wooden dowel to the bolt and running the bolt through a captive 1" x 8 tpi nut, I can advance the dowel at the proper rate to cut 8 tpi threads.  And I hope to be able to cut both outside and inside threads!

This block helps capture the nut

First, I had to find a way to attach a dowel to the bolt.  I started by hacksawing, drilling and filing a 3/8" slot, about 5/8" deep, centered in the end of the bolt.  Holy crap - that was a lot of work!  Then I made a wood block with one end shaped to fit in the bolt's slot and a 7/16" hole in the other end to secure a 7/16" dowel.  Both connections were pinned with wooden pegs.

3/8" wide x 5/8" deep slot cut into the end of the 1" screw

Wood block shaped and later pinned to the bolt

I had to give this a try, so I clamped things to the workbench and gave a trial run.

A trial run at cutting inside threads

The dowel was fitted with a small cutter

And after a few passes, iteratively increasing the cutter's depth, it worked! Here a 1/2" x 8 tpi wooden screw was turned through the new nut.

After that, I realized I could more simply attach the dowel and bolt by filing a couple of flats on the dowel and pinning that directly to the big bolt.  The two flats were made 180 degrees apart on the end of the dowel, so that it would fit into the bolt's slot.  A 3/16" hole was drilled through the bolt and dowel to hold the dowel in place.

Attaching a dowel to the massive 1" x 8 tpi bolt: note the hole drilled down through bolt and dowel, pegged with 3/16" dowel

I also made a three-sided box with dadoes on opposing sides to house blocks that hold the different items needed for cutting threads.

Here's a box with captive 1" x 8 tpi nut.  One of the other slots in the box will house a block with a cutter to cut the threads in a dowel.

The nut is recessed into the block and secured with a cover

The next thing I needed was a method to attach a V-cutter (for cutting outside threads) to a block that the dowel is fed into.

Here you can barely see a clamp for the cutter.  The clamp is just a small piece of hardwood with two holes for bolts to tighten it against the cutter. T-nuts on the back of the wood block provide purchase for the bolts.

Here's the cutter clamped to a wood block, starting to cut some threads

An action shot shows the shavings coming off the dowel

The resulting screw threads in some (very soft) redwood

But it fits the internal threads of the test block

Here you can tell I decreased the outside diameter of the dowel too much. It made for a fairly loose fit in the nut.

On another test piece, made of harder wood, after cutting the threads I chucked the dowel in a drill to file the threads for a better fit in the nut

Ready for a test fit ...

... and it fits great!

Top is the screw that I filed by hand.  The other three, from different woods were cut with the rig shown above.

This is getting too long (again), so I'll add one final thing.  I made a nice improvement to the clamp that holds the cutter for outside threads.

A block holds the cutter and a set screw in the back can advance the cutter

Here's the cutter, the clamp block and you can see the hole for the set screw

In use, an Allan key turns the set screw ...

... advancing the cutter from not cutting ...

... to cutting deeper and deeper with each pass

End note: after all this, I found that you can purchase "lead screws" of a more reasonable diameter and the right thread pitch, lead screw nuts, and couplers that would handle the job of attaching the screw to the dowel much more efficiently.  Oh well, I guess I like to do things the hard way - with stuff I already have on hand.

One of the reasons I keep a notebook is to play with ideas and save them for future reference. When I revisit an old notebook, I sometimes wonder what I was thinking, but sometimes I realize the circumstances are right … Continue reading →

 I woke this AM before 0600 to find that the power was out. I checked the RI Energy power outage site (on my cell phone) and my neighborhood and the village were the only effected ones. Power didn't come back on until around 0830. It screwed up my schedule with me not posting my blog before 0700. 

I remembered that Starbucks has free WiFi so I headed out there got a large coffee and a pound of ground beans and settled in to post my blog. That didn't happen boys and girls. I forgot that since I would be signing on to a new network, I would have to input my blogger password. Which I do not know off the top of my head. So I headed back to the barn to retrieve it and return to Starbucks.

I didn't have to go back because I stopped and asked a lineman outside my house and he told me power would be back on momentarily. Didn't ask why it was out as all I was concerned about was getting power back on in my house so I could post my blog.

USPS

The post office delivered this in the AM. Not what I was expecting but it will be a good book to read with the grandsons. 

next day Amazon

I have always been interested in clocks although I don't have a good understanding on how they work. I watch a lot of watch repair You Tube channels (8 so far) and clocks are just a grown up version of their smaller siblings. 

This book satisfies my 'watch/clock' interests along with some history. According to the author this maker was a good friend of Ben Franklin. Looking forward to reading this one.

_#^%*#@_)^*#^ more crappy building practices

The back door will not close properly now. I found out that the jambs are not secured to the jack studs at all. So the only thing holding the door upright are the casings on both sides of it.

The board on the left laying against the wall was the baseboard. It runs continuously from the back door casing into the closet on the left. It should have stopped at the closet door jamb. There is also no shoe/sill, only one vertical stud between the two doors for the sheet rock to be nailed to and no nailer/stud on the left between the closet and the wall. I don't know what is holding the dry wall in place on the right side by the back door. 

So I'll probably have to replace some or all of the drywall here, add some studs and a shoe/sill along with insulation. I didn't see or feel any at the bottom. 

The contractor putting in the door came and measured the door etc. Now I have to wait for Home Depot to call with a estimate and a time. After lunch I went to Lowes and then Home Depot to find a lock set for the door. There was nothing but absolute garbage to be had. Then my wife emailed me that she had find a set she liked and was having it shipped to the house. I'll have coordinate that arrival with the door being installed.

late in the PM session

This is what I was writing about yesterday Frank - The top back corners of the treads are flush with the legs.

fitting the back bottom stretcher

The legs are in what will be the open position. The inside ID at the top is 11 1/4" and the bottom was 11 3/4". Clamped it at 11 1/4", marked and cut the stretcher to length.

sneaking up on the fit

Took my time and made planing runs and checked the fit. Kept at it until the stretcher fit snug in the notches.

oops

The bottom of the notch broke off when I was attempting to tap the stretcher out of the notches.

X brace

I am adding this not only to keep the inside legs parallel, but also because I like the look of it.

glued and cooking

I will let this cook overnight. I don't want this to failing again in the future. This might throw off the fit on this side for the stretcher too. I have an extra maple board that I can get a new stretcher from if need be. I'll find that out in the AM.

door shut

In order to close the door I have to pick it up with the door knob - it is cocked in the opening. That is all it does - the keeper in the latch doesn't engage/fit in the strike plate. The jambs at the bottom move in/out. Oh well it is only a few days hopefully.

This is where I punched the clock for today. Haven't found any handles I like after searching Lee Valley last night for over an hour for the Kreg jig box. I'm thinking maybe I should make something simple out of wood. 

The first day of spring isn't too far off - it is the 20th of this month and it is Easter sunday. It was cold for the last couple of days but it appears to be warming up in the forecast. I'm going to try to plane the cherry this weekend - all the snow is finally gone from the backyard and I can get to the shed now.

accidental woodworker

…at least in the corporeal realm.

Grandson #3 joined us a few days ago (a week early) and it is every bit as wondrous as you imagine.  Both of his grandpas are Woodworking Grandpas with a lifetime of woodfinishing experience, so at least part of his path is already known.  He will grow in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” and seventy years from now will reflect on the multitude of glorious hours spent with his grandpas in their shops of wonder.

 The box for the Kreg loose tenon jig is kinda done. It needs a finish (shellac) and handles - either homemade or store bought. In the PM session I stepped back into and worked some on the maple kitchen ladder/stool. I'm getting closer to finishing that but it will be a few more days. I have to figure out and decide on how to do a few steps on it. I had to order some screws (black oxide, oval heads) for the treads. On my last order with Blacksmithbolt they were out of stock. Should have ordered them before today.

almost there

I got the last of the woodworking done for storage. The lid is done and is ready for hinges.

sigh

I was able to saw the proud without any breaks or hiccups. A small piece broke off when I planed the spline flush. I am going to put this at the back of the box and deal with it later, it then.

inside peek

This box is heavier than I thought it would be. I have room to stow at least one more Kreg container of loose tenons.

sawing the brass pin to length

This vise is proving to be a handy thing to have. No problems holding the pin while I hack sawed it off. 

oh well......

I had a boatload of 8-32 threaded inserts and same in 10-24 thumbscrews. I went to ACE to get a 8-32 thumbscrew and the only had 1/2" long ones and I needed one at least an inch long. So I'm making my own with a 8-32 wing nut and a 8-32 machine screw.

epoxy to the rescue

I want this to be a tool free operation. The epoxy will be used to glue the wing nut to the machine screw.

5 minutes later

Epoxied the washer to the bottom of the wing nut. It screwed in and out without any hiccups. 

which end gets the hinges?

Initially I was going to place the hinges on the side where the table is. Changed my mind and the hinges are going on the loose tenon side. I used 90° stop hinges - the table is awkward enough to get in/out without having the lid to work around.

paper shims

Put a couple pieces on the back and  sides. I don't want the hinges to become bound - the paper will provide enough clearance for that.

hinged

Swings freely up and down. For cheap 90° stop hinges, these aren't that bad and they were dirt cheap too. This box lid most likely won't be cycled much so they should last as long as the box does.

just in case

I had this screwed down all the way. I backed it off to err on the side of caution. The brass pin sits a few frog hairs short of the top of the lid.

don't match

I can pick the box up without difficulty but handles would make that better. These are the only two I have. I thought I had a couple of black oxide ones similar to the sliver one. I will get something on order from Lee Valley later tonight.

back to the kitchen ladder

Did an inventory of the parts to ensure I had them all. After that I eyeballed the full scale drawing to bring myself back up to speed on it. I looked for anything I might have overlooked that could bite me on the arse.

steps

Rounded the front corners off. The back top edge is flush with the back of the side legs. I don't see any need to have any of the treads hanging out past that.

1/8" thick brass

Sawed this into two pieces on the tablesaw. That small piece in between the plates is all the waste there was. You can cut brass and aluminum on a table saw. Just take it slow and easy. Most important is to wear proper eye protection - the sawing will throw up a ton of tiny metal shavings.

the cut edges

They don't look all the horrible. They will clean up nicely with a file and sandpaper.

sneak peek

Looking to see how uniform the round overs look. I can't focus on two of them R/L but I can compare two on each end at once. I'm not going to obsess about this and I'm leaving it as is.

drilling holes

This is the 1/4-20 screw I'm using for the back legs to pivot on. I drilled the hole for it with the two legs clamped together. I didn't do the chamfer for the head yet - I'll do that later.

not working

I was trying to use this circle template to lay out a round over at the top. I could only get 2 lines to align and I would need at least 3.

template time

Stopped wasting time  pissing into the wind and using up pencil lead and made a template. I freehand drew a round over and transferred it to the legs.

done

Band sawed most of the waste and refined it with a rasp. Smoothed it with sandpaper. I'll save this template to use on the cherry one also.

notching on the tablesaw

This notch is at the bottom back of the inside legs. I won't do the notch until these legs are attached to rung legs. Then I'll know the length the stretcher needs to be.

doesn't fit

I purposely made the notch smaller than the stretcher. When the fitting time comes I'll plane it to fit snug.

one inch hole

The hole is too small for the 1 1/8" dowel. I drilled the hole in a scrap of the same maple as the ladder. I thought of trimming the dowel to fit and that may still happen.

1 1/8" hole

The dowel is a 64th of an inch under 1 1/8" and it it just a wee bit loose in the hole.

sigh

Measured the dowel along the length in several spots and it was a consistent 64th of an inch under 1 1/8". The hole drilled is also a 64th of an inch under 1 1/8" but the fit is still too loose for me.

extra dowels

I measured each of them and they are all within a frog of hair of each along the entire length. I was hoping to find one that might have been oversized. However, I did find one of them was 1 1/4" - didn't know I had one that size.

hmm......

The original plan was to have the dowels fit in a snug hole and screw it in place with a screw from the outside edge of the leg into the dowel end. Thinking now of just drilling a through hole and using a backer to hold the dowel in the hole. Two choices for the backer - brass plate or maple.

surprise

Drilled a though hole in some pine and the dowel is tight in the hole and won't go in or out. Maybe I could cut about an inch off each end and then it would fit?

not what I thought it was

I assumed that since this said it was a manual that it was about how to use machinist's tools. It isn't and it is a tool catalog. Oh well I guess I'll buy a micrometer first and then try again to find a how to manual. I've always wanted to know how to use one these.

workshop art

I bought 6 Stanley advertising posters for the shop. These 3 are batting first. Don't know where I can hang them but I'll find a hole.

accidental woodworker

PS Blog was late today because I lost power at my house for a couple of hours.

 I tried to go to Home Depot 3 times before I got there. The first two times I ran into an accident that backed up traffic on Rte 95 for miles. The 2nd attempt was thwarted too by everyone on the planet using the side roads to get to get around the parking lot on Rte 95. I finally made it 4 hours later after lunch. 

Maybe I should have waited because the news wasn't good. The door costs $500 and the installation estimate was $1500 plus more if there are any hiccups. Made me stop and reconsider whether or not I should do it myself. My tax refund will cover most of it. 

improving the fit

I had to drill the hole for the handle coming at it from the top and bottom. The holes were a wee bit off. Used a rasp to smooth it out and feather them together. Wasn't necessary but it gave me a warm and fuzzy.

checking it

The handle is short of the bottom of the lid. Always a good feeling that it worked.

needs some help

I used the bandsaw to saw an angle here so the short part at the edge of the top is gone. 

its new home

Glued in with hide glue so it can be removed if need be.

hmm....

Wanted to saw spline grooves in the lid but it isn't square. 

wasn't square

I checked the lid first and it was slightly out of square on two corners. I must have planed them out when I cleaned and smoothed the miter toes. Planed it square and the spline jig was still not square. I had to move the left leg on the jig to bring it back into square.

fixed

The lid laid in the jig square on all four corners. Don't know how it got lost in La La Land. I must have squared it up with an out of square frame. This time I set the two 45 legs with Mr Starrett and checked after that that the lid laid in it square too.

checking the fit

Used the same pine for the splines that I made the lid with. Used the bandsaw to rough it out and smoothed it with a blockplane till it fit.

a recalcitrant spline

I first saw this trick on a japanese woodworking You Tube vid. He beat on a spline that didn't fit with a hammer compressing it until it fit. Once it is glued in the groove the spline swells and fills the groove tightly.

going away....

I made this for my wife but daughter #2 is getting it. My wife bought her the prototype and I'm told that this one is going in the master bath. There was no room to keep here at out house. I'm glad that it is going to someone who is going to use it.

two of four wounds

I am kind of surprised that this cabinet hasn't gotten more wounds. It has been in the shop since I finished it a couple of months ago. I brought it upstairs today and put it in front of my woodworking bookcase. I have to find the paint that I put somewhere when rearranged the table it was living on.

table holder done

Simple and effective. Used a piece of 1/4" poplar and two scraps of pine. There is some wiggle room front to back and side to side. That was done to facilitate getting the table in/out of the holder.

the last 3

I was thinking of putting three 1/2" half circle grooves in a board for the 3 drills to lay in. My first thought was to use one of my round planes to do that. It didn't work because the iron's bevel was not only dull, it was pitted. Shifted gears and moved on to option #2.

)_&@%$^(@%)(_)r-086  fence......

Typical chinese crappola. I have a lock washer on the wing nut I used to tighten down the fence it slipped. On the second try I tightened it with the help of slip joint pliers. Didn't slip again on me.

didn't last

The shaft diameter on the 3 drills is the same but they aren't all the same length. This looks awful to my eye and I easily broke the super glue bond I used to secure the stops. 

ubiquitous white paint

I had to remove the white paint on the bottom of the bit holder. Not sure if you can use hide glue over paint.

fell into it

Got lucky in that the offcut I generated sawing the holder to length worked as a lid for this. I got it secured with a 8-32 threaded insert and thumbscrew. Now the drill bits aren't going to come free from their holder when the box is picked up and moved.

1/8" brass rod

Using some brass rod as a registration pin so the lid can't move/pivot with just the thumbscrew. I'll trim it to size after the glue has cooked.

sigh

I went 3 for 4. The last one broke off a wee bit below the top edge. Of course it ended up on the right front corner. I flipped the lid and put it at the back left but it was still visible there too. Had to fix it.

1/8" chisel

The saw blade is 1/8" thick but this ended up a few frog hairs thicker than that. I had to make a new spline for this one. The left overs from the first go around were too loose.

glued and cooking

After I did this I think I didn't make it deep enough. It might not being able to withstand the stress of being saw off. I'll find out if I brain farted when that time comes.

accidental woodworker

If this year has a theme, it’s called Lost Art Press.  Chris Schwartz was here a couple weeks ago taking photos for my new book (if we’re lucky, it may be available by the end of the year).  Then he’s coming back in April to film a video of me teaching my mentor Curtis Buchanan how to build the chair in the book (this was Curtis’s idea and I’m really excited about it).  And in October, I’m going to be teaching a class with Eric Cannizzaro at the Lost Art Press shop in Cincinnati (another thing I’m really excited about).  We’ll be making lots of green woodworking projects, including pitchforks. 

 

I know, I know, nobody needs a wooden pitchfork.  In fact, one of the students in our last class said “what am I going to do with that?” when we showed them the project on the first day.  But by the end of the week, everyone was hooked.  There’s a variety of different skills in a pitchfork, each one building on the last. The skills are useful for many other things – like chair parts, for instance – but the process is as laid-back as can be.  Making pitchforks, in short, is super fun. We’ll be doing a number of other projects too, like spoons, brooms, firewood carriers, tool handles and fan birds.  (More info about the class at the Lost Art Press website). 

With the book and video out of the way, I’m ready to start teaching a little more in my shop.  So I’m adding a loop back chairmaking class May 5th-10th.  Because of the demand I’ve been experiencing for these classes, I’m trying a new registration method:  send me an email by 8am Eastern on March 12th and I’ll add your name to the lottery to get into the class.  Then, if you get in, you’ll pay a $200 deposit to register (the remainder of the $1800 fee is due when you get here).  My website has more info.

 

 

The post Two New Classes first appeared on Elia Bizzarri - Hand Tool Woodworking.

Spent over an hour at Home Depot today waiting to see someone in the door department. The associate was helping a couple and none of them were in a hurry. I need to replace my back door along with the storm door. I wanted to get an estimate on the cost of that and an installation. 

The last time I hung a door was in the early 1990's and that was a interior closet door. Initially I was going to do it but decided to pay to have it done. Doing repairs on this house over the years have bit me on the arse too many times. It is better to leave any potential hiccups to someone else with more experience.

???

Fingers crossed that all the miters stay together and it isn't twisted.

much better

This was the miter that I had to fuss over - the heels were tight then with the toes open.

solid

I tried to break each of the miters and failed. The lid felt solid in my hands - not flimsy feeling at all. It also felt a little heavier which is a good thing IMO.

banding

This is the only spot with a gap between the banding and the box. Overall I was happy with how tightly the banding adhered to the box.

rounding the corners

I didn't miter the banding but butted them together at the corners. I did a slight round over on them to blend the end grain out.

lid in place

The lid is laying flat and with zero rocking. There will be about an 1/8" overhang on the sides and the front.

flushing and flattening

The miters were a few frog hairs proud on the front and back. The center stile was almost dead nuts flush.

happy face on

The lid is still laying flat and not rocking on the box after flushing the miters. 

bottom side

The lid feels stiff as is but I am going to apply bandings to the inside edges of the panels. 

dry fit

I use butt joinery and hide glue on the banding. 

an hour later

It is surprising to me how doing this little bit stiffened it so much more.

why not?

Decided to apply bandings to the top face of the lid too. Except I will use miters instead of butt joints. I should have used them on the bottom too but then I hadn't planned on doing the face side.

better than expected

Using miters on the top face is a cleaner look than butt joints.

easy peasy

I tried this method of mitering expecting it to not work but it did. Happy as clam at low tide with both the fit and ease in making them.

dry fit

Even dry I could feel how much tighter the lids feel. I might end up putting things on this lid and I won't feel any apprehensions about that now. When I glued it up I replaced one short leg - the miter was opened. Don't know how it went from tight and gap free on the dry fit to open with hide glue applied.

fixing a gap

When I glued the strip on yesterday I used yellow glue and super glue with accelerator. I only noticed the gap after it was on and it wasn't coming off. I put this gap filler in with super glue and accelerator. After ten seconds I trimmed it with a chisel.

hmm.....

This isn't going to work in this orientation. I have 6 things to secure so that they don't dance around in the box. This, the table, the handle, and the 3 mortising bits. I started with this first.

done

The jig will fit on and in this horizontally. I used hide glue to secure it and also so I can remove it if need be later on.

headache

I drilled a 1 1/8" hole in a 2x4 scrap for the handle to sit in. However, I couldn't leave it in the hole at 90° because the top of the handle would extend over a 3/8" above the box top. I sawed the block into two pieces at an angle and placed the smaller sized part back on top of it to increase the 'hold' on the handle. With it sitting in the box at an angle, the top is about a 3/8" below the top of the box.

tricky one

I have a few ideas on how to secure this. The biggest headache with it is there isn't an easy way to grab it to pull it out or to put it back. I'll find out in the AM whether or not my idea will work.

After breakfast tomorrow I'll be heading back to Home Depot to talk to Joe. According to the help desk lady Joe has worked there for a bazillion years and is very knowledgeable. I couldn't get an estimate from Lowes so fingers crossed that Joe can do that.

accidental woodworker

It’s a day like any other. I open the door and everything is just as it should be. I stand in the doorway for just a few seconds and then drift towards my bench, the tools and the piece I’m working on. I want to take in everything as I left it last night; the...

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How much is enough? What should you keep and what should you just get rid of? Whether tools, scrap wood, or spare parts, every woodworker (human?) can relate.

My shop is small, and it sees a wide variety of jobs through it from furniture making and repair to small production runs and custom tools. I suspect that if my shop were a production shop that specialized in making only one thing, deciding what to keep and get rid of would be eaiser because I would know exactly what is useful and what isn’t.

For example, about twenty years ago, I found a deal on project parts bought a gross of them for $2 each. I mean, I bought so many the store staff were making jokes about it. But I had big plans to turn them into finished products. I made a sample, but for whatever reason, didn’t continue.

Over the years I’ve looked at those parts and thought about the purchase, and each time, found myself less and less interested in the project. Then, finally, I decided to try to sell them to cover the costs from the inital purchase. I was surprised and delighted to find a buyer quickly who paid me $5 each – 150% more than what I had initially paid for the parts (20 years ago, mind you, so with inflation, etc…).

I never would have guessed that I would be missing those parts so badly now. They are nearly perfect for what I need, requiring only a slight alteration. Not only are those parts no longer available, there is nothing even remotely close to them, and the closest thing is about $30.

Right now, I am considering reaching out the the buyer to see if they have already used them, or if they would consider selling them back to me since they, as I once was, are just holding onto them waiting for the right moment.

Thanks for reading. If you have a similar story, would you care to share it in the comments section?

Lots of angles in the roof lantern. Basically a miniature hipped roof, with glazing bars instead of rafters.

A temporary structure and tent was placed over the roof lantern, as the work was happening in the middle of winter.

On installation day, a genie lift was used to raise the lantern up in two sections.

Over on to the scaffold tower.

Then slid along, and posted through the 'letterbox' in the tent structure. Over the hole and then the scaffold boards slid out and the lantern fixed down.

The tarpaulin battened back down, for work to continue, in the dry!

 I thought I would be done with the box for the Kreg loose tenon jig but it didn't happen boys and girls. I had to glue things onto the box because I didn't want to have nails/screws show. So it was hurry up and wait for most of the day. I would glue something on and wait an hour for it to set up and repeat for the next one. It ate up a lot time for sure.

divider fits

Something it or the groove shrunk or grew overnight because the divider was a snug fit. The intent was to dry fit it, remove it and glue it back in. That didn't happen but it will be captured with no place to go once the bottom gets glued on.

bottom cooking

I nailed the four corners of the bottom onto the box. The plywood bottom cupped and it was slipping and sliding once the glue went on. The nails held it in place while I got the clamps on.

flushing the bottom

I flushed and cleaned up the tails and pins too. Gluing on the bandings was in the batter's box.

not over kill

The banding is only about a 16th thick and the clamps are needed to apply even pressure along the entire length. I also used super glue - I put 3 spots on the banding to hold it in down before I put the clamps on.

frame and panel lid

For some reason I was going to wait until after all the bandings were glued on before starting it. The off cuts from yesterday were not long enough but I had some extra pine boards I used. That orange spot is a pine pitch pocket.

 

wash, rinse, and repeat

I need to thin the pine down to 5/8" to match the thickness of the box.

almost

These two boards are within a frog hair of each other. 

sneak peek of the lid

Going with a mitered frame with a center stile. I think this is too wide for just a single panel(sans a center stile). The frame could twist and bend opening and closing it. I don't want to put any stress on the miters if I can avoid that.

first set done

I will saw a spline on the toes of the miters after they are glued together to strengthen the them.

dry fit

It could be better but it is acceptable. All the miters were flush at the toes and heels and Mr Starrett said they were 45°.

fitting the tenons

The tenons are not that big but it is what I have to work with. The panels are plywood and I will glue them into the grooves so the tenon size won't matter. And yes I glue plywood in my frames. What is there to move?

good snug fit

Happy with the fit of both tenons. I didn't have any problems sawing them. I trimmed the tenons to fit with a chisel.

dry fit looks good

I am not looking forward to the glue up. Everything has to go together at the same time. One corner has open toes. The other 3 are tight and gap free. I trimmed that miter with a blockplane and closed it up.

plywood panels

I have one more dry fit before I can glue it up. Had to check the fit of the panels next.

nope

They look good but they are short on the width. The panels are barely into the groove on one side of the stiles. I need a 1/4" and I couldn't stretch either one of them.

success

With the new panels the grain is running R/L instead of up and down. They fit and glue up was chomping at the bit. I got it glued up and I remained sane. The panels helped a lot with keeping the frame in place while I got the band clamp on it.

calling it done

Got the last coat of shellac on Miller Dowel miniature dresser and I'm saying it is fini.

accidental woodworker

 I have made a bazillion boxes over the years. From way back when I was working wood with a rock and a dull butter knife for a chisel. For the most part I never had one kick my butt like the one I am doing today. In hindsight (which sucks pond scum) I should have made it out of cardboard first. It would have saved me a lot of frustration and wasted wood. At the end of the day I got it glued and cooking but I had to compromise and settle to get there.

doesn't matter now

The boards are still flat and twist free. Once they are dovetailed together it won't matter anymore. The pins tails and will keep it flat and from bowing or cupping.

wowie

This box is too big for my eyes. It will lose about an inch on the sides and ends due to the pins/tails. But that doesn't negate that this looks like a small suitcase.

lots of wasted space

This box as is, is too big for the jig. There is plenty of space for the loose tenons but that isn't enough to sway me from saying it is still too large.

almost 4"

The vacuum attachment port is the highest point on the jig. There is almost 4" of dead space above it. All I need is about a 1/2".

gained an inch

When I measured this height yesterday I used my tape and it said it was over 8". Mr Starrett says it is a wee bit more then 7".

oops

I made some pencil marks and made the first trimming saw cut on the box. Turns out that I made the box too small then for the jig. The handle wouldn't fit.

had too

I had already removed the table to decrease the depth of the box. I had no choice but to remove the handle to get the jig to fit in the box. Not happy with that but I didn't want to start over again and turn these boards into kindling.

shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't

Maybe I should have just sucked it up and used the dimensions of the cardboard box that the jig came in. I made another saw cut reducing the height to a 1/2" higher than the cardboard box.

sometimes you get lucky

The box as it is here, I can get the jig in it (broken down) along with the containers for the loose tenons.

off cuts

These are from the two saw cuts I made on the box but they won't be wasted. I can get a couple of 5x7 picture frames out of them.

tails first

Finally after a couple of hours of chasing my tail I got around to the dovetailing. I don't recall ever having these many problems making a box for a specific tool/purpose.

chopping board

One thing about this is that I like that it keeps the chiseling marks from going into my benchtop. I have used this about 5-6 times and so far no complaints. The size has worked with everything I have used it for. But It won't work for stock longer than it is. Those I'll have to chop on the benchtop.

dry fitted

Everything fits with a good use of space. I should have increased the height because I can't use an enclosed bottom and top - don't have room for the grooves for them. I thought I had allowed for it but I obviously measured/marked something wrong.

not what I wanted to do

As of now the plan is to glue the plywood bottom on the bottom of the box and band the outside to hide the plywood edge. The top will be a frame and panel lid.

need a divider

The divider will serve two purposes. One is separate the compartments for the jig and the tenons. Secondly it will help keep the contents from rocking and rolling as the box is moved around.

caught it too late

Laid out one of the grooves for the divider wrong. Glad I caught it before it got glued together.

done

Both of the grooves don't have to be the exact same depth. The divider will be fitted in glued in place after the box has cooked and set up.

loose fit

I'm ok with the fit because it is a stopped dado so it won't be going anywhere. 

banding

I over shot the height on one of the divider grooves. This banding will hide any and all evidence of that from seeing the light. Plus it will hide the plywood edge which I am not fond of gazing upon.

past quitting time

My goal was to get the box glued and cooking before said time. That was in the batter's box awaiting me. Decided to put in overtime to get it done.

dead nuts

Didn't need any clamps to pull the tails down to their baselines. Accomplished that with a block of wood and mallet. Tomorrow I'll make the lid and slap on few coats of shellac and call this done.

accidental woodworker

Birdwood House is a listed building, overlooking Totnes market square. It was originally called Somerset House and was the home of the Babbage family; later to produce Charles, the inventor of the Difference Engine, the first mechanical computer.

The building was refurbished in 2005 to house the Gallery, a venue for art. The art gallery is partially lit by a roof lantern. Unfortunately, the lantern had seen better days, so we were called in to do a restoration of it, starting on the 23rd December last. Listed building consent was acquired by the owners. After stripping the paint back, it was obvious restoration was not possible, and so a new lantern was made, saving and restoring the roll-top cap.

Here it is this morning, complete with anti-bird wire to replace the nasty bird spikes that were there before.

It has been a while since I have written anything about a medieval food recipe. Last year, we were re-enacting at the (pre-)historic village in Eindhoven which also involves cooking a meal for the Saturday. This time I tried out some new medieval recipies. One of them was white ravioli, a sweet dish.

Piglia de bona probatura fresca he pistala molto bene poi azonze pistando un pocho de butiro, zenzevero he canella. Et per una probaturaazonze tre ghiari d'ova ben batuta et del zucaro honestamente. Et incorpora tuti queste cose insieme. Poi fa li ravioli longhi he grossi uno dito. Poi imbratelli in bona farina. Et nota che questi volemo esser senza pasta. [marginal annotation in the manuscript: et se cum pasta li vorrai, falli.] He falli bollire adasio che non si rompano. Como hano levato uno buglore levali fora he meteli in scutelle cum zucaro, canella, he li poi far ghialdi de zaffrano.

Manuscript MS Bühler 19, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, USA, 5rv.

Of course I cannot read medieval Italian (or Napolitan as the book is believed to be of Napolitan origin), but luckily there is an English translation in the book: The medieval kitchen - recipes from France and Italy by Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban and Silvano Serventi. There is also a youtube video (Italian with English subtitles, see below) of the recipe, though this does not mention the source, just that it is late 15th century.

Ingredients

600 g soft white cheese, such as mozarella (di buffola)

20 g of butter at room temperature

2 egg whites lightly beaten

4 tablespoons of (cane) sugar

flour for dredging

1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger

1 teaspoon of ground Ceylon cinnamon

salt

a few threads of saffron (optional, I did not use it)

 

Preparing the dish

Mash together the cheese, butter, ginger, half of the cinnamon, all sugar except 2 spoonfulls, a pinch of salt and the saffran in a mortar or food processor. When the mixture is very smooth (or a bit less smooth in my case) add the egg whites. Cool down the mixture.

Mix together the remaining sugar and cinnamon.  Put some flour in a  shallow plate for dredging.

Bring a pan of water to the boil, and lower it to a simmer.

Take a spoonfull of the mixture and form the ravioli. Coat it with flour by rolling it through the shallow plate. Set aside on a floured tray or cookie sheet.

Drop the ravioli one by one in the lightly boiling water. Do not stir the ravioli as they can break apart easily. When the ravioli are ready they float to the surface and they can be scooped out with a skimmer. Drain well. Serve with some sprinkled cinnamon and sugar mixture.

 

The white ravioli served us warm as a desert (the ravioli were served as a first course though at a banquet by Sozzo Bandinelli on 23 December 1326 for the knighting of his son) at the end of our dinner, and the leftovers cold as breakfast the next morning. They both - warm and cold - tasted delicious.

 Now that I am not having surgery for a while my wife is abandoning me and heading for North Carolina again. She didn't say when she was coming back but Mr Darcy and I will survive somehow. I can function ok without adult supervision for a little while.

glad I looked

Went to Lowes and I picked out 4, four foot, 1x12's to take home. But I checked the 6 foot 1x12 rack which I hardly ever do. In my opinion 99.99% of the pine here averages 2 bazillion knots an inch. However, I found 2 nearly clear boards in the pile. After I found these two I put the four footers back, and headed for the barn. 

breaking it down

I got everything I needed for the box out of one board. And I had a 13" long piece left over that I'll save for something else.

just a wee bit

I'm going to plane the box stock down to 5/8" thick. The first step was to establish a reference face and get it twist free and flat.

chamfers

Got my chamfers planed on the four edges down to the gauge line. One board is for the sides and the other for the ends.

fingers crossed

Got a rough patch that didn't come clean out of the planer. From looking at my gauge line here, I think I'll be able to plane all of it away.

lightly set iron

I had roughly an 1/8" to remove from this face. I retracted the iron and I was planing a path way about 3/4" wide. I went straight across the face first and then I criss crossed it R/L and L/R. 

smoothing the first one

Used both the #3 and #4 to smooth the board after planing it flat with the #7. 

done

Both boards are 5/8" thick and I'll sticker them until tomorrow. If they do any stupid wood tricks over night I'll plane it down to a 1/2". 

before I commit

I did the math for this in my head so I'm laid out a story pole on a scrap of 1/4" plywood.

I added and subtracted right

I was shooting for a 1/2" of wiggle room R/L and I have about 3/4". That should be sufficient for taking it out and putting it back in.

I took the table off and did some measuring and I am sticking with it assembled. The width was the same but the depth and height changed by a few inches. Not enough to convince me to put up with putting it on and taking it off each time I use it.

found it

This is/was going to be the bottom back rail for the base on the miniature dresser I just made. I'm not sure if I'll put it on now but if the urge moves me I'll keep this underneath it in the the interim.

block plane pit stop

Chris S just wrote a blog about when should you sharpen? For me it is to avoid it for as long as possible. Even if I know the tool is too dull to use. As long as I can strop it and get by, I consider that sharp enough. But that only applies to my chisels - not the planes. These planes are my frequent fliers and they were dull.

RML shavings

What a difference - it was making shavings before but after sharpening it the shavings spilling out of the mouth effortlessly. This LN 102 small blockplane is my favorite out of all the planes I have in my herd.

LN 60 1/2

This used to be my favorite until I got the LN 102. When the iron is freshly sharpened it will shave the gnarliest end grain. That is how I gauge how dull this plane gets.

I was on a roll

I hope to be doing dovetails tomorrow and I sharpened the chisels I'll need for that. These probably were sharp enough to do the pine but they will be awesome now that they are freshly sharpened.

any bets?

It is a crap shot with stock from Lowes. I have found that the longer it hangs out in the shop, the greater the chances are for it do stupid wood tricks. I'll find out in the AM.

extra

I think it is a good idea to buy extra when buying wood. Especially in this instance where I only needed one 6 footer but bought two of them. Finding almost all clear pine in a #3 common pile is rare. 

Blogger went bonkers on me typing up this post. I had to close out and sign back in 11 times. I think I know what the problem is now. I noticed that the automatic save  function was working overtime. It was switching between gray and red on the half circles arrows. During that time I couldn't click on anything. Maybe it is the almost 15 years of daily blog posts that are causing blogger to go bonkers on the save as you type function.

accidental woodworker

I went to the shop for a little while this AM but didn't get much accomplished. I didn't have any wood for what wanted to do anyways. My thoughts weren't really on woodworking but on my afternoon urology appointment. 

That went well and I was in and out before I knew it. The procedure was uncomfortable but I did get to see my bladder and prostate in color. The good news is that I didn't have any tumors in the bladder and the enlarged prostate will be easy to fix. I have a pre-op appointment in April and a TURP will done the end of April or early May. At least I know what the next step is going to be.

might as well

Decided to make a box to house the Kreg loose tenon jig. The first step is to eyeball it and choose the size of the box. That is dictated by the jig itself. So getting some overall measurements - width, length, and height - was in the batter's box.

hmm.....

The table is screwed on and can be removed. However, I don't want to bother with having to take off and reinstall parts every time I use it. The jig in this orientation is close to a perfect square. It is 12" R/L and about the same T/B. The front to back is a little under 8".

horizontal orientation

This is the way I what the jig to lay in the box. This will keep the height of it to about 10" with the length and dept being 14" over all.

bonus

The boxes for the loose tenons fit on the table. I don't have to devote any real estate in the interior of the box for them. I like having the jig and all its accessories all in one spot.

tenon cutters

I can use the space under the table to to stow the 3 tenon cutters. Or I can stow them elsewhere and keep this space for storage more loose tenons. 

got lucky

There is enough room here to stow the box with an inch or two to spare. This is as far as I got today. I have some pine in the shop but it is 5 1/2" wide and I don't want to glue up stock for this box. 

I'll call Koszela Lumber and see if they have any wide pine or poplar. If not I'll make a run to Lowes to get some #2 pine to make the box.

accidental woodworker

There are challenges we can do nothing about, and then there are the challenges we face in the work we do and might choose to present to ourselves on purpose. That curved balustrade that sweeps gracefully between floors up and along many metres, following the sweep of the stairway to the stars, can be complicated,...

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Thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate it.

I use my Japanese planes for shooting all the time. Despite the 2- and 3-point contact design used for the sole of a Japanese plane, using them for shooting is perfectly fine. If you're on the desktop version of the blog, you can do a search for "shooting" to find all the posts I have on using a Japanese plane with a shooting board.

I've covered shooting the end grain and the long grain edges, and other details about using a shooting board.

You may think that the 2 or 3 point contact set up of the sole of a Japanese plane would cause problems with a shooting board, but in practice, it's not an issue. I've also used shooting boards with western planes. In both cases, the results depend more on technique than on the plane itself.