Hand Tools

The third step of the lesson - roughing out
How can we learn the craft of woodworking? People learn in different ways. Some people learn from books and magazines. Some people learn from YouTube. And some people are lucky enough to be taught by someone who knows something. I suppose nowadays most people do some combination of all three. The topic grabs your interest in one medium or another, and you slowly dive into everything else that's out there.

I tend to learn mostly from printed material. My primary formal woodworking instruction was decades ago - and woodturning played only a minor role. But now with our forthcoming treadle lathe I've had to re-learn it again from scratch.

As it happens, I have tons of old material in my library - and by old, I mean dating back to the 17th century, on turning, but the big problem is that I want a systematic approach. I really want a lesson-by-lesson instruction manual on using a treadle lathe. Videos are fantastic for showing a particular operation, but probably less efficient than reading for providing systematic information. I went through all the material I have on lathes. Most of the early pre-19th century material isn't suitable for beginners or is more of an overview than a coherent course. (The 19th century marked some changes in pedagogy in general and the beginning of what we would call shop classes.) A book that that resonated with me is "Elementary Turning" by Frank Henry Seldon. I have an original copy from 1907, but I'm using is the online edition, which is free. You can print out a PDF with pages that lie flat and can be reprinted if they get messed up in the shop. The instruction is designed for a powered lathe but I still find it great. The first lesson is on centering work. The second lesson is on taking a small square of wood and roughing it out into a cylinder using a roughing gouge and a skew chisel. Each lesson thereafter - there are 31 lessons in all - gets more and more involved. The first series of lessons are about basic techniques using a very limited set of tools. Seldon's approach might not appeal to you. There are many ways to learn things. And to a large extent it doesn't matter which lesson you follow, or which guru floats your boat. What is important is a consistent approach that you get by following one systematic approach. Learn from everyone, but initially follow one approach.

In other news, we have a opening for a part-time salesperson (or salespeople) at our Brooklyn showroom for several days a week.

Sales at Tools for Working Wood is an interesting job. You get a range of customers and that's what makes it interesting. We have people who come in who've been doing this for 40 years and will tell you everything you've ever wanted to know about 80 grit sandpaper. After they leave, you experiment yourself to see if you agree. And then a week later somebody, a newbie, maybe just a newbie in that particular area, will come in and you will get a chance to repeat back everything you've ever wanted to know about 80 grit sandpaper. And frankly this is how we learn. You keep your ears open, you keep your brain functioning, and all interactions are really interesting. Some people come in knowing what they want and some need help. Our goal is to point people in the right direction - and as many customers can attest, even if that direction is to a different store or product we don't sell or to the bad news that no such tool or process exists (yet). And you meet some interesting people too. We're looking for people who are interested in woodworking even if they're not experts because while we can teach people woodworking we can't teach you enthusiasm. I suppose I should mention the employee discount, which if you're outfitting a shop is not a bad thing to have. The most important thing we are looking for in the candidate gets along with people and a desire to learn.

We haven't posted this job elsewhere yet. We're hoping someone who reads this blog is looking to work in the craft and woodworking industries. So if you are interested in a great opportunity we'd like to talk to you. Send us an email.

Lesson one - Marking centers
Lesson two - Mounted in the lathe ready to rough out

After roughing out - smoothing with a skew chisel
Done - a pretty smooth cylinder - The instructions say it won't be perfect - mine isn't but I am pretty pleased
Elementary Turning and behind it an illustration from Manuel Du Tourneur, 1792

 I didn't get around to the drawers again today but it is a definite maybe that I'll get to them tomorrow. I have been working on finishing up the dresser carcass first. I'm making good progress on that and I'm betting a lung I'll done with it before the end of tomorrow's AM session. Then I'll start on the drawers because that is all that would be left to do.

faux stiles/rails done

I put the drawer fronts in to eyeball how it would look. Only the bottom drawer is about where it should be - all the drawers will be inset so they will be flush with the inside edge of the front rails.

hmm......

Just noticed this and I'll have to address it. I plan on putting a molding on the sides and across the front. As is at the front, there will be a gap. 

I glued a piece of pine between the two stiles to close the gap. I thought I had snapped at least one pic of it but it appears I did not.

stock for the base

I am not putting a back on the base. It doesn't need one as the back will be against a wall and not seen.

it fit

The dresser fit loosely the inside of the base (base just laid together dry). There should be about an 1/8" of wiggle room R/L.

simple cutout

I had thought about leaving this dresser without a base but I didn't like the look. I think the bottom drawer would be too close to whatever surface it would be put on.

crest rail

Sanded it and glued it in place.

sawing the half pins

Through dovetails at the front corners of the base. I entertained using half blinds but I don't mind the look of through dovetails.

dry fit is good

The dresser will sit on bearers on the inside of the base. They will be positioned such that a 1/2" of the bottom drawer rail will be visible.

this

I didn't go nutso smoothing this. I smoothed the rounded corners and got the straight away square to face. I left it as it came off of the rasp.

cooking

This was the next to last thing I got done today. I might be coming back to the shop after dinner. My wife is giving an internet talk and she is freaking out that me being on line will screw up things for her. She gets nervous before doing her talks and the audience tonight is going to be at least 1500 listeners so she is really freaking out.

bearers

I'll have to be quiet if I work in the shop after dinner. My workbench is almost directly under her desk.....

accidental woodworker

Mallets are indispensable, and are made principally from the wood of the apple tree, plum tree, beech, and elm. Paul N. Hasluck, Manual of Traditional Woodcarving (1911) If you’re going to carve, you should have a mullet mallet. Sometimes they’re … Continue reading →

I think I'm finally over the hump with fighting with my diet. From thanksgiving to after the new year I was on a seesaw. However, over the past 3 weeks I've settled back down into watching myself again. My weight ballooned up to a high of  236.2 the sunday after xmas. This past sunday I weighed in at 215.8 so I'm on the correct trajectory. My goal is to get back down to 185-190 and maintain my weight within that 5lb window. Of course this will most likely go to crap once more starting next thanksgiving.

I'm short

 

As I was planing these to thickness I noticed that I was short 3 rails/stiles. Luckily I had plenty of scraps to knock out what I needed on the bandsaw.

front edge piece

Rather then play around flattening what I feathered out yesterday, I scribed fit the top. Instead of working on the drawers I decided to get the faux rails/stiles on. I am gluing them on - no nails or screws.

flushing the front stiles

I got the clamp here to help with the sawing. It is applying pressure right where the saw line is. I let these two cook for 40 minutes before I flushed them.

checking the bottom

I will put a 1/8" thick piece of plywood on the bottom. It won't be structural - rather it will be a dust shield to keep the drawers clean.

and now I rested

I got two rails and two stiles glued on and cooking. I still have to glue on the center stile. I went upstairs and worked on a sudoku puzzle which was making me feel like I had an IQ with a single negative number. It was a medium hard one and I had tried 8 times and failed to solve it. But there must have been magic in the air because I solved it before I headed back to the workbench.

one side done

IMO this looks like a grown up dresser with the faux rails/stiles. It is a shop project but this is something I could use on a larger version of a dresser.

a real big sigh

I had to make this 4 times before I got it right. I sawed the original one short by a 1/8". I then repeated that brain fart 3 more times before I finally got the last one to be a 1/8" long.

it worked

I bought this 90° sander a few years back, tried it once and put it away. It worked well sanding the miniature dresser stiles/rails square. 

The track in this shooting board I got from Lee Valley and I used it with my LN 51 shooting plane. I stopped because the steel, u-shaped stop on the right was wearing a groove in the plane. This sanding shooter fits in the track perfectly. I wouldn't want to use this on thick stock but for the ~1/8" thick rails/stiles it worked better than trying to shoot them square with a plane.

Yeah, its too long

I felt like Pavlov's dog except here I wasn't getting a treat. This center stile will be glued on after the other rails/stiles have cooked enough.

shouda, woulda, coulda, but didn't

The top rail was proud of the stile on both ends and I saw that before I glued it on. However, I had glue on it so I stuck down thinking it would be an easy, peasy fix after the fact. Well boys and girls it wasn't easy, peasy. The chisel plane didn't like dealing with how high the proud was. Sanding it with 120 and 80 grit sanding sticks wasn't working neither. I had to break out my Stanley 10 1/2 to get it close to flush before the sanding sticks took over again and got it flush.

gluing the center stiles

I roughly got it in place by measuring it and then I checked it for square. I had to adjust for that and I had to check the R/L measurement again which was off. I see sawed back forth on this until I finally got it square and equal. I then made a tic mark on the top and bottom of the stile. Removed it, applied glue, aligned the tic marks, and stuck in place. 

cooking

I got a good fit of the center stile between the top and bottom rail. It was snug-ish and I probably didn't need to weigh it down but I did anyways. I don't what any surprises with this later on.

hmm.....

Hadn't noticed this before. The Miller Dowels on the back bearers are peeking out a wee bit from under the stile. I had checked the coverage only with the front one - the back bearers are inset from the edge a further 5/16" more. The front bearers are flush with the front edge.

base stock

I'm short on what I need to finish this dresser. I had originally intended for one of these to be used to make the drawer slips. I have four 6 foot long by 6" wide boards left to pick and chose to make the slips from.

accidental woodworker

less than 2"

It started snowing saturday night after dinner and changed to rain early sunday morning. This snow has a thin crust of ice on it. Underneath the snow was a river of water. Lots of fun shoveling this crappola.

the driveway

My driveway is deeply rutted and they were both full of water. This white stuff isn't slushy - it was a mixture of mostly ice and water. At least the end of the driveway didn't take long to clear away. The snowplow didn't come back again at all today.

I didn't go nutso shoveling or trying to shovel this crap. I only did about 3/4 of it and said No Mas. The rain continued off and on all day. Overnight the temps are going below zero so my driveway might be turned into a skating rink. And the fun doesn't stop here - there is another storm coming thursday.

matched my mood

This is a blurry pic of my rain soaked jacket. The rain soaked all the way through it to the inside.

drawer runners

I want the drawer runner to be flush with the top of the rear bearer. Two scraps clamped on the front and rear bearers ensures than.

leverage

Used the screwdriver to push the runner up tight against the rear bearer.

frog hair high

This is better than having it a frog hair short. I sanded it flush with a 120 grit sanding stick.

drawer side

The gap in the runners is at the front. With the drawer pulled out as far as it can, it should still span the gap. I did this same thing on the miniature dresser I made for my doweling jig.

flushing the Miller Dowels

 

tear out spot

Besides filling in the tear out with super glue and sanding dust, I also had to super glue the brown knot. The RO sander did a good job eradicating most of the tear out except for this spot - it was too deep. I am going to shellac this dresser so that is why I chose sanding dust and super glue as my 'wood putty'.

oops

Confused myself when I worked on the drawer runners on the opposite side. I put two of them with the gap at the rear instead of the front. The sun will still rise in the east tomorrow.

mini Miller Dowels

Got all the bearers done and no hiccups. The bearers are only 5/8" thick and I didn't have any accidents. The dowels will be hidden under the faux rails and stiles.

what tear out?

This looks great. The super glue will be invisible to the shellac too. 

chamfer layout

I like chamfers over round overs. I also like asymmetrical chamfers too. The top is tad less than 5/16" in from the edge. The edge extends down 3/8".

hmmm.....

The top rail is not tight and gapless. There is about a 1/16th there. This isn't something that I can putty in because it just won't look good.

tight and gap free

Used the bullnose to plane the wings at both ends. Kept at it until the rail laid up tight.

the other side

The gap was a little larger on this side but I dealt with it the same way.

ditto

I had to plane this side more than I did with the first one. In the end the rail ended up tight and gapless.

 

hmm......

I have a step on both ends that I'll have to figure out a fix for. Both of them were visible when I eyeballed the dresser head on.

working the chamfers

This pine was squirrely to plane. I got the three of them done but the ends were a headache to do. At the front and the rear the grain didn't like being planed and looked like crap. It didn't matter which direction I came from - got the same amount of ugly looking cheesy holed grain.

another PITA

The top edge of the chamfer tear out in chunks while I was planing it. I had to slow down and plane in snail mode coming from the top going downwards. After I was down to the line I dressed up the top edge with a 120 grit sanding stick. 

back of the dresser

This blow out came as I was planing it coming from the right going left. It shouldn't have done that but it did.

another ditto

The other side end and similar planing but this one was worse. I am thinking of filling these two in with wood putty. They shouldn't be that visible at the back.

step dealing time

I feathered the step back with a chisel and sandpaper. As I was typing this I realized that this will be hidden by the pine strip I'm gluing on the front edges.

the other side

This one is deeper and took a few more strokes with the chisel to make it disappear.

 

done

Eyeballing the front again, this looked a ton better. Instead of the abrupt end, it appears as if it was never there.

this is a first

I shouldn't have gotten any blowouts on the front planing the long grain. Well boys and girls I did. It is on the top left corner and it looked liked an bleeding eyesore. I had thought of planing another chamfer on the bottom but nixed that idea. Instead I put a dutchman in it after cleaning it up making it flat to receive it.

I had to try it

I used super glue and accelerator to secure the dutchman. The next step was to satisfy my curiosity that I would be able to saw the bulk of the waste off. 

yes I could saw it

I didn't have any scraps from the top to match for grain/color - they went bye-bye on thursday (garbage pickup day). This is going to pop but I'm ok with that. Better to see this than the headache of a different fix.

Blogger has been acting up again on me. It is freezing as I type my blogs. It has been going on now for 4 days (today it froze 6 times). I can't reset and resume typing. The mouse pointer will not move and display on the blog when it freezes. I have to close out the blogger and open it again. A PITA but it might mean blogger rolled out a bug fix or an update.

accidental woodworker

Editor’s Note: Buckle up. This will be a long one and will at times feel like James is just ranting. In an effort to pander to his international audience, James is also adding metric parentheticals. Even if using anything other than Freedom Units is anathema to him. I’ve a number of small trips on my […]

 I didn't get as far with the drawers as I thought I would in my mind's plan. I didn't get much AM time but I still put a dent in the drawer making. I don't anticipate getting a lot done tomorrow because it is sunday and a storm is blowing through overnight. I have settled into sunday being a slow and easy day but not this one. I'll have to wait and see how it shakes out. Being in the shop while the aftermath of the winter storm  blows through might be a good place to be.

out of the clamps

It is laying flat with no rocking.

odd rocking

There is no movement when I push on the corners. None of the four caused any movement. However, when I pushed down on the middle it moved up/down a little. I don't understand that but I'm leaving it alone.

on deck circle

I'm putting six 1x Miller Dowels into the top. The top and sides are 15/16" thick which is too thick for the mini dowels.

crest rail

This kicked my butt and made me doubt myself. On a lark I checked the edge for twist and it had a ton. So before I could make the crest rail I tried to plane the twist away.

planed in thickness

I gave up trying to plane the twist away on the edge. I checked the wide faces and it was twisted too. I planed that off and then planed it thickness.

where it landed

Went back to trying to remove the twist on the edge. See sawed back and forth on one edge and I repeated the same fun with the other edge. I checked the wide face for twist and both faces had twisted again somehow. I didn't go postal or nutso, but I did give it flying lessons. I sawed out a new crest rail from the extra stock I had for the drawers.

hmm......

Couldn't get this align and I just did this a couple of days ago. This one here had moved a tad and the screw hole wouldn't center on the insert hole. I had to enlarge it a wee bit with a drill bit.

crest rail work

This worked better than I expected. The grip was excellent and it didn't shift or move at all when I worked the crest rail. The only quibble I had was if it was extended too much it would vibrate, especially so when I used the rasp on it.

done?

I like this look but I think it is too high.

better IMO

A small change and I tried to make it smaller but I wasn't sure I could. I sawed it on the tablesaw and I didn't have a warm and fuzzy doing the first cut. So this height will have to do. This is just to keep things from being pushed/rolled off the top.

tear out

The top is glued up from two boards and each one has their grain running in opposite directions. I used the lally column as a planing stop and I got most of the tear out planed off.

nope

I couldn't make this patch go bye-bye no matter what I tried. I sanded it first with a sanding block with 80 grit followed up with 120 grit in the RO sander. It looked better but it didn't sand it all away.

stopped rabbet

I knifed it as deep as I could first. 

chisel work was next

This was not that hard to do. I got a bit ahead of myself as I wasn't paying attention to how deep I was chiseling.

not pretty looking

I was able to clean it up and make it look presentable. After the chisel work I used my small LN router plane to level the depth as best I could, end to end.

all that matters

The plywood back lays flat in the side rabbets and the ugly top one that no one will ever see.

anyone want some Titebond pie?

This is the glue I used yesterday and today it is dry and ready to use as a frisbee.

dowels done

I'll let these cook until tomorrow. Then I'll saw them flush.

first drawer

The right side was out of square by a couple of frog hairs. I had to scribe it and the left side.

fitted

The drawer front fits snug on all four sides.

2nd drawer

Ditto for the second one. 

3rd drawer

The left side has a teeny gap towards the top. Got confused when planing it, I should have planed from the other end. 

These drawers are going to be overkill as storage for the Miller Dowels. I may have allowed way too much but I think everything will fit with lots of extra room.

drawers are ready for dovetailing

The fronts and backs are on the right side with drawers sides on the left. The drawer sides are all the same length - about a 1/2" over sized. I'll finalize the final length after I do the layout for the half blinds at the front.

drawer runner

Put two brads in this end which will butt into the bearer at the back. This will keep it from moving in the dado.

2 1/2"

This is all that is going to secure the drawer runners in the dadoes. There is a 1/2" gap at the front end of the runner and the front bearer for expansion and contraction.

got one cooking

Killed the lights here because it was 10 after 1500. I should be able to get the remainder of the drawer guides installed tomorrow.

accidental woodworker

 About a half hour before quitting time I got the dresser carcass glued and cooking. I had no doubts that I would I get it together before 1500 - as long as I didn't have any hiccups with the stopped dadoes for the top. Spoiler alert, I didn't.

passed the eyeball test

I'm happy with the thickness of what will be the crest rail for the top. The top is slightly more than the 1/8th thicker. Now I just have to pick a profile for it.

top looks ok

As it is here, the top is the same thickness as the sides.

shortest length

These boards are for the drawers and this one being the shortest length determines the size of the drawer. The drawer opener ended up being 12 5/16" R/L. There is going to be a humongous amount of real estate for the Miller Dowels.

shimming the bearers

Cut up some veneer and glued it to the bearers. On one of them I had to glue veneer to both faces of the bearer. There were also 3 of them that I didn't have to glue veneer to.

not snug and barely self supporting (no veneer)

It fell out after being raised up about 2". It will be ok for this purpose.

bottom bearer

This will be glued and nailed in place. For the first part of the glue up I'll just be dealing with the first and second bearers - front and rear. The bottom ones I did after those are done.

works a treat

Of late I've been putting glue on this cottage cheese lid and using a brush to apply it to whatever. The bonus is that after the unused glue has dried it peels right off - it doesn't stick to the lid at all. I get them from my wife who eats cottage cheese for breakfast most days. I have them strewn around the shop.

18 gauge brad nailer

I nailed all the bearers in place with one brad in the middle of each one.

oops times two

I already snipped off most of what poked out to shake hands. I nailed the two offenders at the wrong angle.

mini Miller Dowels

This is why I only used one nail in the middle of the bearers. I will follow up by putting two Miller Dowels into each end of all of the bearers.

glued and cooking

I got this glued and clamped before 1030. I brought it upstairs to cook by the kitchen radiator - the shop temp was only 59F (15C). I went to lunch (for fish 'n chips), ran a few errands, and when I got back to the shop I unclamped it.

this will work

I bandsawed a couple pieces of pine to apply to the front of the carcass. The faux stile/rails will butt into it. It will also give an inset to the drawers of about a 1/8". I don't think I'll apply anything to the front bearers because I like the look of the drawers being inset.

the top face

The older pine I planed I had almost zero tear out with it. This pine was different story as there are several divots of tear out scattered around the top. I could paint it after filling them in with putty but I like the look of this being natural more. I will plane it later some more with the #3 and see how that shakes out.

the bottom inside face

This was how the top face looked before I planed it. This face had a small bit of twist that I planed away. I didn't go nutso and try to get the two faces parallel. Instead I just went for getting both flat and straight.

tool pit stop

I play the bounce test with these winding sticks at least once every time I use them. Inevitably they fall directly on a corner and smash a nice burr. I have to file them when I have troubles nested the two of them together. A couple of seconds with a file and all is well in Disneyland again.

double checking

Had to check it again because I forgot where the high corners were. 

almost cleaned up

I didn't go nutso on this. The only areas that needed to be really clean and smooth are the two ends and the front overhangs. Everything else will be covered and unseen.

twist free, nay nay moose breath

the carcass was rocking on the bench top which was not a good sign. The far right and near left are the high corners. I need the top of the sides to be twist free otherwise the top will be wonky and it will be a nightmare trying to fit the top drawer.

laid out the stopped dadoes

I made my reach under knife marks at the back and the front. I then connected the four of them (two for the L and two for the R) with the 18" rule.

almost a gotcha

As I was setting the carcass aside I thought I had noticed a huge brain fart. I thought I had put the bearers on the top instead of the bottom. Then I realized that I only had a rabbet on the bottom edge and nothing on the top. I was already in crisis mode coming up with a game plan to fix this egregious me-steak.

what a _)*@$^(@)_*%_)*@(_)+%@#_+)%*()+ PITA

I had to flip this to plane the high on the outside high corner. I tried to plane it this way it but it protested and whined too much. I had to flip it, plane it a little, unclamp it, and check the twist with the sticks. I had to do these dance steps 4 times before the twist said bye-bye.

98.8996238854668843%

It is not rocking on the benchtop anymore. However, there is just the teeniest bit of a gap on right edge bottom. I'm leaving this as it is and I'm not going to chase my tail with it.

chopped the stopped dadoes

I left a bit at the end of each dado to chop square after the rest of the dado was down to depth. I am not notching the tops instead the front edge of the top will butt against this. I chopped this close leaving the pencil line.

not easy

This router doesn't like coming into the end like this. It needs a little more length to be comfortable coming into the dado this way. I used this router to get both dadoes to the same depth.

ends squared off

Ready to do a dry fit - fingers and toes crossed.

hmm.....

Both sides are bowed a little with this side being more than the other one.

2nd one going in

I used this clamping method to get the left one started first. After that one was seated about a 1/3 of the way I clamped this side and got it seated.

needed just a little camber

This works like a charm at pulling the bow flat. I have yet to fail using this. After I got both of them seated I used a mallet and a block of wood to full seat both of them into the dadoes.

dry fit clamp up

I was happy with how this looked. The top appeared to be fully seated along the entire length. None of the bearers showed any signs of being stressed or moving. 

started the real glue up

done

 It didn't feel like it took me 9 minutes to get this glued and clamped. It was an easy, stress free glue up where everything fell into step one after the other.

hernia heavy

This weighed a lot more than I anticipated it being. I hauled this upstairs to cook in the kitchen until tomorrow. 

Tomorrow I should be able to start on the drawers. I should be done with this early next week barring I don't have any hiccups or get bit on the arse.

accidental woodworker

(And a pretty old one…)

Today I was starting to assemble the first box of the year, a day after finishing the 2nd box of the year.

This one is a custom piece, including initials and a lock. Today I was planing the pine boards for the top and bottom. It’s a pretty faithful copy of a 17th century box made in Dedham Massachusetts. Like most period boxes, it’s nailed at the corner rabbets instead of glued & pegged – (which is what mine usually are…)

The second box has one of the strapwork patterns on its front, related carvings on its ends. I wrote about it & an old, used box yesterday on my other blog. There’s more photos there –

H: 8” W: 25 1/4” D: 14 3/4”
$1,600 plus shipping in US. Email me or leave a comment if you’d like this box. Check or paypal (with added fee).

Chip-carved box – this one’s different from my usual thing.

I made it maybe 12 years ago, used it for a while, but it’s been sitting in my loft, empty, for several years. It has some bumps and bruises, but functions just as it did when it was new. Decided to sell it – but there’s no price. I’ll take the best offer I get by Sunday Feb 16, 8pm eastern time.

H: 5” L/W: 18” D (side-to-side): 8”

More photos and details on those two boxes over at the substack blog – https://peterfollansbeejoinerswork.substack.com/p/two-boxes-for-sale

If you’re interested in either of them, leave me a comment or send me an email – PeterFollansbee@gmail.com

The chip-carved box:

 

I’ve just put the Top Twenty bass, that you might have seen me restoring last year, up for sale on eBay here’s the listing.

I’ve had great fun playing it, but with my Phoenix bass now complete, it’s time to pass it on.

I’m taking a closer look at hand-stitched rasps a tool that’s been a trusted companion in my workshop for years, unlike their machine made counterparts. Today I’m going to give you several reasons why a hand stitched rasp is better than a machine made one. This is a short video of the teeth being punched by hand. Notice the speed and accuracy of his work.

https://youtube.com/shorts/dDMfJVegBy0?feature=share

Hand punched (stitched) rasps have an irregular tooth pattern, which prevents the tool from leaving regular, parallel scratch marks on the wood. Machine made rasps have uniform teeth, which can create chatter and leave noticeable striations that require more sanding. Since each tooth is individually raised by hand, the cutting action is more aggressive and controlled. Hand cut rasps remove material faster and with more precision while also feeling smoother in use. Machine made rasps often feel rougher and can tear at the wood rather than cutting cleanly.

The irregular spacing of hand punched teeth means there’s more room for wood shavings to clear out, reducing clogging. Machine made rasps can get packed with dust, requiring frequent cleaning. Hand cut teeth are sharper and tend to last longer because they are carefully shaped for cutting efficiency. Machine cut rasps often wear out faster because their teeth aren’t as well defined.

A high quality hand stitched rasp glides through the wood smoothly, giving a better sense of control, especially on curved or shaped workpieces. Machine made rasps often feel more aggressive and less refined.

This is why woodworkers who do a lot of shaping (like luthiers, chair makers, and carvers) prefer high end hand-punched rasps like Auriou, Liogier, or Corradi.

Here’s a video by James Wright that in brief explains and demonstrates the difference between the two

As for their price it ain’t cheap and depending on their usage they could actually last you a life time. If they ever get dull just dip them into vinegar and leave them in overnight. That should release the debris and sharpen the teeth. Don’t ask why the vinegar trick works, I just know that it does.

 Started on the carcass work for the dresser. Got a good days work accomplished and it is looking like a dresser or a bread box depending upon your viewing angle. The goal for tomorrow is to get the carcass glued up and cooking. That should be doable as I only have to chop the housing dadoes in the top for the sides.

they passed

These 3 are the boards I got on monday(?). They are the ones I was most concerned about them doing stupid wood tricks. I only planed one face flat and smooth and all three looked the same.

got enough

This is the stock I plan to use to make faux rails and stiles on the sides of the dresser. The longest ones will be the stiles with the shorter ones for the rails.

back ups

I would rather use the white pine over this but it is available in the on deck circle.

don't like this

I will have to glue something on the front edge of the dresser to hide this joint line. 

hmm.....

I first did an eyeball without the center stile but I like it. Now I'll just have to remember where I put the faux stock and more importantly not use it for something else.

kicking my butt

The inside face of the sides absolutely has to be dead flat, straight, and twist free. Added to the soup is the two sides have to be identical in size. That is what was kicking my butt. With the sides together one way, they are agree 99.99%. If I flip one board 180, they are off. Flipping one 180 shouldn't cause them to not align again.

inside face

One side had a bit twist I had to plane off and the other had a hump that I dealt with. However, after doing that both sides still wouldn't agree when I flipped one 180. But on the other hand they did lay flat on each other even when one was flipped 180.

forgot about this

What I was up against was one end was square to the reference edge but the other one wasn't. When flipped 180 the non reference long edge were off from each other. Broke out this long edge shooting board to get the reference edge dead nuts straight and square to the reference face.

In the end I had to clamp the sides together, mark them, and plane the ends with the bevel up Lee Valley jack plane. After a bit of see sawing I finally got the sides to not only lay flat on each other, but to agree again when flipped 180.

back rabbets

Before I could do the rabbets or the dadoes I had to ensure the sides were identical. The rabbet is 5/16" square and I roughed it out on the tablesaw and hand planed it square and to depth.

story stick

I finalized the sizes of the drawers with this stick. All three drawers will be oversized, especially the top drawer for the mini dowels. All four drawers will get dividers making 4 compartments in each one.  I don't want any surprises with this one being too small.

working the top

My wrist was hurting a wee bit after all the planing I did yesterday but it didn't raise a peep planing the top. 

it is going to be stout looking

I think I will be able to put a small block chevy engine on this when I complete it.

sneak peek

This is the look of the bearers dry fitted. It is still up in the air how I will attach the drawer runners. Plenty of time for that but I'll probably do it the same say I did on the last miniature dresser I made.

bottom rabbet

Dadoes and rabbets laid out for the bearers and the drawer guides. Started with the bottom rabbet sawing the shoulder.

first one done

I had to layout the bottom rabbet twice. I made a mistake the first time due to it being not deep enough. Now the drawer guide fits in the rabbet flush and square.

second side

Sawing the 2nd rabbet shoulder first.

finishing the rabbet

Knifed the depth and broke off the waste with a 1 1/2" wide butt chisel.

Record 5/8" shoulder plane

Cleaned, smoothed, and squared up. Rabbets are done. The second one came out a frog hair over 5/8" - fingers crossed that it won't bite me on the arse.

sigh

All the dadoes are loose and I thought I had reached under so I would have a tight fit. I'll have to glue veneer to the ends of the bearers to close up the gaps.

2nd side dadoes

I sawed all the shoulders on the four dadoes. This is a Buck Bros paring chisel that I've had for over 30 years. It isn't something I use a lot and today I cleaned out a majority of the waste coming in from both sides.

Compass Rose Tool Works router

I like this router a lot. It is easy to set the iron and the grip feels perfect pushing it. The only quibble I have with it is that it has no depth stop. The way around that is to do all you dadoes before making any adjustments to the iron. Used it here to get close to depth.

Lie Nielsen closed throat router

I prefer the open throat router but its iron is dull. Got to depth with this one.

always a good sight

I can still recall that sickening feeling when you put the sides together and you see that the dadoes don't align.

ain't miniature no more

This is going to need a big hole to live in. I've been eyeballing the shop and I'm not finding any said holes.

accidental woodworker

 

But first ...

Whereas the tresoor was ready, there was still one thing to be added to it: our signature. We did not want it to be easily seen, but it should be visible without moving the tresoor. So the backside was not an option, and of course all the front parts as well. We decided on the frame, underneath the lower plateau of the tresoor. on your knees, using a lamp from your mobile phone you would be able to spot 'St. Thomasgilde MMXXII' written (or burned) with a pyrographic pen. 

denim shirts

These look similar to the shirts that I see Paul Sellers wearing. Been looking at him wearing them for years and wanting one for myself. Well last month I started searching on the WWW for chore shirts (want I think these are called). All I could find were women's shirts. Searches for the same term for men's gave up nothing.

Long story shortened, I find them after searching for denim shirts. At first just women's shirts came up but LL Bean sells denim shirts for both women and men. They are a little pricey, paid $49 each for these two on sale. There is a LL Bean outlet store 10 minutes from me but they don't sell them there. However, I was able to order them there to be shipped to my house. 

They also sell a long sleeve shirt but I intend to wear the short sleeve ones for 3 seasons. For the 4th one (winter) I'll stick with my long sleeve flannel shirts. I prefer the lighter colored denim - I bought one of each to pick one I liked the best.

long enough

These two small boards are long enough to get the smallest drawer front/backs out of. The other four will give up the other two drawers. The dresser will have 3 drawers, graduated in height from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inches. I will have about 4" of waste on the four long boards. 

sides and top

I like the thickness of the sides. I'm thinking of gluing on thin slats to the sides to mimic a frame and panel. 

hump

Started thicknessing the stock first by checking for a hump. Three of boards didn't have any but this one did. Before planing the boards to thickness I checked them for twist again.

done

Stock for the 3 drawers and the bottom two are the bearers.

dresser top crest rail

I planed this to 3/4" thick. To my eye I think is too thick and should be 5/8" thick or less. I'll hold off on that until I am done with the top and I can see how it plays against the top then.

last one

Played chamfers all around and used the #6 to get me close to them. Planing all of this stock was a good workout. It also didn't take as much time as I thought it would. 

beautiful pine

The last two of the drawer stock is done. I didn't go nutso trying to get the boards within +/- one atom of thickness. None of these boards will be married to or off each other so that wasn't necessary. I will layout and mark the drawers using each individual piece. This pine was the easiest stock I've planed to thickness. It didn't mind against the grain planing and it didn't spelch badly neither. I got almost zero tear out planing this pine which surprised me to no end.

bearer stock

One board was flat and behaved. The other one was a PITA. It was one of the boards I bought a couple of days ago. It took me a few dance steps to plane out some twist before I could plane it to thickness. I planed these to 5/8" thick and everything else a 1/2" thick.

hmm......

I planed the two boards flat and smooth before I glued them together. I should have flushed the planed faces when I did that. Instead I flushed the other face. Of course the wider board was the one that was proud.

The sides don't have to be the exact same thickness. Only the inside faces matter because they will receive the bearers and determine the inside R/L dimension. They need to be straight, twist free, and flat.

sides are done

Got the insides faces dead on. I planed the outside faces twist free and flat. 

stickered

The only board missing for the dresser is the top. I only need drawer slips and plywood bottoms to be 100%. I think I'll use shaker knobs for the 3 drawers.

This is getting stickered again because 3 of the boards I don't think have gotten sufficient time in the shop to acclimate. Those 3 boards are extras and for the drawer slips. Fingers crossed that they don't do any stupid wood tricks overnight.

accidental woodworker

Avoid nasty cuts when reaching into your tool chest! I attached a plexiglass cover over my chisels to keep the blades safely enclosed. A simple and effective way to protect your hands without removing the chisels from the chest. My thanks goes out to Tim Mitchell for the suggestion.

In this video, I’m turning a small dowel to fit perfectly inside a hole, ensuring a gapless fit. Precision is key, and I’ll show how to achieve a seamless joint with careful hand tool work.

 Haven't gone on a post lunch stroll yet. The snow is still piled up on the sidewalks every where. That means I will have to walk in the road which I don't like doing. The roads are not their full width due to snow piles and I don't trust the drivers to pass me. Especially so when there are two cars coming from opposite directions. I don't think the snow will be melting much due to the cold temps forecasted neither.

$28.09

This is the haul from Koszela lumber. The two boards on the left are 1" thick, 8 inches wide, and each one is 5 feet long. I was flabbergasted with the price - these two alone I figured would be $10-15 each. I think I have enough stock for the dresser now.

slow going

I am not planing these to thickness yet. Instead I am establishing a reference edge and face. I will let these sticker and I'll thickness all of it maybe tomorrow.

sides

I will have to glue the sides up to get the width I want - 11-12 inches. I will leave the sides as thick as I can. I am still thinking about the thickness of the top which I will have to glue up also.

I stopped planing the stock for the drawers and bearers to get the sides glued up and cooking. I might have to allow it to sicker an extra day or two because this stock was stored outdoors at Koszela's.

best I can do

I would rather have the sides and top as one board but this was the widest pine that Koszela had. The glue ups are coming from the same board so the color and grain should be better than using a foreign board glue up.

2nd side

I planed one face flat to help with the glue up. After gluing these up I brought them upstairs to cook. The shop temp has dropped a couple of degrees down to 57F (14C).

top

I like this thickness for the sides but IMO it is a little over the top for a miniature dresser. I'll thin this down to 7/8" first and eyeball that. If I don't like that look I'll plane another 1/8" off.

drawers and bearers

It takes a surprisingly large amount of stock to make drawers. I know I have a sufficient amount for the bearers but I am not so sure about the drawers. On the widest boards I can only get two drawer parts from each of them. After eyeballing what I had I think I'm short two boards for the drawers.

last board

I have more than enough with this one board to give up what I'll need.

more drawer stock

This stock will only work for the two smaller drawers. The widest board of the four is only 4 1/2" wide. The widest drawer I'm making is 4 1/2" to 5". I'll have to make sure that I get the widest drawer parts first from the stock on the shitcan.

I'm going to try and return the shop after dinner and expend some brain power and figure out what I need. I have a lot of 1/4" plywood for the bottoms so once I get the drawer stock sorted out I can start building.

accidental woodworker

It’s now been a year since we moved to New Jersey. In my last update, I said that there would be a lot of work needed to get up and working again, and that’s no lie. It’s taken a year, but my new shop is almost operational:

This is more or less the backside view of my post a year ago. I can do hand work reasonably now, or at least, I can when I move the detritus off a benchtop. I had an unpleasant surprise when I found that the soles of several of my planes had developed some rust spots, but I eliminated those and they’re back in action. I don’t have a good sharpening station yet. Several boxes haven’t been unpacked, but they seem to get unpacked as I need things inside.

The item that took the longest amount of time to sort out was the floor, and there, I spent several months trying to figure out what I wanted to do, and who was to do it (sigh). In the end, I tore the carpet out and put the new one in myself with some help from my niece. This is LVP (“luxury vinyl plank”). I don’t know how it’ll work out in the long run, but so far, it seems fine. It’s got a little bit of “give” and won’t shatter cast iron if you drop it, and the color reflects light so that I should be able to see fairly well.

I can’t use the machines yet because of the usual nightmare of dust collection. That, however, is (probably) almost done.

This would all go a lot faster if I didn’t have, like, a day job, and other annoying stuff like that.

And now for something completely different…

One thing that keeps me out of the shop for a month out of most years is the annual trip to Asia. Understand that any sort of woodwoorking-related thing that happens during this trip tends to occur as a “drive-by”–that is, some sort of incidental opportunity along the way (I don’t tend to ask to visit anything in particular for fear of boring the rest of the family to tears).

In any case, we usually visit Japan, and this time, we were able to take a short trip to Niigata (Prefecture). I’ve always wanted to go there, and wouldn’t you know, we took the Shinkansen to Tsumbame-Sanjo. This is a major center for toolmaking and other metalworking, and in the station itself, there is a store showcasing the stuff that they make there. It’s everything from hand tools to sickles to pots and pans to tableware. This was almost perfect, because my family could drool over the cookware while I drooled over the tools.

Then, the staff there mentioned, “Hey, there’s a bigger store just down the street like this if you like this stuff.” That would be the “Regional Industries Promotion Center”, and of course we walked down there.

Here’s some of the stuff that I looked at:

The obligatory planes. These are, of course, the “mass-produced” variety, but they’re still all very nice. Somehow, I avoided buying a rabbet plane (my fetish, or something) but I don’t know how.

Obligatory chisels, similar to the planes. Still didn’t see the one specialty thing that I’ve been looking for.

Some of the nicest pliers you’ll ever see. I picked up a pair of needle-nose pliers. Seriously, I’ve long said that Japan makes some of the best of these sorts of “mundane” tools, like pliers, clamps, and screwdrivers. Tsubame-Sanjo is usually the source. And here’s the thing–it’s really not that expensive. Sure, more than what you’d pay for the run-of-the-mill junk that you see in home centers here, but nothing you’d need a second mortgage for.

Shears and nippers for sewing. I bought some shears. They feel perfect in the hand, cut as well as you’d expect.

We got a whole bunch of other stuff that I don’t need to show, like new tableware (some of the nicest I’ve seen, on par with the Berndorf stuff I got from Austria years ago), ice cream shovels/spoons, and so on. It’s true that you can get most of this stuff via mail-order (though it can be difficult from outside of Japan), but there, you can see a huge variety in person and get it tax-free as a foreign tourist.

In addition, here’s some drive-by woodworking content:

This shoji at the Northern Culture Museum (essentially, a rich farmer’s estate), never mind the crazy-nice garden view from here.

This timberwork–I believe it was in the granary, but don’t quote me on that.

Some shoji or other at the hotel we stayed one night. I don’t know why I singled out this one in particular, I guess liked the use of empty spaces and small wood panels or something.

 Didn't get around to the new project until late in the PM session. I ran errands in the AM and I had to make a bank run right after lunch. Of course everyone that resides on this third rock from the sun had banking business then too. How well, I don't bank that often and it gave me time to think about the upcoming project.

couldn't shake it

I had a dream about a cleat on the bottom of the vice board splitting itself and also the board. It would be so much easier (and less of a PITA) for the vice jaws to clamp on the cleat over trying to position it between the jaws. This was the longest scrap I could find in the shop - I think it is too small in width and length.

douglas fir scrap

I cut this out of a scrap 2x4 and planed the four faces square to each other. 

almost there

The end to end is a 16th shy of snug as are the long sides. I didn't see the need to go nutso and get a piston fit, which I originally tried for. I penciled the outline of the cleat instead of knifing it and I chiseled it out on that line.

knot

Chiseling and trying to get the router to bite on this knot was like trying to carve a rock with a plastic knife. I concentrated on getting the area to the left of it flat and to depth.

done

I used threaded inserts to attach the cleat. This way I can remove it to use it on the workbench top.

onboard storage

Two more threaded inserts and I shouldn't lose it. I hadn't planned for it to be here. I was going to put it on the outside long grain face. It is below the rods and the moving back vice jaw. It also doesn't interfere with moving the back jaw forwards or backwards.

oldie but goodie

This one of six chisels that I bought as a set over 30 years ago. I used them for over twenty years before I knew that they were metric. They got demoted when I got a set of Ashley Isles bench chisels. I used it today to chop the cleat mortise.

Yikes

I almost cut all the way through the back fence. I wasn't paying attention and I almost sawed it in two. Time for a pit stop to fix this because although it is still one piece, it is a bit floppy feeling.

first choice

This was left over after I sawed the cleat out of it. I left the ends as is because if I cut them off I don't think it would have been thick/strong enough to span the saw cut.

better option

I saw this scrap of poplar in the wood pile and I liked it much more than the first choice. That one I was going to glue on whereas this one I screwed on - no glue. That way if I do brain fart and saw it in two, I can screw on another one.

new project

Decided to make a new miniature dresser to stow all the Miller Dowels. I don't have a hole for it but I'll deal with that after it is done. I am using the pine I got from Koszela lumber. I am going to dimension all the stock by hand. It has been a long time since I have done a project entirely by hand.

major parts

Sides, top, and bearer rails. The one board in the foreground will give up two drawer fronts. Not sure on the thicknesses of the various parts other than the drawers and the bearers - those will be about a 1/2" thick. 

hmm....

Maybe I should have thought this through a wee bit more. This is one of the sides and it is cupped. The darkish spot is the hollow and this is after planing it straight across at 90 for 5 minutes. This was exactly 3/4" thick when I started and I don't think it is going to be 3/4" thick when I'm done planing both faces.

15 minutes

It is easy going but it took a few calories to get here. It was 1510 and I killed the lights here. I'll pick this back up in the AM.

I measured the outside edges and I'm already below 3/4". I'll have to make a run to Koszela lumber to get some more pine. This stock here can be used for the drawers and there shouldn't be any waste. I can adjust the size of the dresser up/down to minimize waste.

accidental woodworker

I’ve got birds on my brain. They’ve been fluttering about in the cold bare branches just outside my shop window while I carve bowls inspired by them, inside. I’ve carved a lot of bird bowls over the years. Rather than … Continue reading →