Norse Woodsmith Blog Feeds

Now that I had a hexagon cylinder it needed the end pieces. Used a scrap of MDF to play with the sizing to match the outside of the hexagon. Once the miter saw was set with a stop block and the MDF fit well I cut the Poplar. The blade angel is 30°.

First cuts Second cuts

I’m a tails first dovetailer and this took a bit of thinking and planning ahead. The first step was scribing the thickness of the box on both sides of the end pieces. The tails are at the and marked off with a pencil. Removal of the waste began by first deepening the scribed marks with a chisel. After cutting closely to the line those deeper lines made it easier to chop the shoulders square. Transferring to the hexagon began by scribing the thickness of the end pieces all around, both inside and outside of the hexagon. Then the end piece was positioned and the tails were transferred to the hexagon. Not much room to move a dovetail saw but that was the easier part. The waste can only be removed from the outside of the hexagon so I got creative in how to hold the hexagon. At this point, I think a slideshow will illustrate better than anything I write!

Once the box was glued up, I separated the lid on the bandsaw, I correctly assumed that cutting it would change the size so the lid was a bit smaller than the box. Another unforeseen problem is the the screws for the hinges were too long since they sit on a 30° angel — cut them shorter so there’s not a lot of purchase with them. I had a small piece of curly Spanish Cedar so used that for a lid lift and also the French fit insert to hold the spokeshave. Sorry, didn’t take any pictures of that process but it’s secured inside of the hexagon with silicone seal. The hinges and the lid lift are mortised in, quite different cutting a mortise on an angled piece of wood!

All things considered, this was an interesting challenge and glad I took it on. I enjoy these types of projects, let me know if you too decide to try making one of these. Here’s a short video I posted to YouTube of the finished project, enjoy — John.

 With the exception of making a run to Wally World after lunch, I spent the entire day in the shop. It has been quite a while since I have clocked a full day and it felt good. Lost track of time and I was surprised to see the clock telling me it was 1458 when I thought I had hours still left in the PM session. I don't feel like I got a lot accomplished but maybe I did in hindsight.

last coat prep

Sanded the coasters and the holder with 320 grit. I had to paint the holder twice because I had to lay in one position without painting those spots.

done

I am happy with these holders. I was playing around with all three and IMO it is impossible to get tangled up and frustrated trying to pull out the one wrench you want.

hmmm....

This isn't a bad idea. I would have probably would have liked this had I not seen the round holders.

doing some designing

There are two measurements I need to design the holder for these 3. One is the OD of the wrenches and two, the OD of each holder. The OD of the wrenches of all 3 is different but the holders are all the same size.

top of the prospective holder

This is the starting point. I also looked doing a stair step design but nixed it. It would have been too high IMO. Another hiccup was the longest wrench in each of the holders is different. The longest is 5 3/4" and the shortest about 5 1/8".

will I get lucky?

I have 2 forstner bits that might work. They are a wee bit on the inside of the circles I laid out though. I thought I had an adjustable drill bit but it is MIA. I ordered one from Hyperkitten tools and I should have it in a couple of days.

the center one

The torx and imperial wrenches have about the same ID on the inner circle. The metric wrenches inner circle is a 1/4" (diameter) smaller than the other two.

1 1/4" hole

This is a snug fit on the wrenches. It fits and it seats but this is plywood so it isn't going to go nutso like solid wood. However, I am planning to make the holder out of solid wood. I'll have to allow for wood movement.

oh so close

The torx wrenches didn't seat fully and the imperial wrenches don't fit in the 1 1/2" hole I drilled.

about a 1/8"

I could seat this if I pushed down on it but it is something I don't want to do. I want the holders to drop down and have some wiggle room. I also want a clean, plumb hole too. I don't see myself using a rasp or my oscillating sander to enlarge the hole so that it was still resembled a circle.

two ways to do it

The first way to do this is to drill the inner hole first. After that passes muster, use a router with a rabbeting bit to make a shallow rabbet for the OD of the holders.  The 2nd way is to do it by entirely by hand. Use the adjustable drill to make a shallow rabbet on the larger OD first and then drill out the though inner ID hole.

going to need a couple of more

I ragged on another coat on this up side. It felt dry to the touch before lunch but I decided to wait until tomorrow to do the other side. Based on how this coat looked I will probably have to repeat these dance steps 3-4 more times.

thought I was done with these

This final coat looked good initially. I didn't see any obvious drips/runs nor any white primer coat. Got the last coat on the holder but I might see something else I missed in the AM.

glob drips

I eyeballed each individual coaster and each one had at least one of what I call a 'drip glob' on one of the corners. These are caused by coming across the corner with the brush from the right going to the left. To avoid this hiccup, you brush away from and off the corners going left to right. 

5 lb drip glob

Would Amanda or anyone else notice this? I doubt it but it bugs me to no end in sight. I might have to touch the corners up again tomorrow.

template

As of now I'm leaning in the direction of drilling the smaller inner hole first and then using a router to make the rabbeted larger hole. I have to order an adjustable router bit because the one I have is missing the two bearings I need.

cherry and red oak

Red oak was my first choice until I saw I had some cherry. I would have less waste with the cherry too. But I changed my mind again when I put the red oak away and saw another board.

mystery wood

I think this is philippine mahogany. I got it from LS Sweet lumber a few years ago. I have enough here to whack a dozen holders if needed.

plain and simple

This is going to be an utilitarian shop project.  The only thing that I notice here is it may not be as stable as I would like. Being tall and narrow makes it tippy.

dovetailing the sides

Whatever this wood is, it is like working with stone. It is heavy and it took a lot of calories to scribe the tails.

tails sawn

These are just sawn - I still have to clean them up. That will happen tomorrow because I saw here it was almost 1500.

tricky layout

The tail is going to be centered on the top and bottom. The sides are 2" wide and the top and bottom is 2 3/4" wide. That leaves a 3/8" shoulder on both sides.
 

sneak peek

I am going to turn the bottom into a tray. This way any hardware I remove with any of the wrenches I can put in the tray.

left arm

Top and bottom sides but the worse of it is the web between my fingers. I also have some on my legs that I am clueless as to how that happened.

right arm

My right arm and the back of my right knee are the itchiest, most annoying spots to deal with. My wife bought me 4 different itch meds but I am doing ok so far with Calamine lotion. It should clear up but the weekend hopefully.

accidental woodworker

It’s a day like any other, but not really. It may have started the same, first my bike ride which lasts a half hour, sometimes more. Still, it’s 5.30 A.M. as I tread the pedals on the cycle path. I always cook my breakfast, half a dozen vegetables, perhaps a feta omelette to go with...

Source

Although I’m not back in the shop full time or anything close, I did sneak in a couple of sessions to make and install the new cypress lid for the hydropower capturing basin.   Last winter I saw that something had torn the living starch out of the previous hardware-cloth-over-frame lid, rendering that element useless in filtering out the debris.  It was probably a bear, but I really have no idea why a bear would feel the need to tear up the box lid in the middle of a vigorously running stream.  The box itself was uninjured, perhaps because it holds about 500 pounds of rocks.

My first step for the new lid was nailing down the side strips to the workbench, then began nailing on the slats spaced two washers apart.  This will result in a roughly >1/16″ opening, large enough for the wicking of water through the lid but keeping out the debris and crawdads.   I nailed it all together from both sides with copper slatters nails, driven into pre-drilled holes.  Once the unit gets saturated the wood will swell and clinch the nails solidly in place.

This particular structure is known as a Coanda Screen, although they are usually manufactured from stainless steel rods and screens.

A hike up the hill to clean out the debris from the capturing basin and setting the new lid in place and the system was functional once I made the penstock re-connection that I disconnect when winterizing it.  I added another 500 pounds of rocks on top to discourage any four-legged vandals.  We’ll see if it works.

Over the summer I will spend a few days working on the penstock incline, building rock berms to flatten out the swales so that maybe, just maybe I can keep it running all winter long.  Enclosed water lines can supposedly keep running down to -17F if there is minimal turbulence.

But for now, after a week of vigorous rain (~3″ total) it’s pounding out the power.

Back to finishing up the myriad details for the greenhouse.

 Well boys and girls I have good news. Might mean nothing to you but it speaks volumes to me. A little after 1400 today that )_!&@$^&@%&*_@)^%*Q@)*%_( foley was slowly removed. I had to pass some urine and have its color checked by the doc before he said it wasn't going back in. I am so glad that thing is history. If I ever wanted to piss someone off and make their lives miserable, I would have them get two foley catheters. An alternative to male prison sentences?

I didn't get any shop time and I didn't bother to go to there at all. The foley was acting up again and I just couldn't find anyway to not have it pinch and grab on me. Other than that having the foley was convenient until it came time to empty the collection bag. I'm glad this ordeal is over but the doc said it is usually only good for about 10 years. Wash, rinse, and repeat at 81?

I'm still taking the same meds I had pre TURP but maybe advances in medicine will be made before I need to go through this again.

I did not know this

I have 6 Torx screwdrivers and zero Torx allen wrenches. I think I now have a complete basic set of them along with a new holder. I saw the holder on one a Monday Night Meatloaf episode. Where did this golden object come from? I never knew there were alternative allen wrench holders.

wow, what a relief

This makes so much better sense to me then the holder the Torx wrenches came with. I dislike that style because the situation can rapidly escalate to flying lessons status trying to remove the one allen wrench I needed. This round holder is clearly labeled on the top and it is a no brainer to select and pull out the one I want. Genius - the inventor should be nominated for a Nobel Prize.

I bought two more

I got the Torx wrenches and the 3 circular holders from Fireball Tools. It took 2 days to get to me for a cost of $53 including S/H. I'll replace my metric/imperial flat holders with these two tomorrow.

Fireball Tool also sells a vertical holders for all three but they are plastic. I wanted metal - something that has heft and is durable and has a reasonable longevity to it. All 3 holders are separate and I think I'll make my own holder and put all 3 together. 

I have moved on from the foley and now I'm dealing with a rash from the ivy I removed before I had the TURP done. I started breaking out a few days ago and each day I find new area that is infected. That won't stop me from hitting the deck in the shop come the AM.

For the rest of the day I enjoyed my freedom being aware that I now have to actual respond to the urge to void (void, medical speak for peeing).

accidental woodworker

 Since I'm typing this blog a day before, the foley stays in for about another day. Last night it woke me up 5 times. After it woke me for the last time I said No Mas, and just got up. During the day it wasn't any better. I couldn't find any relief from it biting and pinching me no matter what I was doing and whether or not I was stationary or moving. Some things you just have to suck it up and live with it. I surely hope that I get relief after this thing is yanked out of me.

desk work

Instead of doing this in the shop (avoiding walking up/down the stairs) decided to do this at the desk. The first step was making a template of the ID of the ring box. Then I could use that to cut out a section of the ring holder insert.

not looking good sports fans

The ID of the box isn't cooperating with getting a section of the insert to fit. All the ring slots are precut and the template falls awfully close to two edges of the slots.

2nd one

The first one was a bust. It short on the width R/L, but spot on the front to back. However, if I had nailed the R/L it would have been toast. The ring slot on the right side was gone. It abutted on the face of the box. Toast.

With the 2nd one I got a good fit R/L and F/B but only with the ring slots parallel to the sides. To my eye that makes the rings look funny. I did manage to position the template so the rings slots weren't abutting any of the sides.

confirmed

There is room for 4 rings that are centered within the ID. The bad news is the ring looks weird this way. Rings should be parallel to the front edge when opened. I played around with cutting out a couple of more inserts but nada. I'm stuck with trying to get the precut ring slots of the inserts to fit my ring box. I would be golden if I had the foam inserts first and then made the box. On to plan b, change II, revision 3EC, modifications 4 thru 9a, but currently awaiting approval.

came quick

Monday night meatloaf creator has a few sayings that I like. One is that me-steaks he makes he refers to them as Bozos. I got these stickers off eBay for $4.73 delivered to me in 3 days. 

The second saying is he refers to bad edges, errant hammer strikes, etc as 'chowda'. With him being a west coast guy and me from New England, I wasn't expecting him to have a saying like chowda. Couldn't find a sticker for that.

The last one is he refers to himself (disparagingly at times) as Mr Wizard usually as he makes a set up me-steak. Find a ton of Wizard stickers but none that I felt represented him. I'll keep looking, there are a ton of sellers out there peddling stickers.

no more Bozos

This wouldn't fit on the center stile - it overhung on the outside edges. These are nice decal stickers for the price. They have a bright and clear artwork, are thick with a strong adhesive backing. Grabbed and stuck immediately.

almost done

I managed to get two coats on the coasters and the holder today. Tomorrow I'm hoping to be done with them but I'll have to wait and see what shakes out.

better

While typing up the blog I had an idea pop into the brain bucket that I had to try out. I cut out another insert to fit the box. I then cut the ring slots (there are two rows) straight across (parallel to the front face) from side to side.

top ring row

Whoever gets this ring box should be able to fit 4 rings in it with wiggle room.

accidental woodworker

Man, I started this project at the end of March!  It's not that it was a hard project, there was some vacation time and then I just couldn't get my mojo working to get out to the shop so it progressed very slowly.  It all started a few months ago when I had lunch with my sister and she liked this caddy they had at a local restaurant.  So I set out to make something like it.

The caddy from a restaurant

The hand planing for this project was done almost entirely using wooden planes.  I'd been wanting to use my woodies more and while that probably slowed me down a bit, it was fun to use them.  I think if I used them more often, I'd be just as quick as if I used my metal planes.

Left to right: homemade extra course scrub, homemade scrub, German smoother,  homemade coffin smoother, shooting board plane (old jack), jack plane, homemade try plane

I started with red oak reclaimed from a neighbor's kitchen remodel.  The sides and ends of the caddy were taken down to 1/2" thick; the dividers to 5/16" thick.

Dovetails marked, ready for cutting

Tails done, pins marked from tails

First corner fettled and fitting OK

After fitting all four corners, I dry-fitted the box and leveled the bottom edges so that I could plow the grooves to house the bottom from a common reference.

Ready to plow using my Ohio Tool screw-arm plow plane and a sticking board

Sides and ends plowed 3/16" wide and 3/16" deep, 3/16" from bottom edge

My plow plane depth adjustment starts at minimum depth of 1/4" - too deep for what I wanted - so I had to check often to ensure that I wasn't going past 3/16".

Having leveled the bottom edges before plowing guarantees a good mating groove

Dadoes cut into ends to house the long divider

Long divider fitted

With long divider in place, marking for the short divider

After chopping and routing the dadoes, here's the first fitting of the short divider

The long and short dividers were then half-lapped

With box dry-clamped, making sure I can slide the dividers in their dadoes

For each of the dividers, I planed the ends slightly out-of-square so that the bottom edge was slightly shorter than the upper edge.  With the box assembled, this helped them slide into their respective dadoes more easily.

Added another, smaller divider

The handle will be housed in these arms and attached with screws

Like this.  There are Nylon washers between the arms and box ends. The handle is held to the arms with wood screws. The arms are held to the box using machine screws - holes in the long divider are tapped.

I pre-finished all interior surfaces before gluing up

After the glue dried, I filled the holes left in the pin boards from the grooving operation. These pieces were glued in, later cut close and flushed with a plane.

And here's the finished product.  It's finished with a couple coats of water-based poly, then paste wax.  I'm happy with how it came out, but it's a bit heavier than I'd hoped.  If my sister thinks it's too heavy to be practical for her, I'll make another from lighter wood or thinner dimensions.

The completed project

And how it will be used

And, just so I'll remember how I made it, here's the parts/cutting list, including some changes I made on the fly.  Now I can finally get to something else.

Parts list

My kind, sweet, gentle papa passed on May 1st. It was both expected and unexpected, the best possible passing and the saddest day of my life. My wife Morgan, my mother, and me were all there, holding his hand.

Driving down to my parent’s house that morning, I decided I wanted to make the coffin.  Then I decided I wanted help.  So I asked some of my closest friends to come build the coffin with me: Peter Ross, Roy Underhill and Bill Anderson.

For the sides of the coffin, Roy gave me two boards that had been part of the set of The Woodwright’s Shop. I probably watched them on TV when I was 7 or 8 years old.  For the top and bottom, I found some pine seat blanks that wouldn’t make good seats, and planed them down thin. 

Then Bill pontificated….

…Peter pointed….

…we sawed kerfs in the sides so they’d bend….

….and drilled nail holes so they wouldn’t split.

We poured boiling water over the sides….

…nailed them on…

… and bent them around the bottom.

We made the lid and handles…

…. and attached the guiding star Bill had made.

Then the coffin was done.

Three days later, Papa’s body was buried at a conservation cemetery near our home. Building that coffin was the most important – and the shortest lived – thing I’ve ever made. Thank you Bill, thank you Roy, and thank you Peter for carrying me through.

And thank you Papa for being you.

I love you.

The post Papa’s Pine Box first appeared on Elia Bizzarri - Hand Tool Woodworking.

Exactly ten years ago I was experiencing the most exhilarating and exhausting week of my life, the culmination of years of research, writing, and travel; it was Studley Exhibit Week.

It started with packing up of the Studley Tool Cabinet and Workbench ensemble at its home, loading it onto a dedicated truck with armed driver and escort, and unloading it at the end of a long day’s driving in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, just a few miles from the Handworks event in Amana.

A dedicated team of volunteers (and vendors; the original lighting contractor bailed on the project three weeks before the opening) made the whole thing possible as the installation came together.

That evening I hosted a special reception for all the Handworks vendors who would be otherwise unable to see the exhibit.

On top of everything else the Lost Art Press crew arrived with cases of the book, almost literally hot off the presses and straight from the bindery.

The event garnered favorable feedback except for those who were miffed that there was a ticket price for the small event.  Apparently, they were unaware of budget items like the cost of dedicated, secured transport ($6k), insurance (a thousand dollars a day), facility rental, exhibit fabrication (almost $2k just for the tool cabinet exhibit case alone), and much, much more, all of which I was paying out of my own pocket.  Thanks to the unbelievable generosity of a friend of the project the books all balanced in the end.

Despite the frenetic pace of those days, robbing me of many of the memorable moments, I still get warm-and-fuzzies reflecting on those moments I can remember.

Ten years!  Goodness, how time flies.

 

 A nurse from the VA called this AM and my wife took the call. She answers all incoming because one, I don't have my cell phone surgical implanted on my hip, and two, I can't hear/understand on cell phones. I can with my hearing aids in but I don't wear them everyday so my wife is constantly in the batters box for this. I'm also glad that she answered it and not me.

Firstly the nurse was calling to cancel the appointment I had with urology today at 1500. She was also calling to tell her that the wednesday appointment for the foley removal was also canceled. The earliest appointment to remove it was now on friday, maybe. My wife told her that I had been told the foley was coming out on wednesday vice monday and she wanted an appointment for that on wednesday (wednesday's appointment was canceled because the clinic isn't there on wednesdays).

I would have been a very unhappy camper if I had to keep the foley for 2 1/2 more days. I have an overflow appointment for 1400 on wednesday. It may take a while before I'm seen but to me the important thing is the foley is coming then or I do it myself.

primer coat done

This was all I got done today. Tomorrow I'll do the first top coat on the bottoms.

I have to sleep on my back which I do not like doing. I also have to sleep close to the outside edge of the mattress because the hose for the big collection bag is on the short side. I went to bed at 2200 and I only woke up once and I didn't have to watch YouTube to get sleepy again.

I did kind of sleep though the night but there were a few tugs during the night that woke me up. I was able to drift off again after repositioning myself. However, the tugging, pinching, grabby feeling didn't go away at during the day. That is why I stayed topside and watched Monday night meatloaf episodes. I tried to start with #1 or #2 but I couldn't find them. I think I started watching them about the #80's. I'm not sure and I'm going by if I liked them or not. At the rate I'm going I'll be caught up by friday.

foam ring inserts

The ring slots are precut 'H' shapes. There are 72 slots on each of the 3 foam holders. These are much nicer than the chinese crap I bought the first time. They came today and I can finally finish the ring box. On the flip side I have a lot of material for which I'm sure there will be at least one oops.

from ABE books

Don Williams posted about this book and I went to the authors site to buy one. First printing was sold out along with the 2nd one. No hint of a 3rd printing. I looked it up on ABE books on a lark. I wasn't expecting the book to be available so soon as used. 

This book was listed as used but it has zero wear and I would have bet a lung that I was the first person to leaf through it. The quality of it is as good as any book done by the Lost Art Press. It has a ton of japanese joints in color. The book isn't a step by step how to but the info presented seems adequate for a woodworker with some hand work experience. I have long been fascinated with this glue/nail less joinery and I'll pick out a easy one to try and see how well I can do on it.

accidental woodworker

I bought a suit recently. No, it’s not denim, although had I had time I might have considered one being made to fit. Finding a tailor to make it might be a different matter, not an easy one. Suits are not generally my world. In fact, where I go, I rarely ever see one. The...

Source

Sash Saw  Karelian Masur Birch350mm long78mm deep11 TPI croscutPedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12692353908068506678noreply@blogger.com0

As I continue working on the multitude of details getting the greenhouse ready, Mrs. Barn’s flower garden, carved out of the rocky hillside next to the cabin, has erupted in an explosion of colors as the poppies have burst onto the scene.  In a couple months the daylilies will emerge, and in between will be a host of other rainbows of flowers I know nothing about beyond appreciating their beauty.  To say that she revels in the beauty of nature and especially flowers would be an understatement.  Today is our annual Mrs. Barn’s Birthday Safari to Millmont Gardens to load up with beautiful plants.  She has free reign to get whatever she wants, the space in the back of the CRV being the limiting factor.

As for the greenhouse itself, we have begun to finalize the interior layout and some seedlings are underway.   I have removed much of the construction supplies and tools, bringing a sense of order to the space.  Lately we have been scouring the University of Youtube to garner the best information on building self-watering planters.

We have passed through asparagus season, having freshly-picked shoots with almost every meal for more than a fortnight.  The bed is now proceeding to the “bush” phase and in short order the asparagus bushes will be 8-10 feet high.  She says this is the key to an established perennial asparagus bed, and since it has worked here for two decades I rely on her judgement.

I can just now glimpse returning to the workbench on the horizon.  First project is to make a new, sturdier cover for the hydro capturing trough that a bear (?) tore up last autumn.

Feeling much better today. I wasn't as tired and ragged out as I felt like yesterday. The desire to occupy space and expel carbon dioxide in the shop returned but I took it easy. I did one thing in the shop and another out in the yard. The rest of day was spent binge watching 'Monday night meatloaf' with Tom Lipton. I've been following him for years but now I'm watching his vids from 11-10 years ago.

You'll hear no more whining from me about the foley. I was crying because I had no shoes until I met the man with no feet. I am fortunate in that I won't be wearing a foley for the rest of my life. Thanx to Diego for making me see the light.

I am not driving as long as I have the foley in. Nor will I be walking post lunch. I will also miss going out to breakfast tomorrow along with missing my lunch of fish 'n chips this past friday. I hope to resume the lunch date part this friday.

painting prep done

I was going to poly the kitchen ladder after this but that didn't happen. I'll deal just with the coasters and the holder first. This will be done in a couple of steps. The bottoms first then the tops. The last step (or two) will be applying the top coat(s).

 

taper pins

I have made bookshelves with the same joinery as this holder. A couple of them developed some gaps in the shelf/dado connection. I'm not sure that will happen with this but a couple of tapered pins in each side can't hurt the cause.

after lunch

I was hoping to get the tops done in the PM session but I wasn't happy with how the paint felt. It felt dry but it was also cool to the touch - its an oil based primer. All the coasters and the holder felt the same. I'll give them overnight to cook and set and I'll check them in the AM.

yard work

I didn't experience any hiccups, pain, or weird sensations painting but I was expecting maybe something doing this. I sawed up a bunch of fence pickets that are destined for the land fill. I sawed up about 20 of them without so much as a whimper.

All the movements I made sawing I thought would translate into the foley singing arias to me. That didn't happen boys and girls. I felt more hiccups walking about in the backyard than I did sawing.  

Used it to test myself too on sawing square and plumb. I did reasonably well on the square cuts but most of the plumb cuts were angled. I tried to correct it and I managed to saw a couple plumb but I drifted back to angled ones. I have yet to use anything sawn square/plumb off the saw. As it is now I plane my edges square and plumb after sawing them.

accidental woodworker

If you’ve ever dealt with a wooden plane that keeps clogging up with shavings, you’re not alone. It’s a common frustration for many woodworkers, but the good news is that it’s fixable. I’ll show you a simple and effective solution to stop those jams and get your plane working smoothly again.

One content creator asked me once “how come he doesn’t get long shavings from his wooden jack.”? Well, there’s alot more to it than just using steel wool and flattening the sole. In this article I’ll deal with those frustrating jams when shaving get’s hung up in the mouth, builds up and then clogs.

First step is to inspect the mouth for burrs or rough spots. If there’s a burr, nick, or rough patch at the frontedge of the mouth especially where the blade meets the mouth, it could be catching the shavings. This is especially troublesome with thin, deliberate shavings that are more prone to snagging.

Use a small file or fine sandpaper around 400-600 grit wrapped around a thin stick or dowel to gently smooth out the inside of the mouth. Focus on the leading edge and any rough or uneven spots where the shavings might be getting caught.

Also, if the blade isn’t perfectly flush against the bed of the plane, thin shavings might be slipping between the blade and the bed, getting trapped. This happens when there’s a tiny gap due to a warp or obstruction in the bed. Remove the blade and inspect the bed where it sits. Ensure the surface is smooth and there’s no debris or roughness. You can lightly sand the bed to ensure a better fit.

Check the mouth clearance. If the mouth is too small relative to the size of your shavings, even with the cap iron moved back, the shavings can get compressed and stuck. This is especially true if the openings is tight at the front and creates a funnel effect. The mouth on mine is too wide to do any fine work, but it is well suited for rough work. I didn’t open the mouth, I bought it like that. To get back to the issue at hand, try carefully widening the mouth just a tiny bit more, especially toward the front edge. Aim for just enough clearance to let thin shavings pass, but not so much that you lose control of fine cuts. You could use a file to make this adjustment slowly.

Ensure the blade is set to take only the thinnest of shavings. Try retracting the blade more than usual and take a test pass to see if it reduces the clogging.

Second final step is to check the inside path of the mouth. Shavings that do not curl properly or get enough momentum to clear the mouth, they might be bouncing up and catching. Thick shavings don’t face this issue because they’re stronger and curl more naturally.

Check how the shavings are curling as they leave the mouth. You may want to make sure there’s nothing obstructing their path i.e. inside the mouth or just above the blade.

The last thing that’s just come to mind I have no photo of so you will have to mentally visualise it is to check if the walls of the mouth are touching the edge of the blade. Even with planes that are new, nearly new or in mint condition, the mouth is always exactly the width of the blade. That makes it impossible to adjust the blade side to side, and sometimes the shavings get stuck between the blade and the mouth wall. If you widen or lengthen the mouth, it’ll stop the shavings from clogging and give you the ability to adjust the blade laterally.

If you follow these steps and your blade is razor sharp you should get shavings like I do.

Goodluck!

My latest eBay listing - a Veritas Inlay String Thicknesser, apparently I purchased it before Veritas renamed the name, it is now called an Inlay String Scraper!

Lightly used, near mint in original box with wrapper and instructions. Aluminum body with brass hardware and hardwood handles. Scraper blade has original factory grind marks on bevels with original blade protectors. A great tool for someone who wants to get into string inlay techniques!

 I had grandiose ideas for working in the shop today or so it seemed. The plan was to go slow but get a few little things done. As the time in the shop progressed I lost all interest in being there. I spent the majority of my day sleeping at my desk instead. Anesthesia has proven to play havoc with my ability to sleep. I didn't get much sleep last night and I watched You Tube twice  during the night. The cat got a little bent out of shape each time I did that but he got over it. Based on what happened to me during the daylight hours today I will probably be watching more You Tube tonight again.

I am not in any pain per se. The foley catheter is only an annoyance and it is a big one. It says hello even if I blink my eyes. Walking isn't painful but it is something that I try to avoid. That had a lot to do with me parking my cheeks on my desk chair all day. One day down and 4 more before it comes out. 

On a positive note my urine is clear. I didn't see any evidence of blood in it at all. However, the doc told me that it will be 4 to 6 before I'm fully healed.

its had plenty of time

I clamped this up the day before the TURP so it should be more than ready to come out of the clamps.

layout

I tried laying out a circular cutout but I didn't like the look of it. Instead I went with an oval-ish one to better match the tilt of the shelf.

coping saw work

This was a bit awkward due to the short stroke I could take with it. It was enough to do the cutout though. My first one was a wee wonky and the second one was a lot better. In hindsight I should have done a warm up cut because I don't use a coping saw often.

rasp and 120 grit

One side is a few frog hairs larger than its sibling. Not a deal killer because there is no way to focus on both at the same time to compare them.

the larger cutout

The height is about the same but it is about an 8th of inch longer. 

This was my output today and I didn't last an hour in the shop. I wasn't having any pain or discomfort doing this but the desire to work just wasn't there. After this I had planned to paint the holder and the bottom of the coasters and then call it a day. Maybe I'll get around to that tomorrow.

accidental woodworker

I have listed one set of Lie-Nielsen bed/tenon floats, one push float, one pull float. Both are mint, unused, never sharpened, in their original wrappers with original instructions. I don’t know when these floats went out of production, these have been sitting in my tool chest for nearly ten years, time for them to go to a new home.

For years now I’ve been sharing what I know. I’ve passed on the craft, offered tips, explained techniques, and helped anyone who wanted to learn. I’ve written guides, shared my process, and answered plenty of questions. Not because I was chasing popularity, and definitely not for money. I’ve never done this for money. Not once. Not ever.

I started making videos on YouTube too. Not to become a content creator or an influencer, but just to teach, show the work, and keep the craft alive. That’s it.

I’ve given freely. And I don’t regret that.

But recently I asked for something small. Just a favour. Help identifying a bit of timber. Nothing technical, just a moment of someone’s time.

No one replied.

Not a word. Not even a wrong answer.

That silence said more than any comment could.

It made me think about how often people are happy to take, but rarely give anything back. I’ve seen content with no depth get more attention than anything I’ve written. I’ve seen tool collectors gather likes, while people who actually use those tools go ignored. I’ve seen misinformation spread like wildfire while the people sharing real knowledge sit in the background unnoticed.

This isn’t a plea for attention. It’s just the truth.

If you care about the craft, if you respect real work done by real hands, don’t just scroll past. Say something. Share something. Ask something. Community isn’t built on silence.

That’s all.

I wasn't expecting to be kept overnight. According to the doc, 90% of the people getting this procedure do go home. Just my luck that I was promoted to the 10% group. The doc said that he had a lot of problems slicing and sealing one side of the prostate. The fact that I take Eliquis didn't help things neither. So about an hour into my stay in PACU (patient after care unit) the output going into the collection was the color of Hawaiian punch. 

I was flushed with saline from after I left the OR until 0735 the following morning. The doc stopped it so he could evaluate what the color my urine was. It turned out to be mostly clear to a pink grapefruit color. Regardless all 5 docs loved that color and signed the order so I could go home.

I was totally unprepared for this unplanned hospital stay. My cell phone and hearing aids both went dead and I couldn't sleep because the anesthesia screws up my sleep cycle. I'm hoping to get 40 winks tonight in my own bed.

Because of the too bloody of a discharge I have a follow up appointment on monday but the foley catheter isn't coming out until wednesday. I wasn't expecting the catheter to be the size of a fire hose and I have two collection bags. One is for walking around during the day and a big one for night time. The doc said it was almost impossible to fill it up overnight. Fingers crossed on that not happening.

Needless to say I won't be going balls to the wall in the shop. It isn't a particularly pleasant sensation walking around with thing. But I only have to put up with it for 5 days. I have some painting and poly work I might be able to do without it being too uncomfortable. Stayed tuned, updates and pics on the 11 o'clock news.

got some new reading

I haven't made a chair yet and I think making a bulls%$t chair is a good starting point. I'll read this and I will probably make more than one to build up some proficiency before I tackle making a real chair.

walking around bag

The tubing on this one is "u" shaped while the foley catheter tubing is round - it has about a 1/4" ID and about a 3/8" OD. The doc told me it will be 4-6 weeks before I fully heal and stop passing blood and possible blood clots. No matter how it shakes out I don't see much happening for the next few days. Even I'll concede on that.

accidental woodworker