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I like my inches, they always made total sense to me and I think that that's because learned imperial measuring as a young child. Inches made me think, and I think the more in fractions of inches and then there is the foot distance and yard too. I picture distance in yards and miles. In my culture, imperial has been a common thing. I take it for granted as standard to me. I look at sixty-fourths of an inch and see an increment, a percentage of that inch that fits into it sixty-four times, but then a half-inch with thirty-two increments in it, or eight thirty-seconds of an inch in it, at quarter of an inch with sixteen in it or8/32nds of an inch in it. What's to fault that, anyway?

Sense comes in many ways. Remember, at aged fourteen, my headmaster told my parents, "Paul can never be educated." This man thought you could cane and strap education into children who didn't learn at the same rate or in the same way as all the other children did. He used a wide leather strap to drive his point home and strapped them to learn compliancy. But I knew feet and inches, could measure with these increments easily. Sense comes in many ways and experience makes theory concrete for minds that envisage in three-dimensional reasoning. Twelve inches to a foot made great sense to me as did a foot distance and a yard made up of three feet toe to heel in a length. Get over it!

Stanley's tapes in Europe carry the CE letters which stands for "Conformite Europeenne" which is French for European Conformity. Naturally, metric measurements will ensure exactly that: conformity to EU standards. The US has no need to conform to metric even when it benefits all and shows inclusivity.

It seems a strange thing to me that the birth of the new world adopted imperial as it's standard measuring system. The USA measures a large percentage of its work in imperial feet and inches but less so using yards. The whole of the English imperial measurement system is not quite its officially adopted system but close to. Furthermore, the US uses its own United States Customary System (USCS) as its primary system of weights and measures used for everyday commerce, but the length of inches determining feet and yards remains the same as imperial measuring, translating into the exact same distance as the English or British inch which only older people like me still relate to in the everyday of life here in the UK. It's actually borderline. The majority of the UK in every sphere adopted metric in and around 1965. In the US, volumes and weights differ to the UK imperial units but of course the change over to metric in the UK started in 1965 and is now pretty near complete. The British Imperial system was imposed across the British Empire in 1824 to standardise it throughout the empire, hence the term Imperial Measurement. The UK transitioned to the metric system following a request from British industry who sought to adopt metric units for international trade competitiveness. This may have prefaced joining the EEC (the title prefacing the EU) but it would be 1973 before Britain was finalised as a member. I'm sure that with the evaporation of my generation we will see the evaporation and extinction of the imperial system in the next five years also.

Even understanding and adopting both system of measuring distances, working in inches still makes more sense to me than metric does, but that is purely because I learned to use imperial in my formative years and subsequent training in work, building on solid foundational knowledge. I can relate better to the inch and foot more readily than metric, though those using metric can rarely relate to that level of security. You see, owning the knowledge means I have no need to be threatened by it, and therefore I don't argue with inches at all for my daily work: I simply own them. They're quite fine to me, but that doesn't mean rejecting a metric system too. Once you learn complicated systems you can easily and readily adopt simpler ones, but you will more than likely never go the other way.

The Kreg fence is not the best retrofit version to install because the table slot for blade installation and removal on many UK bandsaws is on the front rather than the side, so the channel guide is not designed for this slot location. A retrofit version could have been made easily, but the market demand might not be big enough. As a result, there is a break in the fence and alignment for a seam-free smooth move from left to right takes patience and some shop-savvy metalworking to get it just right. I have done this to three bandsaws now. You would think I would have learned after the first two but hey ho.

What still stuns me each time I go to my bandsaw is that a tape measure for modern-day equipment might well come only in imperial (or USCS) on a tape measure. I installed a US made Kreg fence on my newest bandsaw recently, and the tape that came with it had no metric measurements on it. Imagine such a thing in 2026. Such a simple thing seems to have escaped the brilliance of their refined engineering, and yet I will guarantee that the engineering of all the components were carried on machines governed by metric control.

Going way back to the first retracting measuring tapes in the UK we had both measuring systems on the tapes. So in and around the mid-1960s we could work with both systems. How come 65 years later we have a tape being manufactured without metric?

Being born to inches and feet, understanding each one of then, I placed inches into feet and yards, then feet and yards into miles too, quite readily. 5280 feet end to end in every mile is a happy treasure I value. I will die in a casket I made using inches knowing inches gave me height and width before cutting the dovetailed corner and making the lid with three-eighth inch mortise and tenons for the lid corners. I love inches, understand them, think in them, imagine them in any number you give me to see visually in my brain and anything in three-dimensional sizing. Once you know them you use them and using them means you own them. I have earned the right to them.

Lee Valley Veritas produced left- and right-handed tapes, so the numbers are upright for both parties but of course that didn't turn things around for a parallel metric side.

When I received the minor instruction guidance in designing the two White House credenzas, I was given four sizes: length, height and depth and then the radius for the curved wall they would stand against in the Cabinet Room on each side of the door leading to the Oval Office.

We made ten book-matched face panels like this one so that not only were the sections to each panel book matched, but the two credenzas were wholly book-matched opposites too. This was taken at the tail end of 2008 and the first few days of 2009, my closing days of life in the US and Texas where I had lived since 1985.

These measurements came in Imperial inches and fractions thereof throughout, though some pedantics might say USCS inches (one and the same size), so not a millimetre anywhere in sight. The exchanges between my US colleagues and myself were in inches though mine were imperial all the way. No matter: we delivered.

These two credenzas are the only mesquite pieces in the White House Permanent Collection. They grace the end of the Cabinet Room on either side of the door leading to the Oval Office, which I never got to go into. The pictures I have are really quite unique in that they are fresh-coloured but unstained mesquite and have doubled in darkness now so they match the depth of tone of the adjacent massive Richard Nixon conference table of the Cabinet Room.

Addendum: I work equally well in metric and imperial and quickly switch to either if discussing with metric-only users, which is now the majority here in the UK. I learned metric in 1967 in ten minutes. There's nothing to it at all. Especially is this so when you've mastered the reality of maths classes where you learned about pounds, shillings and pence where such was the day back then when we entertained 20 shillings to the pound, 12 pence to the shilling and denominations of farthings, halfpennies, pennies, three-penny bits, sixpences, shillings, half-crowns and crowns and ten shilling notes all inside a pound equalling twenty shillings.

 The legs for the table are in limbo for now. The belt for the planer is on order and this AM I got an email that it had shipped. A 2nd email said it would arrive on this friday. When I ordered it the write up said 2-4 day delivery, so maybe that is close? In the interim I decided to play with leg designs so I could eyeball the look of it.

first set of experiments

I've been running different ideas through the brain bucket since my wife asked me to make it. Because it will be narrow and delicate looking, I didn't want just plain square legs. I don't have a lathe so any turning options ain't happening. I'm starting with two blanks 1 1/2" square.

first changes

The 1 1/2" square size looked too clunky IMO. The leg on the right I ripped down to 1" square and I like that size. I don't have a warm and fuzzy about the leg cutout at the bottom. The real estate sitting on the ground is a little more than 1/8" by 1". It looks too thin. Note to self - 1" square is ok, the leg angle is history.

hmm.......

This kills it for good. The angled cutout looks flimsy but I did get the depth of the dowels dialed in. That took me 3 tries before the aprons seated gap free.

worked

I was worried that the size of the leg wouldn't be large enough for the dowels on adjacent faces to pass each other. They did, barely but neither set hit the other one.

Got one hiccup with the aprons. The set back is off - one side has it and the other doesn't. Taking the angled leg cutout into account screwed me all up when I drilled the holes for the dowels.

nope

The idea I had was to make the angled cuts so they were on the outside and front inside faces. I'll kill all the suspense and fess up that I screwed it up. The 2nd cut itself was good but I had sawn them on the wrong faces. The cutout at the bottom was painfully small. It looks delicate but it also looks like someone walking by it would cause it to snap in two.

hmm......

I'm scratching angled leg cuts off the to do list. I'm not happy with how thin the bottom of the leg looks. On to the 2nd option rattling around the brain bucket.

too small

Changed my mind on the size of the leg. I want a wee bit more separation between the sets of dowels and also to have more dowel sticking out. I think I'll eyeball what 1 1/8" and 1 3/16" square looks like before I decide. I think either one is still small enough to look delicate.

hmm......

I don't want the aprons to be flush with the front. I don't care about the inboard face position. I played around with the shims until I got a setback I liked. I'm leaving the dowel jig and the depth guide set up for this.

this is winning so far

The 2nd option was to plane a chamfer on the outside 90° edge of each leg. I planed the first one free hand which was a bit awkward. I whipped out a 45 planing sled lickety split and it worked perfectly for planing the 2nd leg.

hmm.......

I think I found the winning entry. A large chamfer on the outside 90 and smaller ones on the other 3. The other 3 are subject to change because the short side aprons haven't been factored in yet.

stopped chamfers

The inside edge opposite the could go all the way up to top of the leg. The plan is to stop the chamfer a 1/2" below the bottom of the aprons. Again this is subject to change. 

2nd leg

An alternate for the chamfer is a round over or maybe a round over with shoulders. I do like the look of the chamfers on all four legs. They make the leg look thinner and should make the larger legs look the same too.

accidental woodworker

Hara-kiri on this cruck foot. The suspected dry rot is exposed. No problem; it's source of water has been removed and the socket is now dry. Contrary to common belief, dry rot needs a water source to grow. The pillow/corbel/cruck plate was a bit bent!

ready, almost

I left these on the workbench to make sure neither of them had any stupid wood tricks up their sleeves. Spoiler alert - they both behaved themselves.

checking for flat

Put the boards together and they were flat against each other end to end. No humps and no playing Mr Helicopter. In all combinations the two of the lay together gap free 360.

the big sigh

This board wasn't planed on this face, it still has the scallops from the router. I was tired yesterday and not really paying attention 100%. The last two times I ran the boards through the planer, there weren't any shavings being spit out. I assumed (wrongly) that the setting was too high and the board just went through underneath knives.

hmm......

I ran a board through and nada. The roller pushed it through but no shavings came with it. I took off the cover and I didn't find any interlocks so I turned it on and nada. The motor spun up but the cutter head didn't move. My first thought was a drive belt or maybe a gear was broke. 

what's left of the drive belt

Glad it is just this and not a stripped or broken gear. I checked the WWW for a replacement belt and the prices caused a hacking fit for a bazillion minutes. The OEM price averaged $80 but eBay prices were about $12-18. Those were a lot more reasonable. I also had checked the wrong Model #. I have a DeWalt #734 and I had checked prices on a DeWalt #735. The prices were better for my machine and I got a replacement belt on order.

This put a rather huge monkey wrench into the gears of making the console table. There aren't any tool repair centers within a reasonable distance from my house so I'll be the mechanic replacing it. It looks to be a fairly simple job but I'm not sure how much of this I'll have to disassemble to replace the belt. And if there will be any alignment(s) associated with replacing the belt. I'll be spending some quality time on You Tube tonight.

accidental woodworker

For those of you who don’t know what a Brahms guitar is, it is a classical guitar with eight strings, a cello end pin and the guitarist holds the guitar like a cello. Please visit my page on the Brahms guitar, Paul Galbraith’s website or Redmond O’Toole’s Instagram account for more details of this wonderful style of guitar. 

About twice a year I receive emails from guitarists asking me if I will make them a Brahms, I tell them “yes, I can” and then they ask what I charge to make one for them. I tell them that the base price for my classical guitars is $8,000 and a Brahms guitar starts at $8,500 - that is when they lose interest. A lot of work goes into making a Brahms guitar: I triple laminate the sides; I hand cut all the fret slots, the fretboard is fanned, this guitar actually has eight different string lengths(!); the neck is wider than a standard classical; I have to make a special bridge, which is angled to matched the different string lengths; installing the cello endpin; etc., etc.

Recently, a guitarist asked me if I could make a Brahms guitar for them, and if I could send one to them to try out, just to make sure they would want one. I do not have a Brahms guitar on hand. I told them that a client of mine has one for sale, they should contact that client to discuss the playing technique used for playing a Brahms guitar and the possibility of buying the guitar. 

The next week I contacted the guitarist and asked them why they wanted to play a Brahms guitar. Their answer was what I expected, the Brahms guitar offers more musical possibilities than a six string classical guitar. Then I suggested to them what a guitarist can do to experience a Brahms guitar without having to buy one.

WARNING! What I am about to suggest is to be done at your own risk! This is just a suggestion! I am not responsible for any damage done to any guitar! This suggestion is a way to try out the tuning of a Brahms guitar! DO NOT drill a hole in the guitar for a cello end pin! Hold the guitar as you would a standard classical guitar! If you do change strings, protect the guitar while you do the work! Please read this ENTIRE post before attempting!

If you really are interested in trying a Brahms guitar without a cello endpin, find someone who is willing to loan you a standard eight string classical guitar, or better yet, find someone with an eight string guitar that is interested in trying out the Brahms tuning. I also suggest that you read about the history of the development of the Brahms guitar before you attempt changing strings.

A Brahms guitar is usually tuned B1 E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 A4. A standard eight string guitar is usually tuned A1 B1 E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4. All you need to do to convert that eight string guitar tuning over to a Brahms tuning is to remove the eighth string completely from the guitar. Once you do that, shift the remaining strings over towards the bass side, so that the seventh string now becomes the eighth string, the sixth string becomes the seventh string, the fifth string becomes the sixth string, so on and so forth until there is no longer a first string on the guitar. Then you need to find a first string that can be tuned to A4 without breaking.

I suggest buying a set of Aquila Bionylon High A Tuning Classical Guitar Strings. 

Here is Aquila Strings description of the set:

High A tuning: A D G c e a, regular guitar intervals, but the 1st string is an above normal e. 

We are proud to introduce the Bionylon® the first eco-friendly synthetic string in the world. These special sets also offered in Low A, High G and Low E tuning all designed for a guitar of 64-66 cm scale can give a guitar quartet, all using normal 6 string classical guitars, the range of an orchestra.

These strings get good reviews at the various on line guitar string dealers. 

I suggest that you take that high “a” string and use it as the first string on the guitar. Eight string classical guitars are usually built to withstand the add tension of two extra strings, if in doubt about this you should contact your local luthier or qualified repair person. If you are uncomfortable in changing these strings take the guitar to your local luthier or qualified repair person and pay them to do the work!

Once you add that high “a” string, slowly tune all the strings, perhaps you should start with A435 to see how the guitar will react. To try out the tuning, hold the guitar as you normally would, DO NOT DRILL THE GUITAR FOR A CELLO ENDPIN! If you like the tuning and want a custom Brahms guitar, contact me or any luthier about making one for you!

Again, I must state that this procedure is just a suggestion, do not proceed with this if you are uncomfortable with the idea.

I first learned about the Brahms guitar in 1994, shortly after it was premiered by Paul Galbraith, I was immediately impressed by expanded range of the guitar. I shared the article with a fellow guitarist and he said, “Now, that’s best idea I’ve seen in a long time! Every guitarist should have one!

” 

If you have any questions or comments about this idea, please email them to me at

highcountrylutherie@gmail.com

I will not answer any comments posted to this post.

 

 Today started a whole lot better than yesterday. No coughing fits going on continuously for a bazillion hours. The shortness of breath is still kicking my arse but the coughing has toned down a ton. That was a welcomed relief. I didn't do anything in the AM but sit and veg out. I wanted to make sure that it would keep going on as is.

I went to Gregg's for fish 'n chips and I when I got back home I started working on getting the boards planed to final thickness. It took me a long time and I spent four times as much resting then I did doing any planing.

80 pounds - 36 kilos

I had to do everything one at a time. The only things I doubled up carrying out were the extension cord and my hearing muffs. The boards, the back hall bench, and the planer I brought out one at a time. In between each trip I had to sit and rest to catch my breath. On a bright note, I didn't have to suffer through spasms of coughing. Definitely looking that yesterday was  a bad day.

planer was last

I will have to do these dance steps 3 more times. One to bring this all back into the house and then twice more tomorrow when I plane the individual legs.

hmm......

I usually put the planer in the middle of the driveway (to the right). That is a distant memory now. That is now too far to carry the planer to. This was manageable but I think this is something that I won't be doing again. 

done

I am not sweeping up the shavings. It was breezy and the pile on the left was already 1/2 blown away. Besides the wind owes me a favor.

This was all I got done today. I got all the stuff back into the house and brought the boards down to the shop. Overall I was kind of happy with how things went this PM. The shortness of breath sucked but after resting for 10-15 minutes all was well in Disneyland again. Tomorrow I'll try to do get the remainder of the donkey work done.

accidental woodworker 

 I can't remember the last time I didn't go to the shop during the day and made sawdust. I had gone to the shop in the AM to get my ear muffs. At that time I had fully intended to haul the lunchbox planer outside. That didn't happen boys and girls. I spent 99% of the day seated at my desk watching You Tube listening to pod casts.

I had a terrible night sleeping and woke up for the final time a little after 0300. Every time I moved or rolled over I would have a coughing fit. I must have drifted off again because I didn't roll out of the rack until after 0700. Things didn't get any better once I went upright.

I went through one coughing fit after another for half an hour. The coughing sucks pond scum but now I was being rewarded with the pleasure of losing my breath with each fit. I let things settle down and after not coughing for over an hour, decided to haul the lunchbox planer out to the driveway. Within a couple of seconds of walking about, the coughing fits started again.

There was no way I would be able to haul my heavy arse planer out to the driveway today. That much exertion would probably bring on a massive coughing attack. Decided then and there to take the day off and veg out at my desk.

Tomorrow is supposed to be mostly sunny so at least the weather is cooperating. Now I just have to get my body agree with what I want to do.

accidental woodworker 

Will Myers shows how to make the incredible tusk tenon joint using woodworking hand tools How to Make a Tusk Tenon Joint In the above video, expert hand tool woodworker, Will Myers shows how to make the coolest wood joint ever, the tusk tenon joint! The above tusk

It has been a while since I wrote about the bookshelf build, so I’m picking it up from where I left off.

In the last part, the bookshelf had been brought together, glued and clamped, and everything was square. I now need to add two final elements: a base moulding and a top moulding. The base moulding will help stabilise the bookshelf, while the top moulding will add character and finish to the piece.

Before making the base moulding, I need to construct a cleat which will be attached to the bottom of the bookshelf. I use ¾” thick stock for this. The cleat is glued and nailed in place, flush with the front of the bookshelf. Its purpose is to provide a solid gluing surface for the front section of the base moulding.

I cut the cleat to size, apply glue and clamp it in position. To speed up the process, I use cut nails to permanently attach the cleat. This means I don’t have to rely solely on the glue to hold it in place, and I don’t have to leave it clamped while waiting for the glue to dry.

When using cut nails, I take a little care to prevent the stock from splitting. I drill a pilot hole part way into the wood rather than drilling the full length of the nail. I also position the nail so that it follows the direction of the grain before driving it in.

To make the base moulding, I start with a long board approximately 20% longer than I actually need. I then rip the board to the required width. The moulding consists of three pieces which will form a U-shape around the bottom of the case. I don’t measure the individual pieces. As Christopher Schwarz says, measuring is your enemy. Instead, I fit each piece directly to the bookshelf.

I start with one of the side pieces and place it against the case. I then use a pencil to mark where the board meets the front corner of the case. I take it to the mitre and cut the 45° end directly to the line I have just marked. I then repeat the same process for the other pieces, fitting and marking each one against the case rather than relying on measurements. The front piece is mitred at both ends, and the two side pieces are mitred at the front end only.

Once I’m satisfied that all three pieces fit correctly, I apply glue to the cleat and the case where the moulding sits, then clamp it in place. I leave it overnight so the glue can dry properly.

The following day, I plane a 45° bevel along the edge of the moulding. Looking back, this is something I should have done earlier, while the moulding was still one long piece. It would have been easier to plane the bevel before cutting the board into the three sections.

That completes the base moulding.

In the next part, I’ll be making and attaching the top moulding.

 

quick check

Wonky rocking board is on the left and it still is rock free on the workbench. The other board that I got twist/rocking free is now rocking. 

I tried

There appeared to be a hump and I tried to plane it away. I knocked back some of it but not all. Rather then chase my tail on this I decided to put this board into the jig and flatten it that way.

hard going

My shortness of breath ramped up this AM big time. Trying to plane the hump off took a lot of calories and a lot of rest stops to catch my breath. Made something that should have taken a few minutes take a bazillion minutes

secured

Used six blocks to keep the board in place. I had to shim three of the corners to eliminate any rocking. Ready to commence the dance steps again.

Lie Nielsen pure beeswax

The router was stuttering on the rails. I waxed the rails and the base of the router. The stutter stepping went away and I only had to use the wax once.

see them

The board has what I'm calling scallops across the length. They are similar to plane tracks (when the iron isn't parallel to the sole).

much joy in Mudville today

The board is rock free. It was an ordeal to plane the face I routed. The shortness of breath was getting in the way much more today than in previous days. It was like someone flipped a switch that kicked in the turbo. Both boards are ready to be fed into the lunchbox planer.

hmm......

There is a noticeable difference in the two boards now that the flattening is done. the thinner one on the right was the wacky, wonky rocking machine. From eyeballing it I like the thickness of it for the legs. It will probably be a bit thinner before I am finishing running through the lunchbox.

The plan was to get the lunchbox planer out in the driveway and plane these two to thickness. Then rip out the four legs and plane them equal in thickness. That didn't happen boys and girls. I had zero energy left after bringing the boards up from the shop to the back hallway. I'll try doing this in the AM if the weather permits. 

I didn't get any time in the PM session. I had some errands to run and getting gas was one of them. $57 to fill up the truck that was between a 1/2 and 3/4 empty. I checked on Maria and the frame wasn't ready and then I went grocery shopping. I had a tough time on the walking portions of these stops. I hope that today was just hiccup in the time line I have left.

Going down to the shop doesn't upset things but coming back up the stairs does. I have two sets of stairs to navigate and the first one I have to stop and rest to catch my breath. The 2nd set has only 3 and I'm now getting short of breath going up them. For the most of the day any movement on my part, turning, moving my arms, blinking would make me short of breath and usually followed up by repeated fits of coughing. Not a pleasant day sports fans.

I spent most of the PM glued to my desk chair but I did jump into the rain locker for a shower. This was first for me, I got short of breath 3 times showering. I still take a navy shower - get wet, soap up, rinse off, and repeat once. It has me thinking about how much longer I can keep making sawdust. Not to mention if I will be able to tackle the Welsh stick chair.

accidental woodworker

Every Spring, Winterthur Museum hosts a Furniture Symposium, and I have been invited (again).  I will present a demonstration on the making of Gragg’s Elastic Chairs during this year’s event, April 23&24, 2027.  (I say “again” because I was invited to present five years ago but was then disinvited when I declined to comply with their Fauci Flu protocols.)

I think my presentation/demonstration will be about 75-90(?) minutes, which should be quite the adventure.  You can follow the event developments at winterthur.org.  Just go to the “Calendar” page.

I hope to see you there.

Once I get my teaching and presentation schedule finalized for 2027 I will post it here.

A Victorian style rustic fence over a stream
I grew up near Central Park, but I am less familiar with its northernmost parts. Last Saturday had fabulous weather - a great time to explore the park. The north end of the park was intentionally designed to be an area of hills, hikes, and nature. Since the park's opening, a large public pool and some ball fields have been added, but this part of the park is very much substantially the way Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted, the park's designers, envisioned it.

The Conservatory Garden
We started at the Conservatory Garden on Fifth Avenue and 105th Street. The Conservatory Garden is a staggeringly pretty formal European garden. In the spring and summer you'll see multiple wedding parties getting photographed, but at this time of year you'll find folks who enjoy the peace and beauty. Then we walked, mostly uphill, to two waterfalls tucked away in the woods. The north end of the park is very hilly. And by hilly I mean OMG up and down, up and down, all the time. The hills are bad enough so the bicycle loop that goes around the park has a shortcut at 102nd Street if you don't think you can make the hills on the full circle that goes to 110th street. It's bad: I've done it.

If this part of the park has a style, it would be "Victorian Rustic." It has just enough organization so the rock formations allow you to step up to the waterfall, but not so much organization that you feel you're at a tourist attraction.

Like many centrally located urban parks, Central Park is incredibly heavily used. There are rowers, hikers, picnickers, people playing sports of all kinds. There is a roller disco dance area and bird watchers everywhere. There was a formal birdwatching activity for kids - in fact you can see a person dressed as a cardinal in the corner of one of the photos. And it's all free, one of the great goods of the city.

The park was built in the 1850s, the first landscaped park in the US. It was designed to serve its residents, who needed a place to cool down in the steamy summer heat and relax in nature, and also showcase the city as a major world class city with an urban jewel park as other cities had.

There was a lot of opposition to the park, but as speculators and another opportunists realized, there was also tons of money to be made. Central Park was built with a fair amount of corruption thrown in. Whole neigborhoods were condemned and torn down. Thousands of people were hired to shape the park. Mountains were blasted, valleys were dug, and the park came into being. And this is the point of this blog. What astounds me about Central Park is that the city government, complete with all its corruption, managed to build such an incredible public good. These days when I read in the papers about politicians overriding the will of the people to build things like data centers and tear down environmental protection, in return for donations, I think to myself, at least back then some of the corruption was for a public good. Now it's just money.

Here are some pictures of my trek in the north of the park. Bear in mind that Central Park is only three avenue blocks (5th - 8th) wide, so you're never really far from "civilization" (a good bagel). Traffic though the park is hidden from view by several deep transverses. The brilliance of the park's design, with its winding paths and architectural features, makes you forget that you are at most 1200 feet from a densely populated streetscape.

If you like the rustic furniture, you might find "Rustic Carpentry" a welcome addition to your library.


An original stone staircase
One of the waterfalls; note the cardinal in the corner
A babbling brook
Reading and watching the ducks
Birdwatchers sitting on a rustic chair
Very low res picture of ducks
View from a path
The Reservoir

 

done

No tackiness on the tote or the tray. I'll bring this up to the living room and let the shellac fully cure out.

router sled rails

I couldn't double these up due to the 90° lip on it. These are stiff enough I think that it will be ok with one.

rails done

I thought of moving this outside bearer to the outside edge of the back wall but I didn't want to drill any new holes in the rails. Four #12 screws hold each rail to the bearers.

ready to try it

I wanted the router to be 90° so the flats on the router base would butt against the upright walls of the rails but had to do it this way. The other way I would have had to cut the rails because they were almost touching in the middle. I didn't want to drill in the rails and I also didn't want to jigsaw a cutout for the router bit.

hmm.....

I checked the height of the bit and the two router sled bearers were too tall. I sawed 1 1/4" off both of them. With the router full down the bottom of the collet is about a 1/4" above the board. I will have plenty of room for adjustment once the router bit is installed.

I was ready

Got the board secured on all four sides. I got shims under the high corners. The board was secured with zero movement anywhere I checked for it.

hmm......

I had to road test. Made the initial first run with no hiccups. I was concerned with getting a chattering cut due to the router not moving smoothly on the rails.

tapered cut

This is want I was expecting although I wasn't entirely sure of which way the taper would go or how deep. I hadn't planned on doing anymore than this but changed lanes. It took me less than 15 minutes to do the whole board going L to R. 

There were some ridges because the rails did deflect a wee bit. None of the ridges were higher then a 32nd. Some I went back and removed but I left most of them. They would very easy to clean up with the 5 1/2.

done

Surprised that the router debris was rather subdued. On the board the deepest cut looked to be a strong 1/8". I was prepared to make a 2nd run but it wasn't needed. Vacuumed up the wood dust and decided to do the other board next.

2nd board

This one I didn't have any headaches getting it flattened and twist free. Just for peace of mind I ran the router over it. I set the bit so that it was barely taking a skim cut.

simley face on

From the near end to where my finger is, is the only place the router cut. And it was only on the right side edge, not across the width of the board. The board lay flat on the workbench before I loaded it into the sled and did the same after I took it out.

the wacky rocking board

It is laying dead nuts flat on the bench with zero rocking when checked on the four corners.

laying gap free

The face of the board looked similar to one that had been band sawn. Except the marks on this board were scallops. I ran the 5 1/2 over it smoothing it a wee bit. Next step is to run these two through the lunchbox planer. Hopefully that will be tomorrow if the weather holds.

sapele wood

This board has the same wacky rocking as the problem child board had. I will get one face of this flattened on the jig. It was too late to do that today so maybe tomorrow.

hmm......

I had bought this bit over 15 years ago and only can remember using it once or twice. It has a diameter of 1 1/4" and I had no hiccups/headaches using it to flatten these two boards. I don't have to cool my heels waiting for the 2" bit from Grizzly to arrive.

yikes

I planed off a 1/2" trying to get the wacky rocking board twist free. That was more then what I thought I had turned into shavings. Still more then enough for the size legs I want.

accidental woodworker 

 

hmm.......

Yesterday the handle was still tacky as were the top inside edges. Three days after the last coat went on it was still not dry to the touch. I soaked a rag with alcohol and rung out until it was almost dry. I wiped down the handle and the inside top of the long sides. When I checked it today, there was no tackiness anywhere I checked. I'm beginning to think the cheap shellac I bought wasn't the idea I have ever had.

white wood 2x4

Made a run to Lowes in the AM and bought a 8 foot 2x4 and a 2x4 foot 1/2" plywood panel. That wasn't enough to make what I had floating around in the brain bucket. I needed angle iron and the prices I saw at Lowes almost caused me to have an involuntary bowel movement. It wasn't even thick wall angle too but the thin (1/8") that would probably sag with the weight of the router. Nixed pissing away that much money for something that wouldn't work.

1/2" plywood

This 2x4 panel was $27 and it was the cheapest one. I wanted to buy a 2x4, 3/4" thick panel but none of them were flat/straight. This one looked to be flat/straight when I eyeballed it.

sneak peek

I really don't plan on using this router sled after this but you should never say never in woodworking. I ordered a 2" router planing bit from Grizzly but I don't know when I'll get it. I will screw the two outside bearers up from the bottom of the plywood into them. The span of it will be the width of the board plus 4 1/2". In this case it will be 10 3/4". 

nope

This was the router I planned initially to use but the up/down travel is toast. I don't know how much depth of cut I can get with it - the base plate is just shy of 3/8" thick. 

got room with router #2

The bit is 2" in diameter and there is room for the bit at the bottom of the base. It will clear the metal infrastructure so I don't have to worry about destroying it and making this into a heavy paperweight. 

hmm.......

Went off a tangent here that ate up a boatload of time. I was going to put an auxiliary base on the bottom and I needed to find some longer length screws to do that.

minor hiccup

The first screw I checked it threaded without any hiccups. The other three didn't want to cooperate. The problem - the first hole was threaded all the way to the outside. The other three weren't. The threaded portion had a blank area at the outside top edge. I had to tap them before I could screw in the screw.

sigh

Dawned on me after I did the threading that I didn't need to do it. The router will ride on the angle iron and doesn't need an auxiliary base to do that. The headache was the original screws didn't fit now. They were 10-24 and I tapped the holes for 10-32. I made a run to Ace to buy 4 new 10-32 x 3/8, FH machine screws.

hmm.....

I am pretty sure that the bearers don't need to be flat/straight end to end. Both of the ones I have are slightly bowed end to end. To my thinking, nothing will butt up against the bearers and only the height of the two of them needs to be dead nuts accurate. But me being me, decided to plane the cup/bow on one face and the hump on the opposite face. I used the factory edge of the plywood panel as my straight edge for the bearers.

done

The bearer is flush with the edge of the plywood, end to end.  

big hump

The hump runs from about 7-8 inches in from each end. I didn't have any hiccups planing it flat.

wash, rinse, and repeat for #2

No hiccups or headaches with removing the bow/cup/humps with either bearer. The height of the two is dead flush along their entire lengths.

pays to be pack rat sometimes

I don't have to buy any high priced angle iron. These blue things are from a router table I haven't used for over 12 years. They feel stiff enough to handle the weight of the router and I don't have to pay for them.

this will work

I will screw into the rail guide board with two #12 screws. The router base will determine the width of the rail guide boards.

hmm.......

I can double up the angle irons. The holes in both line up so I don't have to do any drilling. This should make them stiffer and less prone to sagging with the router sliding back and forth on them.

Quit here for day mostly because I had a headache that was wrecking havoc with my eyeballs. That and I was feeling tired right to the bones again. Not sure how much longer the tired feeling will hang around but I don't have to worry about another chemo cocktail party happening.

The cough is better and the pills that doc gave worked but didn't entirely make the coughing go away. I am not coughing nearly as much and I haven't had a 2-3 minute of spasm coughing fit which I appreciate. The cough is subsiding and it is a bit more manageable but the shortness of breath is starting to suck pond scum big time. I am dealing with that just like I deal with the coughing. Take it as it comes and continue on when it ends.

accidental woodworker

I’ve been quietly working on a bunch of cribbage boards this year, including a complete custom board with the longest list of requirements I’ve seen that took about 6 weeks to design. If you have an idea for a custom cribbage board, let me know!

This weekend, I put the finishing touches on a batch of 7 live-edge cribbage boards including one of the curviest boards I’ve ever made and a couple of the largest I’ve made.

My process of making cribbage boards starts with me standing over a downed tree (fallen by a storm or removed for some reason – never cut down for the wood) and deciding where I can get the most interesting cribbage boards. I cut the tree into lengths and bring them back to my shop for processing. I resaw the small logs into boards with my bandsaw and let them air dry for usually two years or more. Once dry, I plane them, giving me the first true look at the actual surface of the cribbage board. Then I lay out the hole patterns, carefully following the live edge and drill the holes. I prefer to layout three tracks, but sometimes there is room for only two. I have also been asked to make the odd board with four tracks. If there is room, I add a scoreboard.

I like making use of crotches where a branch… um… branches out from the main part of the board. The branch makes the shape much more visually interesting and provides some different design options. And, if the board is not too wide, it fits in my standard cribbage board shipping boxes. Here’s an example – Cribbage Board #68 from my latest batch.

Here’s another crotch piece with some really neat figure that I used for Cribbage Board #70. The part of the wood that continued straight was quite narrow, so if the track went down that section, it would require a tight hairpin to get back out. I usually try to avoid sharp corners as it makes the alignment between the tracks look odd. So, for this one, I chose to place the scoring field there instead.

Usually when I cut a log into cribbage boards, I get 2-4 from the same section of log, depending on how thick the log is and what defects are present. I got two boards out of this section and Cribbage Board #69 is the other product. You can tell by the shape, colouring and grain that these two boards came from the same section of log. But they are not identical in shape. You can see that both legs are nice and wide, with lots of room to make sweeping corners. But, the heart of the tree shows in this board as dark lines that I didn’t wish to cross. So, instead, I ran the track around three sides of the board and placed the scoreboard opposite the end of the track.

Head on over to my Cribbage Boards page to see everything from this batch, and other available cribbage boards. Each one comes with high-quality metal pegs made in the USA from copper, stainless steel, and black steel. As always, they ship free across Canada and USA.

This video had been sitting in my “to watch” queue for a while, and once I watched it I was delighted I did.  (this channel has more than a little whiff of hypercomputationality about it, a/k/a artificial “intelligence,” but the content is pretty darn interesting)

It brought to mind a couple unrelated items.

The first was the reminder this excerpt from the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Then came the memory of me teaching bench skills to an intern.  I demonstrated making a dovetail and left her to execute the same exercise from start to finish.  After almost an hour-and-a-half, she came into my space and was clearly exasperated.  She had cut several dovetail sets, none of them worth anything other than kindling.  She asked me to show her the complete process again, and that was when she got really angry.

“I’ve been working on these forever and you just come in and do it in fifteen minutes,” she fumed.

“Not exactly,” I replied.  “I did it in thirty years and fifteen minutes.”

After watching this video, I understand why I prefer to start out my day sweeping the floor.  It’s what gets me going.

Just don’t ask me to work sitting cross-legged on the floor.

ready to do battle

The front one with the X is the corkscrew board I couldn't flatten yesterday. Before I expended any more calories on that one, I checked the back one which I had gotten flat and twist free.

sigh

It moved a wee bit over night. Not much but more than I could ignore. I'll let it relax and I'll deal with it after I finish the hissy fit throwing board.

2nd board

I wasn't surprised that this board still had a healthy amount of twist shaking hands with me. 

Houston, WTF???

This board according to the sticks was twist free. The 4 foot straight edge says it is flat end to end. However, when that face is down on the bench the board rocks like it is nuclear powered. There is a 1/4" gap on the rocking ends. I don't understand this. I feel like the board is a corkscrew. One hand says it is flat and straight but it is rocking like crazy on the bench.

hmm........

Eyeballed this board with my best goofy looks and nada. I threatened it with the best expletives an ex sailor could dream up and still nothing. I checked it again thinking I had a hump around the middle but I didn't. What I did find that the left end, for about 6-7 inches, was scalloped. The rest of the board was higher but that wouldn't be the cause for the wacky rocking.

new game plan

Decided to step back to square one and flatten the board again. This time the scallop will be gone and there won't be any light under the straight edge from end to end.

#4

Used the #4 last after the # 6. The #6 ate up most of the meat I had to knock down. The #4 went straight across flattening and smoothing the scallops.

????

It says I am flat. When I grab one end of the straight edge, it moves about a 1/3 of the way down from the opposite end. Same with the opposite diagonal. However, when flipped face down on the bench the same wacky rocking was still there.

still twisted

This sucked the wind out of my sails big time. Getting at my wits end with this board. Why is this one so )_@&Q%&)(@%*_ wacky and the other was the exact opposite.

sigh

The board is rocking like it is a corkscrew. When I sighted down the board it looked flat and straight. The opposite face rocked just a wacky as the other face. I had flattened the other face too, I made 5 runs with the #6 - 4 criss crosses and two straight across. Did absolutely nothing to get even a hint of the rocking removed.

glutton for punishment

Checked it for twist again and surprise it was back. The first 3rd was good, the middle one had a lot, and the final 3rd had a little. Planed the twist off with the #4 and checked the 3rds again and they were all twist free.

nope

The rocking was still there giggling at me. On a brighter note, it wasn't as bad. I would guess that about 1/2 the rocking said bye bye. 

Stopped the planing/flattening here again. I don't understand why the board is rocking like it is. But I'm done trying to do it with the way I know how to do it. I've been thinking of two alternative methods. One is a planer sled for the lunchbox planer. I have tried this once before about 20-25 years ago at my shop in Westerly with good results. 

The 2nd method banging around in the brain bucket is a router planing sled. I have tried this one too but not to flatten a board but to remove carved initials in a panel. That worked well and I was happy with the resulting surface. I am leaning in the2nd method vice the planer sled.

Looked online for a router planing bit and the price for them is all over the dial. Grizzly had the cheapest price I have found so far at $37 but the S/H is $20. On the flip side is the delivery time. I can use that time to make the jig. I could also use a 3/4" dado router bit as the planer bit. I have to time to think about it.

accidental woodworker

 I made it to Kosezela Lumber in the AM and bought a 7 foot, 8/4 board of poplar. I didn't want 8/4 but the pickings were on the slim side. There was some 6/4 stock but it was only canary wood and teak. I took the scenic route back to the barn which took almost 2 hours. Been years since I have just driven around aimlessly. After lunch I wandered down to the shop to play with the poplar board.

8/4 poplar 7 feet long and 6 inches wide

This is rough sawn and at that it was 2 1/4" thick. I got a 7 footer because the width wouldn't give up four legs.

hmm.......

The tray isn't tacky anywhere I checked. 

party pooper

The tote is tacky free except for the handle. Don't know why but I know it would gum up sandpaper and steel wool. It will have plenty of time to set up before the wife comes home from North Carolina.

before I play with the planes

Started with sawing the board in half. There is no way I would ever attempt to flatten one face as it is. It will be easier to do it twice before I run it through the lunchbox planer.

broke out the big guns

I tried 3 different hand crosscut saws and nada. The kerf pitched itself shut so I sawed it in half with the cordless skilsaw.

yikes

I have flattened a lot of boards but this one has to be #1 for the amount of twist in less then 4 feet.

maybe a quarter of the way

Started the flattening the way I always do by criss crossing the board R to L and then L to R. I got this far and I had to stop to catch my breath. I worked out that I could only get about a 1/4 more after each rest period. Made for slow going but there is no time line on this.

two more runs

I made two more criss cross runs before I was satisfied with the board. I'm not that concerned with how much wood I hog off - the legs for the table are only going to be 1 1/8" to 1 1/4". I want the legs to be slender and delicate looking.

got a surprise

After I was done with the criss crossing I sighted the board over the sticks again. 99% of the twist was gone. I was not expecting this based on the amount of twist I originally saw.

done

Planed the board smooth with the 5 1/2" and I'm calling this board done. It is more then flat and straight enough to run through the lunchbox planer, IMO.

last step

Four foot straight edge (actually 50" long) to ensure it is flat and straight end to end. One diagonal was flat and the other one said I had a hump. A few dance steps later and both diagonals agreed - this face was flat and straight end to end.

2nd board

Doing this one kicked my arse all around the shop. I was expecting it to behave like the first board but it threw a hissy fit. After criss crossing, the twist was still giggling at me. It was like I hadn't planed the board at all and was checking the rough sawn board. I ended up planing this board in thirds rather then trying to flatten it by just checking at the ends.

hmm......

This board gave funny readings on the thirds. The first two I managed to get flat over the sticks but the last third was off. Got that flat and when I checked the middle again (which was good) it was now out in La La Land.

finally got it

It took me over hour to get to this point. Got all 3 of the thirds to be flat over the sticks but the end to end showed twist still.

will I make it

The board was now twist free every which way I could check it. Started with the 5 1/2 to smooth out the scallops in the board.

cutting it close

I was hoping to get this board done today too (before 1500) but it didn't happen boys and girls. After I got the board smooth with the 5 1/2, I checked for flat with the 4 foot straight edge. Everything went straight down the crapper after that. Both diagonals screamed hump and I finally got that planed off but when I checked for twist I said NO MAS. The board was flat and straight but half of the twist was back again. I'll get back to it in the AM.

accidental woodworker

 I had a podiatry appointment this AM and that is about the only thing that went well for me today. I rolled out of the rack around 0630 feeling blah, Not nauseous but an unwell feeling that sucked pond scum. That really never went away but rose up for a while and then gradually subsided, off and on.

I'm taking that as the side effects from my last chemo cocktail party. On the flip side of the coin, I had my worse day for being short of breath. Just waking from my desk to the kitchen for a coffee refill was an ordeal. What up the fun level was coughing while trying to catch my breath.

I had stopped on the way home from the VA to get my friday fish 'n chips. I survived eating that without any coughing fits. That is one thing that worries me about eating out - going into spasms of coughing uncontrollably. The shortness of breath I just have to wait a few for but the cough is still kicking my arse.

done

I had gone back to the shop last night after dinner to check on this. It was still tacky so I left it to set up until the AM. In the AM the tackiness I felt the previous night was gone so I got the 3rd and final coat on the tote and the tray.

7 hours later

The handle is tacky feeling along with the end panels. The tray bottom felt tacky too but the rest wasn't. This is the the cheap shellac I got last month. So far everything I have shellaced with it hasn't dried quickly. I'll let this cook some more until the AM.

I think I will make the console/entry table my wife wants out of poplar. I have more than enough of that for the top/shelf and aprons. One of the things I had on the to do list for today was to get stock for the legs. That didn't happen and I'm not sure it will happen tomorrow neither. It is going to be a wait and see for me.

accidental woodworker