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Norse Woodsmith will be going offline for possibly up to a week during the month of February to attempt a major site upgrade.  If it is successful it will return, however it may look wonky for a while while I dial it in.  If not successful, well.. then your guess is as good as mine!  Thanks in advance for your patience.

Be sure to visit the Hand Tool Headlines section - scores of my favorite woodworking blogs in one place.

Hand Tools

Latest Gabfest (not woodworking)

The Barn on White Run - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 6:06am

My latest conversation with long-time friend Brian Wilson dropped yesterday on his Now For Something Completely Different podcast.  If pungent (but not vulgar) discussion of current events interests you, find it and give it a listen.  If not, don’t.

You have been forewarned.

Categories: Hand Tools

sigh......

Accidental Woodworker - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 3:22am

 Today was swimming along so nicely until about 1500. I had gone to lunch with my wife and then went on to Barnes and Noble bookstore. Made a few more stops before we headed back to the barn. That is when my day turned to liquid fecal matter that floated up above my armpits.  A big sigh.......

I had ordered a DVD from Lie Nielsen last week and it was delivered this past monday at 1341 according to the USPS. However, the delivery was not made to my mailbox. Did the address that got it turn it in or (gasp!) bring it to my house? Nay, nay moose breath, that didn't happen.

I am sad, angry, pissed off, but mostly feeling sick to my stomach that I will have to wade through the cesspool of bureaucratic BS dealing with the USPS to fix this. The total $$$ of the DVD was $45 and I will fight for it. I am sure it is going to consume a lot of calories and weeks before it is resolved. And it might not be in my favor.

 AM session

Oops. I sawed the top angle of the rear leg 3/4" short. I thought I was doing it so it would have been 3/4" long. This is a prototype so it isn't going to stop the sun from rising in the east tomorrow. The angle at the bottom matched the full scale drawing spot on. 

 from one I got two

I sawed the box in two on the table saw. The smaller one is practically useless but I can use it to put parts in it for projects.

happy face on

This box not only is a place to stow something, it keeps the bigger box from moving around in the drawer.

 flushing the sides and ends

I glued solid pine bottoms on both boxes. After that I brought them upstairs and put them on the kitchen radiator to cook for an hour. After flushing them I sanded the four sides and top with 120. That is all the boxes are getting for a 'finish'.

 ready to rock and roll

This was an efficient way to make two boxes. I hadn't planned on doing that but did it because one small end had split in two while planing the miter. I super glued it back together and I sawed the box apart on that fault line. That is what determined the two sizes.

 wee bit of a bow

I am not too concerned about this. One, the top of the rear legs will be bolted to the front legs. Secondly, there will be an X brace close to the top of the rear legs. When I install that I will ensure that the two legs are parallel and straight, end to end. That should remove it and keep them straight/parallel.

 1 1/8"

I thought I had a 1 1/8" forstner bit but I don't. I searched for one but then I remembered that I had used a rasp to make a 1" hole 1 1/8". I ordered a FMag forstner today and I should have it time to use on the prototype. IMO FMag forstner bits are phenomenal. They are cleanest, easiest drilling forstner bits I have used. Well worth the few extra $$$ they cost over cheap chinese made ones.

 from Barnes and Noble

My wife and I spent well over an hour here and I was a bit disappointed in the woodworking sections. There were only 5 woodworking magazines for sale and the books on woodworking occupied maybe 18" of shelf space. However, I did find and buy this gem of a reference book.

why I bought it

This is the first page I opened the book up to. I have never seen any specs or references for threaded inserts before. 99% of the ones I have bought over the years didn't come with any specs for them. This is some handy info to have at your finger tips.

 crammed full in all ten chapters

All the info in this book is for the woodworker. There is just what is needed to be known. There is no minutiae to glaze your eyes over or put you to sleep. I read the whole chapter on the math and it was all understandable to me. And I am no math whiz but if I wanted to make a dexagon (or decagon), a ten sided object, it has a pic of it and the required angles. Simple, understandable, and easy to put into practice.

 its new home

Of course I'll have to make a holder/box of some kind to keep this in. This is an updated, modern version of the LAP shop reference book.

wasn't quite 1500

Decided to work up a quick sketch of the holder/box for the new book.

stopped rabbet

Did this with a slitting gauge and a chisel. Surprised at how easy it was but mostly how well it came out.

 not wide enough

Sliced a new line with the gauge and chiseled it out. Left with a clean, square rabbet.

 flush

This came out as expected. The rabbet won't be seen nor the top of the side too. This end will be up against the side the saw till. But this plan has already by superseded by change 2, alteration 1.b, sub level 3E.2-PL. The new one will be a box with a lid to keep all the shop crappola out it and off the book.

accidental woodworker

Nine Years a Café Chair Equals . . .

Paul Sellers - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 2:11am
. . . 50–200 years, a home version. At least that’s my consideration from what I found in the facts surrounding this mass made chair from the café I go to each day. At first, I said 50 years service, but then I thought, in careful use, an average family size of 1.7 children under...

Source

Categories: Hand Tools

Something in the air

Rivers Joinery - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 1:00am

It must be something in the air. Out looking for birthday presents, I found these books, a stone's throw from St. Mary's in Totnes.


Literally for a song. I would happily have paid, for each page, what I paid for each book. Some things are just meant to be.


The first was right next to the second. A fitting accompaniment, given that my interest in 17th century English furniture, was first piqued, by an exploration of American furniture of the same period.


Cantilevered cupboards.


 Hadley chests.


All the favourites. Nothing else to say.

What else would you like to see?

Paul Sellers - Fri, 01/31/2025 - 5:43am
It’s Katrina (Paul’s daughter in law here). Since 2021 Paul has been sharing the journey of making all the furniture for his Oxfordshire home at Woodworking Masterclasses, in our series Sellers Home. The idea behind the Sellers Home series is that if you were to follow along and make every piece of furniture you would...

Source

Categories: Hand Tools

aimless day......

Accidental Woodworker - Fri, 01/31/2025 - 3:39am

I got all discombobulated with the work plan I had today. I had checked the weather forecast and I thought today was going have rain all day. I was wrong and tomorrow (friday) is the rainy day. Because of that brain fart I took my time getting to the shop. Today was sunny but cold and I could have done the lunchbox planing on the cherry and maple. Sometimes it is good to take a break and stop to smell the saw dust.

 1/4-20 insert driver

This driver engages in the mating part in the head of the insert. It works well and I haven't had one hiccup using it. The downside - it will only drive inserts made specifically for this driver.

new driver - it is a 1/4-20 driver

I said yesterday this was a 5/16 driver but it isn't. This insert driver engages the internal threads of the insert. This one will work on any 1/4-20 threaded insert. Of the two I think this one is a better to have.

 I have two to choose from

The right one is beefier and I know it works. I haven't had the need to use a threaded insert for a while. I'll keep this one at the head of the line and I will keep an eye out for getting the same style for my other threaded inserts.


 from Lee Valley

I have #1, #2, and #3 square drivers for both of these Yankee screwdrivers. The right one also has a flat tip screwdriver. Two of these drivers are slightly magnetic. Does that mean that they aren't hardened? Just my MO but an unhardened drive is useless and will strip out almost immediately.

 a must

I sawed the aluminum tubing getting what I wanted from it. These glasses are shatter proof and seal around both eyes. Sawing aluminum throws a ton of little slivers of aluminum all over.

 had an oops

I can get two pieces out of this one 12" long stop. I realized after I had sawn off the unwanted pieces I could have gotten 4 of them out of it. Oh well I can order another one while I work on the first one.

 this should work

I ended up with a 'L' shape with one leg wider than the other. The back leg will butt up against the long leg. This is a 1/8" thick and it should be more the sufficient to act as a stop - the plan has it being 6" long and the rear leg will be about 4 3/4" to 5" long bearing against it.

 hmm......

I left a wee bit on both legs. I thought I would be able to easily file this soft aluminum without any problems. I tried 4 different files and I removed hardly anything with them. I was expecting the aluminum to file away to nothing and quickly. Neither of those happened. I'll have to drop back and punt on removing the proud.

 prepping the maple stock

I sawed all the boards to rough width leaving them a strong 16th over.

 back stretcher

This will keep the rear legs parallel and from spreading apart at the bottom. The top will be held in check due to the rear legs being bolted to the front legs.

 insurance

I am also going to put a 'X' brace on the back up close to the top of the rear legs. With the lower stretcher it should help keep the legs parallel and from spreading. The stock for this is 1/2" thick. I am also doing this because I like the look of a 'X' brace.

The thickness of the maple stock is 7/8" which surprised me. It looked to be 3/4" but I wasn't expecting 7/8". 

 time to fix this

I keep meaning to do this and today was the time to do it. The right outside end tends to drop below the surface of the benchtop. That can be annoying when I am chiseling stock there.

not going nutso

I was surprised to see that I had two biscuits already here. I added one more at each end and another to left of the right end one.

 almost done

I am happy with the fit and it being flush with the benchtop. I added a 5/16" spax screw lower down between the two bolts. I got lucky with having one (wanted two) in my collection of screws and things.

 a day of surprises

The cherry dowels came in and I found out something about these dowels. I thought the mini dowels were '1x'. I am going to have to find a new hole to keep the dowels in now. I don't have room in their current location for all of the dowels.

These are kind of expensive too I just realized. The 1x and 2x are about 65-70 cents apiece. The mini ones are cheaper but I don't know by how much. So far after using these for several years I predominately use the minis the most followed by the 1x. Can't recall ever using the 2x ones.

banding came in

As I was typing this and looking at the pic I saw that I have 3 different types of banding. The 1/8" wide inlays are two different designs. I may not have enough of it to do what I want again.

 close enough

These two are different but you have to eyeball the two closely to see it. I don't intend to 'inlay' either one of these. I plan to simply glue them to the box.

 where I got it

He has a lot of bandings/inlay for sale. I looked into how to make this - read and watched a lot of You Tube videos - decided it wasn't for me. I'll write a check and thank whoever I buy it from.

 gap

This has been bugging me every since made these drawers and filled them up. I've been meaning to make a small open box to fit in this hole. 

 gave me fits

The box has mitered corners and I'll strengthen it by gluing a 1/8" plywood bottom on it. The ends are 1 5/8" wide and I didn't have any hiccups shooting the miters. I thought due to the box size I would. 

The miters also drank up a gallon of glue. I sized the miters twice before applying glue for a third time and clamping it up. Because the ends were short I had to overlap the corner braces. That made squaring the box a bit of a PITA but I finally managed to get the diagonals within a 32nd.

no hiccups

My last memories of planing maple still give me nightmares. It was a horrible experience which led me to forsake using maple for anything. The #80 made some fluffy shavings but it didn't remove the planer ripple entirely. The #3 ate 'em up like a kid eating candy.

I started out slow advancing the iron until it just was barely making a shaving. Kept at that until I felt comfortable making shavings end to end with it. The #3 behaved and it removed all the planer ripple marks and left the board flat, smooth, and shiny looking. I am going to try and use planes to smooth all the stock and leave it as close to 7/8" thick as I can.

 rear leg top angle

Refining the angle and I was slowly creeping up on it. I want this angle to bear its entire length up against the stop on the front leg. I stopped doing that here and I'll pick it back up in the AM.

 bottom ones are done

These might need to be refined based on how well the top one fits against the stop. 

accidental woodworker

Spreadsheet for Determining Radius of a Curve

Woodworking in a Tiny Shop - Thu, 01/30/2025 - 6:15pm

This post will be considered by some as an intellectual exercise only.  Maybe it's for math geeks, like myself.  There are simpler methods to do what I write about.  I'm all for simplicity, but I like the math.

When I want to put a curve on the underside of a chair rail or a table apron, a simple method is to place a clamp at either end of the intended curvature and bend a stick (or ruler) to the desired "bulge" of the curve.  While this method will give attractive results, the resulting curve will not be exactly circular.  The stick bends more at it's center than at its ends.  And it may not bend equally both sides of center.

Marked lines 1" from ends, and placed clamps near those marks

Centerline marked and 1 inch "bulge" marked from lower edge

Bend a stick to the "bulge" mark, and draw the curve

Here's the resulting curve

There are times when I want to end up with a curve that is part of a circle.  And when this is the case, I'd like to know the radius of the circle that will give the desired curve so that I can lay it out on the workpiece.

Here's an example, same as in the above pics.  Suppose I have a 20" x 2 1/2" rail and I want to put a circular arc on the underside.  I want the arc to start 1" from each end of the rail and I want it to extend up into the rail's front face by 1".  So that's an arc 18" wide with a 1" bulge.

Using a little math, I can calculate that the radius of the circle that gives the appropriate arc is 41".  I can then use a stick (or piece of string) of that length and a pencil to lay out the curve.  I'll write more about the math below.

This stick will allow arcs up to approx. 48" radius

One end has a shallow slot to run a pencil in

You can put a screw anywhere on the stick for whatever radius you need.
The screw tip exits the bottom side, and it is used as a pivot point for drawing the arc.

Here, I'm using the radius jig to mark the arc on the workpiece.
Note that the screw has to be in line with the centerline of the workpiece.

The two methods give very similar results, so it really doesn't matter which you use.

You can see the slight difference in the two methods

But if you're doing a smaller piece, say an arc only 6" wide, then that bendy stick won't bend in that tight a space.  That's when it would be easier to use a radius stick.  For those smaller pieces, I can use my homemade trammel points to create the arc.  I'll show that below.

Another place where drawing a circular arc has come up is when laying out a camber on a scrub plane iron.  I recently made an iron that was 1 1/2" wide and I wanted a 1/16" bulge at the cutting edge.  For this iron, I simply filed a curve to get it close.  But if I wanted to be more precise, I could figure out what the radius of that curvature is and make a template.  Turns out it is about 4 1/2".

Cardboard template, 1 1/2" wide with centerline drawn

Homemade trammel points

Setting the distance to 4 1/2"


Drawing the appropriate arc on the template

Measuring the resulting bulge - it's about 1/16"

Comparing the template to the plane iron

OK, now here's the math part.  It has to do with right triangles and the Pythagorean theorem.  I'll start with the example of a table apron, which I want to put an arc on the bottom edge, starting some distance in from each end and rising up a certain amount.  In the picture below, points A and B are the ends of the arc, and C is a point centered between them.  The width of the arc I'll call "w", so the distance from C to B is 1/2 w.  The bulge of the arc is the distance from the lower edge of the board to the highest point on the arc.  I call it "b".

The workpiece with arc drawn.  The arc has width "w" and height "b".

Now I'm going to zoom out so you can see the rest of the picture.  The arc drawn on the workpiece is part of a large circle, whose center is at point O.  The radius of the circle, given by distance R, is the distance from point O to any point on the circle.  I'm using point B here.

Zoomed out pic shows the complete circle with radius drawn

Another radius is from the center, O, to the point at the top center of the arc, drawn straight up from the center.  That radius is made up of two distances, the distance from O to C, and the distance from C to the top of the arc.  The latter of those I've already called "b", the bulge.  So the distance from O to C is a radius minus the bulge, or R-b.  Triangle OCB is a right triangle, so from Pythagoras, the sum of the squares of the two legs (legs are the sides of the triangle making the right angle) equals the square of the hypotenuse.

R^2 = (R-b)^2 + (w/2)^2       (the symbol ^2 means squared)

R^2 = R^2 - 2Rb + b^2 + (w^2)/4

And simplifying, we get:

2Rb = b^2 + (w^2)/4, and then

R = (b^2 + (w^2)/4) / (2b)

So to draw an arc with a certain width and bulge, you can calculate the radius of the circle that describes the arc and use a stick to draw the arc.  I've put this formula into an Excel spreadsheet.  If you want to do the same, type the following in an Excel sheet:

=(C4^2 + (C3^2)/4)/(2*C4)

In this formula, C3 is the location in the spreadsheet where I entered the arc width (not half width, the whole width).  C4 is the location in the spreadsheet where I entered the bulge.

Here's a picture of what my Excel sheet looks like (replace the word "Iron" with "Arc")

The example shown above has an arc width of 18" and a bulge of 1".  The resulting radius is 41".

Here are the details for the other example of this - shaping a plane iron with camber to make a scrub plane.  It works exactly the same way.

The plane iron drawn in gray, with markings like the earlier example.

Here's the upper end shown closer up

Using the spreadsheet for an iron that is 1 1/2" wide and giving a 1/16" bulge, I get a radius of 4 1/2".

The cambered iron example

For anyone who is actually interested in this stuff, if you can't figure out how to get the formula I wrote above (shaded in yellow) to work in your own Excel spreadsheet, contact me using the "contact me" gadget somewhere on this blog page.  Specify that you want the radius spreadsheet, because I've got another spreadsheet for a different application and don't want to send the wrong one.

Scale

The Barn on White Run - Thu, 01/30/2025 - 10:07am

Lately I’ve been contemplating the concept of “scale” in great part because I am now incorporating the making of smallish things for smallish people (for 2, soon to be 3 grandsons) into my shop time, building my huge tool cabinet, and touring the largest timber frame structure in the world.

When we visited Li’l T and his family for Thanksgiving I had in-hand a small step stool I’d made specifically for him.  I made nearly identical versions for his mom and her sister when they were little girls, and these little step stools not only served them well at the time but are still in regular service 35 years later.  I expect the same results for Li’l T’s step stool and the one I make for his brother MightyM next year and his new cousin in a couple years after that.  This one was made to fit exactly inside a 12″ x 12″ x 12″ cardboard shipping box in case I had to ship it to him.

On our way home from Thanksgiving we made a couple of memorable stops in Kentucky, again emphasizing scale.  First stop was Mammoth Cave, of which we got to see about 1%, but what we saw was still monumental.  Then on to The Ark Encounter outside of Cincinnati, where an interpretation of Noah’s Ark was presented at full scale.  “Big” does not begin to describe the structure, and if you have any interest in monumental timber framing it is worth the visit.

It is over 500 feet from end to end, and although it has a modern steel frame skeleton the interior structures are built almost entirely of timbers including whole tree trunks.  I believe they employed Amish barn framers for the work.  I spent hours just looking at the structure itself.

Back home I have resumed work on the parquetry for the tool cabinet, probably the largest piece of furniture I will ever make.  Ironically the presentation surface will be a parquetry surface assembled by combining hundreds of small triangles approximately 1″ x 2″ into scores of parallelograms roughly 2″ x 4″, further enhanced in the final composition with hundreds of mother-of-pearl dots and ivory diamonds.  There will be much blogging about this as the project resumes more fully.

This is a pattern for a half-scale version, I decided this was too small.

In addition I am delving once again into the world of Gragg, where I am still working out the details of a 3/4-scale elastic chair for Li’l T’s upcoming birthday (hope I get it made in time).  Again, at least two additional iterations will be manifest in the coming couple of years.

One of the issues with “scale” is the question, “Can something be scaled-up (enlarged) or scaled-down (miniaturized) and still be successful?”

I think I am about to find out.

 

PS – Warmer and sunny with an inch of rain tomorrow, so the snow should be all gone.

Categories: Hand Tools

kitchen stool/ladder........

Accidental Woodworker - Thu, 01/30/2025 - 3:27am

 Made a road trip to Koszela lumber this AM. I found the cherry and while waiting my turn I found a pile of maple for a good price so I bought some. Decided then and there to make a maple prototype because I have never made anything out of maple before. I have tried using maple a couple of times many, many, many moons ago but they all ended with me having a pile of maple kindling. But I have a good feeling about giving maple a reprieve. I'll see what shakes out in the next couple of days.

 happy with this

I have two coats of shellac on this after sanding and scraping the shelf. There was a rather ugly looking patch above my finger but shellac is a wonderful finish. It has blended and smoothed it out and made it disappear.

Last night I went back to the shop and got another coat on the bottom. Before I left for Koszela lumber I put another coat on the entire bookshelf.

happy face on

All of the cherry is straight and flat still. None of them did any stupid wood tricks overnight. 

 $100.24

One 4/4 cherry board 7" wide by 4' long and three maple boards planed to 13/16" and averaging about 5 1/2" wide by 8' long. Had them cut off at 3' on each board so I could get them all inside the truck cab with me.

 calling it done

I'm nixing putting poly or oil on the shelf. I got four more coats of shellac on it and that is sufficient. I'll bring it upstairs and let it cure for a couple of days before I put the books back in it.

 disappointed in this

I am not a happy camper with the cherry dowels. I fussed over them for a while trying to get a match between the two for color and grain. The one on the left pops out with the right one being shy and unnoticeable. The walnut ones look good and the they should lighten as time goes on. Especially so the left side which gets the morning sun. The right side gets partial afternoon sun.

right side

This side isn't as bad as the left but still not ideal IMO. In hindsight maybe I should have used walnut 2x dowels instead cherry.

trying it

This was $7 at Koszela lumber and I bought one. I am not optimistic that I'll get to use the whole bottle. Usually the nozzle clogs shut on me or the contents harden into stone.

 $6 at Wally World(?)

This is what I usually buy in super glue. One of these has a clogged nozzle and the other has a ton of crusty, dried glue smothering it. Seemed a bargain to me to get a bazillion more ounces for a dollar more.

 from yesterday

These are two pieces I got from the board from hell yesterday. I checked both for twist and they still had some. The good news is they looked like they didn't grow more of it. Before I flattened the new cherry board, I removed the twist from these two.

 kicking my butt

Before this check I had removed the twist. The sticks were barely a frog hair off parallel from each other. However, the helicopter test failed. On the opposite diagonal, the stick laid flat. On this diagonal it is spinning - there is a hump but it also tells me that the board was still twisted. Went back to the twist sticks and planed the frog hair difference off and the diagonals agreed after that.

The second board was easier to do than the first one. It behaved and I got the twist sticks dead nuts parallel before passing the helicopter check.

front leg

Traversed the board at a slant R to L and L to R, then straight across followed up by planing it straight across end to end with the #6. After that I smoothed the board with the 5 1/2 and checked it for twist.

 did it in thirds

Boards over 30" in length I will check for twist in multiple positions. This board is 41" long and I checked and planed twist out every 14". There was twist at the first third and almost nothing at the other two spots.

I used to only check for twist between the two ends of the boards. That has bit me on the arse too many times. I also inevitably will have a hump in the middle of the board. I have mistaken planing that away with removing twist. Doing the twist check in multiple spots has gotten flatter and straight boards for me.

reference face done

The board is pristine and dead nuts flat. There are undulations still but for running it through the lunchbox it is more than adequate. I left the board wider than needed. After it is planed to thickness and the leg cut out the off cut will be used for a X brace on the back legs.

opposite face

I did this on all the boards. This one is cupped on this face and I knocked down the wing high points and then I went across the width end to end because I had the time to do it. I'll sticker this and let it get any stupid wood tricks out of its system.

 cherry kitchen stool/ladder stock

The top boards are the stretcher and X brace. From Left to Right, the front legs, treads, and rear legs. Still not used to how little wood this project is taking.

prepping the maple

Breaking the maple down into the parts needed was batting first.

 maple kitchen stool/ladder stock

This is already planed to thickness but I intend to run it all through the lunchbox to clean up the planer ripple marks in every single board. I planed one edge square to a reference face.

 stickered

Depending upon the weather but mostly how this behaves will determine when I run all the stock through the lunchbox planer. Today would have been a good day for it because the temp got up to 50F (10C). That almost felt a heat wave after the bitter cold of the past weeks. The weather sucks because there is nothing by cloudy skies and rain in the forecast for the next 10 days. If I have to wait that will at least give the stock a chance to acclimate to the shop.

 cherry

I will have to find a hole for the maple to sticker in the boneyard tomorrow. I can't leave it on the tablesaw.

 presents for me

The bottom one is from McMaster-Carr and that is the one I want the most.

aluminum tubing

This is 1/8" thick walled rectangular aluminum tubing. The other choices were brass, bronze, various steels, and cast iron. Aluminum was the cheapest and I can cut it on the tablesaw. The plan is to use this as a stop for the rear legs.

 Lee Valley haul

All I wanted from them was the two magnets for the 5/8" door catches. But in order to get free shipping I had to raise the order up $50. Bought a couple of heavy duty hinges and some square drive bits for my Yankee screwdriver.

 insert driver

If I remember this is for a 5/16" internal thread, threaded inset. This one works differently then my other insert drivers. 

 for chair making

On my bucket list is to make at least one chair. I have the patterns for a Chris Schwarz chair that is patiently waiting for me. Lee Valley says this is for drilling pilot holes for chair spindles/tenons. It came with imperial and metric bushings for drill bits.

I'll have to think of something to amuse myself with tomorrow because it is supposed rain all day long off and on. 

accidental woodworker

Happy Year of the Snake from Hello Kitty and Giant Cypress!

Giant Cypress - Wed, 01/29/2025 - 5:32am

Happy Year of the Snake from Hello Kitty and Giant Cypress!

started the new project.....

Accidental Woodworker - Wed, 01/29/2025 - 3:14am

I didn't go on walk about after lunch today. After a couple of days of the foot feeling much better it was acting up. It doesn't hurt like it did at its peak but it is still uncomfortable walking. I wouldn't have made it out of the driveway before I had to turn around back to the barn. I'll give it another week and see how it shakes out then.

yikes

This looks like total crappola. I had brought it up to the kitchen yesterday after I had glued in the dowels to cook. Those looked ok and this should spruce up after a coat of shellac.

flushed the dowels

I sawed them first with the flush cut saw and that left only a frog hair or two for the chisel to attack.

thinking on this

I didn't like the lines in the finish from the books. I am considering one of these two for the shelf top. The rest of the bookshelf will be shellac.

considered and shit canned

I briefly entertained making a prototype out these 2x4s. I would lose too much on the width due to squaring up the rounded edges.

 going with cherry

Decided to make the kitchen ladder out of cherry because I didn't feel like going to Lowes to buy over priced poplar or red oak. I can get the treads from the two pieces on the shit can and the tall, thin board will give up one short and long leg.

 had to back track

I had two thin width cherry boards that I thought I get all four legs from. I was wrong. I can get two short and one long or two long ones. I tried stretching them but that was a bust. I'll have to make a road trip to Koszela Lumber in the AM.

double, triple checking myself

I laid the boards on the full scale drawing and it confirmed that I can't get all four legs from this. I thought about shortening the ladder but I like the height of this one. I had another cherry board that was 10" wide that I sawed out a piece for the last leg.

 the go, no go

If I didn't have to cut off splits at the end I would have had enough to get the four legs. The short ones would have been a 1/4" to 3/8" shorter than the drawing.

two long legs

I got lucky with the cherry I have to work with. It is flat sawn but the grain runs fairly straight and parallel to outside edges. It is rough sawn and I'm shooting to plane it out to 7/8" thick. In this rough state it is over an inch thick.

not much wood needed

The ladder needs only a few pieces of cherry. Four legs, two treads, one stretcher, and a dowel. I'm using a 1 1/8" diameter one because I have several of them on hand.

prep time

I will flatten one face, get it straight and twist free. I will thickness them with the lunchbox planer.

hiccup time
 

This board was throwing a hissy fit. There was hump around the middle - the straight edge was spinning like a helicopter rotor. Took a lot of calories to remove it. These are the legs and they not only have to be twist free, but straight end to end.

problem children

To make things easier for myself I sawed the 10" wide board in half. It will be quicker to flatten them as two thin boards vice a wide one.

 straight as a dog's hind leg

I put a 4 foot straight edge on the flat portion of the leg to gauge how much the far end is screwing me. I set this one aside and flattened the other one first. It dipped a wee bit but not as much as this one. 

problem board

I removed a lot of wood straightening out the dog leg end on this board. I don't think I will get my 7/8" finished thickness. Some of this tear out will be sawn off but not 100%. I may have to put a dutchman in here.

this is bad news

I was criss crossing here and it didn't matter because I still tore out chunks of cherry both ways. I was still trying to flatten this and I was thinking I could put this down at the bottom of the leg. Plus the lunchbox planer might remove some of it and I could fill it in with putty.

ten minute pit stop

Had to do this by hand. I only sharpen this iron on the 3 stones, no stropping.

camber guide

I made this to camber the iron based on a radius recommended by Paul Sellers. I think it is 7 1/2" but I'm not sure. I didn't know that I had saved it. This is the only cambered iron I have. It is for the #6 which I only use for flattening stock.

 what has to disappear

The other side looks to be about the same amount I had to plane. I did that and the ends were in line but in between them was a hollow. I dropped a ton of calories removing that but eventually I got it straight (according the 4' straight edge) end to end.

 dog leg gone

This was just the start of the nightmare of trying to flatten the 2nd board. The opposite is cupped upwards and all I was trying to do was to get this side flat-ish, flip it and straighten out the side with the hump. That never happened because I never got even reasonably close to getting this side anywhere near flat.

got fooled

Got this face flat-ish but not twist free. I see sawed back and forth trying to remove the twist. One end would twist but the opposite one didn't. I tried doing it in halves, thirds, and quarters and the twist was having a field day screwing with me.

 coffee break

I checked the board before the coffee break and I was one line off flat. When I came back down to the shop ten minutes later I was 3 lines off flat. Called No Mas here. There must be a lot of tension in this board and it is going to continue to go nutso on me.

 cut it in half

I stickered these two along with the other boards. I expect these two be pretzels in the AM. Fingers crossed the other boards don't do any stupid tricks on me.

 looking better

I got two coats on it and a lot of the ugliness is gone. There is still a hint of it here and there so I will definitely need to slather on more shellac.

 O1 annealed tool steel bar stock

I got this from McMaster-Carr. The plan is to cut off a piece, bend a foot, and I'll have a router plane iron. I haven't thought the plan through all the way yet. I'll use heat to bend it to form the foot. Not sure how I'll flatten the foot into a triangle shape for the cutting edge. I bought annealed stock so I can harden it after I make the iron (if I can).

I had ordered something for the kitchen ladder too but it didn't come in this order. That is coming tomorrow according to McMaster-Carr and UPS.

accidental woodworker

A New Tree Design

David Fisher - Carving Explorations - Tue, 01/28/2025 - 2:14pm
With about six more weeks until my March class at Peter Galbert Workshops, I’ve designed an alternate pattern for the handles of the bowls we’ll be carving. We’ll practice the methods for both designs, and students will have the option … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools

new project......

Accidental Woodworker - Tue, 01/28/2025 - 3:44am

The left foot is still hurting a wee bit. It is lingering and being a PITA. In spite of that I have gotten 4 days in the shop with AM and PM sessions. Feels good to be on my feet in the shop and not molding my A-cheeks to a chair cushion. I'm going to try walking tomorrow after lunch. I will see how long I can go before the foot starts acting up, if it does. Fingers and toes crossed that I can do my whole walk about without any pain or tripping.

 hmm....

I have had this inlay banding for a bazillion years and it occurred to me I could use it on this box. I was thinking of running one above the feet and another one flush with the top of the (bottom) box.

another option

I think this is a dyed veneer that I could cut into strips and place it between the legs or on top of it? Nixed it because I didn't think I could cut out the strips evenly.

 I like this look

However, it isn't going to work because I don't have enough of it. I don't have enough to go around the box just at the top and bottom neither. So I went back to where I bought this and there wasn't any to be had. So I bought a different set of inlays - one a 1/4" wide and another set of 1/8" wide. Both have the same pattern just different widths. Went this way because I bought all the 1/4" wide that was available. So I will put the 1/8" at the top and the 1/4" above the legs.

 sigh

This end is opened up a wee bit too - only about a 1/4" or so. This is a partial long grain to an end grain connection. I think that I didn't get a sufficient amount of glue on the long grain part of the shelf.

 closed up

I clamped the shelf at the front and back and the gap closed up easily and without any whimpering. I will use the Miller Dowels to 'nail' the shelf to the ends.

 sometimes you get lucky

I was just going to layout for the dowels in each end but I had some 2x cherry Miller dowels. 

 I didn't know I had them

I have four that I need to secure the shelf with a few left overs.

 checking myself

Making sure that I didn't drill the hole too deep for the dowel. I have done that before due to not paying attention. I did good on these four.

 ready to glue in

Before I glued in the dowels I clamped the ends fully seating the shelf in the dadoes in the ends.

 checking the other ones

This a walnut and maple bookshelf. I made this one after the cherry one. It is basically the same except I raised the shelf upwards on this one. That allowed me to utilize the space underneath it. I have 5 other of these (all pine), 3 that I use and  none of them had any gaps between the shelf and the ends.

 1x Miller dowel

The back slat on the bottom right one is loose - the glue bond broke. I will put two Miller Dowels into each end of both slats.

 flushing the 2x dowels

The paper raises the saw up just enough so that it doesn't scratch the finish.

 first use

Tried my new flush chisel to trim the proud 2x dowels.

 didn't work

The new chisel was sharp enough and was effortlessly trimming the proud. What killed it was it was flexing. Initially it was flushing trim but as I progressed through sweeping the chisel across the dowel it was riding up. I could feel the chisel flexing as I used it. Maybe a wider width chisel would work better at this than this 1/2" wide one.

 might as well

Decided to clean and smooth out the old finish. I am going to only do the surfaces that show after books are in it.

hmmm.....

I can see lines going across the shelf that the books made. Some of them span the entire width. Cleaning and smoothing them out proved to be a PITA. I had to use a card scraper to remove them.

had an oops here

There is a dutchman here but I don't remember why I did it. At least it is at the back where it isn't seen.

 second dutchman

This one I remember doing. There was a big pocket of pitch/gum here. 

not waiting

Rather then wait for the cherry dowels to come I will use walnut. I don't mind mixing the woods and I think the walnut will provide a nice contrast.

 ready for the dowels

I couldn't get the bottom right slat to fully seat and close the gap. I'm sure that has to do with the larger 2x dowels already cooked and fixing the shelf/ends in place.

 my nemesis

I'm sure it is laughing at me but once a book is here it will be muffled.

y

The back slats are angled and aren't parallel to the back edge. The bottom edge of each slat at is about 3/16" further away from the back edge then the top edge. It was little tricky to layout and I double, tripled checked myself three times. I didn't have any blowouts - the slats are only a 1/2" thick.

 new project

This is something I have only done once before. I am doing a full scale drawing of it. This is a folding, two step ladder. I have made a couple of kitchen step stools/ladders and this one is a little different. This one will collapse to a depth of about  4" and will have a grab bar at the top to hold on to. 

 done

The drawing is only a side view. I don't need a frontal or a back one to make this. The side view gives all the critical angles.

 

 small scale model

I made model legs because I wanted to check/confirm my angles and eyeball how the splay of the legs looked. The angles appear to be spot on and I like the amount of the splay. Seeing something 3D tells me more than a drawing can.

 potential hiccup?

The front leg will fold inside of the back leg. The top of the back leg will pivot and the heel of the angle might bind as it pivots down to close up.

 pivot point secured

It was easier to find the center of the two legs then I thought. Secured the two with a 8-32 screw and nut. With this setup the back leg pivoted without binding or rubbing the board on the stop on the front leg.

There will be a stop of some kind here. There won't be anything else to stop the back leg when opening up the ladder. The top front angle will bear against the stop and hold the back leg in place. More importantly it will keep the back leg from moving once it hits the stop. I have a few ideas for the stop but nothing concrete yet.

 rounded it a wee bit

In the above pic the 'problem' corner cleared the stop but barely. I knocked it down with a rasp removing the hard edge of it. Ready to build once I get the wood for it.

tung oil box

This is still not dry. With the lid closed, upon opening it, it sticks. The finish doesn't feel tacky anywhere though. I have the box 2 feet away from a radiator to help it cure but it has been a couple weeks. I'll keep an eye on it and keep checking it.

accidental woodworker

2025 Workshop Schedule

Big Sand Woodworking - Mon, 01/27/2025 - 2:14pm

Just a quick update to share some workshops I’ll be teaching this year. The first series of workshops will be in Kentucky, hosted by The Year of Mud, where once again I’ll be assisting Yamamoto-san of Somakosha. The Year of Mud workshops are as follows: Later in the year I’ll also be teaching a kumiko… Read More »2025 Workshop Schedule

The post 2025 Workshop Schedule appeared first on Big Sand Woodworking.

A Brilliant, But Lesser Known, Designer

The Barn on White Run - Mon, 01/27/2025 - 6:12am

I’ve been a Norman Carver fan-boy ever since the Fine Homebuilding profile of him decades ago.  This video reminds me to dig out that back issue and reread it for inspiration.  At the time I also bought the Carver book on Japanese folk houses.  My fascination with Japanese carpentry and design almost got me in trouble at work when I did an online search for “Minka” vernacular architecture.  (“Minka” architecture is characterized by massive steep thatched roofs on Japanese farmhouses.  Minka is also the stage name of a, uh, “model.”  I still remember the heat on my face when a gallery of her “performances” popped up on my screen.)

A colleague of mine at SI knew a lot about Carver and his houses, and if I recall correctly had some relatives who owned a Carver house.  I should probably plan a trip to Kalamazoo some time to see any that are open to the public.

Categories: Hand Tools

cherry cupboard is done........

Accidental Woodworker - Mon, 01/27/2025 - 3:32am

It was ooh and aah time this AM. The tile had set up overnight and it was secure and not moving. This is only the 3rd cherry project that I can remember making. The first was a cherry clock I made about 35 years ago. The second was a shelf that I finally put up on a wall in the bedroom. That only took about 4-5 years to get done. The 3rd cherry project is this cupboard.

I have mostly worked in pine through the years I think for two reasons. The first was pine is cheaper than hardwoods. The second one is my skill level. While it has improved I was of the opinion that it was not good enough to risk butchering a pile of nice hardwoods. That changed with the completion of this cupboard. I think I have now finally arrived at the point where my skill over rides my apprehension about messing up using hardwood. 

 this surprised me

This is a steep angle but the magnets are still holding the door shut. Tipped another 10° the magnets let go and the door opened. I have zero doubt about the magnets being able to keep the door closed with the cupboard hanging on a wall.

 first glamour pic

I am not a photographer, nor do I want to be one. I'm woodworker who snaps pics of things I make. I have read about how to photograph projects and reduce background distractions. I even tried it a couple of times and decided it wasn't worth the calorie count for me. I really like how the purple colors of the tile play against the cherry. 

 interior shot

Adjustable shelf with five positions. The entire cupboard is made from solid cherry except for the back. That is an MDF panel with cherry veneer on both faces.

 drawers

The drawers will hold a lot of stuff. Cherry fronts with pine sides and back and drawer slips. The bottom is 1/4" plywood with what looks to me like pine on the up face. If I make another one of these I will cut down the height of the drawers and increase the space behind the door.

 side pic

Most all the cherry I used is flat sawn. For the door stiles and rails I tried to use rift sawn or as close to it as I could.

the back

Left the back end of the drawer opening, open. I did that because of the size restriction I could buy for the cherry back panel. On the second one of these I'll enclose it with a cherry panel. Still haven't fixed the boo-boo caused by the nail in the lower left corner.

 as a comparison

This was the prototype cupboard I did first in pine. I changed a couple of the dimensions (width about the same/depth & height increased) and hinge/knob details. Other than that it is the sibling I used to learn some tricks for doing the cherry one.

interior shot

Adjustable shelves which I think are a must unless the cupboard is purposefully built for specific storage items. The back is the same as the cherry one - the drawer opening at the back is open too.

I might change the moldings if or when I make a 2nd one. My wife got confused with the moldings and couldn't see initially what was the top and what was the bottom (the drawers weren't in it then). She also loves it which is a rarity with her. She is actively looking for a spot to hang it.

 forgot a 4th one

Saw this while I was typing this blog post. I made a cherry table book shelf. I have made a bazillion of these mostly in pine. I also made one of walnut and maple but I think that one is in the boneyard somewhere.

 the other end

The windows are getting the full morning sun - they sit about 10 degrees off dead east to the north. I saw a problem with this end. The dado is opening up at the end. I could put a letter opener into it about an inch and a half. I'll have to bring it to the shop and reglue it. Or better than that, screws or miller dowels.

accidental woodworker

PS ordered 1x and 2x cherry miller dowels from Taylor Toolworks - both were on sale.

...and I wait again.....

Accidental Woodworker - Sun, 01/26/2025 - 3:43am

 I thought today I would be posting the glamour shots of the cherry cupboard. It didn't happen boys and girls. I think I'm done working on it but I have to wait (24hrs) for the tile on the door to cook. I got that done and I'm going to clean up and finish a few other projects I started and stopped. Haven't picked what is next in the queue to occupy my limited attention span.

 door magnet and cup

It felt solid this AM. I resisted the urge to check it before I hit the rack last night. I had to give the epoxy time to cook upstairs where it was warmer than the shop.

 it is pulling

The door closed and stayed that way. More importantly the door magnet and cup didn't get sucked out and pulled onto to the inside carcass magnet. The attraction between the two magnets is pulling the two together at about this point. It is a strong bond but not too bad to pull the door open against.

 nope

I titled the carcass forward and the door stayed closed. I wasn't sure if the two magnets would be strong enough to keep the door shut. Not sure if it will pass this same test with the tile glued on. I'll try that tomorrow.

happy with this

I like the low profile of this door catch. I thought of painting the magnet black but I'm leaving it as is. 

 yikes

This was the first nail I tried to drive home on the back. It didn't go well for me. The first two nails bent with the second one giving me fits trying to pull it out. I had to drill a pilot hole for this and all the other nails. I wasn't expecting the cherry to throw such a hissy fit with driving brads into it. I will touch up the area around the nail with shellac.

road trip upcoming

I thought I had some gorilla construction adhesive left but I must of tossed it in the shitcan. I almost went to Lowes to buy another one when I remembered ACE is a two minute drive away. Picked up a tube there to glue the tile to the panel.

 feet for the box

I had to spend a few calories evening out the feet - the angles were off. I didn't try to get all four to be within +/- two atoms, just the two front ones and the two back ones.

 not exciting me much

After gluing these on I wasn't getting a complete warm and fuzzy with them. They looked bland on the box although it didn't rock at all. I think they need something else to unify their placement on the box. I'll think about it over night.

I saw a pic of a kitchen step ladder that I got an itch to make. I spent over an hour trying to find some ladder hardware. What I found wasn't inspiring in the least. It also looked they like the two spreaders were the same. I think they should be mirror images of each other - a left and right hand version. I have the cheapest ones I could find in a basket while I decide whether or not to buy them.

accidental woodworker

Chickenopolis

Rivers Joinery - Sun, 01/26/2025 - 2:20am

When I'm not stopping buildings falling down, making furniture, carpentry, framing and joinery........I'm doing more carpentry! No, not really. Me and her outdoors, try to be self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables and eggs. She is more green-fingered than I, but it's quite handy that I can build all the infrastructure!


We used to have problems with rodents, until we built Chickenopolis. The raised houses give the chooks somewhere dry to dustbathe, their favourite activity, even in wet weather. It makes them easier to clean out and means the rodents have nowhere to get comfortable; wheelbarrow under the big door, open it and pull out the waste, then off to the compost heap. There is a covered way down the middle; for collecting eggs from the nest boxes, sorting feed out and storing tools. Having a dry space to do it all makes all the difference.

In other news, the new old van is on the road, with new livery.



Hand Tools on Wood

Paul Sellers - Sun, 01/26/2025 - 1:08am
We all have creative ways of entertaining ourselves, but it might be a little more unusual for us to see the contrast between watching as a spectator and creating our way out of one world into another by the doing of things creatively, working with our hands. In my early days, as a new and...

Source

Categories: Hand Tools

Rolling Things Forward

The Apartment Woodworker - Sat, 01/25/2025 - 3:32pm
Hope everyone’s 2025 is off to a great start! I am actively ignoring the shitshow that is the United States federal government for the next 2-4 years, so that means more woodworking! I was recently up north where I have a basic set of hand tools and a pretty good workbench in a shed. My […]

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