Hand Tool Headlines
The Woodworking Blogs Aggregator
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” - Luke 2:14
Norse Woodsmith Blog Feeds
Pipe Clamp Holders
Life has been keeping me busy with my job and antiquing with my wife on the weekends. It seems my shop time is a few minutes a week and even then, I spend that time restoring old tools. But when I saw these pipe clamp holders on an Instagram ad, I had to have them.
I’ve been fighting with my Jorgensen pipe clamps for decades. When they came out in 1980’s they were a must have woodworking tool, so I bought as many as I could afford as a teenager. Fast forward 35 years, I still use the heck out of them. The issue, is that when I use them, they have a tendancy to roll over during glue ups.
These fixtures allow you to slide the foot of the pipe clamp into a pocket and lifts it a few inches to allow you to turn the handle without hitting the bench. Simple and straight forward. Even the height of the fixture is short enough that if it is in front of back clamp pad, it won’t hit the wood being clamped, which is nice if I’m clamping a panel that is wider than my bench.
The guy who sells these makes them on a 3D Printer. They’re about $30 for four of them but they’ll last a lifetime. If you have these style of Jorgensen pipe clamps, it’s a no-brainer. I know they sell newer versions of pipe clamps with a taller base that do the same thing, but I don’t want to spend the money to replace all my pipe clamps.
You can find this guy on instagram @artisanmadethings.
Wood or Plastic: What’s your Choice?
I’m sure I’m not the only woodworker who enjoys creating something that’s relatively simple and challenging that will serve a purpose. I love the challenge of making furniture and picture frames but this had some techniques not usually used and would be useful — enter the bathroom drawer tray! I have some leftover Beech which was resawn from furniture projects that required 8/4 material, the pieces were approximately 3/8″ and 3/16″ thick.
The first step was making the tray, it measures about 1 1/2″ x 7″ x 12″ and is 3/8″ thick. Hand cut, dovetailed construction and the bottom was rabbeted for a 1/4″ plywood bottom which was glued into place. No pictures on that but same process I always use. To house the lapped dividers the first step is making mitered pieces that fit snugly; these will eventually be slotted for the dividers. Begin by cutting them on the miter saw but slightly over-sized. They are fine tuned for a snug fit with my Donkey Ear miter jig. If you’ve never seen or used one of these I really like it. Unlike a typical miter shooting board this allows you to hold the piece on either edge so that should there be any tearout you can plan for it to be on the bottom. Some time ago I posted a blog about it — here’s a link to that post.
After those mitered pieces fit snugly on the inside of the tray it’s time to cut the slots and ends so the dividers slot together. To figure out how to space them I made a full size drawing and laid the items out on the drawing and took the measurements from that. This picture shows the tools I used. First off was a Japanese Dozuki saw that has an adjustable depth. I used that during my Kumiko building phase — much cleaner. accurate, and quieter than a tablesaw! The depth gauge was set to the thickness of the wood which is slightly less than 3/16″. The 1/8″ chisel was used to remove the waste. A line was first drawn to locate the divider. Next, a scrap of the divider material was lined up to the line with a small square so the other side could be penciled in. Those lines were cut to the depth set on the Dozuki saw and the waste was chiseled out, any needed fine tuning was done with chisels.
Holding and cutting these thin and small pieces isn’t easy. I took a scrap piece of wood and cut in a notch. The notch is slightly deeper than the needed depth and is wide enough so the the depth stop has room. It was clamped between bench dogs and the pieces are held firmly while sawing. As you can see, adjoining divider members are taped together to be as accurate as possible. After all the pieces were cut and dry fit they were lightly sanded and given a coat of Osmo #3043.
There’s a number of parts and they need to be assembled in a specific order. I don’t use glue, if your mitered perimeter pieces are tight it’ll hold together without any problem. To start place #1 in first and lock it into position with #2. Next, slide the short divider #3 into #2 and lock them in place with #4. The #5 piece locks across #1 and now the mitered piece #6 locks everything into place. Follow this with #7 and finally #8 is what could be called the Keystone which locks the entire assembly into the tray. When you put in numbers 6,7, and 8 you’ll find you need to push them into the tray evenly. This is where getting a good tight fit with the miters is important.
That’s about it, fun project to make and helps to maintain my hand tool skills. Used the table saw and planer to rip to width and surface to thickness. I aways use hand planes to remove planer chatter marks. The miters began with a miter saw but were fine tuned with the Donkey Ear shooting board.
NOS made toolbox pt II.........
Still prepping the stock for the toolbox. Still haven't gotten the stock for the lid which is ok - the run to Gurneys tomorrow will solve that. The offset strap hinges are supposed to be here on monday. Found them after searching/googling it for a couple of days. There might be a slight hiccup with the offset being 3/4" and the stock thickness being 5/8". I already have thought of a few things that will silence that hiccup.
Closing in on the finishing the glass door cabinet. I'll know in the AM if I need to paint it anymore. Fingers crossed on closing that door finally.
 |
| looks promising |
This was my first look see at what I thicknessed yesterday. From this end of the bench it looked like none of them did any stupid wood tricks.
 |
| ta da |
Everything is flat and straight still. That aside I wish that stock was 3/4" thick but losing an 1/8" to remove twist and cup isn't too bad.
 |
| hmm..... |
Two small brown knots left. I wasn't going to dutch them but in for a penny, in for a pound.
 |
| two red knots |
A double knot at the top, one small brownish one and a red/brown one. Bigger red knot at the bottom. I wasn't going to do these two but if I didn't they would be the only 'defects' visible in the five boards.
 |
| pesky, (^@%)@%@) PITA |
I tried gluing this chip out 3 times before I finally secured it here. I had to clamp it with a deep reach clamp and wax paper.
 |
| had to show it again |
I really like how these two dutchman are done. It would have looked better if I had used two contrasting pieces of wood but they still pop.
 |
| sigh..... |
If I hadn't chamfered the edges I probably wouldn't have to redo them now. Thought of leaving them thinking I would put this on the inside (this is one of the sides). But knowing me, I wouldn't notice it nor pay attention when the time came. It only took less than 10 minutes to do the both of them.
 |
| yikes |
I got a split for my efforts chopping out this dutchman. It ran out pass the dutchman to the left about 5".
 |
| it fits |
Flipped a coin on whether or not to glue/clamp the split first or glue the dutchman and the split at the same time.
 |
| been a while |
This is blurry pic of glue squeeze out on the split. Two clamps and I got a even line of squeeze out, even the end closed up solidly top to bottom. Glued and clamped the dutchman and the split at the same time.
 |
| sigh |
Last one and then I'm done. I am going to have this dutchman run into the one below this red knot.
 |
| pitch pocket |
These can be problematic - they can leak pitch which is sticky and it sucks to deal with it. I was going to dutch this one too but I forgot it. I only remembered it after I saw this pic.
 |
| gaps filled |
Decided that I am going to shellac this toolbox. Partly because I don't won't to cover up the dutchmen. The gaps aren't that wide so the putty shouldn't pop that much.
 |
| hmm..... |
That is similar to the glazier point tool that I remember as a kid. I'll be searching the WWW for a seller of it. Maybe I'll get lucky and they will also have one for the smaller points.
 |
| hmm..... |
Decided to install the glass in the door before I hang it. Painting the muntin bars with it hung would be a headache. With it laying flat on the workbench I can paint the muntin bars lickety split.
I didn't use glazier points on the smaller glass lites. On those I just glued the retainer bars with hide glue. On the four large glass I used four glazier points and I had to chop a teeny mortise so the retainer would lay flat on the glass. The large retainers got glued with hide glue too.
 |
| center ones needed help |
Hide glue pulls while it sets but the center retainers bowed a bit, especially the large ones. The other retainers looked good and I don't think I'll have any problems with them securing themselves in place. The hide glue is reversible in case of any future glass repairs.
accidental woodworker
Backstage at LAP
I’ve not been to the world headquarters of Lost Art Press since forever (at this point our interactions are via email) but found interesting the video tour James Wright and daughter created on their recent visit.
NOS made toolbox.........
Week 3 of the football season is behind us now and I still haven't watched one game. I briefly found and watched a game on my digital air wave TV for all of 3 seconds. I don't miss TV and nor do I miss TV football games. Instead I'm into watching highlights on You Tube. I can pick and choose which game I what to see and I can fast forward or rewind at my leisure.
Of course this year the highlights are different then proceeding years. They are shorter with a ton of subjective editing. There is almost no commentary or video of penalty calls. It is almost like they don't exist anymore. There is zero controversy and zero questioning of penalties called. We have entered a new era and it is looking like I'll probably stop watching the high lights before the Super Bowl rolls around.
 |
| happy face on |
I saved this board for a side. I still have to get one more board for the lid. But back to this board and all its dutchmen - no knots to see and they look super cool IMO.
 |
| missed this |
I didn't catch this when I bought it, also missed similar defects on another board. Both of them are the sides and this will be waste when they are sized in the width.
 |
| can you see them? |
Bare wood, standing 3-4 feet away and I can't pick them out. Both dutchman are to the right end of the two sticks. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure they will pop with a shellac finish. Maybe I should paint it? The inspiration for my version is a painted toolbox.
 |
| might as well |
Since I dutched the sides, I am going to do the same for the ends. I'll repeat it for the lid when I buy a board for that.
 |
| first two |
Had left over dutch material from yesterday. I only have to do the larger brown knot on this side - it doesn't go through to the other side. And it does get easier to do the more you do.
 |
| deeper than I wanted |
Got some tear out chiseling the waste and due to that I had to make this mortise deeper than I wanted. The depth of it is determined by the thickness of the dutchman.
 |
| first two cooking |
I got these two deep reach clamps at Home Depot in the late 1990's. They were marked as$15(?) and I told the HD tool guy that the price was wrong. At that time these were going for about $50 each. He insisted the price was as marked so I didn't argue with him and took them home with me. I've been kicking myself in the arse ever since then for not buying the other two. Anyways deep reach clamps that can really apply serious pressure are worth it if the opportunity comes up.
 |
| time for thicknessing |
Of the five boards I have for the upcoming toolbox, all of the them are cupped. Some a wee bit and other just a bit. Nothing drastic and I'm hoping that once I get them to thickness, they will stay flat.
 |
| all five had some twist too |
After getting one face flat, I checked it for twist. A couple were easy and the others were obstinate and a ROYAL PITA to get flat.
 |
| the biggest dutchmans upcoming |
The one on the right might be a problem because the bottom is awfully close to the edge. I'll have to make sure that this edge gets the absolute minimum of trimming.
 |
| too chippy |
The edge of the dutchman fractured as I was chiseling. I was able to glue 3 smaller ones but this big one got away from me. As I was gently pulling it up to apply super glue it disintegrated into a bazillion teeny pieces.
 |
| this is why Frank |
My friend Frank said that I should be able to get the depth with the 271 but it ain't so. The area in front of the bevel is barely a quarter of an inch. So when you turn it around to go in the opposite direction, there isn't a flat reference depth for the iron.
 |
| dutchman isn't big enough |
The pencil line is where the back end of the iron is when the router is in the mortise up against the wall. It is impossible to get a sufficient flat (to depth) area for the router to be used in opposing directions.
 |
| no problem with this router |
With this router it will flatten to depth the area in front of the iron so that when reversed to go the opposite way, the iron will have plenty of wiggle room before it levels the opposite end. Any router that has this orientation of the iron to sole will work well with small mortises like this one.
 |
| hmm....... |
Too fancy for a toolbox? The little horn detail might be a headache as something that will break, chip, dent, and look ugly real quick. Just thinking out loud on something for the end panel bottoms.
 |
| I went nutso |
When I was doing plane restorations I went nutso buying irons and chipbreakers for the planes I had. What I found out was that other chipbreaker/iron setups always didn't work in the plane. Now I keep the original chipbreaker that came with the plane and just swap out the irons.
I needed to swap out the iron in the #7 because it was dull. Having extra irons means I can keep on working after a couple minutes of swapping out the irons. I have 5 irons for the #7 and other planes that use the same size iron.
 |
| it is harmless |
The #6 shavings have a habit of circling around my left arm. The shavings from the other planes don't do this - just the #6 with its cambered iron.
 |
| hmm..... |
The boards are all getting thicknessed to 5/8" and the dutchman (these two) were a frog hair over an 1/8". I'll have to redo the dutchman for these two. The others I did were 3/16" to a 1/4" thick.
 |
| done |
All are 5/8" thick which should be adequate for a lidded toolbox. I probably couldn't have gone down to a 1/2" if needed. Fingers crossed that none of these will do any stupid wood tricks over night.
 |
| hope it never stops |
I packed the shitcan done twice filling it with the shavings from thicknessing the boards. I am still amazed at how big the pile of shavings that comes from doing this.
accidental woodworker
rained all day.......
The weather over the past month has been weird. Most days were cloudy but there were only a couple of rainy days. Last night thunder boomers woke me and usually it doesn't. Today it rained off and on all day. No post lunch stroll because I won't walk in the rain. Tomorrow is back to cloudy/partly sunny with the same forecast for saturday. I will go to Gurney's to get some pine because my stash of pine is nothing by teeny scraps.
 |
| what to do, what to do |
I've been thinking about how to install the glass and the retainers. That in itself isn't the problem - the problem is how to hang the door. Do I do the glass and retainers on the workbench and then hang the door? Or hang the door and then do the glass and retainers? Still haven't decided which fork in the road to take.
 |
| breaking down the stock |
I should have listened to the little man on my shoulder. These are the ends and I could already see that I didn't buy enough to make the upcoming toolbox.
 |
| hmm.....second side |
Don't have to worry about this brown knot falling out, it already did.
 |
| sigh |
The split runs from the end over to my finger. This is a shop project so I'm going to try and glue this and keep on trucking. And I don't want to make a Lowes run in the rain.
 |
| blood pressure was spiking |
The split closest to the end was easy to spread glue on. Around the half way point it turned into a nightmare. I finally got glue in the other half by forcing glue into the split with canned air.
 |
| incredibly frustrating |
The split was a steep, shallow angle that slipped by each other as I tried to clamp it. After fighting, cursing, and threatening it I settled. I got the end of the split flush and tight. Closed up the opposite end of the split about the same. The real estate between them didn't look good. I couldn't get it flush nor could I clamp the split down flush.
 |
| some of the toolbox |
Got two ends, the bottom, and one side. The opposite side is iffy for now. I won't know its outcome until it comes out of the clamps.
 |
| it looks ugly |
The glue or something has caused this end of the split to swell. It looks like something/someone pumped air into the split. This wasn't looking so good only 5 minutes after clamping it.
 |
| monochrome like B&W TV |
It is probably going to take 3 coats to cover the accent color and 2 coats to cover the wood putty. Sneak peek is lowering my BP a lot. I am liking this one color much more then then the previous two colors.
 |
| yikes |
Out of the clamps this spot was spongy feeling. Not only that it looked like it wasn't solid. The plan was to cut the sides down to 10" but that doesn't help here. 100% of this defect would still smiling back at me.
 |
| hmm.... |
I planed both sides of the glue joint and this side is acceptable the other isn't. It was looking like this turning it kitchen filling burnt toast.
It was too early to leave the shop so I thought I would practice installing dutchmans. I will put one on both sides of the missing brown knot hole.
 |
| knifed out |
For me the key is to make the patch first and then knife the mortise. Not make the mortise and then try and fit a patch. I have tried it both ways twice and this one works best for me.
 |
| ready to glue in |
My small Stanley 271 router (and the LN version) didn't work well here. Because of where the iron is positioned in relation to the sole - it leaves a hump in the middle. This small router worked perfectly flattening and leveling the whole of the bottom of this dutchman.
 |
| helping chamfer |
This makes it easier to get it to lay flat in the mortise.
 |
| done |
I tried to get a grain/color match but none of the scraps of pine were cooperating. Now that it is done it looks almost perfect. The color is good and from 3 feet away I couldn't see it. One down and one more to go - the opposite side is getting the same treatment.
 |
| why not? |
It would appear I didn't snap any pics of the opposite side dutchman. It is there just to the right of the lower right corner of the long dutchman in progress. In fact part of the long one intrudes into the brown knot dutchman.
After doing the brown knot and seeing how well they turned out I decided to fill in this defect with a dutchman too. It is a shop project and if it goes south that is ok. Got some practice in and knowledge for the next time I have to do this.
 |
| surprised me |
I thought this was going south on me when my knife wandered while trying to deepen the knife lines. I got a teeny bit of a gap but considering the size of the dutchman I'll calling it acceptable. This one was the tightest fitting of the 5 that I did on this board. I had to shave one long edge a couple of times before it fit.
 |
| I was on a roll |
Chopped out this one while it was clamped and cooking the long dutchman. It is looking like this is going to become one of the sides.
 |
| another one bites the dust |
I was so happy with how well these dutchmen were turning out I could have wet myself. I did the opposite side of this one after the clamps came off the long one.
 |
| cool |
Not too bad for less than an hours work. One long dutchman and 4 smaller ones covering brown knots. The ultimate goal next is to do a butterfly dutchman.
accidental woodworker
When Every Woodworking Video Is for Beginners Everyone Misses Out
YouTube is a fantastic place to learn woodworking. Free lessons, tool reviews and clever tips have helped thousands of people pick up a saw or plane for the first time. Beginner friendly content matters because no one is born knowing how to square a board or sharpen a chisel.
But there is a catch. More and more creators are chasing the same audience of newcomers. Their channels are filled with “Five Easy Projects for Starters” and “Essential Tools for Day One.” It makes sense from a business perspective because videos aimed at beginners draw the widest net, bring in more clicks and keep the ad revenue flowing.
The problem is that woodworking does not end after you learn to cut a straight line. It is a craft that can take a lifetime to master. When channels focus only on first steps content they stop challenging viewers and themselves. Viewers who are ready to tackle complex joinery, hand tool mastery or fine furniture construction have fewer resources to grow. Experienced woodworkers either tune out or keep rewatching the same introductory advice packaged with a different thumbnail.
This race for easy traffic also shapes the projects shown on camera. Instead of exploring bold designs or traditional techniques many creators repeat simple builds that can be filmed and monetised quickly. The craft risks being treated as a trend rather than an art.
Beginner content will always have its place. Everyone needs a starting point. But a healthy woodworking community thrives on depth. We need videos that shows the thinking behind a complex cabinet. How to construct a high boy entirely by hand without using machinery. How to carve the ornamental details that adorn the cabinet. How to interpret complex, fully detailed plans instead of relying on simplified beginner drawings. Learn to read and understand every component of a plan. How to prepare your own varnish from scratch. How to craft the specific tools required for a project rather than simply buying them.These projects inspire newcomers to keep learning and give seasoned makers something to strive toward.
If you create woodworking videos consider mixing it up. Teach a skill that took you years to perfect. Share the mistakes and the slow victories. Your audience might be smaller at first but you will be feeding the craft rather than the algorithm and that is what keeps woodworking alive.
Five little planes
Mike Wenzloff
Tonight I learned, that Mike Wenzloff passed away 25/7/25. Thanks to Chris Schwarz to let us know: https://blog.lostartpress.com/2025/09/22/losses-to-the-craft-mike-wenzloff-charles-hummel
Mike Wenzloff and Leif Hanson are the two guy, who lead me into saw making with their Blogs and Forum entries. I spend the evenening rereading Mikes entries on UKW: https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/search/2338188/?page=50&c[users]=MikeW&o=date He was such a nice guy allways sharing his big knowledge. I missed him for a long time.
Medieval furniture from Dordtmund, part 2.
The armoires
The chests
The caskets
new set of shutters..........
Now that the house is painted, my wife pointed out that one window on the back of the house needed shatters. I'm pretty sure that I meant to make these shutters for said window way back when but it never happened. I have a lot of things like this waiting to be done. Good thing I don't write any of them down but instead rely on my porous memory. Whacked out said shutters staying in the shop past quitting time to finish them..
 |
| 3 coats |
The 3rd coat went on this AM and after I was done I didn't have a warm and fuzzy that 3 would the charm.
 |
| big holiday missed |
Not exactly missed but caught up. I wasn't to fill any divots or tear outs in the interior. This big one looked like crap and it is right where the snap catch will live - it would be highly visible.
 |
| might as well |
Decided to address all the sins on the cabinet. Like the interior, I wasn't going to fill in any of them on the exterior. Initially I was just going to do the door and the front edges but that changed and my OCD is thanking me.
 |
| had enough |
I had enough scrap pine in the shop to make one shutter now. The pickets have a few brown knots but I'm not obsessing about them. These are shutters and if the knots fall out it won't be that visible.
 |
| got lucky |
One knot popped out when I sawed this picket out. I was able to saw this one out but the others are still around. I hit all of those with super glue, just in case.
 |
| totally clueless |
Happy feeling with getting the first one done. Glue and 4 penny nails. I would have used screws but I didn't have any spax screws. The clueless part? Look at the angles on the two outside pickets.
 |
| fixed |
I only noticed the angles after I had set it aside to cook.. Easy to whack off the offending picket and reposition it.
 |
| hmm...... |
Sneak peek and I'm not liking what I see. I like the contrast between the two colors but I don't like what and where it is highlighting the cabinet. I'll wait until the AM, but it is a definite maybe this will be one color by the PM session.
 |
| Lowes run |
Bought three 1x12's by four feet for the next project. I have a sinking feeling that I'm going to be short one board. Should have listened to the little man sitting on my shoulder.
 |
| two 1"x3"x6' |
Bought 1x3s because they are already the width needed for the shutters. Needed 3 pickets and I have an extra for an oops.
 |
| not again |
Made sure that I got the angles in the right directions this time. I remember when I made the other shutters the angles bit me on the arse a bazillion times.
 |
| sigh... |
Houston, we have a problem. The cross batten on the bottom right shutter is off. Why is it that something as simple as this makes me feel like my IQ is a single digit number. There is absolutely nothing overly complex about this. At least I saw the misalignment between the two of them before it cooked.
 |
| whacked it off but it wasn't easy this time |
I shitcanned the cross batten and made a new one. The nails are angled because they are 1 1/2" long and the two boards are a total thickness of 1 1/2".
 |
| ????? |
I think I'm getting senile or early dementia. Stared at this for a bazillion hours and for the life of me I couldn't say how I screwed this up so bad. I sawed off the overage and glued/nailed the new cross batten on.
 |
| done |
Got to say it again, this simple project kicked my butt and drew blood. I can see myself not getting the angles correct - not checking before nailing - but how did the 2nd shutter pickets came out over an inch longer than the first one.
I rough sawed the pickets out to 33" long and to the final length of 32 3/4". Measured the first shutter at 32 13/16" long and the 2nd shutter at 32 7/8" long. Did I forget how to read a tape measure? I filed this away in the brain bucket for now. Regardless, my wife can paint these now. And I shouldn't have to make any more shutters before I take that dirt nap.
accidental woodworker
Woodfinishing Workshop – Day 2
The exercises proceed apace, building finishes and the skll set to accomplish them.
I fully expect to reprise this workshop at Joshua’s next summer, along with perhaps a couple other offerings. Introduction to Parquetry is taking place the end of next week, so come on and join us.
Bass Guitar Build Pt7
The neck’s done, so in this video the body shaping is completed and a few other bits sorted out!
Cheers Gary
glass door cabinet pt XXXV..........
 |
| hmm.... |
Making a half round mortise. This was a bit tricky for me because one
I've never done a mortise like this and two, it was difficult
to find a chisel to match the half round curve. It was also hard to get the
wall of it vertical, especially at the top of the arc - not enough room for my fat fingers and the chisel at the same time.
 |
| could be better |
The fit is adequate but not gap free. The dark line is the pencil layout and there is a slight gap on the whole of it too. Not too bad for a first attempt.
 |
| makes it stronger |
The little bit the half round fits the mortise is more then enough to strengthen and add rigidity to the handle. Now some of the lifting force on the handle will be borne by the ends of the half round stuck in the mortise.
 |
| 1/8" |
I think I can increase the overall strength by increasing the mortise to 1/4" deep. When I make the toolbox I'll layout and chop the round mortise before I glue the joint together.
 |
| premature |
In the AM session, after I painted the cabinet, I thought I was done. It wasn't so boys and girls. In the PM session I found a holiday and boo boos on the back of the cabinet. OUCH.
 |
| feeling better |
The paint coverage improved overnight and it actually looked decent. I think two coats will do the trick.
 |
| glazier's points |
I got these from the 'thecraftmanstore' dot com. Google is like sharp tools, it can solve a lot of headaches. I found these on the 3rd site I checked. I wish I could have bought the gun for these but I couldn't justify $275 cost. A wee bit expensive - 500 points for $28 delivered.
 |
| the wake up |
I was getting giddy because I thought all that I had left to do was to paint the moldings and back stop the accent colors. Instead I found two large areas of paint build up on the arris on both sides of the back. Minimum of two coats of paint to cover after removing the build up down to bare wood.
 |
| accent color |
At first I was going to cut in the accent color without the painter's tape. I changed my mind on that before I got 1/2 way on the first molding. I taped off all the moldings and slapped on the accent color lickety split. The first coat barely covered anything. I wasn't expecting that but I'll deal with it.
 |
| need a pusher |
When I was kid (14-16) you could buy glazier point pushers at any paint store. Not anymore so I'll have to make one. I had two extra of these putty knives so if I screw this one up, I have a 2nd as backup.
 |
| triangular file |
Initially it wasn't easy getting the 'vee' groove started I wanted. But once I got it established the rest went much easier.
 |
| done |
The pushers I remember were slightly bent but this one isn't. I don't know how to bend this - the angle shouldn't be much more than about 20-30 degrees. I'll practice on scraps before I commit to doing the glass in the doors.
accidental woodworker
What’s On My Workbench - Sitka Spruce/California Laurel Requinto Guitar
glass door cabinet pt XXXIV..........
It seemed like events unfolded in the shop today in slow motion. I'm at that part of a project build were a lot of small things converge and eat up a ton of time. Spent both sessions in hurry and wait mode. It was paint something and wait. Apply wood putty to unseen divots and wait. Circle back to step one and repeat. Fingers crossed that tomorrow will be the last one with these dance steps.
 |
| the fault of semi gloss |
A shinier paint will highlight sins more readily than a satin or flat one will. I had a lot more sins, divots, and tear out spots than I thought I had. After sanding the door (and the cabinet) with 220, they all popped out like someone flipped on a secret switch. Filled them in with wood putty and I already knew that it would take a minimum of two coats to cover it. Sigh - translation, it wasn't getting done today.
 |
| ugly looking |
This divot wasn't that evident with the green paint. It popped out like lighted neon sign on a dark, foggy night with black paint. The other shelf edge had 2 similar divots that I had to deal with.
 |
| paint is next |
I put all the retainers back where they will live and labeled the face of the retainer that lays on the glass. I will paint the adjacent face so I won't have to cut in around glass. The other unpainted face I will do at the same time I will paint the door.
 |
| sigh |
It is going to take at least 3 coats to cover the molded edges. I was hoping to get away with two but that ain't happening. But the paint coverage got upped after I filled in the divots and tear out with putty.
 |
| two more minimum |
Based on how the green paint covered with one coat, this will take at least two more. That will bring the total up to at least 5 and possibly 6-7.
 |
| first coat |
Not encouraging looking at how light this coverage is 30 minutes after I applied it.
 |
| practice |
I know what my next project will be. I saw a restoration of a lidded tool box on You Tube and I am going to make my version of it. The handle had two dovetails that were inserted into ends. It took me a while wrap the brain bucket around the orientation of the tails/pins. My first two attempts at layout were OTL (out to lunch) big time. Finally got it after penciling the layout I needed on the end grain vice the face grain.
 |
| the handle |
I have an idea for the handle on the tool box. The ends will get the pins with and the area between them thinned down to the pencil lines. The You Tube tool box had the handle vertical to the end panel and I'm going horizontal.
 |
| hmm...... |
I left it a wee bit proud so I'll have wiggle room for trimming/fitting. As is this probably won't be strong enough to pick up/support a fully loaded toolbox. I do like the overall look of it but I think I will shorten the ends. Right now it is 2" to half circle cutouts. Maybe shave it down to 1 3/4" to 1 1/2"?
 |
| half round of red oak |
This is my idea for strengthening the handle. Glued and screwed it should act like a strong back. The half round will extend over the handle ends and dead in on the toolbox ends. Plenty of time to work out the details. I don't have any pine left to make it with thought. Used up what I had left last week making the pic frames. I will have to make a road trip to Gurney's saw mill next saturday to replenish.
accidental woodworker
Sorting the Plane Collection
I bought two lots of planes from an estate sale. One was for metal bodied planes and one was wooden bodied.
new additions
I decided to leave them on the bench until I processed them, rather than put them away and forget about them. So I walked past them for a month until I got around to it.
I already had a few planes but almost always used the #5 or #7. They just worked the best. I did have #3 and #4 planes which should be used as smoothers, but I never really trusted them. I merged my old planes with the new ones and first decided which ones to get rid of. I don't need three #6 planes.
metal bodied planes
wood bodied planes
The non-keepers I will try to sell or if they are low value I will take them to the thrift store.
eclipse plane - not a keeper
defiance plane - not a keeper
There was one I thought was a frankenplane:
doesn't look quite right
The levercap was textured, which I assumed meant it was taken from a transitional plane. Also the body had "STANLEY" instead of "BAILEY" and there was no number anywhere. Looking it up I learned it was a stanley "Foursquare" which I had never heard of. Not a frankenplane after all.
The metal bodied planes I brushed the dirt off of and sharpened the blades. I was most interested in the others. The transitional and wooden planes were mostly new to me. I'd wanted molding planes and now had a few. I couldn't wait to try them out. I tried planing profiles on basswood before even disassembling or sharpening them.
This #24 transitional plane works surprisingly well:
transitional no 24
works better than my #4
There were two planes with almost the same profile, one was marked "5/8 Ogee":
Deforest, Birmingham
I should've tilted it.
There was a small variety of types:
Plow plane; Moseley & Son, London
round?
Tongue plane; A Mathieson & Son, Glasgow & Edinburgh
Now that I have a tongue plane it would be nice if I could set up one of the plow planes to make complimentary grooves.
3/8 beading plane?
hollow
Satisfied that they actually cut, I then disassembled them, cleaned them a little and tried my best to sharpen the blades.
some required more work than others
And now my bench is clear.
glass door cabinet pt XXXIII..........
 |
| nope |
I beat on this for five minutes and it held. I even gave it flying lessons into the wall and it didn't even whimper.
 |
| what will happen |
I didn't have any doubts that the chisel wouldn't split it into two. The question after the splitting was the state of the glue joint. The glue line was relatively clean. There weren't any bits of wood bits still adhered to either piece. But that was encouraging - the bond appeared strong but split apart cleanly - that would make removing them easy if needed for any repairs.
 |
| cleaning the rabbets |
Of the three tools here, the chisel proved to be the one that worked the best. The safety razor was the worse, even a brand new fresh one. The card scraper was simply too large. It was awkward to position it in the rabbet and scrape.
 |
| done |
Took almost all of the AM session to scrape four rabbet faces for each lite. I didn't go nutso and get them all the way down to bare wood. I feel that I have enough bare wood to glue the retainers to.
 |
| build up |
I have to paint this rabbet face again. Before I did that I scraped the build up on the edge (arris). I removed it so the glass will lay flat, with no gaps, between the muntins and the glass.
 |
| Wally World brush |
This brush worked surprisingly well painting the rabbets. This is the one the glass will be laying against. After painting them I ran the brush along the arris removing any build up that was there.
 |
| clean |
After painting the rabbets I had to paint the muntin faces (opposite side). Did the same after painting strokes ensuring the arris was clean of any build up.
 |
| first coat of black |
It is going to take a minimum of two coats to cover the green. It might also take three and I'll find that out after the 2nd one. I didn't paint all of the molded profile - I just did the front edge and underneath.
 |
| hmm..... |
The black is a complement to the green of the cabinet. I don't think painting this is going to mean anything. Once something is placed on the shelf it isn't going to matter if the front edge is green or black. But I'm committed to it either way.
accidental woodworker
glass door cabinet pt XXXII..........
Made good progress on the glass door cabinet. It is looking like there isn't much more to do with the cabinet. The painting of it is going to be slow with paint something and wait for it dry. Wash, rinse, and repeat a bazillion times. A bit tedious but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.
 |
| the next 3 frames |
Snapped a pic of the tool pictures for each of the frames. Dropped them off at the Frame it Shop after lunch. On the way back to the barn I stopped by Dairy Queen and got an soft serve. A medium size cone was $5 and change. Good thing I don't often get a urge to fill the pie hole with soft serve vanilla.
 |
| planed it |
This AM the two edges looked like crappola again. Felt smooth but I didn't have a warm and fuzzy with the look in raking light. Made two wispy runs with the block plane on both edges. Looking considerable better.
 |
| hmm.... |
At first I thought this was a pitch pocket. It looks like the remnants of a branch. I wiped it with mineral spirits and the rag came away clean. Just to be safe I brushed a coat of shellac over it.
 |
| semi gloss |
I picked semi gloss because it should shed and not attract dust like stain does. The semi gloss doesn't look any difference to my eye then the satin. It lays downs and brushes exactly the same IMO. Ignore the big ass holiday on the edge. I've missed bigger ones and I painted this - after I had cleaned the brush.
 |
| it is going to be a PITA |
I went back to the shop after dinner and played with removing paint from the muntin rabbets. After 15 minutes this is as far as I got. The only bright spot with it is I only have to clean up one face of the rabbet.
 |
| done |
240 grit sandpaper and a card scraper. A little over an hour to work the entire cabinet. Card scraper worked wonders on clearing and flushing the build ups on the square corners and the paint drips.
 |
| working well |
24hrs out of the acetone and it is opening and closing freely. Not as loosely as its sibling but freely. I don't have any doubts installing it on the door and it not causing any problems.
 |
| test time |
Painted one coat of semi gloss on this scrap of pine. The test is gluing the two together with hide glue and seeing what the outcome will be.
 |
| it is sticking together |
Since I will be placing and gluing the retainers without clamps, I'll test this glue joint without clamps. The retainers will have a leg up to start with. The rabbet will have some paint but the retainer glued surface will be bare wood. Fingers crossed that this works out in my favor.
 |
| looking good |
The only PITA with this setup is I don't have unfettered access to the shit can. I am not painting the bottom of the cabinet. It is plywood and I'm not obsessing about it because it will never be seen. Besides it would cover my burned in maker's stamp.
After eyeballing the 2nd of paint I'm confident that I won't have to put on a 3rd. I might have to touch up a few spots that I scraped/sanded down to bare wood though. I'll find out that tidbit out in the AM.
 |
| done |
Two coats - one satin and one semi gloss. Seeing the door done I'm convinced that keeping it the same color as the rest of the cabinet was the way to go. The accent color would be glaring to the eye.
 |
| 4 hours later |
The glue joint is solid. I couldn't break it apart with my hands nor after I beat it up with a mallet. Encouraging that the bond appears to be secure. I'll beat the snot out of it again with a mallet in the AM.
 |
| changed my mind again |
My OCD with misalignment of the shelves and the muntins won out. I'm going to paint the molded part of the shelves. I'll slap on a coat of shellac after the black has dried.
 |
| #12 hollows and rounds |
I've been playing with these every now and then. The goal is get proficient with them so I can make my own moldings. I know what I want and what I like but like everything else in life you have to expend the calories and put in the time. The goal is make at least one set of moldings before I take a dirt nap.
accidental woodworker
Pages
