Like any weekend woodworker, I couldn’t leave well enough alone and my version of a “simple” piece became a bit more complex.  French feet, sliding dovetails, and mitered cockbead moulding around the shelves was the end product.  The finished piece was painted so I did stick to the low cost wood requirement and used big box store Pine for the whole thing.  I visited her studio this week and was able to take stock of how the book shelf is holding up.  It looks great really.  The french feet are strong and the moulded details on the sides and the top are still crisp.  The problem area is the cockbead moulding on the bottom of each shelf.  All those heavy books and book bags dropped hastily in front of the piece along with the occasional bump from a vacuum cleaner have caused several areas to crack and break away.  The moulding is still intact and I will be able to glue the cracked piece back in place but how long will that last.

This is a valuable lesson that is only learned after getting some time with your furniture after heavy use.

1) Don’t make cockbead moulding out of Pine.  It is too fragile.  The total footage needed to make these moulding is so small that the expense of using something more durable wouldn’t be notices.  Plus with the whole piece getting painted, I don’t have to worry about blending the appearance.

2) Keep the reveal less than 1/8″.  This moulding is about 3/16 proud.  It looked great but it just leaves too much sticking out that can break off.

3) Sliding Dovetails can withstand a bomb.  They are still tight as can be and the case sides are flat even though this home center lumber was probably not very dry during the build.

That being said, I’m really glad to see this little shelf standing up to the beating it takes each week.  My wife still tells me that people compliment her on the shelf every day so something must still look good.

What have you learned by examining your old furniture pieces?

Wait, no thinking?  (cue sad trombone)

Just because I am building the same project with the same joints and dimensions doesn’t mean the process is the same.  In fact with my crazy neanderthal leanings, I can almost guarantee that my process will be different.  Hand tool methods need to be approached differently.  Layout is key and the order of cuts is usually different.  The differences telegraph back to milling of the stock too as sometimes you want to leave your pieces oversized to give more room to cut the joints.  Then the piece is planed/sawn to final size afterwards.

Maybe it is just me but when I choose to use a plan, the tendency is to follow it step by step like a recipe and before I know it, I have started down a path that I can’t go back from making my hand tool centric tasks much harder.  Ever try to chop out a mortise 1/4″ from the end of the board without blowing out the end?  See what I mean?  The funny thing is that when you end up in this situation, even though you know better, you stare dumbfounded at your plans.

“But I followed the instructions???”

This is probably the same way accidents happen, by blindly following a set of steps laid down by someone who isn’t you with different tools, and different working conditions.  So here is my new take.  Use plans, go ahead, knock yourself out.  Just make sure you do your own planning first.

Grooved stile in the vise, rabbeted rail behind, saw hook on the left for trimming pieces to length. Everything you need in one place.

The Moxon vise design that Benchcrafted has come up with where the chop floats on the screws is very versatile. The elongated holes allow for a small amount of racking which can be really useful when clamping odd shaped parts but also narrow pieces. I was making a small glass door where the rails and stiles have a rabbet on the inside face to hold the glass. The rail was only 1″ wide and 1/2″ thick. By clamping the rail on edge with only 1/4″ of the width in the jaws, the chop pivots like a leg vise providing solid contact and immense clamping power. I had gauged a line marking the outer edges of the rabbet and was able to drop the boxed corner of my rabbet plane right into the gauge line to start my rabbet. I do this technique any time I stick mouldings but being able to set the work piece up at chest height made it so much easier to see my cut and maintain a square joint.

This was so comfortable, that I proceeded to plow the grooves for a panel door, then the tongue and groove joint for the back panels of the cabinet. Certainly you lose some leverage working up that higher, but for small pieces like these, taking 3/16″ wide cuts, the force to move the planes is minimal.

The more I think about it, I realize that when I cut joints like these on my Roubo workbench, I spend a lot of time bent at the waist checking my layout lines and how the cut is progressing. It doesn’t seem like much but the time to stop, bend, and check my proximity to the lines really added to the time to cut the joint. Now I’m starting to think about building a sticking board up this high…it is worth experimenting to determine if the loss of leg power during the cut will be detrimental in the long run (literally).

Chuck Bender's Example Shell

So what do I usually do when I want to cut through all the chaff and get to the core of a skill? I call Chuck Bender. I enrolled in his Carving Fundamentals course and spent 2 days at The Acanthus Workshop. As usual Chuck has a no nonsense (you might say No BS) way of approaching woodworking tasks. His emphasis all weekend was on reading the grain, something that sounds pretty obvious but when confronted with changing grain in a compound convex curve things quickly get confusing. Chuck laid out some very simple exercises that focused us on a specific skill. The object wasn’t really to complete the whole form (we could do that on our own) but just to get a feel for reading the grain in various situations. As each exercise was introduced, he upped the ante by throwing us a curve, literally, in each shape.

Once we had completed straight and flat relief, curved and flat relief, convex relief, concave relief, and combination concave and convex relief carvings it was time to tackle our first actual form. Chuck presented us with a typical Queen Anne shell pattern and went through some great drawing principles to layout our own shape, create a pattern, and saw it out. Then like some kind of Mr Miyagi magic the steps for carving this more complex shape just fell into place. It turns out all that sanding floors, and painting fences early in the weekend paid off and in no time we were shaping our shells.

I have some work still to do on my exercises, and I just ran out of time on my own shell carving, but I feel confident that I can finish them on my own and know how to get myself out of the trouble I will encounter with changing grain direction.

As usual, another successful weekend at The Acanthus Workshop worth every penny. In typical fashion I didn’t leave with earth shattering knowledge but a lot of subtle little things that improve my skill set across so many areas. Chuck’s teaching style is one that teaches you by doing, but doing so in a controlled manner that ingrains the basic movements into your body.

I urge you to get to Chuck’s school. His DVDs are good (2 new carving DVDs are due out any day) but there is no substitute for being there in person and hearing his solutions and see him do it for specific situations right in front of you. And there is no topic out of bounds. If you have a question about another technique on your mind just ask, you might be surprised what kind of impromptu tutorial ensues.

The truth is that as I have gained more and more experience in the last 4 years I have started taking things for granted. As I have sold off my power tools and moved into a zen meditative state with my hand planes I have assumed I was working safely. Remember what assuming does? It makes an ass of u and me! No matter how long you have been woodworking or how many masterpieces you have built, we are all beginners when it comes to safety.

So this year I will cover some new ground, but I want to go over some old ground too and figure out some ways we as woodworkers, beginner and advanced, can build checklists and processes to help us remember our safety basics. Reading and writing blog posts is a great starter but the practices espoused must be integrated into your shop workflow or they become useless. Reading about woodworking safety and actually working safely are two different things.

Let’s start with some review. Click over to my Safety page or just follow the link in the navigation bar under techniques. I have 16 posts here from Woodworker’s Safety Week 2009, 2010, and 2011. Highlights include:

• Working Safely in Someone Else’s Shop
• Safe Chisel Use
• Lathe Safety
• Hand Tool Safety
• Router Tips
• Push Sticks
• Safety Lessons Learned

Be safe in your shops

And especially on the forum at WoodTalkOnline.com!

Around the Web

-Microjig Dado splitter
-Glen Huey visiting the Michigan Woodworkers’ Guild May 19, 2012 http://www.miwoodguild.webs.com
-Popular Woodworking is publishing The Woodwright Shop seasons 1-3 and 20 on DVD and in Shop Class On Demand

Listener Emails

Mark Jacobs:  leg vise parallel guide above or below on a workbench
Adam Weigand: is a high angle frog okay for everyday smooth planing

Voicemails

Dyami – Router safety reminder

An all hand tool shop can work just fine with a single rip saw and crosscut saw.  Some would even make a case that only a crosscut saw would suffice.  In my shop however I have 6 hand saws, 2 panel saws, 3 frame saws, 3 Coping/Fret saws, 3 tenon saws, 2 carcass saws, and 3 dovetail saws.  I have to admit that I like hand saws a lot and that has driven a few of my acquisitions, but this “nest” of saws is finely honed to handle very specific tasks.  Again, this many saws is not necessary but I think if you work solely by hand you will find that these purpose tuned saws will make your work that much more efficient.

Let’s look at a case study involving the Shaker Clock I’m building in The Hand Tool School.  Casting joinery saws aside for now let’s focus on the workhorses: hand saws and panel saws. My nest is as follows:

• 5.5 ppi, 28″ Thumbhole Rip Saw
• 6 ppi 26″ Rip Saw
• 5 ppi, 26″ Rip Saw (green wood saw)
• 8 ppi, 26″ Rip Saw
• 6 ppi, 26″ Crosscut Saw
• 8 ppi, 26″ Crosscut Saw
• 10 ppi, 22″ Rip Panel Saw
• 12 ppi, 19″ Crosscut Panel Saw

***Point of Clarification: Hand saws are backless saws 24″ and longer while Panel saws are backless and ~18-24″***

I have meticulously laid out all of my parts on this 10×52″ piece of Cherry.  I have flattened one side of the board and just scrubbed the other side to a rough thickness of 3/4″.  In some cases I have left about 1/2″ of space between parts to allow for saw kerf and subsequent planing to final size.  This is a pretty wide margin for hand work and can actually add more work in the long run as you have to trim the pieces later.  However as we all know it is much easier to take wood off than add it back on so be pessimistic about your sawing prowess and leave room to spare.   Sometimes this lay out can be a balancing act.  Many of these parts are only separated by 1/4″ or less.  Like I mentioned in my SketchUp layout video you want to group your like parts together on the board for the best color and grain match.  In order to do this you need to push the boundaries a bit on how closely you space your parts.

8 ppi Rip Saw for tighter tolerances

With less margin for error, I employ my 8 ppi Rip saw.  This saw’s finer pitch leaves a cleaner cut.  It has 5 degrees of rake to ease the passage through the wood and for an easier start.  However it is still aggressive enough to cut fast in 3/4″ stock.  This saw will slow down in rough sawn stock as the smaller gullets don’t clear the saw dust as well.  The saw also has about 8 degrees of fleam that creates a minor slicing cut and lessens the splintering on the back side of the cut.  I don’t sacrifice much speed so I can make the 30″ long rip cuts in about 30 seconds and track right on my line so I have little planing to do later.

6 ppi rip saw for speed in planed stock

On the converse, here is one of my boards broken into it’s parts.  This is a secondary board where I need to get only one part and a longer section that I will later stick moulding with.  The saw pictured above is it a 26″, 6 ppi, 0 rake, 0 fleam rip saw.  It is aggressive and pitched to work well in 4/4 rough stock.  The set is the 2nd widest in my nest. (the first is a saw tuned for green wood with a positive rake angle and wide set)  This saw cuts fast in rough stock but even faster in a piece that has been thinned a bit like this board.  It leaves a cleaner line than my 5.5 ppi, 28″ saw when working with already planed stock.  If this board were rough I would switch to the 5.5 Thumbhole Rip saw.

12 ppi Crosscut Panel saw for precision

When I layout the crosscuts I stay even closer to my final dimension as planing end grain is more laborious and I have to take a light cut.  In other words I would rather clean up the end grain with 5 or 6 passes on the shooting board than 45 passes.  In this you can see the cuts I want to make and I employ my 12 ppi crosscut panel saw.  The pitch of this saw is approaching many backsaws but that combined with the relaxed rake and fleam I get a very clean cut that can be cleaned up with minimal stock removal.  The shorter length and higher pitch sacrifices speed significantly and the minimal set leaves a very narrow kerf so I only reserve this saw for short, highly precise cuts.

10 ppi Rip panel saw for precision and a clean cut

Finally, in order to get the best grain and color match, I have grouped all of my door rails and stiles into the edge, rift sawn stock.  To get all my parts close together I only have about 1/8″ to spare.  For this I use my 10 ppi rip panel saw.  This saw has 5 degrees of rake and 10 degrees of fleam.  It cuts surprisingly fast for a short little saw yet leaves a really clean, splinter free cut.  There is very little set to this so it hugs a line and leaves a tight kerf behind.

The reality is that with practice your sawing can split a line and most hand saws will leave a small kerf compared to what we may be used to with power tools.  I could probably break these boards down into their parts without leaving a piece too small just using my 5.5 ppi 28″ beast.  I could complete that job in 5 minutes or less at that speed.  But the roughness of the cut and the splintering on the back of the cut would mean a lot more time spent in cleaning up and flattening the edges and ends with a plane.  By selecting my saws carefully to the cut and tolerances I spent 23 minutes (I know, I was filming the whole time) to break into these parts.  Each part is within 1/4″ of final size and was dimensioned exactly with planes in minutes.  No more sawing was required.

I probably goes without saying but no matter what your tooth geometry, if the saw isn’t sharp it won’t cut fast or accurately.  When the saws are tuned well, it is shocking how fast you can work and how accurately.  In my small shop it would have taken me at least 10 minutes just to move and set up my table saw to make a cut.  For me it isn’t about the speed though.  The table saw or bandsaw will win out in the end.  There is something very satisfying about tuning your saw nest to handle very specific tasks and getting your work done efficiently and accurately.  I’m constantly looking for gaps in my nest that could be better filled with a garage sale saw specifically tuned.  Of course considering I spend my days sitting in a chair in front of a computer, the physical act of hand sawing is relaxing and much needed exercise too.

Mark Hochstein showing off his Tea Table

I got to see Kari Hultman’s masterfully executed Roubo workbench and I brought along my Joinery bench and planing beam. We had a Dolly Madison chair, tea tables, demilune tables, ladder back chairs, walking sticks, frame saws, and side boards rounding out the member contributions.

The talent represented in this chapter is stunning and usually the discussion surrounding each piece is just as entertaining as seeing the pieces in person.  It proves again why SAPFM is such a valuable resource with so many great furniture makers gathered together in one place.

I kicked off the meeting by giving a tour of the lumber yard and I was excited to have my boss, Gib McIlvain, present to add some validity to all that I was saying. I was impressed by how many questions we got and just how interested everyone was in the import process and quality control process that goes on at the yard. I want to thank everyone for coming out and listening so intently. Of course it was nice to see the eyes light up when I explained that the launch of Hardwood to Go would allow us to service orders less than 500 board feet in a virtual lumber yard experience.

Don Williams illustrating different 18th century finishes

From there we settled in to the warehouse surrounded by Mahogany, Wenge, and plywood to hear Don Williams from the Smithsonian speak about 18th century finishing. Don is always a pleasure to listen to and one of those speakers who often dispel common misconceptions about woodworking. Today it was French polishing and waxed shellac. First, the French didn’t use shellac but stuck with more of a spit polish using water and wax. The English were the ones to use shellac. The process is still very much the same but now you can be the obnoxious one at parties who corrects everyone when the topic of French polishing comes up. Don’t expect to get invited back to that party however.

Next was the topic of waxed vs dewaxed shellac. I have been told so many times that waxed shellac will interfere with subsequent coats of finish and that dewaxed should always be used. Don busted this myth citing his 40+ years of experience and strengthened the stance that shellac will bond to any type of finish whether waxed or not. Moreover, waxed shellac has a much, much longer shelf life.
“Kept in a cool, dry place, you can expect your shellac to last around 300 years” said Don. He then went on to tell us he had just purchased 2300 lbs of the stuff in preparation for the coming apocalypse. This coming from a guy wearing alien head suspenders.

I think the biggest impact was the French burnishing technique that Don demonstrated. He had chopped off a whisk broom just below the handle then bound the fibers tightly together. Then rubbing the “broom” across the surface he quickly brown a planed board up to a high shine in seconds. The raking sunlight coming through the loading doors into the warehouse really made this technique pop and everybody in the building sat up a little bit straighter in awe. Once again, Don proved that so much can be learned from the past that we can apply to our woodworking today. Don told us that once he finishes his Roubo translation for Lost Art Press, he will be publishing a Finishing Manual. Based on everything he shared this weekend, I will be first in line for that book.

Of course my day was made seeing Don standing at my joinery bench planing a piece of Mahogany for his demonstration then getting some feedback from him on it’s performance. Don is the only person other than myself who has worked at this bench so it meant a lot when he said he envisioned a knock off in his future.

So once again, the newly formed Chesapeake chapter delivered an outstanding meeting. Next time we will have Steve Latta as a guest speaker so things just keep getting better.