Category: woodworking

Sharpening is a Simple Act

~ George Crawford ~ 2 Comments

Thank you Paul Sellers for stating an obvious but nearly lost truth.  There are far too many needless and complicated gizmos, devices, and “new technologies” for a 2,500 year old task.  Clever marketers have figured out that we can blame our laziness and impatience on our tools and not ourselves.

Maybe I am speaking out of turn as my tools are always for from perfect. 

Catalogs are full of overpriced specialty devices designed to do the seemingly impossible; polish a sharp edge onto a piece of steel.  I realize now that I was very fortunate.  I learned to use a file and whetstone as a very young child.  I even learned about setting saw teeth and how to use the hard straight razor stone.  Before there were special stones to resurface a stone, we simpletons used a hard, sandy, and flat concrete surface before graduating on to sandpaper stuck to a sheet of glass.

Some of the best sharpeners I know still do virtually everything with Arkansas whetstones and some very-fine emery paper.  One thing to remember though; you have to actually do it.  If you don’t regularly keep things sharp, it only becomes more of a chore and takes more time.  I think the old idea of spending a few minutes before you begin work of sharpening and stropping is a wise idea.

If you use tools, consider a real pair of Arkansas whetstones.  Here’s a couple of sources to try:

NewAddBoone

stonelogo3In the mean time, head over to Paul Sellers’ excellent as usual blog for his take on sharpening as well.  Notice his very simple set-up.

Paul Sellers' Sharpening System.
Paul Sellers’ Sharpening System.

 

 

The Making of a Cabinetmaker – Part I

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

“I believe I was fitted by nature to become a woodworker, and had my father been a wagonmaker or millwright, a carpenter or cooper, I would have been taught by my father the trade that he knew. He saw that I would whittle something, for when I was even smaller and lived in the woods I would ask for his knife whenever he came home. He always demurred, saying, “You will cut your fingers,” for a woodworker’s knife is always sharp.

I would tease until he would hand it out with the remark, “Now you will cut yourself.” I invariably did, and it was generally the fore finger of my left hand. That finger is just covered with small scars of every possible shape. I was bound to whittle something. Father knew it, so he calculated to give me a trade where I could whittle away and bring in a little money thereby.”
Chris Weeks
Wood Craft – December 1905

Joining Techniques for Building Houses, Barns, etc.

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment
From Cassell's Carpentry and Joinery by Paul N. Hasluck, ed., 1907 edition, an excellent resource.
From Cassell’s Carpentry and Joinery by Paul N. Hasluck, ed., 1907 edition, an excellent resource.

A selection of simple construction framing joints for building construction.

These are all really just mortises or forms of notching.  These simple techniques can add a lot of value to your repertoire.  The internet shows so much excitement when these things are seen in Japanese joinery but let’s not forget that this technology was world-wide common knowledge just a century ago.

Saw Bench Update

~ George Crawford ~ 16 Comments

A little more done on the saw bench this weekend.  It is clearly going to serve as my go-to portable workstation.  I have several jigs in mind to add as regular features but, for now, I’ve started by making a brand new bench hook.

The bench's small size will allow it to pack easily into the truck, even holding items in the tills.
The bench’s small size will allow it to pack easily into the truck, even holding items in the tills.

I brought it out into the driveway this afternoon to get a few photographs before it’s all scuffed up and broken in.

The holdfasts are stored out of the way by drilling a couple holes in the legs. I placed them down low enough that I can rotate them up to hold a board should the need ever arise.
The holdfasts are stored out-of-the-way by drilling a couple of holes in the legs. I placed them  low enough that I can rotate them up to hold a board should the need ever arise.

I know this cannot replace a proper bench but I am very pleased right now.  This will serve many functions, not the least of which is for bow and arrow making and as a leather work bench.

The holdfasts in place, holding nothing in particular.
The holdfasts in place, holding nothing in particular.

 

This, in conjunction with the shave horse and folding x-leg table (below), will need to serve as my portable workshop for the foreseeable future I’m afraid.

 

DSC_0251 (2)
Connection from leg assembly to the top.
DSC_0249
As for connecting the top, I used lag bolts with fender washers to provide a secure connection that could also be easily removed when the top is worn out.

This, in conjunction with the shave horse and folding x-leg table (below), will need to serve as my portable workshop for the foreseeable future I’m afraid.

The little table has many miles on it now and doesn't look this pretty at all. I'm actually in the midst of refinishing it and will post pictures sometime soon.
The little table has many miles on it now and doesn’t look this pretty at all. I’m actually in the midst of refinishing it and will post pictures sometime soon.
Bench hook on the bench.
Bench hook on the bench.

This bench hook is oak, glued with Titebond 2, and pegged with Osage orange dowels for added strength.  The dowels aren’t visible in the fence as they are half-blind and stop just short of the surface.  A bench hook, shooting board, mitre box, and other small jigs make great use of scrap that might otherwise end up in the wood stove.

A final luxury to finish up this project; I’ve ordered a couple brass bench dogs (pups) and a bench (planing) stop from Lee Valley.

I ordered the shorter version for the little bench.
A bit extravagant for the littl ebench but they are reasonably cheap.

The Beginner’s List

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

A good post by Wesley from Wesleyworkswithwood. I like lists. I enjoy seeing tool lists that people think of as essential. I used to like the packing lists for backpacking that the Boy Scouts printed. I like the lists that traveling Buddhist monks put out as part of their order. Lists pare us down to the bare bones and make us think about what we have, what we need, and what we want. Head over to Wesley’s and get in on the discussion. It should be a grand old time.

Wesley Beal's avatarwesleyworkswithwood

My beginner’s tool list:

  • Workbench
  • Panel cross-cut saw
  • Two back saws, one rip, one cross-cut
  • Stanley No. 5 Jack plane, or non-Stanley equivalent
  • One 3/4″ chisel
  • One 1/4″ mortise chisel
  • A Mallet
  • Two holdfasts
  • Two to four wooden handscrew clamps
  • Two to four 4 foot long bar clamps
  • One pint wood glue
  • Cut nails, 1″ long
  • Cut nails, 1 1/4″ long
  • Flat head screws, 1 1/4″
  • Sandpaper in grits 100, 160, 180, 220
  • Sharpening stones in rough, medium, and fine grits
  • Knock off of an eclipse sharpening jig
  • 12″ Combination Square
  • Marking Gauge
  • Marking Knife
  • 24″ Straightedge
  • Tape measure
  • 16 oz claw hammer
  • Set of screwdrivers
  • Drill with common bits in common sizes

This post got away from me. Here’s what I hope to get out of it: a conversation. Do you think someone could get started with what I’ve listed above? Can something be removed from that list?

I…

View original post 1,293 more words