These are nearly the same type I make. A frame saw is a useful and simple introduction to woodworking and tool-making. If you are interested in woodworking, Paul Seller's blog has a lot to offer. From Paul Seller's: If you have not yet made one of these you should. They are quick and simple to … Continue reading Making a frame saw
Tag: tools
More Joinery
Here's a beautiful trestle table coming together in Andy Rawls' studio; spotted on his Tumblr this morning. Seeing this makes me realize I can't wait to get some projects done over the three day weekend. It makes me a little sad to say something like that. Choosing a job for pay instead of a love … Continue reading More Joinery
Tools of the Bowyer
I have been working on a bow-making tutorial for quite a long time now. Trying to be as explicit as possible while not dumbing everything down is a tricky narrative to follow. Just gathering the appropriate images of the process is time-consuming and difficult but truly, a good image is worth a thousand words.
Home Carpentry
As usual, an interesting old find posted on the Lost Arts Press. It’s worth a read.
“It is doubtless the timidity of woman which restrains her mending instincts. She dreads the saw and the chisel as treacherous tools that inevitably inflict wounds on the user… Moreover, she can never grasp the difference between a nail and a screw, and regards the latter as an absurd variety of nail which can not be driven with a hammer unless the wielder of the hammer has the muscles of a man.”
The woman who indulges in carpenter-work seldom does much harm. She contents herself with trying to drive nails into the wall, and with experiments with mucilage. She drives her nails with great caution, and when she has loosened an inch or two of plaster she becomes alarmed, and resolves to let her husband assume the responsibility of inflicting further injury on the wall.
She has a profound faith in the value of mucilage as a substitute for glue, and hopefully attempts to mend china and furniture with it; but mucilage is as harmless as it is inefficient, and it is only on the rare occasions when it is used to mend the wheels of the clock that it does any permanent injury to anything.
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Make a Shop Apron
Shop aprons are not as widely used as in the past. I believe this is related to our modern view on clothing and how it has changed over the past century. Not only are we training less in the trades, our clothes are ridiculously cheap in the modern world. Low prices and availability keeps our … Continue reading Make a Shop Apron
Sharpening is a Simple Act
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 … Continue reading Sharpening is a Simple Act
A tool cabinet for that special kid in your life
Wow. I would have loved that top kit, even in my twenties!
Eye-candy – couple wonderful tool cabinets
The perfect gift for the craftsperson in your life. You could go a long way with a selection of tools like this.
The Making of a Cabinetmaker – Part I
“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
I took kindly to woodworking. In fact, I was brought up in the woods until I was seven years of age. During these first seven years of my life I saw my father only occasionally, for he was a cabinetmaker by trade and worked in a smart little town about sixty miles distant from our forest farm and came home after intervals of about six weeks to remain with us but a day or two. When I was about seven years old my mother died and the remainder of the family father took with him to the town where he worked.
I went to school, but had a chance to run in and out of the shop as I pleased, and just about as the child learns to speak his mother’s language by sights and sounds long before it is sent to school, so I learned a great deal about…
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Saw Bench Update
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. I brought it out into the driveway this afternoon to get … Continue reading Saw Bench Update
Wheelbarrows, Humble Earth Movers
The wheel barrow is an old device replacing the hand barrow which was more of a stretcher-like contraption. Simple as it is, it is one of those benchmark inventions and should not be overlooked in the realm of important technological innovations.
The Beginner’s List
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.
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…
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Art of Joinery in House Construction (or how I re-learned my original trade)
I have been re-studying joinery, amongst other things, recently and am currently deep in Moxon's The Art of Joinery. I have built many structures in my life and documented quite a few for historic preservation. Last night, I made it through another oldie from the 1920s Woodwork Joints by William Fairham which really set my … Continue reading Art of Joinery in House Construction (or how I re-learned my original trade)
Leather Shop Apron
I finally got around to replacing my very old shop apron. It was the standard issue split-leather welder style and over many hard years had amassed large quantities of wood glue, grease, metal grime, blood and membrane (from brain tanning), and other unidentifiable smudges over most of it's surface. It went into the trash a … Continue reading Leather Shop Apron
Spokeshaves
The common spokeshave has not changed much in over a century. The main types can be subdivided several ways but they are essentially, high or low angle with various shapes to the foot plate. I find this tool a great help when making bows, handles, or other spindle-shaped … Continue reading Spokeshaves
Three Legged Dutch Chair
From the issue of "Work" made available today by the good folks at Tools for Working Wood. Minimalist yet fairly ornate. It would sit well in a corner to get it out of the way when not needed. While you are in the internet neighborhood, have a look in their store for some great and … Continue reading Three Legged Dutch Chair
Frame saws
Advertisement from 1913. These saws are an excellent and handy way to cross-cut large logs quickly. the design is over 2,500 years old solving the problem of keeping a stiff blade with a minimum amount of metal. This style come in at about 4 1/2 pounds giving enough heft to aid in cutting. Teeth cut … Continue reading Frame saws
Cobbler’s Workbenches
I have come across these little benches for quite some time and I find them fascinating. I even started a folder in my image library for them. A quick search around the web finds many of these in auction houses, on Ebay, Craigslist, and elsewhere, generally at exorbitant prices. It appears they generally end their … Continue reading Cobbler’s Workbenches
Documenting a Foot-Powered Treadle Lathe
From the YouTube channel, Chop With Chris where he does "amazing woodworking projects with no power tools." At last count, he has 19 "how to" videos available and a slew of other good things on his YouTube channel. From his "About" Page: "I play in that weird intersection of woodworking and music! A few years … Continue reading Documenting a Foot-Powered Treadle Lathe
Dovetail Instruction
Instructions from a real master craftsman. I am completely hooked on dovetails and the timing for this couldn't be better. This is a real class-like instructional video and I can hardly express my appreciation for his work. It's over a half hour long but worth the watch. From the YouTube description: "The dovetail is the … Continue reading Dovetail Instruction
Preindustrial Craftsmanship 