Most woodworkers are obsessed with a table. It is an ugly table. It is the kind of table that requires far too much care and attention to be useful in the conventional sense. Finally, the table is tolerated only because of it's extreme utility in the shop. I am, of course, talking about the router table. I have avoided buying a router table for four years because of a feeling that the industry uses them to prey on woodworkers. A high quality router table, sans router, can cost more than a precision crafted table saw (see grizzly.com) meant to last a lifetime.
Unfortunately, I am finally succumbing to peer pressure and building a router table. I have quite the collection of unusual jigs that were crafted to work around the lack of a router table. Hopefully the jigs can head to the fire pit soon.
I'll do a cursory documentation on this project as it is going to be a fast plywood build with function definitely over fashion. I may be giving in to peer pressure, but I demand that it be as painless as possible. Enough melodrama. Time to check on the top I glued up yesterday.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Mea Culpa Czech Chisel
I generally use modern Irwin Marples chisels. I like the heft and bomb proof handles. However, most of my work prior to a couple years ago was large pieces. Finer work needs finer detail; in this spirit I picked up a couple of Narex chisels from Lee Valley. Shortly thereafter I picked up several Lie-Nielsen chisels. Around that time I pilloried the Narex chisels on Chris Schwarz's blog.
I am here now to officially recant! I did have to put the Narex chisels through a fair amount of prep work to make them useful whereas the Lie-Nielsen simply required a secondary bevel. I have used the Narex and Lie-Nielsen equally quite a lot since my original criticism and they both have performed flawlessly. I actually prefer the small Narex for cleaning tough to reach areas, but have found their metric base a tad inconvenient. I will buy more Narex chisels as the need arises.
I am here now to officially recant! I did have to put the Narex chisels through a fair amount of prep work to make them useful whereas the Lie-Nielsen simply required a secondary bevel. I have used the Narex and Lie-Nielsen equally quite a lot since my original criticism and they both have performed flawlessly. I actually prefer the small Narex for cleaning tough to reach areas, but have found their metric base a tad inconvenient. I will buy more Narex chisels as the need arises.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Pound, Crank, and Plug
I have three projects in progress: small Roubo bench, mantle clock, and loft bed. The loft bed has a lot of mortise action. For the last two years I have almost exclusively used dowel loose tenons in fine projects, as opposed to the 'gross carpentry' I do in making yard furniture.
Each post of the bed has at least three mortises. I decided to try two hand methods and one electric to make the mortises. The initial mortises are for the bed rails so a consistent flat bottom is important; the sides need only be straight with no care for smoothness.
The first method was the traditional mortise chisel--I picked up a couple of vintage monsters from Patrick Leach. The mortise chisel went fairly well with the only drawback being the mortise needed to be wider than the chisel. I had a problem achieving a consistent flat bottom, even with the router plane being part of the clean up. I really liked how fast the mortise chisel plowed through the pine bed posts.
The second method was the garage hobbyist favorite mated pair of drill and chisel, though in this case the drill is a brace. This method was actually the slowest of all three, and I still had the same issue with a consistent flat bottom, but the router plane did a great job taking off the peaks.
The final method was a plunge router with an upcut spiral bit. The bit came from Rockler on special around Christmas 2010. The router method was certainly the fastest. Clean up after the router was easy with a sharp chisel and no need for a router plane. The trade off for time was a lot of dust and noise.
I don't have any conclusions as to which is better since I can see instances where one method has advantages over another.
Each post of the bed has at least three mortises. I decided to try two hand methods and one electric to make the mortises. The initial mortises are for the bed rails so a consistent flat bottom is important; the sides need only be straight with no care for smoothness.
The first method was the traditional mortise chisel--I picked up a couple of vintage monsters from Patrick Leach. The mortise chisel went fairly well with the only drawback being the mortise needed to be wider than the chisel. I had a problem achieving a consistent flat bottom, even with the router plane being part of the clean up. I really liked how fast the mortise chisel plowed through the pine bed posts.
The second method was the garage hobbyist favorite mated pair of drill and chisel, though in this case the drill is a brace. This method was actually the slowest of all three, and I still had the same issue with a consistent flat bottom, but the router plane did a great job taking off the peaks.
The final method was a plunge router with an upcut spiral bit. The bit came from Rockler on special around Christmas 2010. The router method was certainly the fastest. Clean up after the router was easy with a sharp chisel and no need for a router plane. The trade off for time was a lot of dust and noise.
I don't have any conclusions as to which is better since I can see instances where one method has advantages over another.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
"But dude, this is the web!"
The title is a quote from a friend of mine. I used to blog on one of my domains by simply editing a text file. As the blog got longer, the text file got bigger. Needless to say, a monolithic text file is not a very good content management system (CMS). My only defense is that I was planning on hosting my own CMS. After nearly 18 months of no CMS, I had a stern conversation with myself: it wasn't gonna happen. When I finally made the move to a hosted blog, I didn't have the time to manually migrate a monolithic text file into something coherent. Which brings us back to the title of this post. Those (oh so few) of you who read the previous blog will have to be disappointed for the time being. I may post snippets from the old blog now and then, but do not plan on bringing it over any time soon.
Some people like to watch woodworking, some people like to write about woodworking, but I like to actually do the woodworking. My very limited time is best spent behind a bench, not a keyboard.
PS, We now have comments! Don't be afraid to post responses; they can only add to my learning journey.
Some people like to watch woodworking, some people like to write about woodworking, but I like to actually do the woodworking. My very limited time is best spent behind a bench, not a keyboard.
PS, We now have comments! Don't be afraid to post responses; they can only add to my learning journey.
Monday, November 7, 2011
First Decision
Curiously, the dovetail angle of 15 degrees just happened. I drew it, then measured the angle--it looks right to my eye.
The next step is to plan the cutting process. I definitely want to do the tails first on the top, even though I did the layout on the pin. I'm thinking circular saw with guide, or the table saw for the shoulder cut. Unfortunately, the heavy top is difficult to maneuver solo. I would attempt hand sawing if this bench were solely for me; I figure since I offered it for sale, I should try to be as professional as possible with this build.. I will, however, do the initial sawing on the pin by hand. Maybe I should put a float on my Christmas list; this is the perfect excuse for one...
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Pint Size Roubo
My third workbench project has started in earnest. Since the word 'pathetic' is to damaging to my ego, I'm going with Pint Sized Roubo. She'll be about 22" wide and only 58 inches long. The saving grace is that this bench is coming in under 200 bux in material (so far). She is for sale for $600.00, though anyone interested may first wish to see the construction photos as this build progresses.
Why the petite dimensions you ask? Well, pragmatic as always, I scored a hunk of Ash about 11" wide, 3+" inches thick, and just under 10' long. This hunk of Ash split in half is the bench top. The legs will be treated pine 3X5's after dressing on the jointer and planer.
There is a not so interesting anecdote surrounding the legs. I happened upon a construction materials salvage yard outside of West Plains Missouri about a year ago. They had a tall pile of treated 4"X6"X15' boards at 15 bux each. All I needed was one to get all four legs of this planned bench. The kids weren't happy as I made them help sort through the pile in search of one without the plinth in it. On the same trip I scored a Shipleigh hand saw with so much set you could roll a dime down the teeth. I had to use the saw to break down the long board for the trip home; the wide set was perfect for going through the wet treated pine.
A Summer in my makeshift solar kiln, dry Winter, and dry basement storage has brought the legs down to just under 10% moisture content. They milled nicely on Machine Day (see below). The top machined just as nicely this morning--though I have been waiting 2 years to get to this point.
In retrospect, I should have purchased enough of the treated pine to construct a massive Roubo.
Why the petite dimensions you ask? Well, pragmatic as always, I scored a hunk of Ash about 11" wide, 3+" inches thick, and just under 10' long. This hunk of Ash split in half is the bench top. The legs will be treated pine 3X5's after dressing on the jointer and planer.
There is a not so interesting anecdote surrounding the legs. I happened upon a construction materials salvage yard outside of West Plains Missouri about a year ago. They had a tall pile of treated 4"X6"X15' boards at 15 bux each. All I needed was one to get all four legs of this planned bench. The kids weren't happy as I made them help sort through the pile in search of one without the plinth in it. On the same trip I scored a Shipleigh hand saw with so much set you could roll a dime down the teeth. I had to use the saw to break down the long board for the trip home; the wide set was perfect for going through the wet treated pine.
A Summer in my makeshift solar kiln, dry Winter, and dry basement storage has brought the legs down to just under 10% moisture content. They milled nicely on Machine Day (see below). The top machined just as nicely this morning--though I have been waiting 2 years to get to this point.
In retrospect, I should have purchased enough of the treated pine to construct a massive Roubo.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Interesting Deal
Popular Woodworking is running a pretty sweet deal on what they are calling the Arts & Crafts Value Pack. The furniture in these styles really lends itself to the beginning woodworker. I know this because that is the phase I'm still in.
Unfortunately, I already own Greene and Greene Furniture Poems of Wood and Light so the value proposition of the collection is largely lost on me. I love this book.
Anyway, surf on over to their site to see if you like the offer.
Unfortunately, I already own Greene and Greene Furniture Poems of Wood and Light so the value proposition of the collection is largely lost on me. I love this book.
Anyway, surf on over to their site to see if you like the offer.
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