Wearing Warned Me

I wrote about my tenon troubles in a previous post.  At the time it was way too cold to work in the outside shop.  Procrastination provided me an opportunity to cheat--I waited long enough for the weather to break.  I used a dado stack to cut the tenons.  Yea, yea, I know I should have bought or made a tenoning jig, but I didn't have the time or money to do so.  Instead, I cut the tenons extra thick with the thought of cleaning them up with a rabbet plane.  Robert Wearing in The Essential Woodworker clearly advises that sawing well up to, but not across, a line is the correct way to do a tenon cheek.  But my name is not Robert Wearing and clearly I don't saw well.  Actually, I'm OK with the state of my sawing skill; my marking skills and tools are still in question, though.

My current problem is in removing the waste between the two tenons on each board in my loft bed project.  I misplaced my coping saw so I decided to resort to a method for removing waste demonstrated by Frank Klausz.  Frank demonstrated this technique as part of cutting dovetails, not tenons.  I should have listened to Frank.

The waste Frank dealt with was narrow, and easily worked with a sharp chisel.  The waste I tackled was 3/8" thick and nearly two inches long.  Basically the technique is to chip half way through the waste with a chisel, flip the board over, and chip through the remaining waste.  This keeps the shoulder pristine and protects the bench top from a mistake with the chisel.  It works great with the narrow bits Frank worked with but...well, I'll just show you what it produced for me:

With masters like Wearing and Klausz at my disposal, you might be questioning my seeming choices to "go agin 'em".  My excuse is simply that woodworking is about working with wood, not watching wood be worked.  I have to try everything seen or thought of in order to find what works best for me.  I'm built very differently than Frank Klausz, so what works for him may be silly for me.  Now I know that Frank is dead on right, and Robert is mostly right for me.

I found my hack saw, but now the coping saw is missing.  I don't think I fed the dryer enough socks so satisfy my cosmic lost stuff quota.

Natural Curves

I achieved some actual shop time recently. I had enough time to glue up and cut a simple headboard pattern for a bed I'm working on.

Here is the complicated jig used to create the top of the headboard.

The jig is actually the roll of paper towels.  I rolled out enough paper for half the pattern of the headboard.  I then drew the curve by hand.

The second picture is the full headboard pattern traced on the material.  A few minutes with the jigsaw gave me a roughly completed headboard.

Cauls Really Do Grow On Trees

Woodpeckers has paid for some email eyeballs for a new 'one time product', phenolic cauls.  Here is a link to them on Woodcraft.com.  I have to begin with a disclaimer:  I have no problem with someone trying to make an honest buck.  This is one of those times where I can't get a point across without some negativity.

Woodpeckers makes decent useful aids for woodworking.  However, I don't like their 'one time tool' schtick.  If I buy a tool and integrate into my work regularly, I need to know where I can get it repaired or replaced when the inevitable adverse event happens (lost, stolen, broken, lent, random act of God).  Production environment tools have an even greater need for consistency.  I'm pragmatic before woodworker; the one time tool schtick simply doesn't make sense to me.  Sorry.

Those folks out there who don't mind the schtick can continue to patronize Woodpeckers without fear of ostracization from me.  After all, the tools are pretty darn good.  I'm just sayin they ain't for me.

The real reason for this post is the cauls, not to be a Woodpeckers hater.  The full set of Woodpeckers cauls retails for just over $200.00.  That's two bones, two Benjamins, two C-notes--to hold one stick to another.

Today, for the first time, I'm going to reveal my secret for making cauls.  As usual, the pragmatic approach begins at the hardware (or home and garden center, whatever) store.  The secret is garden tool handles.  Any will do, but I find the post hole digger handles work the best because they are beefy and have minimal diameter changes along their length.  Tool handles are already made from straight grain flexible wood, most often hickory.  All that is needed is a planer or jointer.

Tool handles almost always have a natural curve that is apparent If you sight down the length.  The trick is to exploit this natural curve.  What you want in the end are flat edges following the curve on opposite sides.  The flat edge is easily made with your jointer or planer.

Begin by marking the crown as the up side with chalk or pencil.  Then cut the caul to the desired length plus several inches.  Maintain the 'up' erasable marking on each caul you cut.  Set them aside in the shop for about a week.  I also sand the handle slightly to break the lacquer finish.  You would be surprised how many cauls change their 'up' side after being cut and acclimatizing to your shop space.  Change your 'up' marking if necessary.

I believe the planer is the simpler tool to create the flats on the tool handle.  A simple MDF jig to keep the handle oriented during two or three passes is all that is needed.  Making the first flat is the most difficult.  I don't have an example jig to offer because handles bought infrequently are never the same; I make a new jig every time.  My rule of thumb is to hold the handle from the side with screws or plastic clamps (screw much preferred--trust me).  I don't bother knocking off the rounding on the other two edges of the caul. By all means offer a better way in the comments below.

Using the jointer to make cauls works, but you have to break the rules of jointing to do it.  Remember, the caul needs to preserve the curve to be effective.  The jointer is superb if you have a straight piece of wood that you want to make into a caul.  Set the jointer for a shallow cut.  Keep all pressure on the back of the material and run it through the jointer to the half way mark.  Carefully pick up the wood and repeat the halfway run from the other side.  Quite soon you will have a camber in the wood.  I find that the point of the camber has to be softened with a block plane or sand paper to make the caul useful.

I use the jointer method to make expedient cauls from cheap white wood 2 X 4's.  I make the camber with the whole board for safety then cut off the caul at the table saw.


As always, if you have a better way please offer it below.

Genesis: Saw 1

UPDATE:  Popular Woodworking is offering a free download of a 2008 backsaw article here.

In the post entitled Mid Hiatus Break I first introduced the saw shown here on the bottom:

Here it is a little closer:

I thought this one was only going to be for practice, but I found a diamond under the rust and grime.  It turns out this saw is a Disston from the prime era of saws.  Even before I found the makers mark on the spine of the saw, I admired the fit and feel of the saw handle.

The top saw in the above picture is my current tenon saw.  It is a 1950's era consumer grade model that came to me cheap and with a sharp blade on it already.  I broke it out of the til to compare the two handles.  The older saw handle is narrower with a more pronounced curve and more importantly feels great in my hand.  I hate to admit it, but the old handle feels better in my hand than my Bad Axe Toolworks hybrid saw handle.

After futzing around with the saw handle, I moved on to cleaning up the plate.  Buried beneath grime and rust is the Disston Philadelphia makers mark:

Here are all the cleaned up components:

I sanded the saw plate smooth and hit it with some rust remover.  I did not immerse the blade in rust remover, or attempt to return it to full shine. The sheen on the blade in this picture is from a coat of spray lacquer.

The handle is lightly sanded  The cool black patina on the handle was true grime.  Since I want to return this guy to work, not put him in a museum, I decided to break through the grime with 220 grit sand paper.  The handle is sanded but not finished in the picture.  Five coats of Danish rubbing oil in 'natural' color now adorn the handle.

Cleaning the brass hardware really confounded me.  I went to town on the first nut with the brass polish cotton without much success.  Stymied, that is until I put the brass in the drill press to let 1750 RPM of direct contact with the polish do what was taking far too long by hand.  Three coats of spray lacquer seals in the shine brought out by polishing on the drill press.  Here is the brass close up.  Note that these parts are cast, NOT milled:

Without further adieu, here is the completed saw ready to be sharpened:

Fine Teeth, Crosscut

Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event: Joint Stool

I attended Lie-Nielsen's hand tool event Friday, April 20th at the Jeff Miller woodworking studio in Chicago, Illinois.  I reviewed Make a Joint Stool From a Tree published by Lost Art Press.  The stool that graces the cover was on display at the event.  Oh, and Christopher Schwarz was there as well displaying the stool.  Chris and I chatted for a bit and he graciously allowed me to manhandle the stool to my heart's content.

Though the review passed unremarked into the Internet night, I stand by my original assessment after examining the book's star stool: "... book full of hewing, hacking, rough tolerances, and an aversion to directions beyond what you see in front of you".  The stool itself reflects the rough nature, yet still looks great as a whole.  Look at the top of the stool:

Extreme close-up of Stool Top

See how the lines are _not_ straight?  The lines are not exactly crooked, but it is obvious that this top is not made on a router table.  The little nub in the back of the photo is one of the square pegs that hold the top to the body of the stool.  The peg is proud on purpose.

The Other Side

I will let the rest of the close up pictures give you more detail on the joint stool.  My final thought is, this stool is the real deal.  I'm a big guy, and this joint stool is sturdy enough to hold me with ease.  As a former coworker would say, furniture for grown folks.

Joint Stool on Top of Lost Art Press Books

Stretchers Meet

Yes, The Pegs Go All The Way Through

More Through Pegs

Note The Shadow Line

The shadow lines on the back side are obvious.  The relieved wood on the unseen side allows a crisp clean joint on the showy outside of the stool.

Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event: Glen-drake

I attended Lie-Nielsen's hand tool event Friday, April 20th at the Jeff Miller woodworking studio in Chicago, Illinois.  Jeff's digs are easy to get to, but don't expect to find parking anywhere near the place!

Lie-Nielsen is peculiar in that they actually invite other cottage tool makers to exhibit along side their own wares.  I spent a considerable amount of time at the Glen-Drake display.

Glen-Drake table display

Glen-Drake has created a saw system that really is something new.  I've seen it demonstrated several times now and I really do believe they are on to something for the modern hobbyist.

Past masters of woodworking learned their craft through excruciating repetition; bad work meant no pay.  Most modern woodworkers practice the craft occasionally on nights and weekends.  Mastering a technique is arduous, and opportunity to practice is limited.  Utilizing the Glen-Drake tools and methods really is a way to develop repeatable quality results fairly quickly. 

Here are some pictures of their products.

Marking gauges with coarse and fine adjust

Cornerstone of the Glen-Drake system

Looks, Eastern, but cuts Western (push stroke cut)

Free with purchase of a Glen-Drake saw is the video featuring their system.  I have to also mention that these saws really, really cut well.

Grace USA Screwdrivers Redux

The post titled "Grace in the USA" has generated the most conversation on the new blog.  Yet, for all the messages, not a single reply on the post itself.  Curious.  It has also been the most edited post.  So, instead of continual tweaking, I decided on a new post to address the issues/questions/nitpicks that have been raised.

First off, Grace USA has been in business for years.  This is not a flash in the pan company.  The full line of woodworking screwdrivers are available from The Best Things.

Some folks took exception to the use of the term 'hollow ground'.  Sure, the term originated from grinding a blade on a circular grinding wheel; in the photo you can see that the tips are not created on a circular wheel grinder.  However, the effect is still the same at the tip:  the Grace USA driver engages much more of the screw surface than the traditional wedge shaped drivers.  Unlike true hollow grinding, the edges are much more crisp, which means sharp.  The steel is actual tool steel and needs to be treated like your other woodworking edge tools.  In my mind these screwdrivers are exactly like my Lie-Nielsen,  or Narex chisels.

The next nitpick seems to be over who made me the authority on screw sizes.  The short (and only) answer is these sizes fit all the tools in my current collection.  My tools, my screwdrivers, my blog, my email address, got a problem with that?  Just kidding about the attitude, it is a legitimate question.  I worked with the President of Grace USA, Dan Morrison, to work out the details of my custom drivers. 

Dan's advice was to use a feeler gauge on all of my screws--a DUH! moment for me if there ever was one.  I ordered three sizes in decimal inches, .045,  .032, and .050.  I used an inexpensive set of feeler gauges to measure all the screws on my planes and saws.  I wrote down all the sizes and then rounded down to three decimal places.  I then verified the rounded down measurements with the feeler gauge in all the screws.  It took me about 90 minutes for this whole affair. 

As stated in the original post, the .050 fits all of my Stanley planes.  The .032 fits all of my old saws with straight (i.e. non split) nuts and the .045 fits my newer 1950's era Disston saws.  I would have ordered split nut drivers but Grace USA currently does not make the screw drivers wide enough.  I should note that The Best Things offers a Grace USA specialty driver for old saws; I did not know about it at the time of my order.

.032 Driver in Saw Nut

One person asked about the practical uses of hollow ground drivers.  If you work with screws in brass or bronze, then you most likely have dealt with steel drivers ruining expensive screws.  The hollow ground tips engage the screws more firmly.  The screw may have the threads ruined from over torquing, but the top will still look nice after the King Kong treatment.  Also, if you have followed Christopher Schwarz for a while then you probably know that he has a thing for 'timing' all of his screws.  Timing is where you have all the slots of the screws line up in the same direction.  Timing is accomplished by repeatedly removing, filing, and replacing the screw; a hollow ground driver is almost required for this type of obsession.  Personally, I plan on building a small boat in the near(ish) future and I will be buying a set of the Grace USA woodworking screwdrivers to aid that effort due to the large number of bronze screws.

To the reader with a height complex, I don't know why the custom screwdrivers ended up so short.  I didn't ask for it, but that is exactly what I wanted.  I suspect the folks at Grace USA had a better idea than me how the screwdrivers would be used in practice.

Finally, if you are the type of 'discerning' shopper who only buys the likes of Elkhead Tools, these screwdrivers are not for you.  These puppies will perform as long as any Elkhead driver, but they won't be entering any exotic wood tool beauty pageants any time soon.