Panel Gauge

As I worked on the Shaker Cabinet (the uber-project of the last 1 1/2 years and not yet posted...) the time came for cutting the door panels to size and since I didn't have a panel gauge it was time to stop work for a while and make one. Right about here the astute reader will begin to see why the Shaker Cabinet is going on 18 months and is still only about 80% finished. In my own defense, there was also the 2-3 month slow period after the infamous chisel induced emergency room visit - but still...

I had some local birch handy and here is what I came up with:

And in action for the first time:

As you can see, I cut it a little close on the rough sizing. But it all worked out fine. Plane the reference edge square and true, mark one side, flip the panel end-for-end, and using the same reference edge mark the other side. The cutter on the gauge makes a clean cut which was easy to see as I plane the second edge down to size. I'll post about this technique later, but basically I just plane down until the marks dissapear from the edge - a lot easier to show than write about - I'll work up that post soon...

It works great, but one improvement for any future version will be to move the trapped wedge to the side rather than on the top of the beam. With the wedge on top, it adjusts for slop vertically, which is rather unimportant since both the fence and the cutter are supported by the panel being marked (the bottom front edge of the fence is rabbited). I would prefer to have the wedge taking up slop (both from seasonal movement and my errors on cutting the mortice) in the horizontal plane. I think this would make for a more secure fit and more effectively resist the lateral forces that occur in use. Oh well, next time...

Maker's Mark/Branding Iron

Here's what I have been using to mark my work for posterity. This is so at some future date, a Road Show expert can say: "Thankfully, that mark tells us exactly who made this piece of crap!". Or I suppose it might be more along the lines of: "Thankfully, that mark tells us exactly who made this unique, charmingly shabby, country style, distressed piece." Whatever.

It's a branding iron made from a bolt with a square piece of steel welded onto it (thanks T.S.!). I then used a Dremel tool (Yup! This thing predates my metamorphosis into neanderthal mode.) to carve my mark into the square. Grab with Visegrips, heat it with a propane torch, and brand away.

The mark is just something I made up using my initials. But seen sideways, it looks an awful lot like a little pig. Hmm.



I have been planning on making a newer, and possible smaller, version of this brand. To do this without the Dremel would be a new challenge. I've been thinking that I could make one out of an old tinsmith's soldering iron, as the copper would be much easier to work, and it already has a nice handle attached - not that I don't like the Visegrips...

Wedding Rings

Okay, it's not really woodworking, but I did make them in the shop. And as always, with human power only. Nothing fancy - but very, very personal.

On the anvil: (note high-tech silversmithing tools in background)

And in their box for the ceremony:

Teague's Cradle

Well, it's been a long time since I added anything to this blog. This post (and the next one) should help explain what I've been up to - woodworking and otherwise! It's really suprising how fast 9 months goes by - I almost lost the race with cell division. Sad. But in the end I got it done in time.

The design is heavily influenced by a 1850's example in American Country Furniture 1780 - 1875 by Ralph and Terry Kovel. But of course, I had to mess with it and make it mine. The angles proved a nice construction challenge - and a clamping nightmare. Joinery is traditional country style: "whatever works, works". In this case, glued and nailed rabbits. I find this philosophy difficult, as it flies in the face of my own default mantra: "How could I make this more complicated?"


I also finally got to use my milk paint! It is from The Real Milk Paint Co. and I really enjoyed using it. Earth Green cut 50% with White - two coats - then two coats of Tried and True Danish Oil (another favorite of mine - love it!) followed by one coat of Tried and True Original (linseed oil and beeswax mixture). A little slow but completely non-toxic and safe for baby and me.

I have always tended to favor unpainted wood, but there is something nice about how the paint creates a uniformity that ties the piece together. It seems to make it more "one" and emphasise the shape of the whole. I like it...

...and apparently, so does Teague.

Saw Till

Recently, I was re-arranging the shop - again, and finally moved my saw till down near my low bench where I do 95% of my sawing. Duh.

Anyway, I realized I didn't have a shot of the till - although I swear I took some when I made it a couple of years ago - so I took one. Here it is:

The main idea was simple - hold saws. But as usual, I made it a much more complicated project my adding "design" to it. I wanted the shape of the till to somehow reflect the contents (a concept I would revisit again later when I made my moulding plane shelves). I settled on a stylized version of the Disston handle and skew back.

And yes, the dovetails on the front rail are cross-grain and therefore "wrong". I can't remember if I was being a rebel ("Breakin' the law! Breakin' the law!") or just clueless. Regardless, it has held up fine, although it does open up a little in the winter. And of course I made it too small!

Stanley 4 1/2 Rehab

Here's an overview of the process of putting an old plane back to work. My goal was not to recreate "as new" condition, just return it to good working order.

Here is the plane as "found":

The main functional issue was the broken tote. Asthetically, I believe this type 11 should have a low know in the front (I have heard that some type 11's did have the taller knob, but I prefer the low knobs...). It was also rather dirty/rusty.

First order of buisness: fix the broken tote. This involved: cutting and planing the broken end to create a flat surface for gluing on new wood, finding something similar to the rosewood of the original handle (I used some mystery, tropical, dull your chisel fast, wood that I had laying around), gluing the new wood to the tote, boring the counter-sunk bolt hole, shaping the new piece to match the tote, and finally finishing up with some shellac and oil/wax.

Cleaning up the body, frog, blade etc, was just a matter of elbow grease (on really tough jobs I use my electrolysis set-up...which I will hopefully post about at some point...). I also salvaged a low knob from a parts plane. Then just sharpened the blade, tested the shavings and it was cleared to join the rest of the type 11 herd.

Small Pleasures

Well, it's been quite a while since I posted anything new to this blog. The beginning of the school year is always crazy, but now that first quarter is wrapping up, I finally have a few minutes to spare. I have a lot of project type posts that I have been meaning to work up, but instead I think this post will pay tribute to the many, simple, small pleasures of time in the shop...