On the Nature of Shop Time

Einstein was right - time is not constant.

My shop demonstrates this to me on a regular basis - "I'll just work on this for 15 minutes!" and then "What?! I've been in the shop for 2 hours?" Of course, I'm not complaining - I love being in my shop. I'm just always amazed, and a little confused, at how it happens.

This time, I decide to try to document the happenings in "shop time." Here goes:

I am finally starting to believe that the Shaker cabinet might, just might, be finished before my son starts crawling. Today's job was to start making the molding for the top and the step-back. In a remarkably sensible move, I decided that there wasn't enough time to finish - I'd just rip the strips, clean them up with a plane, and stop. "Should take about 15 minutes."

First - find the board I am going to rip. Okay, there it is - half-way down in the center of a stickered pile. Sigh. Well, nothing for it, start moving wood. Unpile. Pick. Pile. Not too bad.

Put board on bench. Set marking gauge and mark off two strips, one on each edge. Flip. Repeat. Done.

Move board to saw bench. Grab rip saw from till. Start to cut. What? When did this thing get so dull? Oh...probably when I was ripping the bamboo flooring...with its "scratch resistant" coating...probably "saw resistant" too. Hmm. Okay.

Get saw vise. Put piece of 2x4 in bench vise. Clamp saw vise to 2x4. Clamp saw in saw vise. Get file - the one with the handle so I don't hurt myself. Oh. That one is too small. Hmm. Okay.

Find piece of birch in scrap pile. Find brass plumbing fitting (I actually knew exactly where it was!).

Take birch to shavehorse. Rough it out with drawknife. Fast! Clean up with spokeshave. Cut off with saw. Round end to fit brass cap. Clamp cap in vise and drill hole through for file tang.

Hmm. It moved off-center. Okay. Clean up with rat-tail file.

Screw onto birch handle. Clamp handle in vise. Drill two step hole for tang. Clamp file in vise, tang up. Get propane torch. Heat tang. Force handle down over tang. Pull back off. Reheat. Reforce. Whack with hammer. Done. Wait. The "nut" look of the brass bugs me. File it round. Okay. Now it's done.

What was I doing? Oh yeah, ripping molding strips. Right. Need to sharpen the saw first.

Run jointer down saw teeth. This creates small flats on top to the taller teeth. In theory, on ALL the teeth, but this saw is a long story. I bought on eBay years ago, and boy was it messed up. I tried to reshape the teeth, and didn't do half bad for my first try at that, but it's not perfect, and the teeth are only slowly becoming more uniform each time I sharpen it.

Doesn't matter - works great anyway. At least when it is sharp, so back to that. Reclamp saw lower in vise, just below the gullets. File every other gullet - trying to remove half of the flat on the top of the teeth. Reverse saw. File remaining gullets. Not bad. Not perfect - but plenty good.

Back to the board waiting on the saw bench. Rip. Rip! Holy smokes is it better! When was the last time I sharpened this saw? Rip. Rip. Done.

Hmm. I wonder if I have time to clean these up with the jack plane? Look at clock. "What! How'd that happen?" Drat! Need to clean up and call it a day.

"But it will only take about 15 minutes to plane those two strips..."

Get plane...

Your Boy Is Safe When He Is Working With Tools And Wood

Okay, this was going to be my first book “review”, but it has turned out to be more of a book ramble. The book is How to Work With Tools and Wood: For the Home Workshop, published in 1927 by the Stanley Rule & Level Plant.

I have no idea who actually wrote the book, and the signature of the foreword is no help at all…

I’m sure that one of the main reasons that Stanley published this book was to help sell tools. And yet there is more to it than that. There is a lot of discussion of aesthetic, craftsmanship and beauty in here too. I’d really like to know who wrote it.

This book is great for three reasons: 1. it smells good 2. it is tremendously campy and 3. it is full of great hand tool information.

First the smell:

What can I say, I love the way old books smell (NOT the moldy ones!). For me, it is a mix of my Grandmother’s attic; the old, old books I was always shelving in Drew University’s library; and summers in Vermont, reading an old book in the sun.

Now the camp:

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

I don’t think I need to say anything more.

Finally, the hand tool content:

It’s a great introduction to hand tool work that starts with a chapter titled “All of Us Can Use Tools” which addresses confidence and rational. I particularly like the hand tool philosophy stated here:

“The fact is that almost anything which we use can be made stronger, more simple, more beautiful, by loving hands than it can by machinery. There is no reason why a kitchen shelf may not be fundamentally beautiful. There is no reason why a door cannot be hung so that it swings at the touch of a hand and is beautiful because it is simple and rugged.

If you will learn to make an ordinary mortise, to form a dovetail joint, a halved joint, or to plane the edge of a board so that it is square; if you will learn to drive a nail straight, to put heavy screws in oak without splitting the board, and handles on a drawer so that they are straight: your work in wood should be beautiful.”

And:

“…You can go to a store and buy a candlestick complete and ready for use, varnished and polished, for from 10 cents to $5.00. You can make that candlestick yourself with perhaps no saving in money. But when you have made it and it is standing on the mantelpiece you have always before you as you look at it the memory of a sharp tool cutting into well seasoned wood. Through your hands, and your hands alone, the world is richer by the existence of that object that you can hold in your hand.

That is the satisfaction which the artisan in paint, the artisan in words, or the artisan in steel, stone, glass or wood feels. There is something priceless about it. You have a value that no man can take from you. Let the candlestick become blackened and charred, let it be broken by careless hands and still the joy of its creation cannot be taken from you, it is yours for the length of your life.”

Pretty deep stuff for old Stanley. It seems to me, that today, most “How To” books focus on the techniques (the actual “how to…”) and don’t involved themselves in the “Why” like this book tries to do – albeit a little strongly sometimes.

There is some very solid hand tool information. Topics covered include: a basic set of hand tools, tool chest (“…which is their respected domicile.”), bench, basic layout, hand sawing, cross-cutting vs. ripping etc., how to set and use a plane, truing up stock, boring with a brace and bit, mortising, how to bore and countersink screws, various work holding devices (including Stanley’s funky little Bench Bracket), the advantages of working from a detailed set of plans (available from Stanley…), finishing, sharpening, and several basic projects.

Throughout the book, illustrations are used to clarify or explain key points. Here is a classic:

One of the photographs from this book was also used by Stanley to advertise their project plans and chests of tools. Here it is, thanks to: http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/

If you are interested in hand tool basics and/or enjoy reading old books, I highly recommend this book. It comes up frequently on eBay, doesn't go for too much, is full of good information, amusing photos and, at least for me, great philosophy.

Sharing the Wealth - Part III

Well, the actual work on these projects was finished several weeks ago, but with middle school starting up again I have been very busy. Now that things have settled down to a dull roar, I can finish posting the great results of a thoroughly enjoyable pair of projects.

Last time, James had successfully opened his book stand. All that remained was to shape the top and the legs and clean up the newly exposed surfaces, which were still rough from the resawing. Here he is using a rasp to smooth a tricky spot, having already cut the arch of the legs with the turning saw and trued the curve with the spokeshaves.

Here is a better look at how we fastened the work to the bench. You gotta love handscrews!

And here is the set-up to hold the work steady while he planes the resawn surfaces.

Now you might be thinking, "Why didn't they do that before cutting the curved edges - wouldn't it have been much simpler?" Of course! But what you don't know, and couldn't be expected to know, is that I was only trying to make the lone, cast-off piece of mdf in my shop (part of a shelf I ripped out of the laundry closet) feel useful - its spirits being so low after it realized that it is not really wood in the natural sense of things at all, and its grain is fake to boot! So there you go, we meant to do that!

Jenny had a little further to go to complete her necklace holder and ended up coming over twice. Which is just another way of saying "Twice as much fun!" Here she is using the panel gauge to mark the panel, which she then planed down to its final width. Next she planed the rabbets with the Record 778 and cleaned them up with the Veritas shoulder plane.

After the panel was done, the frame and panel could be assembled and glued-up. This left the pegs, which she whittled from some doweling and the curved top. The wood for the top was made by jointing and gluing together the last two scraps of the doug fir from making the frame. Jenny then designed the curve, cut a cardboard template of the shape and traced it onto the stock. She bored the classic shaker peg hole with the brace and bit and then cut the curve with the turning saw. The curve she trued with the spokeshaves and the face of the piece was smoothed with the #3, which required another bit of creative holding.

After the frame was removed from the clamps, and cleaned-up with a plane, the top was glued on and it was finished!

Here are two last shots. One of both the book stand and the necklace holder. And another of Jenny proudly holding her first woodworking project! Yahoo!

I am already looking forward to James and Jenny's next visit - and James' brother Kerry said something about making a cribbage board! More fun in the shop!"

Sharing the Wealth - Part II

The fun continues!

Jenny uses a knife to mark the rails and stiles of her frame to final length...

...and then cuts them with the mitersaw.

She continues by flattening one face of her panel, marking the desired thickness off of this face with a marking gauge, and finally scrubbing down to the line with the Stanley #40.

Meanwhile, James has been working on "unfolding" his book stand.

He starts by sawing in to the hinges from both the top and the bottom. He knows when to stop by watching for sawdust falling from the hinge angles.

At this point, the only thing holding the stand closed are the long wood fibers between the hinge cuts. He releases these with a thin knife and...

...with a little encouragement, it opens! Always a amazing moment!

More to come...

Sharing the Wealth - Part I

James and Jenny decided they wanted to work on some projects and I was glad to provide the shop and assistance. We’ve been having a great time of it!

Our first meeting was dinner and design. James decided to make a folding book stand and Jenny is making a necklace holder based on a shaker “key board” design. After dinner, we went out into the shop to get a little hands-on time with the tools and techniques they will be using.

Last night we were back at it, and the actual projects took flight! It was great getting to spend shop time with younger people (not that I'm old or anything...) interested in learning to use handtools.

Here they are laying-out their pieces. James is using squares and a knife to mark his pine board for the chiseling and sawing that will free the two interlocking parts of his book stand. Jenny is using a marking gauge to get ready for re-thicknessing her Doug Fir with a scrub plane.

Here Jenny is scrubbing down almost to the gauge mark, and then she will finish up with a jack plane.

James is chopping and paring the hinge joints in his white pine.

And we ended up the night with Jenny doing some resawing – something she needed to do to get two parts out of one, and a small preview of James’ next step.

We had a great time, and I can’t wait until our next evening in the shop!

Mystery Wooden Object

Straight off I should say that I love a mystery. Puzzles and riddles too. I especially like them when they are connected to real objects. I’m not sure why. Maybe it is a quest for small truths. Or just intellectual curiosity. Maybe it is wanting to discover the secret clues to how each small part of the story fits together as the whole.

Or maybe – wait, I think I am doing it now – the mystery of the mysteries! Aaagh! Well, I guess I do fit my sometime nickname of “Mr. Theory”.

Anyway – here’s one I have been thinking about. If you like this kind of thing then enjoy – and feel free to speculate or poke holes in my theory. If you don’t – well, it’ll probably bore you to tears and you might want to stop now – but take a look anyway, because maybe you have some ideas about this…

Item: Mystery Wooden Thing

Known History: Not much. The woman at the store didn’t know anything about it, but said she bought it because she really liked how it looked and felt in her hand. I agreed and ponied up.

Front View: (Hand included for scale…)

Rear View:

Side View:

Detail View of Bracket:

Features I’ve noticed:

Faceted, rather than true curve on outside.
Thickness varies somewhat – not uniform.
Strange square insert in back – could be cut off tenon or just a patch.
Bracket opening at bottom (just feels like bottom…) shows wear pattern on inside.
Besides rosette, there are fainter decorative lines carved on the bracket.

Assumptions:

It had a purpose. Seems overly complex to just be a “doodle”.
It was handmade. Way too much character for anything else.
Something went through that bracket – a cord maybe? Functions like a pulley?

Ponders:

Why the square mortice? Wouldn’t boring a round mortice be faster? I can think of two reasons. First, if this was used as some sort of pulley it would need to resist pivoting back and forth from the friction of the cord being pulled through it. Square mortice and tenon clearly better here. Second, maybe he/she didn’t have an auger big enough, or even a brace. Could this thing be entirely carved with a knife?

One of a kind, or a lone wanderer from a set?

What type of wood is it?

Theory:

Okay, time to take a crack at it.

Here’s what I think: It is a pulley or bracket that was hung on the wall by way of the square mortice, now plugged by the tenon cut off when it was salvaged, and it’s use was somehow connected to window treatments. Handmade by the owner.

Theory Weaknesses:

Tons. Primarily, that the “cut off tenon” is very smooth and has similar surface quality to rest of piece – does not look like a recent salvage job…

Conclusion:

I don’t know what it is but I think it is a great example of how form might follow function, yet is not tied to it. I don’t know the function, but I really appreciate and love the form. Someone put a lot of time and energy into making this, and I love it for its form alone – I just wish I knew more about it. Any ideas?

Plane-On-A-Stick

Well, blogging continues to take a backseat to the ongoing bamboo floor project. I cannot believe how time consuming it is! My only consolation is that it sure looks great! But man-o-man, slow, slow, s-l-o-w! Glad I didn’t really know about this ahead of time – I never would have started…

One unexpected bright spot was actually getting to use my Stanley #70. This did not start out as a good thing – it’s amazing what a carpet and pad can hide. The plywood sub-floor was all over the map in terms of flat and smooth. I spent a lot more time fixing it than I anticipated – “I’ll just tear this carpet up and put down the bamboo. Simple.” Yeah, right. Anyway, some high spots were okay after screwing them down tight, but some were not. A few sheets of the plywood were thicker than the others (Apparent motto of the original construction guys: “Can’t see it from my house!”) and the abrupt edge had to be eased into a wide bevel that the flooring could cope with. Enter the #70 – “Plane-On-A-Stick!”

I had bought this years ago. Didn’t really need it, other than some vague idea it might be usable for Windsor chair seats. But it was in great shape at a good price, and it looked lonely and unloved. It has been sitting on the shelf in the shop waiting to get in the game, and now its day had come. And what a champ! Worked perfectly! Almost made the flooring job fun. Almost.

The plane end rotates, and can be used both pulling and pushing.

Cool! But after this job is done, it’s back to the shelf for a long while. The bamboo for the kitchen floor is on hold whilst I rebuild my depleted store of motivation and a team of chiropractors and physical therapists straighten my back.