Woodworking 101--Tools and Tips

[Toolfool]

I like watching a good guy have fun. Good job Jim.

 

[CRSINMICH]

SOLID SQUARES​

These squares are used by machinists and tool makers. As you can see, they're milled like a try-square but are much thicker and/or wider. They are very handy for glue-ups.

 

[jimreed2160]

Moulding continued

So we are getting close to the end. Here is where we are so far.

All that is left is to finish removing waste on the underside and then rip it from the board.

I am having fun with the #46.

But now it is time to get serious.

I will use the shoulder plane to clean out the bottom. It keeps getting clogged and I have to clean it after each pass.

But it doesn't take too long to fill up the benchtop with shavings.

Here is the floor. You can barely see the guide groove tracks.

A few more passes and they are gone. Here is the profile.

Whew!

The next job is to rip the moulding from the raw stock.

 

[Knyte Tyne]

Fascinating as always...!!!

 

[mefast]

Mefast--Jump in--the water is just fine. Your list is a good start and those planes should see lots of use in your shop. I am partial to Stanley planes made up until WWII as they seem to have the most quality. Planes with broken totes seem to be the best bargains. And fixing wood should not be hard for a woodworker. Most of my user planes have repaired totes.

Good luck in your quest for some planes.

Well, I finally got around to jumping in today. Went to the Hamilton Wood Show (it's on tomorrow too) and picked up a set of planes. Here's the class photo:

View media item 68442
They are all Stanleys. No. 4, 5, 7, 9-1/2, and 93. Plus a sharpening stone, a square and a gouge chisel for my friend that gave me the workbench that like to do turning. Looking forward to putting this group to work. The No. 7 needs a new tote and they all need cleaned up a bit. After buying, I realized that Lee Valley offers plans to repair totes here: http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=63262

 

[jimreed2160]

Knyte--Thanks for the kind words.

Mefast--That is a nice starter set. Good luck on repairing your tote. All it needs is a horn. Walnut and rosewood go good together. I think many #7s and #8s lose their horns from falls. I have used both horn and horn-less planes and prefer the horns. They seem to keep my hand in place when I am making a bold stroke.

 

[cheechi]

this one?

Here it is.

I've considered the one from HF a few times. This doesn't cost much more, reviews are kinder to it in regards to accuracy. If it's the one you got, thanks for the suggestion, if not can you share the brand & model?

 

[jar944]

Here it is.

Nice. I actually picked the same back band profile the other day to build up the existing casing in my house. It makes me really happy for modern technology since I couldn't imaging making 1500 lineal feet with hand planes. As it is, running 23 feet/min through my bigger shaper would take over an hour of continuous feeding.

 

[CRSINMICH]

mefast: That was a great starter set you got. You should be able to do just about anything you want to do with them. If you don't already know how to rehab and fine tune them then ask somebody who does or watch some You Tube videos. (Warning: Watch a few of them. Some of those guys don't really know what they're doing. I recommend Paul Sellers.)

Another reason that I responded to your post is to show you a plane that I just bought. I bought it for three reasons: First, it was CHEAP. Second, it's a 5 1/2 which don't come up all that often. Third, it's a brand I've never heard of but the components looked good. The brand is NATIONAL and after I did a fair bit of digging I found out that it was made in Hamilton, Ont. Have you heard of National Machinery and Supply?

I also recently bought a Shurley - Dietrich backsaw from Galt, Ontario but that's another story.

 

[ez-duzit]

The decimal dial calipers are much more accurate and easier to use. Mine are all decimal. Decimals are also easier to add and subtract.

 

[mefast]

mefast: That was a great starter set you got. You should be able to do just about anything you want to do with them. If you don't already know how to rehab and fine tune them then ask somebody who does or watch some You Tube videos. (Warning: Watch a few of them. Some of those guys don't really know what they're doing. I recommend Paul Sellers.)

Another reason that I responded to your post is to show you a plane that I just bought. I bought it for three reasons: First, it was CHEAP. Second, it's a 5 1/2 which don't come up all that often. Third, it's a brand I've never heard of but the components looked good. The brand is NATIONAL and after I did a fair bit of digging I found out that it was made in Hamilton, Ont. Have you heard of National Machinery and Supply?

I also recently bought a Shurley - Dietrich backsaw from Galt, Ontario but that's another story.

CRSINMICH, thank you for the tips and recommended Youtube videos. I'll be sure to check them out.

As for your plane, I'm not familiar with with National Machinery, although I'm not very good with brands. I know the big ones, but not very many of the smaller tool supply companies. If it came from Hamilton (Ontario's steel city and often called 'The Hammer'), I'm willing to bet they used good materials in it.

Jim, thank you for the tips as well. The new tote has been added to my list of projects (as if I needed more ). In the interim, I'll use the No. 7 without a horn. The type of wood to use was my biggest question and you answered that without me even asking. Thanks!

I'm looking forward to see your finished moulding.

 

[jimreed2160]

Cheechi--That is the one. I like it because it reads in inch fractions and most of my ww is in inches and inch fractions. I also use it for blademaking and measuring steel--again, in inch fractions. It is handy for sizing SAE screws. Sorry, Ez, perhaps you are a decimal guy. That's OK and works great for you. But my woodworking world is all in inch fractions.

Jar--I really like this moulding profile, especially after having fondled it for a week now. Good luck on your house restoration and I too am glad you have a shaper.

CRS--I have never seen a National plane, but it looks like a nice Bailey plane. True signs of quality are the casting and the amount of backlash in the blade adjuster. The casting looks good in the picture. Time to sharpen the blade and see what it can do.

 

[jar944]

My wife bought three wooden spatulas from William$ $onoma... I figured I could do cheaper

Original $30 spatula






some figure












the new "set" next to the $100 set going back

 

[CRSINMICH]

KERFING PLANE​

Here's a project that has kept me in the shop for some time. It's a Kerfing Plane. It's meant to cut a kerf at a set distance from both edges and both ends of a thick piece of lumber. The kerf acts as a guide for a frame saw when doing hand re-sawing.

If you'd like more information about this type of plane and it's uses, do a You Tube search for Tom Fidgen and Unplugged Workshop.

The body of my plane was made from a piece of yet-to-be-identified wood. I bought about 15 board feet of it for $5 at an estate sale. It sure is purty. The fence is some left over walnut. The knob and tote are custom fit to my hands.

EDIT: This was made entirely with hand tools. The only exceptions are the holes I bored on a drill press. Even then I used a brace and bit for some of them.

 

[CRSINMICH]

jim: I had never heard of National before either but like I said, the components looked good. The iron has a name stamped into it that I think I remember from somewhere [STANLEY]. I think Stanley had Canadian operations but I'm not certain about that. I haven't torn it down yet. I'll let you know what I find.

jar944: I have used a spatula like the one you made (the right handed one) for just about everything I've cooked for the last few years. The tip has become charred and fire hardened. It is incredibly handy. Good job on those. I have a few scraps of beech left over. I think I'll give it a try. You should make bunch of them. Christmas is coming.

 

[ez-duzit]

CR--the the kerfing plane's pretty cool.

 

[jimreed2160]

Jar--That's a great "tree to table" tutorial. Good project.

CRS--Your plane looks like a stair saw with an advanced degree. Also looks handy.

 

[cheechi]

The decimal dial calipers are much more accurate and easier to use. Mine are all decimal. Decimals are also easier to add and subtract.

True. I have two Mitutoyo digital calipers for this purpose. While I like dial gages, I'm definitely in the digital calipers camp over decimal dial calipers. I think I have one Starrett but I'd lose a bet if you made me go find it.

Cheechi--That is the one. ...It is handy for sizing SAE screws.

Thanks. This is the purpose; when you need 'a bit more than 1/8" ' type of measurements rather than 0.3275" is easier with a dial than a tape measure for me. Usually if it's small enough I take a square and transfer the measurement rather than trying to read a 1/16 or guess how close to half a 1/16 something might be on a yellow tape measure.

 

[ez-duzit]

Especially for sizing screws the decimal dial caliper is superior, as screw bodies and thread sizes (below 1/4") are normally in decimals. Also it is easier to convert when measuring metric fasteners.

 

[CRSINMICH]

jim: I was going to build a stair saw a few years back just for the heck of it. When I saw Tom Fidgen using his kerfing saw I changed my mind and went for it. Tom thought he invented kerfing planes but I think he found out that they were used a long time ago. The new version, with a moveable fence, could be used to cut dados. Cut two kerfs 3/4 inches apart and then chisel and/or router plane out the middle section. It could also be used to cut the shoulder on a rabbet.

 

[trainer]

I made the wife a shoe rack yesterday. Nothing complicated, but I had a bit of fun with the scrollsaw.

 

[jar944]

Built some cabinet bases this morning.

 

[jimreed2160]

CRS--Yes. The ww of yore did not have time to fiddle with a fence--they were feeding a family. Just slap a batten down and saw away. It is still the best way to do a dado and avoid tearout.

Trainer--Very nice shoe rack. I made the mistake of showing it to the queen. Hope she forgets or it goes on the projects list.

Jar--Impressive cabinets but more impressive is your clean and neat shop. It looks like a nice place to hang out.

 

[Blue Frog]

JAR944,

Give us a few more pics of the wall-hung tool cabinet please.

Blue Frog

 

[jar944]

Jar--Impressive cabinets but more impressive is your clean and neat shop. It looks like a nice place to hang out.

Thanks. I'd like to say it's always like that, but I rearranged and cleaned it up yesterday to make building these cabinets easier. It's usually not anywhere near that clean.

 

[jar944]

JAR944,

Give us a few more pics of the wall-hung tool cabinet please.

Blue Frog

Sure, I built it sort of as a prototype to be eventually made out of decent wood with better overall joinery. I just havent got around to that.

Here are some pics as I was building it. It was made to specifically fit a open section of wall in my old garage

It started as a generic box.



To which I added some hand tool holders.


And it sat that way for months. Until I added some Center dividers and drawers to fit.


Then more drawers and dividers were added.






I didn't bother to take any more pics of the construction, but the center horizontal dividers are removable and slide into dados and hold my shaper cutters.


I ended up redoing the left door and adding a double hinged chisel rack.
[/QUOTE]

 

[jimreed2160]

Jar--Great job on the cabinet. I like the evolution. Sometimes my shop furniture evolves the same way over time. Build a little, use it, and then build some more. It is a great way to get something that really works for you and your processes.

 

[ez-duzit]

Jar--nice shop!

 

[cheechi]

those yellow handled chisels are those the Stanley Fatmax ones made in England? It looks like they've since been replaced but how are they?

 

[jimreed2160]

Cupboard moulding continued

We last saw the moulding as it awaited ripping from the raw stock. I could say that I sharpened a vintage rip saw and then spent an hour on the bench. BUT I took an easier method and used the table saw. Here is the liberated moulding.

Some may argue that the TS makes a more accurate cut but what it really does is save time. The cabinetmaker of yore would rip proud of his scribe line and then clean up the cut with a jointer plane. Which is my next step also.

I made two or three passes down the board. That process removed the saw marks and also made it flat. Here it is sitting with flat side on the benchtop.

And here is the moneyshot of our finished stick.

Here is a mock up of how it will be used. I plan to **** joint the moulding to the top piece using dowels. The lip will slightly overhang on the front edge and cover the transition between the cabinet and the top.

Next step is to stain and finish the top.

 

[CRSINMICH]

jim: Making moulding by hand is very ambitious. It's not hard to see why there were so many different moulding planes in the past and why they are not used much today. It sure does add a fine touch though. Very nice job and very informative tutorial.

"Using a hand saw, God created the world in 6 days. With a table saw, it would have taken 3 days - and the coastlines would be straighter."

 

[jimreed2160]

CRS--Thanks for watching. It was fun, but then this was a small stick. Making them by hand just takes time. I like to use handplane made mouldings on my projects because it really takes the project to the next level. It is a good way to add hand craftsmanship. Case goods without flat panels just look sloppy, so modern tools like planers do have their place. But mouldings are a decorative touch where imperfections are much easier to forgive.

 

[jimreed2160]

Saw till

If you have a bunch of saws, you need a place to store them. Well that fits me because I have dozens of vintage handsaws. Most are in the boneyard awaiting restoration. But a few dozen have escaped and run the refurb gauntlet. At that point they will be searching for a saw home, properly called a "till". I cobbled one up quickly one afternoon and the saws really appreciated it.

Here are the particulars--it is 23 inches wide and 11 inches deep. The inside ledge is made of 3/4" plywood and is let in at about a 30 degree angle. The saw kerfs for storage are 1 1/4" apart.

The holding ledge is short and the back is open. This till holds 17 saws. Odd number because the till was built for a bench edge that was only 24" deep.

If you need a till, this one is easy to whip up.

 

[txvwnut]

I was so waiting for a picture of a hand held rip saw doing its job, but then you went modern on us.

That piece turned out great. Thanks for giving us lazy ww's(okay maybe just me) the insight on how it was done before modern powered tools.

 

[jimreed2160]

Disston panel saw

I liberated this saw from the saw till and moved it to a more prominent spot. It is a good user and I need to keep it close by.

This is an early Disston panel saw, so called because it is only 18" long. I think it is a D-8 but the etch is too faint to confirm. The dome nut medallion says it is from the 1896-1917 era. My guess is that it is from the earlier part and was special ordered.

The 1918 catalog did not mention availability of 12 pt saws, so that is why I guessed special order.

I think it belonged to Frank. He carved his initial in it.

As you can see, the etching was deep but it is lost to time.

This is a nice little saw and it cuts straight. I moved it to a prominent location.

Next move is to touch up the teeth. They are pretty sharp already but a little file work will make them better.

 

[ez-duzit]

It is one thing to accumulate a large collection of old tools, but there is a practical side when you need to get the job done in an efficient manner, as is the case whenever you are charging a client for your time. And sometimes handsaws are the best choice, for example when cutting a compound angle to a marked line, or when making hand-cut dovetails.

In these cases there is a right tool for the job. For my purposes, mostly building yacht quality cabinets, a very small set of Japanese saws (that fit into a tiny space in one shallow drawer) has more capability than a whole rack of traditional handsaws.

For cutting 2x4's a Skilsaw is usually a better choice. Though there will be times when a handsaw might be preferred.

 

[madison069]

Nice saw storage, I can't pass up Disston saws so I got a lot of them sitting in the corner on a peg hook. Been thinking of how to better store them and also I need to go through them and restore the saws. So I been trying to decide how i want to go about acquiring a saw vise. I haven't found one in the wilds at estate sales or garage sales but I just keep looking for one.

 

[CRSINMICH]

jim: Do you have any saws by those saw making brothers, Warran & Ted Superior? I find those all the time and they're usually cheap.

Madison: You should try making your own saw vise. All it takes is a couple of scraps of plywood, some 1 by, and a piano hinge. Look for a You Tube video. I have an actual saw vise but I only use my home made vise. It took less than an hour to build. I should tell you that I have to clamp mine in my woodworker's vise but there are simple plans for stand-alone saw vises.

 

[madison069]

jim: Do you have any saws by those saw making brothers, Warran & Ted Superior?

Madison: You should try making your own saw vise. All it takes is a couple of scraps of plywood, some 1 by, and a piano hinge. Look for a You Tube video. I have an actual saw vise but I only use my home made vise. It took less than an hour to build. I should tell you that I have to clamp mine in my woodworker's vise but there are simple plans for stand-alone saw vises.

That was something else I thought about doing also! Seems a lot of people don't like the older ones due to them allowing the saw to vibrate while filing.

Once I get set up at the new house I think I'll start working on a saw vise this summer.

 

[jar944]

Jar--nice shop!

Thanks

those yellow handled chisels are those the Stanley Fatmax ones made in England? It looks like they've since been replaced but how are they?

Actually they are Buck brothers us made offering, and are relatively decent. They are actually behind the narex in the latest version of my cabinet