wrenchguy
Well-known member
Does this box have dovetailed corners? Is this the correct term for this finely cut joinery? I believe it maybe 90 years old. comments please.
Woodworking 101--Tools and Tips
- Thread starter jimreed2160
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Autonomous
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- Dec 26, 2015
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Those are indeed box joints, cut that thin they are often called "Finger Joints".
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OP
jimreed2160
Well-known member
Wrench--Your box looks at least 100 years old. I would peg it from 1890-1920 just based on the typefaces used. These toolkits were popular high end gifts for boys. I received a similar kit in the 1950s only my box was steel. It had a saw, hammer, screwdriver, square and a small plane. Perhaps other tools, but that was a long time ago. I broke or lost the tools one at a time but I still have the plane and the screwdriver.
ScottsGT
Well-known member
I used the blackboard spray paint. I bought some 16ga steel since the wife wanted magnets to stick to it.
Old Bay can is supposed to be for bottle tops, but until I make the chalk tray, I think it is getting re-purposed!
Eraser? I didn't even think about a stinking eraser!
I guess I'll try the string trick.wrenchguy
Well-known member
box joint, thanks
jar944
Well-known member
I've posted these in this thread before but here is my current layout.
It feels like a rather ordinary garage shop to me, though I will concede most garage shops don't have a shaper (or 2 in my case) its the normal assortment other wise. 10" cabinet saw, 8" jointer, 15" planer, 3hp and 5hp shapers, undersized 10" bandsaw, a couple 12" mitersaws, hollow chisel mortiser, ect.. and various hand tools and handheld powertools
ez-duzit
Well-known member
44--neat shop.
jar944
Well-known member
Yeah I like it, though for how I'm using it I'd prefer 30-36 x 60. I built it @6'6" in length and the standard 48" width. It's just bigger then I need 90% of the time. Though for full sheet track saw rips and cabinet assembly it works really well.
jar944
Well-known member
Thanks
OP
jimreed2160
Well-known member
Jar--Wow.
As long as we are talking about kid tools, here is one from the 1930s. It is an American Boy 9ppi handsaw.
Made by Disston, it is dwarfed by the D-8. The hand grip has room for three of my chubby adult fingers.
Most of the AB saws I have seen are in good shape. I don't think the American Boy recipients were woodworkers. This one has a good etch.
I guess back in the day, kids were just small adults.
As long as we are talking about kid tools, here is one from the 1930s. It is an American Boy 9ppi handsaw.
Made by Disston, it is dwarfed by the D-8. The hand grip has room for three of my chubby adult fingers.
Most of the AB saws I have seen are in good shape. I don't think the American Boy recipients were woodworkers. This one has a good etch.
I guess back in the day, kids were just small adults.
OP
jimreed2160
Well-known member
Bedrock rehab finished
After a few coats of shellac, the tote is ready for work. This plane is done.
Time to release this one back into the wild.
After a few coats of shellac, the tote is ready for work. This plane is done.
Time to release this one back into the wild.
jar you're in my club! woodshop with a dartboard waiting to be hung.
what do you want to bet yours is up before mine is. because I am **** and my floor is uneven where it's going, I need to dig out my plumb bob, even while I have my string level, to set the toe mark. haven't decided if I'm going to put just a backer board on the block wall or if it's getting a cabinet with doors.
Either way, it's a race now. good luck.
what do you want to bet yours is up before mine is. because I am **** and my floor is uneven where it's going, I need to dig out my plumb bob, even while I have my string level, to set the toe mark. haven't decided if I'm going to put just a backer board on the block wall or if it's getting a cabinet with doors.
Either way, it's a race now. good luck.
OP
jimreed2160
Well-known member
Sometimes the simple tools save the day. Like this morning when I wanted to hang a tool. Pretty simple job--hang up the rawhide mallet so I could bang tops back on paint cans. But then my shop is a little tight and there was not enough clearance to drill a few pilot holes. Even with holes, there was no clearance to insert the screws with the drill.
So out comes the awl. There is just enough clearance for the awl and my hand.
And a followup with a stubby screwdriver.
But it all ended well.
Pretty tight quarters but just right for the mallet.
And harmony once more reigned in the shop...
So out comes the awl. There is just enough clearance for the awl and my hand.
And a followup with a stubby screwdriver.
But it all ended well.
Pretty tight quarters but just right for the mallet.
And harmony once more reigned in the shop...
The total station isn't that wide, but I don't like it for shop work. Typically in the shop I'm doing more cabinet building or hobby woodworking and don't like the miter saw greeting in the way of the table saw, plus at the house I only have a single car garage that limits workbench space.
lostmymanual
Well-known member
French Cleat organization for common use tools.
Like the title says, some French Cleat organization to get the **** off my horizontal work surfaces but still keep it handy. Started with some 1x4 from the lumber yard and ripped 45 degrees on the end with my portable table saw.
Cut a couple blocks of 2x4 to use as gauges to hang this perpendicular then tacked in place with a finish nailer. After all were tacked up, I followed them with screws into the studs and then painted them Bear high build white. In retrospect, I should have painted them BEFORE hanging them and saved myself a ton of work. I originally planned on leaving them unfinished but painting them just makes them disappear from plain sight AND I had the leftover paint handy from making deck furniture for the Wife.
If you're not familiar with French Cleat, they are quite simple and been around since the dark ages. They're how a lot of cabinet makers hung and sometimes still hang cabinets and such. Here are a couple self-explanitory pics starting with my track saw holder I threw together with scrap wood, screws and glue:
Easy peasy.
Once I had the wall cleats up, I started bangin' out fixtures left and right. I just took a step back and thought about what would hang best. For some, it was notching little things here and there and putting a cleat on them. For others like my random orbital palm sander and even the routers themselves, I routered out relieved bases for them to sit in as such.
For sander:
For router *I ended up remaking this one due to the split I found during routering. It completely tore out when I plowed through the center with a 2" Forstner like a bull in a china shop to allow me to keep the bits in the router during storage. I generally leave a flush cutting bit or a bull nose bit on this little guy, which is my favorite router thus far.
Started hanging stuff up. The more I hang up, the cleaner the bench tops got and quicker things went.
Then I got to a point where I was getting where I REALLY wanted; which was the good old cordless tool station we see all over the internet. I looked at some internet examples then made one better suited for my wants and needs.
Screwed and glued back bottom and sides from 23/32" sanded face ply.
First time ever using pocket hole technique with an actual jig from the old Hazard Frought.
Added a fixed shelf on bottom for support.
Added another floating shelf using 1/4" shelf pegs and a jig I made. I'm not a Ridgid Fan boy, BTW. I just happen to have a Home Depot in town so that's how the cards fell when I was comparison shopping. Then I was married to them and their batteries. I have very few complaints. I finally killed an impact after 9 years of feeding it marathon projects and abuse only to buy another and then realize I could fix the anvil inside the first one. Now I have (2) drivers. One anvil type and 1 hydraulic type. I like them both. Anyway, here's the product.
I paid a whopping $60 for that top radio since it was a display demo. I use it for listening to the local stations during thunderstorms while plugging away in the shop during tornado and hail season. Other than that, it collects dust while I listen to my earphones under ear-pro.
Now I have quick access to stuff that I can move around and re-situate as projects and I evolve. I find this superior to peg board for heavier tools. I still use plenty of peg board around the shop for flat tools like Japan saws, coping saws, clamps, squares, etc and consumables like saw blades, tie straps, grinding wheels, tape, etc.
The idea is to leave enough room to move things around as needed, so there's naturally some holes here and there on the wall.
You can use heavier duty material for the French Cleats but I wondered why I'd spend money on kryptonite level materials when the fixtures themselves were going to end up being made up with scrap.
Lots of fun to make these little fixtures when I find I'm hauling the same tool out of storage frequently.
Like the title says, some French Cleat organization to get the **** off my horizontal work surfaces but still keep it handy. Started with some 1x4 from the lumber yard and ripped 45 degrees on the end with my portable table saw.
Cut a couple blocks of 2x4 to use as gauges to hang this perpendicular then tacked in place with a finish nailer. After all were tacked up, I followed them with screws into the studs and then painted them Bear high build white. In retrospect, I should have painted them BEFORE hanging them and saved myself a ton of work. I originally planned on leaving them unfinished but painting them just makes them disappear from plain sight AND I had the leftover paint handy from making deck furniture for the Wife.
If you're not familiar with French Cleat, they are quite simple and been around since the dark ages. They're how a lot of cabinet makers hung and sometimes still hang cabinets and such. Here are a couple self-explanitory pics starting with my track saw holder I threw together with scrap wood, screws and glue:
Easy peasy.
Once I had the wall cleats up, I started bangin' out fixtures left and right. I just took a step back and thought about what would hang best. For some, it was notching little things here and there and putting a cleat on them. For others like my random orbital palm sander and even the routers themselves, I routered out relieved bases for them to sit in as such.
For sander:
For router *I ended up remaking this one due to the split I found during routering. It completely tore out when I plowed through the center with a 2" Forstner like a bull in a china shop to allow me to keep the bits in the router during storage. I generally leave a flush cutting bit or a bull nose bit on this little guy, which is my favorite router thus far.
Started hanging stuff up. The more I hang up, the cleaner the bench tops got and quicker things went.
Then I got to a point where I was getting where I REALLY wanted; which was the good old cordless tool station we see all over the internet. I looked at some internet examples then made one better suited for my wants and needs.
Screwed and glued back bottom and sides from 23/32" sanded face ply.
First time ever using pocket hole technique with an actual jig from the old Hazard Frought.
Added a fixed shelf on bottom for support.
Added another floating shelf using 1/4" shelf pegs and a jig I made. I'm not a Ridgid Fan boy, BTW. I just happen to have a Home Depot in town so that's how the cards fell when I was comparison shopping. Then I was married to them and their batteries. I have very few complaints. I finally killed an impact after 9 years of feeding it marathon projects and abuse only to buy another and then realize I could fix the anvil inside the first one. Now I have (2) drivers. One anvil type and 1 hydraulic type. I like them both. Anyway, here's the product.
I paid a whopping $60 for that top radio since it was a display demo. I use it for listening to the local stations during thunderstorms while plugging away in the shop during tornado and hail season. Other than that, it collects dust while I listen to my earphones under ear-pro.
Now I have quick access to stuff that I can move around and re-situate as projects and I evolve. I find this superior to peg board for heavier tools. I still use plenty of peg board around the shop for flat tools like Japan saws, coping saws, clamps, squares, etc and consumables like saw blades, tie straps, grinding wheels, tape, etc.
The idea is to leave enough room to move things around as needed, so there's naturally some holes here and there on the wall.
You can use heavier duty material for the French Cleats but I wondered why I'd spend money on kryptonite level materials when the fixtures themselves were going to end up being made up with scrap.
Lots of fun to make these little fixtures when I find I'm hauling the same tool out of storage frequently.
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OP
jimreed2160
Well-known member
Lost--Outstanding idea! And thanks for bringing up French cleats. I have been putting off a headboard FC project and your post is a good reminder. I like how you were able to use that wall space and yet get your tools out in the open. I am sure you just set some heads spinning. 
Craptain
Well-known member
Modesty. Most of us are at least a couple of steps behind. Table rather than cabinet saw, 6" rather than 8" jointer, etc. And SPACE.
Great shop jar.
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lostmymanual
Well-known member
Lost--Outstanding idea! And thanks for bringing up French cleats. I have been putting off a headboard FC project and your post is a good reminder. I like how you were able to use that wall space and yet get your tools out in the open. I am sure you just set some heads spinning.
Thanks! I enjoy it for those exact reasons. I'm rethinking the pegboard with 1x1" frames I hung all around the perimeter of the shop. I'll probably end up replacing at least 1 or 2 pegboard panels with french cleats for tools. But it still has its upsides too, so some of it will stay. I'm probably going to start hanging FC around my reloading room and maybe even garage for heavier stuff.
It's not shown in there but I took an old Crapsman portable saw with a junker fence and hung it up on my back gable with a 20" section of cleat. I have really tall ceilings so its fully out of the way but still around for re purposing. It's in the "I'll get around to it someday" phase of becoming a shaper table. Or maybe I'll just buy a shaper when the time comes. Dunno yet.
I've got a lot of projects I've been procrastinating on (like finishing the exposed ceiling in that shop for starters now that the Wife's fence is a done deal). I plan on having a productive Summer.
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jimreed2160
Well-known member
Way back during the first ice age, the old plane boneyard was organized in primitive mounds. During the knuckledragging epoc, these mounds were sorted into beverage flats. The beverage flat storage is really just stratified mounds which are very inefficient. Now that I have drawers in the shop, I am sorting the beverage flat storage items and moving them into more sophisticated drawer storage. Today I uncovered a mound of knobs.
But now they are sorted and stored in drawers. Whew! One organization task down--several dozen remaining. When will this be over???!!?
But now they are sorted and stored in drawers. Whew! One organization task down--several dozen remaining. When will this be over???!!?
Craptain
Well-known member
Jim, I may never turn another knob again. I think I know where to find one. LOL
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Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
Re: French Cleat organization for common use tools.
That Grizzly track saw any good?
Like the title says, some French Cleat organization to get the **** off my horizontal work surfaces but still keep it handy. Started with some 1x4 from the lumber yard and ripped 45 degrees on the end with my portable table saw.
Cut a couple blocks of 2x4 to use as gauges to hang this perpendicular then tacked in place with a finish nailer. After all were tacked up, I followed them with screws into the studs and then painted them Bear high build white. In retrospect, I should have painted them BEFORE hanging them and saved myself a ton of work. I originally planned on leaving them unfinished but painting them just makes them disappear from plain sight AND I had the leftover paint handy from making deck furniture for the Wife.
If you're not familiar with French Cleat, they are quite simple and been around since the dark ages. They're how a lot of cabinet makers hung and sometimes still hang cabinets and such. Here are a couple self-explanitory pics starting with my track saw holder I threw together with scrap wood, screws and glue:
Easy peasy.
Once I had the wall cleats up, I started bangin' out fixtures left and right. I just took a step back and thought about what would hang best. For some, it was notching little things here and there and putting a cleat on them. For others like my random orbital palm sander and even the routers themselves, I routered out relieved bases for them to sit in as such.
For sander:
For router *I ended up remaking this one due to the split I found during routering. It completely tore out when I plowed through the center with a 2" Forstner like a bull in a china shop to allow me to keep the bits in the router during storage. I generally leave a flush cutting bit or a bull nose bit on this little guy, which is my favorite router thus far.
Started hanging stuff up. The more I hang up, the cleaner the bench tops got and quicker things went.
Then I got to a point where I was getting where I REALLY wanted; which was the good old cordless tool station we see all over the internet. I looked at some internet examples then made one better suited for my wants and needs.
Screwed and glued back bottom and sides from 23/32" sanded face ply.
First time ever using pocket hole technique with an actual jig from the old Hazard Frought.
Added a fixed shelf on bottom for support.
Added another floating shelf using 1/4" shelf pegs and a jig I made. I'm not a Ridgid Fan boy, BTW. I just happen to have a Home Depot in town so that's how the cards fell when I was comparison shopping. Then I was married to them and their batteries. I have very few complaints. I finally killed an impact after 9 years of feeding it marathon projects and abuse only to buy another and then realize I could fix the anvil inside the first one. Now I have (2) drivers. One anvil type and 1 hydraulic type. I like them both. Anyway, here's the product.
I paid a whopping $60 for that top radio since it was a display demo. I use it for listening to the local stations during thunderstorms while plugging away in the shop during tornado and hail season. Other than that, it collects dust while I listen to my earphones under ear-pro.
Now I have quick access to stuff that I can move around and re-situate as projects and I evolve. I find this superior to peg board for heavier tools. I still use plenty of peg board around the shop for flat tools like Japan saws, coping saws, clamps, squares, etc and consumables like saw blades, tie straps, grinding wheels, tape, etc.
The idea is to leave enough room to move things around as needed, so there's naturally some holes here and there on the wall.
You can use heavier duty material for the French Cleats but I wondered why I'd spend money on kryptonite level materials when the fixtures themselves were going to end up being made up with scrap.
Lots of fun to make these little fixtures when I find I'm hauling the same tool out of storage frequently.
That Grizzly track saw any good?
86turbodsl
Well-known member
Good job on the French cleats. Clean.
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Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
jar944
Well-known member
HA! I didn't even notice it when taking the picture.
You might win. I think that board had been through two different house moves and still never made it on a wall.
jar944
Well-known member
Thanks. I learned on a 1950s Era craftsman contractor saw as a kid in my grandfathers wood shop. I also had the misfortune to spend some time with a 1990s craftsman direct drive aluminum saw. I knew I would eventually regret buying something similar. I kept that same philosophy buying most of the toold. It also didnt hurt that my larger tools have been Craigslist deals.
I do enjoy working with wood now, though I only initally acquired my tools as a way to remodel my kitchen. I started remodeling my kitchen in 2012 (I think) and "finished" the rest of the house in spring of 2016 right before i sold it. Almost all of my woodworking tools were purchased in that time frame, and really just for working on the house.
I have another thread with the build pics but here is the before and after
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jimreed2160
Well-known member
Jar--That kitchen job is a WOWSER! Great work. Thanks for the pictures.
lostmymanual
Well-known member
Re: French Cleat organization for common use tools.
Not bad at all. I bought a Freud blade for it immediately based on reviews but haven't replaced the original yet.
I'm happy I chose it over going all in on the Festool bandwagon and that I put my money elsewhere. That saw freed up the cash set aside for a decent used bandsaw. The track saw has eliminated my need and any desire for a cabinet saw. I can easily tackle cabinet construction with the tracksaw and a shaper while freeing up the dead space a cabinet saw would have consumed for projects and tools I'd rather have. Like a Lathe and a Mill for metal fab, engine repair and gunsmithing. I'd guesstimate that I've fed this saw about 1600ft of cutting in a month so I don't have a ton of experience with it yet outside of sheet goods and edge cutting some deck and fencing planks level (my first project with it). I picked it up last month at Grizzly in Springfield, Mo on the way through. If it dies, I'll replace the tool and move on. So far, so good.
Track Joinery could have been improved. The outside edge tear out could be improved a bit with a simple plate mod if I really cared enough to do it. But even the outside edge is a better cut than circular saw or a table saw without a fine blade and a zero clearance plate made for said blade. I might make the plate mod for the tracksaw after I replace the original blade if I feel like it. Most of the time I am routering the finished edges anyway so it's kind of a wash.
Not bad at all. I bought a Freud blade for it immediately based on reviews but haven't replaced the original yet.
I'm happy I chose it over going all in on the Festool bandwagon and that I put my money elsewhere. That saw freed up the cash set aside for a decent used bandsaw. The track saw has eliminated my need and any desire for a cabinet saw. I can easily tackle cabinet construction with the tracksaw and a shaper while freeing up the dead space a cabinet saw would have consumed for projects and tools I'd rather have. Like a Lathe and a Mill for metal fab, engine repair and gunsmithing. I'd guesstimate that I've fed this saw about 1600ft of cutting in a month so I don't have a ton of experience with it yet outside of sheet goods and edge cutting some deck and fencing planks level (my first project with it). I picked it up last month at Grizzly in Springfield, Mo on the way through. If it dies, I'll replace the tool and move on. So far, so good.
Track Joinery could have been improved. The outside edge tear out could be improved a bit with a simple plate mod if I really cared enough to do it. But even the outside edge is a better cut than circular saw or a table saw without a fine blade and a zero clearance plate made for said blade. I might make the plate mod for the tracksaw after I replace the original blade if I feel like it. Most of the time I am routering the finished edges anyway so it's kind of a wash.
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ScottsGT
Well-known member
Way back during the first ice age, the old plane boneyard was organized in primitive mounds. During the knuckledragging epoc, these mounds were sorted into beverage flats. The beverage flat storage is really just stratified mounds which are very inefficient. Now that I have drawers in the shop, I am sorting the beverage flat storage items and moving them into more sophisticated drawer storage. Today I uncovered a mound of knobs.
But now they are sorted and stored in drawers. Whew! One organization task down--several dozen remaining. When will this be over???!!?
I can see it now. One day after you are dead and gone, relatives will be cleaning and sorting and liquidating your estate and they will open this drawer and say "What the hell......"
lostmymanual
Well-known member
Great idea. This has turned into a monster thread so I'm going through it a little backwards. I have a whiteboard in our garage I use to track maintenance. Just various oil, greasing and tire data. In fact, I need a larger one so I don't have to write tiny. I had an app for that but it died with the phone and I don't trust doing it again. The velcro the whiteboard came with for the eraser and marker isn't doing the job. I'm always finding them on the floor; sometimes flattened.
Locker537
Well-known member
I'm looking to purchase my first hand plane. I think the answer is to find a vintage Stanley Bedrock. Anyone have other suggestions? Any good places to hunt for them other than the obvious craigslist, ebay, etc?
ADNICK
Well-known member
Think Jim is selling that fine #5 he just restored....
madison069
Well-known member
Looking at everyone's shop and I just keep getting more ideas for my garage!
I wish I could spend more time on the garage to get it organized but it's just not at the top of the priority list at this time.
I wish I could spend more time on the garage to get it organized but it's just not at the top of the priority list at this time.
OP
jimreed2160
Well-known member
I can see it now. One day after you are dead and gone, relatives will be cleaning and sorting and liquidating your estate and they will open this drawer and say "What the hell......"
Ah, hm, er -- that may happen more than just once.
OP
jimreed2160
Well-known member
My shop looked like an episode of the Hoarders show when I started. It is still a work in process but has become a place where I can be productive. Before I had the luxury of time, I would try to make time for 15-30 minute clean up sessions. It always surprised me at how the brief sessions added up and kept me on track.
Finally starting to finish up the dresser I started making almost a year ago. Stained with a walnut finish then 3 coats of Minwax Wipe-On satin then 2 coats of Minwax Wipe-On glossy. Bout a week or so of just satin/poly finish.
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jimreed2160
Well-known member
Lookin good, Zach. Your wife must be a really patient woman.
Hey, when a man promises to do something, he doesn't need reminding every six months.
Teenager with old tools
Well-known member
TEEN: great looking clock and pen. tell us what you did to make the finish on your clock if you don't mind? i like all the lines in your sig line and guessing you like COUNTRY MUSIC just a tad.
cheers
ALL: here's to making some of us WOOD BUTCHERERS into WOODWORKERS.
this is what I put on the clock and then let it cure in an old tent outside. And yeah I guess you could say I like country music. My senior quote was don't take life too serious you'll never get out alive anyhow
Thanks jimreed pens I learned how to do on my own my stepdad taught me how to make a clock out of a slab of firewood I picked up on the side of the road.
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