Woodworking 101--Tools and Tips

[jimreed2160]

Update

Photobucket is still working on the hairball that started the weekend. Even with the high fee structure they still cannot provide a reliable service. At least I got to post some pictures on the auction site--they provide reliable service and host their own photos. And so it goes.

I finished the drawer slide repair on the carcass. Somehow the piece that I glued in place drifted and required some plane work. Fortunately I have a few planes and took care of it. BUT it was like working on a car. I really enjoy planning on a bench but sitting on a pail and digging inside is not much fun.

I also started work on the bad drawer and made a discovery. During the last drawer repair (maybe in the 1960s), someone turned the side of the drawer upside down. It was clever but left me with a drawer side to repair which did not have good reference points. But I figured it all out and everything is in the clamps.

If PB ever lives again, I will post some pictures of my weekend shop fun.

 

[ez-duzit]

Try postimage. It's free and very simple to use.

 

[Shiftless]

Here are a few woodworking vise related questions...

I recently picked up this no name 10 inch woodworking vise for almost nothing because of this crack. Is it a fatal flaw for the average hobbyist type user? After a piece of wood is screwed in wouldn't that help keep the casting in one piece?

Would any of you put a steel strap reinforcement across the screw holes before attaching a wooden jaw face?

Would epoxy paste do any good at all in that crack? I don't weld.

Maybe drill a small hole at the bottom of the crack to relieve tension?

 

[ez-duzit]

...After a piece of wood is screwed in wouldn't that help keep the casting in one piece?

Would any of you put a steel strap reinforcement across the screw holes before attaching a wooden jaw face?

Would epoxy paste do any good at all in that crack? I don't weld.

Maybe drill a small hole at the bottom of the crack to relieve tension?

You're joking.

 

[turbowoodworker]

That is a big 'ol crack, almost half way across. But as you stated, addition of a wood face, and woodworking usage, means it is not trash. Just don't expect it to perform as a bearing press!! I would clean it up and put it to work which is better than trashing it or attempting to sell it.

 

[jimreed2160]

Shift--Welcome aboard. You are correct that the crack has turned the vise from a tool to a bag of parts as the resale value is toast. BUT you are also correct that a wood face would support the crack and maybe keep the face intact so the vise could be used. I think a better repair would be to find a piece of 3/16 or 1/4 plate and scab it on the back with screws before adding the wood face. A clever man might be able to weld it but cast iron is hard to deal with.

On the negative side, this vise should be relegated to softer jobs, even if it is repaired. Metalworking vises lead a more varied life where a light duty vise can find work. That is very hard to do in woodworking because wood needs to be held tightly. My fear is that after repair and mounting, this vise would fail in the middle of a project.

So yes and no. WW vises are pretty common these days and even I don't try to use the broken ones.

 

[rlitman]

Plenty of good wood vises are made with just wood jaws. You could replace the whole face of that vise with a wood one, and have a really nice looking finished product by reusing the lead screw. Or you could double up on the jaw insert thickness, and it will be just fine. I would not consider less than 5/4 hardwood for jaw face in this situation.

 

[hammlm]

Thought I'd toss in a rather unique project here that I'm working on.

First an introduction: I've been on the Journal here for a loooong time. Been watching this thread since it's inception. I have a little shed that houses my lawn and garden tools, and also serves as a dimunitive workshop. I'm a woodhack - a decent carpenter that would like to make some furniture some day. But mostly I tinker and fix stuff. I've got a small compliment of wood working tools, but don't have a jointer, planer, bandsaw or other "basic" wood shop tools. Someday I might.

My brother-in-law has a couple of rental properties in a cute neighbor hood. The neighborhood was built in the late 19-teens and early twenties. On many of the houses, there were original benches on the front porches. Over the years, through remodels, and due to the elements, many homes lost the benches. Some have been preserved or re-done. Heres a couple of samples of what they look like:

(courtesy of Realtor.com and Google Street view)

His most recent purchase had (the remnants of) the original benches on the porch. He asked if I could help. Us being frugal, and budgets being what they are, I suggested that we try to patch up what he had and see if we can get 10 years out of them, and I'll make patterns in case he ever wants me to rebuild them. But for now, we take the bubble-gum and bailing wire approach! What I have to work with:

There are two benches there. One is mostly intact, but has lost part of the outward facing upright. The other one was fairly infested with ants and termites, and came apart (mostly in big sections) when he was pressure washing and stripping them. I'm going to start with the bigger challenge and try to put Humpty Dumpty back together.

I started by replacing the apron on the seat. I had some 5/4 board laying around, plenty of glue, some clamps and a few screws. I cut a couple of plugs. I might have to make a new seat. We'll see.

Then I moved on to the first upright. I found a local sawyer and asked what he had that could be planed to 7/4 actual. He had a piece of 11" wide 8/4 FAS kiln dried poplar. I asked him to plane it down to 1-3/4" and S4S -- but he advised he doesn't have a jointer or "Straight line rip" (I don't know what this is...), so I was on my own to mill the edges. I love a challenge. I'm a sadist. So far, we're $45 into this project. Getting the edges square was easy on the TS, but getting them flat to glue was not. So I broke out a plane for the first time in 10+ years. I had to make up a panel in order to get a piece big enough to duplicate the broken piece. Not perfect, but good enough for a paint-grade patch job.

Here is the cut out. I still need to smooth out the curves on the spindle sander before I attach it to the upright:

I don't have a domino! But I do have a 20+ year old enemic biscuit jointer, which seems like it will work for this. Here's what the joint construction looks like:

So now I needed to make a nice flat surface on the upright where I can attach the new part.

I broke out the plane. I didn't mention this, but I have no idea how to set up a plane or use one properly, so I just fiddled with it until it felt right. It seemed like it was ok. I might be taking a bit too much off, but I couldn't get it adjusted to produce a "thinner" chip.

I ended up with a surface that I think is "flat enough". It doesn't rock any more, so I think I'll stop there. Now, I'll work on sanding the curves, and getting the thickness right before I make the glue-up.

Before I called it quits for the day, I glued up another blank for the next upright repair:

That's it. Welcome any wisdom or thoughts you might extoll. As I have a (more than) full time job and also a full famliy life, it will probably be a while until I can get back at it, but I had so much fun playing in the shop this weekend for a few hours!!! I thoroughly enjoyed myself, particularly the challenge of "trying to figure out how/what to do next". I need more shop time!

-Matt

 

[jimreed2160]

hamm--Welcome and thanks for the pictures. That is an interesting project and I think you are doing a great job with it. I especially like the hand plane work. My early serious projects were also rehab jobs and I found fixing broken stuff much easier than making from scratch.

The benches are interesting and have a 1920s look to me. Glad to see you and brother are keeping the charm alive.

 

[Shiftless]

Thanks for the tips guys.
The location of the crack makes me think that perhaps some extreme pressure was put on the slide up dog.

Maybe I can find a guy just starting out on a tiny budget and sell it to him for one dollar. With full disclosure about the crack and your suggestions for reinforcement.

I have an undamaged 10 inch Abernathy QR waiting for clean up so I don't need to fool around too much with this cracked one.

 

[drivesitfar]

Shift: you might install that on a garden bench cause i bet it will still hold something and if it gets rusty or damaged outside no loss. or as many vises as you tend to bring home maybe throw it in a drawer and use it for a parts vise?

HAMM: thanks for the pictures and history lesson. i've sold a lot of homes and looked at a ton more over the years and have yet to run into any with those benches on their front porch here in the PNW. nice work on the chair and yes i agree working in the shop or outside on your woodworking projects is GOOD THERAPY.

cheers and hope you get time to work on that chair and other projects to show off here on WW 101 more often.

Jim: so is the dresser done and dusted or still hanging around waiting for casters or another bling item?

 

[jimreed2160]

Shop clothing and other stuff

So Photobucket is back up--at least for now. I just uploaded a bunch of pictures--hope they don't lose them.

I found this at HD. I like shop aprons but they can be hot in this environment. This one has a harness, lots of pockets, and no skirt. I am liking it.

But lets not leave Lowes out. I was prowling around in there the other day and found a ruler for $2.77.

Back when I worked for the man, I had to shop on Saturdays when the whole world is there. Now I like to go on Wednesday mornings. It is easy to park and the stores are mostly empty except for a bunch of old people.

 

[jimreed2160]

Desk

When I tried to put one of the drawers in, I noticed that one of the side guides was in the way so I took it out.

It came out pretty rough.

I cleaned it up with my favorite #4.

Then I made a story stick for the drawer width.

And used the story stick to measure where the drawer guide SHOULD be.

I added some temporary shims.

And glued it in place.

But in spite of all my care, the guide drifted out.

That was a real session but I finally got it whittled down to size using a Stanley #93.

Then it was on to the drawer. Stay tuned.

 

[jimreed2160]

Drawer repair

One of the drawers is in sad shape. It is very worn on the bottom and is also cracked at the end.

The crack goes a long way and this side needs fixing. I decided to cut the bottom off and replace it. As I said earlier, this task was compounded by the fact that previous repair person turned the side of the drawer UPSIDE DOWN. So now both drawer sides are trapezoids. That, of course, leaves me no reference edge. AND the sides are glued to the front and rear.

I smacked the drawer side with a flat stick and it seemed promising. I kept carefully smacking and was able to remove the side.

Previous repair person also cut off the dovetails and replaced them with dowels.

The gap shows the missing drawer slide bottom.

So I cut the bottom off the slide using the bandsaw. There was no reference edge, remember. I trued it up with my #7 and glued it.

Then it had to sit overnight.

 

[jimreed2160]

Drawer repair continued

The new drawer side repair was about 1/32" proud.

So I used my granddaughter's favorite plane, a Bedrock #603, to remove the glue drips and the proud wood.

Then I cut it down with the bandsaw.

The shavings were pretty.

And transparent.

Remember those dowel centers? Well I drug them out so I could make a drilling jig.

And then use the jig to mark for the dowel hole.

The hole was spot on. Next task was to trim the bottom. It is a little proud.

The rounded edge of the drawer side top made truing up the bottom difficult. I used the #7 to hog off wood but then used my AMT #95 clone to square it.

And the edge got just right.

I wanted to use my #45 for the groove but the first pass drew lots of hairs due to the wonky grain of the poplar. I could also hear EZ screaming, "Come on, man! Use the tablesaw!" So EZ, this one is for you. Two passes and a little chisel run to clear out the ribbon in the middle.

But the other side is also shy and needs attention. I gently whacked the rest of the drawer apart.

I replaced the lower inch of it and glued it up. I hope to trim it to size tomorrow and get the drawer reassembled.

After the drawer is assembled, I can do a final inspection on the desk. Looks like the END IS IN SIGHT!

 

[ez-duzit]

Drawer repair continued...I could also hear EZ screaming, "Come on, man! Use the tablesaw!" So EZ, this one is for you...Looks like the END IS IN SIGHT!

If you'd started this project with the table saw you would have finished eons ago. At least you didn't use a Kreg jig.

 

[jimreed2160]

If you'd started this project with the table saw you would have finished eons ago. At least you didn't use a Kreg jig.

 

[Teenager with old tools]

Got first coat of epoxy onto the slab. Some parts are very very porous and had almost no evidence of epoxy after it dries other parts didn't **** it up much at all. Its gonna take a few coats

Sent from my P027 using Tapatalk

 

[ez-duzit]

Epoxy should be applied wet on wet, continuously, until it will absorb no more, not left to dry between thin coats.

 

[rrich1]

Getting closer. Between yesterday and today I got the rest if the panels glued and the tops router and planed down. I drilled a hole for the access pin I made. The pin is pushed up from underneath, through the rail, and it pushes one of the panels up. All that's left to do is size the panels to the top with the dado stack and to slightly countersink the panels to the rails. So close!*@#$

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[jimreed2160]

Teen--Your slab looks great. Good luck on your upcoming mission.

rrich--You made some tight joints! Good work.

 

[ez-duzit]

1--looks good.

 

[jimreed2160]

Organization

I was puttering around in HD this week and found something to help me get organized.

It was a nice DeWalt hardshell case which was large enough to hold my NEW taper drill bits AND my collection of dowel points. I even threw in my random chamfer bits.

And the whole shootin match goes in the "Wood Screws" drawer. I am anxious to see how the taper drills do and plan to test them soon.

This organization thing is fun.

 

[ScottsGT]

I did something similar with the large stackable Dewalt storage boxes. I picked up 4 of them. One is for all my wood working odds and ends. Biscuits, pocket screws, dowel pins, etc.
Others are for different deck screws, sheet rock screws, etc.
I built a roll around cabinet with aluminum channels that hold the Dewalt's and the 4 drawer system sits up on top.

After organizing all my hardware last month into these four bins and the 4 pull out Dyna systems/Promaster organizers, life has been much happier in my shop working on things.

 

[jimreed2160]

Drawer repair continued

So here is the second drawer side.

And here it is with the extra material removed.

I needed to work on the drawer front.

To remove a stubborn chip.

The side looked even with the bottom.

So I did a trial fitting.

The go-nogo gauge said NO.

So I took both sides down a little. They both fit much better afterward. I also need to check the side clearance because that is the slot that had the slide guide repair.

I noticed also that the bottom was a little tight and I needed to deepen the groove. I decided that my **** mortise plane would do that quietly.

Especially if I used the custom blade that I made.

Here is an action shot.

I also noticed a crack in the back where the bottom was pinned.

So I put it in the shoulder vise for glue up and clamping.

I sent a text to my daughter and we agreed on a delivery date of next Friday. So the rush is on. Got to wrap this thing up.

 

[cheechi]

rrich how do you like that milescraft drill jig? I've been eying one for years off and on but never pulled the trigger.

 

[jimreed2160]

In for a penny, in for a pound

Sometimes a piece of antique furniture will grab your leg like a bulldog and just not let go. This desk is like that. I was ready to tap the repaired drawer back together when a little tab broke off the end. UGH. So here is yet another patch.

I cut it on the diagonal to give me a little more new wood and to increase the glue area.

It took some creative clamping.

I hope the glue will be dry enough to withstand some shaping this evening. Maybe the drawer will go back together tomorrow. Well, hope springs eternal.

 

[rrich1]

Rabbets cut into the panels. Little fine tuning and they will be done. Up next is to sand and finish.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[jimreed2160]

rrich--Good progress on your table. Looks like it is ready for a coat of poly.

 

[jimreed2160]

WooHoo Day!

The mailman shoved a package in my mailbox today. It was a pair of #71 1/2 cutters from CRS! Thanks Cliff!!!

When we last saw this nice plane it was a little sad. In spite of being a rare type I and being cranked out in 1884, it was missing some important pieces. I found a proper blade holder on that auction site and Cliff found some blades. Today they all got together and had a reunion of sorts.

It is so nice to put these things together. Seems like the world has one less problem this evening.

 

[jimreed2160]

Drawer repair continued

Back over here at the project that seems to have no end, I am finishing up with the drawer. I got the patch trimmed.

And used my made up jig to drill the dowel hole.

Here are my witness marks. They are essential when dealing with antique furniture because everything has to go back in the exact spot. There is one on the outside of the back piece.

And there are marks on the inside corner of the drawer.

If I return this corner to its original orientation then everything else will line up.

After adding a little glue all around, I pounded the pieces together carefully with the mallet. Then I inserted the bottom to keep it square.

HA! The drawer is square and it fits inside the carcass. I reattached the brasses.

You will note a little air at the back of the bottom. It has shrunk from front to back over the years. Once the glue dries I will have to address that. I may be able to just sneak in a strip at the rear. (sigh) Seems that whenever I get close to the end it keeps moving.

 

[jimreed2160]

The last nail goes into my desk project

What a trip this has been! All I can say is repairing antique furniture is an adventure with lots of surprises. At least this one is done.

Traditional furniture drawer making in 19th century America called for a three sided groove around the bottom of the drawer with the back piece flush with the top of the groove. That allowed a thin 3/16--1/4 wood veneer to be slid into place and held with a single tack at the rear. As the wood bottom inevitably shrunk and retreated from the groove in the drawer front , the tack was removed, the bottom was adjusted, and a new tack was installed. Properly cared for, these drawers last almost forever.

The drawer I was working on has a problem bottom because a piece split off. Here are some photos from the rear. The drawer is upside down.

As you can see, it has shrunk/split so much that there is daylight on one end. The real fix is to glue on a strip. The quick fix is to tack it in place.

So I am going with quick. First I need a pilot hole. Time for some vintage tool action.

So I reach for my Craftsman push drill. Surprisingly, it was given to me by my ex-MIL. She and I shared a love of antiques and she appreciated my handywork. Not all MIL relationships turn off bad, even the ex ones. But back to ww. I have lots of hole punchers to choose from in the shop. There is even a good selection of powered ones. But they all require set up time. For a single pilot, the push drill is a real timesaver.

Hole is done but I am reminded of why I don't use this thing often. It is great for hard to reach places, but the push action spring is tight and I have trouble keeping the drill oriented. Eggbeaters are much easier to control, I think.

And here is the money shot--the single nail that signifies the completion of a long project.

And now for our trip down memory lane. Remember the drawer face hole repair? And that top respray?

And here it is--ready for delivery.

I think it is good for another 100,000 miles. The carcass is tight, the drawers all work well, the outside is all spiffed up AND (here is the best part) there is a new safety device which will prevent it from tipping over.

Time to find another project.

 

[hammlm]

Time to find another project.

Somehow, I just don't think that's going to be a problem for you jimreed.

 

[jimreed2160]

Somehow, I just don't think that's going to be a problem for you jimreed.

 

[chrislehr]

So this thread. Is for tips or just any project updates or what?

 

[Autonomous]

So this thread. Is for tips or just any project updates or what?

It started with solid tips for beginners and slowly went to more advanced techniques with many projects demonstrating those techniques.

If you have a question about starting from scratch, repairing an heirloom, or just tool identification you are welcome to post in here. Trust me, someone knows the answer.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[ez-duzit]

Anything at all wood.

 

[R_einan]

Well, after a wonderful trip down to Disneyland for my daughter’s 6th birthday and 5 days of warm weather, I’m back home in chilly Washington and spent a few hours in the shop today before it’s back to work. While I was away the tool fairy dropped some things. A Veritas marking guage and flush cutting saw from Lee Valley, a PEC 6” double square from Epstein, and some belts for the belt sander that was my great grandfather’s. It’s a Skil 323 from around ‘52, 4.5”x26” belts and runs the same worm gears as the model 77 saw. I still need to make a new belt guide for it because it was cut clean in half by someone not paying attention to the belt tracking, and after using it today, it appears I need a new seal on the motor shaft to the gear box. But a nice heavy belt sander which will continue to work after some maintenance.

I made a quick tenoning jig to work on the legs for the coffee table I am working on. Not as precise as a heavy cast iron unit, which I wish I had money to buy, but it works for my needs at the moment. All in all a good day in the shop.

Jim- nice work on the desk, what’s next on the list?

Rich- that table is coming together nicely, can’t wait to see it completed.

 

[jimreed2160]

So this thread. Is for tips or just any project updates or what?

It started with solid tips for beginners and slowly went to more advanced techniques with many projects demonstrating those techniques.

If you have a question about starting from scratch, repairing an heirloom, or just tool identification you are welcome to post in here. Trust me, someone knows the answer.

Anything at all wood.

That about covers it. I started the thread to cover all things wood and the early pages have lots of tutorials on fundamentals. Then I started showing and explaining handplanes. After a year, we have all covered most of the ww fundamentals--at least from the handtool side--and now we are posting projects. There is a lot of knowledge here in our participants and it is a very helpful crowd.

Working with wood is a rich area and we will never run out of material. So if you like woodworking, grab a cup of coffee and join us.

 

[jimreed2160]

R--Nice group of tools--esp the vintage belt sander. I'll bet that thing will really rip.