Woodworking 101--Tools and Tips

[acer66]

Learned this somewhere (maybe here)

To keep stripper from evaporating over time lay down plastic drop cloth over the top

So it works longer on the paint?

 

[ez-duzit]

H--that was quite a project.

 

[chrislehr]

So it works longer on the paint?

Yea thats the gist of it. No air layer on it. Stay wet longer.

 

[acer66]

Yea thats the gist of it. No air layer on it. Stay wet longer.

Good to know, did you press the plastic into the stripper?

 

[chrislehr]

Good to know, did you press the plastic into the stripper?

Yea where i could. It gets a little sloppy and sticky so it wasnt perfect.

Went out earlier (18hrs since applying) and it was wet enough to scrape easy but still may need another pass.

 

[jimreed2160]

Chris--Good luck on the door. It is a nice one. Your project reminds me how much I hate to strip paint.

Henry--You touched my heart when you mentioned using trammels for your layout. Great work. I love my trammels.

EZ--Looks like you will be rocking it out in the driveway. Interesting project.

 

[acer66]

Yea where i could. It gets a little sloppy and sticky so it wasnt perfect.

Went out earlier (18hrs since applying) and it was wet enough to scrape easy but still may need another pass.

Thank you, I have a few doors to strip.

 

[HenryAZ]

Henry--You touched my heart when you mentioned using trammels for your layout. Great work. I love my trammels.

One time we had to lay out a very large, gentle radius for a large circle top window. It took two sticks nailed together to make a 20ft stick, with two sheets of plywood end to end for the layout. Out in the parking lot, of course, one guy holding the center point trammel end of the stick, in the asphalt, and the other walking the trammel across the plywood.

I always preferred the Stanley #4 trammel points. They clamp to various size sticks, and, being shorter and sturdy, have much less tendency to wobble. I still have two pair of them tucked away with all my other millwork hand tools. I also still have several sets of C.S. Osborne compasses for smaller radius work.

 

[chrislehr]

Second citristrip application. So rewarding.

 

[jimreed2160]

One time we had to lay out a very large, gentle radius for a large circle top window. It took two sticks nailed together to make a 20ft stick, with two sheets of plywood end to end for the layout. Out in the parking lot, of course, one guy holding the center point trammel end of the stick, in the asphalt, and the other walking the trammel across the plywood.

I always preferred the Stanley #4 trammel points. They clamp to various size sticks, and, being shorter and sturdy, have much less tendency to wobble. I still have two pair of them tucked away with all my other millwork hand tools. I also still have several sets of C.S. Osborne compasses for smaller radius work.

I once drew a bookcase arc with a set of Stanley #4 trammels clamped to an 8ft furring strip. But your parking lot story is waaaay more cool.

 

[turbowoodworker]

I may have posted some of these early pictures before but here are two simple projects finally completed for my son. He wanted to display his hockey puck collection and his game ball collection. I had some scrap Padauk that I could plane down to 1/2" for the shelves and made some cove moldings. Here are the finished products.

 

[ez-duzit]

t--I like that wood.

 

[turbowoodworker]

I like padauk a lot. It is easy to machine and not horribly expensive. The only downside is the dust. It is quite irritating and seems to even get your skin, in spite of good DC methods. great color but no matter what, you lose the orange/red as it darkens, even with UV protected polys.

 

[rrich1]

After my sons bedroom set was complete it is my daughters turn. First up is the low dresser from fine woodworking. It will be made of Walnut with ambrosia maple drawer fronts.

First I had to find my parts in the rough stock. White pencil really helps out with walnut. Once the pieces were cut out I located all of the double mortises and tenons. Use a router for the bulk of the waste and then chiseled the corners. I made one mistake and put a mortise where it wasn't needed. Luckily a groove will run right through this later. I patched it and it will never be seen.

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[rrich1]

The mortises were then drilled and chiseled for the drawer runners and vertical dividers. I used a router and chisels for the non though ones.

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[rrich1]

After those were complete it was time to make the grooves for the side and back panels. The router table was necessary for this. I managed to get all of the grooves lined up even with them landing on different places on the legs vs the rails. The sides get a center still so I drilled out the mortise, chiseled them, and then used the table saw for the tenons. After that was done I used the router table with a taper jig to make the taper for the legs. The jointer cleaned up the edge. I also cut out a groove in the tops of the legs for the top rails to fit in to. The top rails are up next.

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[ez-duzit]

1--nice work.

 

[jimreed2160]

Erich--great walnut. Love your repair.

 

[rrich1]

Today I got the top rail bridal joints done. I changed my band saw from a 3/4" to a 1/4" for the curves of the top rails. I obviously didn't have it tensioned right and don't do curves really ever. This will sand out fine but would be nice if I had a spindle sander lol. The bridle joints turned out darn nice and are snug. Should be perfect after some sanding.

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[rrich1]

I got the rest of the mortises drilled and chiseled out on the top rails. I then I reluctsntly used a small sanding drum on my drill press to sand out the curved accent parts. This worked really well and I cleaned up the curves with card scrapers. Hope to get the Ridgid spindle sander/belt sander soon.

Next I started on all of the drawer runners. I got most of them done but need to still do the double tenons. After I get these done I'll work on the vertical drawer dividers and then lastly the panels. I fell like I have been making good steady progress in this dresser. That makes me happy.

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[jimreed2160]

rrich--I am loving your buildalong photos. Great project!

 

[jimreed2160]

Tote repair

Last week the postman dropped a nice plane at my doorstep. It was a Sweetheart era Stanley #4 1/2 in pretty good shape except for the tote. I took photos for my website and thought I would share some of the progress shots here.

Larger Stanley bench planes (#5-#8) are often found with damaged totes. The grain pattern has a known weakness, the horn is exposed and the brittle rosewood often cracks when stressed. I have repaired many and lately find that walnut makes the best repair. Rosewood is hard to glue because it is so dense but the walnut/rosewood marriage seems to work well. Add a little stain and the repair is barely noticeable. It is worth the trouble because the horn hooks into the web between your thumb and forefinger. That keeps your hand firmly on the handle. Use one of these large planes without a horn and you often find your hand slipping up and off center.

Anyway, I trim the broken stump flat and then glue an oversized piece of 5/4 walnut to it. Next comes rough shaping on the bandsaw and then a workout on the oscillating spindle sander. How long? Well, the walnut glue up takes about 10 minutes. I let the Titebond soak for about five full minutes before I clamp. After overnight drying it is ready for trimming and sanding. That step takes about an hour. Staining and final coat of poly takes about 20 minutes total. So for about 90 minutes of shop time you can have a nice tote that is ready to go back to work.

 

[chrislehr]

Thought myself as clever on this one.

Two way drawer in a kids train table and i wanted it to be captive so it doesnt come out and hurt toes and/or dump contents





Two nylon spacers screwed into the mid section and rubber feet in the contact area to prevent damage and not slam it every time.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Very nice job on the tote repair Jim! What stain do you use to match the walnut and rosewood? Can we see a pic of the finished tote when it's ready please?

I've got four vintage Stanley planes that I need to repair the totes on. Most of those repairs are where the tote has broken in half but one is the repair you've shown here. Thanks for sharing!

 

[jimreed2160]

Very nice job on the tote repair Jim! What stain do you use to match the walnut and rosewood? Can we see a pic of the finished tote when it's ready please?

I've got four vintage Stanley planes that I need to repair the totes on. Most of those repairs are where the tote has broken in half but one is the repair you've shown here. Thanks for sharing!

Tx--Thanks for your kind words. I use Minwax Special Walnut stain--sometimes two or three coats. I have also used Mahogany to add a bit of red color.

Good luck on your totes. I fixed so many of them that I made a special jig to hold them after glue up. Sometimes the rosewood is slick and that makes it hard to keep the pieces together.

Weather in the spray booth was nice today and I got to poly the repaired tote. I used two finishing nails to make a holder for the #5-8 tote size. I will give it a few days to dry and then post some action shots.

 

[rrich1]

Thanks Jim.

I got all of the joinery done for the drawer rails. The front joinery is either a dual or single tenon. The rears are mostly a half lap style joint. I then focused on the vertical dividers. I got the double tenons cut and nailed the length on the first try. Still need to do the longer lower divider. That one requires notching a rail and the divider. Hope to do that tonight.

I also got a shop fan. This will definitely be useful in the upcoming warmer months or for whenever I hand plane.

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[jimreed2160]

Rrich--good progress

 

[jimreed2160]

As requested, here are the money shots of the #4 1/2. I started with a box of parts and now have a nice plane that pulls wispy shavings.

 

[rrich1]

Lower divider done. I undersized the cut out for the joint to allow me to make a shoulder on the divider. This allowed some wiggle room in case I missed the cut line. luckily I got a nice friction fit. Up next are the side and rear panels.

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[ScottsGT]

Router question....

We cut holes (usually about 4" spare with radius corners) through 3/4 MDF type furniture and sometimes laminated surfaces over MDF. Looking at getting a router, brass bushings and making a jig so the job is easier.

Is this something that should/could be done with a palm router? Or better off sticking to a full size?

 

[rlitman]

Stick with full size, and forget the brass bushing. Make a template that works with your round base instead.

Brass bushings clog up quickly with dust when making any deep cuts. They’re fine for inlay work, but not for cut outs in 3/4 MDF.

 

[Toolfool]

Router question....

We cut holes (usually about 4" spare with radius corners) through 3/4 MDF type furniture and sometimes laminated surfaces over MDF. Looking at getting a router, brass bushings and making a jig so the job is easier.

Is this something that should/could be done with a palm router? Or better off sticking to a full size?

Better yet, build your templates to exact dimensions out of something durable
, like corian, and use a top bearing bit. In 3/4" material, I'd use a plunge router and do two passes. A plunge router with a 1/2" collet and this bit https://www.toolstoday.com/v-14226-45463-s.html would be my choice. I'd also get an 8" square piece of 1/4" clear plastic and make a new base for the router. That way you can see what you're doing and the router base will not slip off the inside edge of your template, damaging the work and the template.

 

[rlitman]

Top bearing is also a good approach. Absolutely go with 1/2" shank bits whenever possible.

 

[rrich1]

Side panels are made. I resawed less desirable pieces of walnut for the back pieces. The sides turned out well. The right sides are more different in grain vs the left that matches better. I made a mistake on the rear pieces and apparently rough cut them to the same length as the side panels when they needed to be longer. [emoji849]

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[ScottsGT]

Stunning!!

 

[jimreed2160]

Rrich--Great job matching the walnut!

 

[jar944]

I stopped at a garage sale Saturday



And went back on Sunday



The red and blue machines are euro hinge bore and insertion machines. The red one also has a 7 spindle line bore head

Vid of it in action

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I'm bad about taking a short story and turning it into something long winded and boring so I'll apologize before I even get started. I had plans to read through the entire thread before I really started posting to it but best laid plans as they say. Posted these in the 2019 Garage Sale thread but they don't have much appreciation for woodworking hand tools there. So I'm going to crosspost here because I think you guys probably can understand and appreciate my enthusiasm to find these hand planes.

The seller has posted a few of these planes (IIRC, 2 #4s, #5 and #78 in the original ad) on CL months ago and was asking $200 each. At that time, I respectfully sent a response asking where they came up with those prices. The woman let me know she had no idea and it was just that she thought they were very rare. We exchanged lots of email and after three or four months of trying to get together today it finally came off. I went there today honestly expecting I would leave without buying anything but at least I'd be able to educate her a bit on what she had and what she might realistically expect to ask for them. Turned out she had the #7 and Union #6 which weren't listed at all. We talked about how the planes she had were not in fact rare but that some were desirable user planes and why they weren't "rare collectibles". We also talked about what she might ask and might expect to get. In the end she said she had absolutely no attachment to them and would like to see them go to someone who would use them and could appreciate them. I was only interested in the #7, #5C and the #78 and I let her know that. I made her an offer for those and told her it would be okay if she wanted to think about it and I could come back if she wanted to sell later. She immediately countered with a price which was higher by the amount I would have offered additionally for the Union #6 but she wanted me to take them all at that price. I asked if she was sure and she said yes but she wanted to keep the display shelf they had lived on for years. Done deal!

Two of the planes are junkers (Corsair #4 (made by Great Neck) with plastic handles and a #5 unmarked but with a Wards Master iron and a Ace Hardware lever cap). The Union #6 feels like a great plane but it needs a lateral adjustment lever. All except one of the Stanley planes appear to be in good condition with original parts and from the '20s. The #7 and #5C appear to be type 12. There is a Stanley #4C type 13. The #78 has all the original parts and looks to date between 1910-1925. I don't know much about the Union #6. The 2nd #4 looks like a Stanley but it isn't marked Stanley and has a whale tail lateral adjustment lever (also unmarked) but for all other intents and purposes it sure looks like a Stanley #4 to me. One last point on this "other #4" it has the thickest sides I've seen on a #4. Almost 1/8" thick.

I think all of these Stanley planes and the Union #6 will be great users (some for me and some for others).

Sorry to be so long winded but it's super exciting to find hand planes! At least for me it is. Hope some of you guys enjoyed my story. If not I'll try to tone it down a notch or two in the future! Here are a couple of pics...

 

[txlonghorn1989]

What do you use to prevent rust on your plane irons & chipbreakers? Johnson's paste wax? What else do folks like to use?

 

[Blue Frog]

Jim Reed,

A Delta tensioning jig, the original heavy-duty style, appeared on the Tallahassee Facebook Marketplace today for $50.00 and was sold before I had a chance to reply. Might you be the lucky person to snag this beauty?