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#1 ·
This, My Friends, Is a Pencil Sharpener!

EDIT: Resurrected from Photo(scum)Bucket Hell, Feb 2018. Smitty

Picked this up at an estate sale, and only knew what it was because P. Leach had one in a Tool List some months ago. Yeah, I wanted the one he had, but just couldn't pull the trigger. This one was more affordable…

Gesture Finger Religious item Thumb Artifact


Consider this style of sharpening an evolutionary dead end. At the time this was available, the other prevalent style of sharpeners were thimble-like devices with wings, that were turned. This is mounted to the edge of a table and the pencil is drawn across the iron. Not this one, though, 'cause the iron is jagged and quite dull. So out came the DMTs.

Old habits die hard; I wanted a flat back to the iron and that wasn't as easy done as said.

Flooring Wood Floor Tints and shades Composite material


Wood Finger Household hardware Automotive exterior Thumb


So I moved the stone to the edge of my bench hook to get better alignment of thumb and fingers.

Wood Hardwood Outdoor shoe Flooring Metal


With the back honed and flat all the way in, up to about 1/4" from the edge, all was right with the world. I'm confident the iron will not get more use than that in several lifetimes… I held the iron very low to the DMT to get a primary bevel on the face of the iron, the did just a bit of polishing with strop as final cleanup. There was lots of back and forth at this point, and I didn't take pictures. I did stop before getting it to my best level of sharpening… too small to hold, and it's only sharpening pencils, for goodness sake. That, and I'm certain someone will run their thumb across the blade to 'see if it's sharp…'

Anyway, another old habit. I simply had to flatten the 'frog' before setting the iron in place and giving it a try.

Wood Finger Thumb Gas Household hardware


Wood Finger Creative arts Thumb Art


Wood Motor vehicle Gas Steering wheel Auto part


It'll take some practice, like all good toolwork, but not bad for a shop pencil! Okay, it's pretty bad.

Wood Gas Desk Office equipment Office supplies


Love the new toy! Thanks for looking.
 

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#1,071 ·
New / Old Marking Knife

Went on a run to a few flea markets this afternoon and found a few things to continue my slide down the slippery slope of vintage tooldom:

Wood Table Tool Hand tool Wood stain


The 7oz SW hammer was a nice find at four bucks, as was the Craftsman-badged saw for six dollars. The Stanley 1/4" No.40 chisel was four bucks, the EC Stearns mitre box was five, and the seller threw in the small, rosewood-handled putty knife for free. And there was a plan for it: I wanted to make it a marking knife for the tool chest.

I have a knife at the bench that I use all the time, but the very small size of the putty knife said 'marking knife' almost as soon as I saw it. Good dimension, very solid scales. So I marked it with a scratch awl…

Wood Tool Household hardware Hardwood Wood stain


and did some work at the 'lectric grinder to set the basic shape. After some time at the oilstone, I had a knife…

Hand tool Wood Tool Household hardware Metalworking hand tool


I can't say my sharpening was knock-down, drag-out awesome on the knife's cutting edge, but it's pretty good. Enough to make very fine cuts in mahogany scrap. So I'd say it's good to roost in the top tray of the chest now.

Wood Gas Shotgun Metal Gun accessory


A good re-purpose, I'd say. Short and sweet post, and as always, thanks for looking!
 

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#1,072 ·
New / Old Marking Knife

Went on a run to a few flea markets this afternoon and found a few things to continue my slide down the slippery slope of vintage tooldom:

Wood Table Tool Hand tool Wood stain


The 7oz SW hammer was a nice find at four bucks, as was the Craftsman-badged saw for six dollars. The Stanley 1/4" No.40 chisel was four bucks, the EC Stearns mitre box was five, and the seller threw in the small, rosewood-handled putty knife for free. And there was a plan for it: I wanted to make it a marking knife for the tool chest.

I have a knife at the bench that I use all the time, but the very small size of the putty knife said 'marking knife' almost as soon as I saw it. Good dimension, very solid scales. So I marked it with a scratch awl…

Wood Tool Household hardware Hardwood Wood stain


and did some work at the 'lectric grinder to set the basic shape. After some time at the oilstone, I had a knife…

Hand tool Wood Tool Household hardware Metalworking hand tool


I can't say my sharpening was knock-down, drag-out awesome on the knife's cutting edge, but it's pretty good. Enough to make very fine cuts in mahogany scrap. So I'd say it's good to roost in the top tray of the chest now.

Wood Gas Shotgun Metal Gun accessory


A good re-purpose, I'd say. Short and sweet post, and as always, thanks for looking!
That is an awesome job and great finds, congrats!
 

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#1,090 ·
Too Much Wood?

Blogged on a range of topics here on LJs, but not touched on this one ever before: Shop Wood.
I've got it, let me tell ya.

Scraps of wood of all types, from any number of home renovations / tear downs / scavenger hunts over the past 30 years, have invaded my shop and have become quite the problem. And the first step to dealing with problems is admitting them, right? As I was piddling around in the shop last night, I came to realize having the material was not in itself a bad thing… It's not having enough of any specific wood type that is crippling. How about some examples?

• Three pieces of 1×3 white pine, each about 5' long;
• Two pieces of 5/8" yellow (lodgepole) pine, 10" across and 30" long; and
• Two pies of 1×4 doug fir, each around 4' long.

And so on, and so on, and so on. Meaning scores of little boards and scraps of all shapes, sizes and materials…

If I were committed to doing something with this pile of material, it'd be colossal PITA… Thicknesses not consistent, not to mention checking on some edges and cupping on a couple of the boards. That, in addition to the varied grain patterns and colors makes for a disaster of a final product. I can't do anything significant with this stuff, and I'm not one to come up with small things just for sake of using every scrap. I've kept these boards around for years, moved them several times, but there comes a point that is has to stop. Right?

So the .02 questions: Have you reached this point in your own shop, and what did you do as a result?
 
#1,091 ·
I might eat the pies. But never had one made of doug fir. LOL

Generally I give scraps of pine to my wife to burn. But she wants hard wood because it burns hotter. Eventually I think you have to give up and make the sacrifice if you can't store it. Give it to a youth group to use, put it out at a garage sale, etc.
 
#1,106 ·
How to Stretch Table Legs

1. Start with a pile of legs that are each a couple of inches short.

Wood Gas Metal Pipe Cylinder


2. Pull the broken wheels from the bottom of the legs. It's the hole from those wheels that lead to the fix.

Wood Gas Motor vehicle Auto part Metal


3. Cut a 'fifth leg' into 3" lengths. Those are doweled and glued to the squared bottoms.

Wood Gas Auto part Nut Machine


Wood Hardwood Gas Gun accessory Ammunition


4. When the glue is set, head to the lathe.

Wood Gas Machine Machine tool Auto part


Wood Lumber Hardwood Metal Steel


Wood Textile Pattern Human leg Metal


Wood Metal Pipe Hardwood Cylinder


5. Some sanding, then cut excess off before a little rasp work and sanding finishes the process.

Wood Gas Hardwood Lumber Flooring


These legs will be primed and painted, but vintage walnut legs are definitely better quality and stability than the pine legs sold at the blue box stores today.
 

Attachments

#1,107 ·
How to Stretch Table Legs

1. Start with a pile of legs that are each a couple of inches short.

Wood Gas Metal Pipe Cylinder


2. Pull the broken wheels from the bottom of the legs. It's the hole from those wheels that lead to the fix.

Wood Gas Motor vehicle Auto part Metal


3. Cut a 'fifth leg' into 3" lengths. Those are doweled and glued to the squared bottoms.

Wood Gas Auto part Nut Machine


Wood Hardwood Gas Gun accessory Ammunition


4. When the glue is set, head to the lathe.

Wood Gas Machine Machine tool Auto part


Wood Lumber Hardwood Metal Steel


Wood Textile Pattern Human leg Metal


Wood Metal Pipe Hardwood Cylinder


5. Some sanding, then cut excess off before a little rasp work and sanding finishes the process.

Wood Gas Hardwood Lumber Flooring


These legs will be primed and painted, but vintage walnut legs are definitely better quality and stability than the pine legs sold at the blue box stores today.
Is this for the commission project? Resourceful solution.
 

Attachments

#1,119 ·
Cam Clamps, Anyone?

It started with a blog whose author I can't recall, but the image of the clamps in use caught my eye and wouldn't be gone. They reminded me of the bench ducks offered by Veritas when I first saw them…

Wood Office supplies Font Hardwood Audio equipment


... only not quite. These clamps tightened by a lever rather than a twist. Too cool, the bug bit, and I was on a mission. More searching of the interwebz lead to another blog discussion of weird clamps, and between that dialog and some OldTools talk I found the keyword: Cam. An image search of "cam clamp vintage" served up what I was seeking:

Wood Metal Terrestrial animal Tail


Bicycle part Auto part Metal Composite material Titanium


A few days of searching on eBay (I told you the bug bit, but if you're reading this I don't have to explain) got me the goods: E.C. Stearns cam clamps! Nice pair, almost steel in feel. Good to have new blood in the shop family! Then I came across several "Case" cam clamps. These are cast iron -nice heft to them-and very nice.

Hand tool Tool Wood Saw Metalworking hand tool


Not much else to say about them at present, but I do like cam action clamps. I won't be replacing all the Pony / Jorgys on the wall by any stretch, but it'll be hard to pass by other cams that cross my path. That's all for now, thanks for looking!
 

Attachments

#1,120 ·
Cam Clamps, Anyone?

It started with a blog whose author I can't recall, but the image of the clamps in use caught my eye and wouldn't be gone. They reminded me of the bench ducks offered by Veritas when I first saw them…

Wood Office supplies Font Hardwood Audio equipment


... only not quite. These clamps tightened by a lever rather than a twist. Too cool, the bug bit, and I was on a mission. More searching of the interwebz lead to another blog discussion of weird clamps, and between that dialog and some OldTools talk I found the keyword: Cam. An image search of "cam clamp vintage" served up what I was seeking:

Wood Metal Terrestrial animal Tail


Bicycle part Auto part Metal Composite material Titanium


A few days of searching on eBay (I told you the bug bit, but if you're reading this I don't have to explain) got me the goods: E.C. Stearns cam clamps! Nice pair, almost steel in feel. Good to have new blood in the shop family! Then I came across several "Case" cam clamps. These are cast iron -nice heft to them-and very nice.

Hand tool Tool Wood Saw Metalworking hand tool


Not much else to say about them at present, but I do like cam action clamps. I won't be replacing all the Pony / Jorgys on the wall by any stretch, but it'll be hard to pass by other cams that cross my path. That's all for now, thanks for looking!
Nice clamps - and nice find! Sort of the metal version of these wooden luthiers clamps i guess.
Can theybe used with one hand?
 

Attachments

#1,148 ·
I Need a Nail (Screw) Cabinet

I think it's time to build a nail (screw) cabinet to hold the assortment of old-stock slotted screws I use on projects. Yes, slotted screws. The best fasteners known to mankind… Anyway, this cabinet is inspired by Roy Underhill's example, written about in the Feb 2014 issue of Popular Woodworking (issue is available for free download, just search for it). Final push for the project was reading the project post by LJ "harshest" (a very fine example in SYP).

Quick and dirty, I want to turn this little California Prunes crate:

Wood Handwriting Gas Font Metal


Into something that resembles (in some small way) this nail cabinet:

Cabinetry Wood Drawer Dress Chest of drawers


Doubt it'll be a long blog series, but there are a couple of things interesting about the build from a handtool perspective so it gets the series treatment. Thanks for looking.
 

Attachments

#1,149 ·
I Need a Nail (Screw) Cabinet

I think it's time to build a nail (screw) cabinet to hold the assortment of old-stock slotted screws I use on projects. Yes, slotted screws. The best fasteners known to mankind… Anyway, this cabinet is inspired by Roy Underhill's example, written about in the Feb 2014 issue of Popular Woodworking (issue is available for free download, just search for it). Final push for the project was reading the project post by LJ "harshest" (a very fine example in SYP).

Quick and dirty, I want to turn this little California Prunes crate:

Wood Handwriting Gas Font Metal


Into something that resembles (in some small way) this nail cabinet:

Cabinetry Wood Drawer Dress Chest of drawers


Doubt it'll be a long blog series, but there are a couple of things interesting about the build from a handtool perspective so it gets the series treatment. Thanks for looking.
Thanks for the link and what will be your build. I too need to do this for small parts.
So what slotted screw assortment do you keep?
 

Attachments

#1,174 ·
Nail (Screw) Cabinet - Forward Progress

This cabinet is essentially a crate with wood-frame exoskeleton and hinged door. Dimensions were set because the crate is what it is… The depth of the cabinet was somewhat variable. My version sets the framing forward of the crate walls to define the opening depth for the door to be added, and also allows the cabinet to be mounted flush to the wall via 'hidden' French Cleat. A major component of the build was creating the wood frames for the top, bottom and sides. After ripping the 1x stock to suitable (and equal) width, it was planed a bit thinner for aesthetic reasons; 3/4" frames stood out too much from the crate, and looked out of proportion. That done, I decided on dowelled butt joints to hold the frames together at the corners, a first for me. Especially the way I chose to cut the dowel holes: via a Stanley #59 dowelling jig, brace, and bit.

Air gun Machine gun Wood Trigger Shotgun


My Stanley #59 came in a box of 'what not' junk a long enough time ago that I don't remember getting it. The jig has only one of the seven (or so) tube sizes that shipped with it originally, so that's what I used (3/8") for the dowels. I drilled the holes via brace and No. 6 bit, and added a Stanley #49 depth stop gauge to the bit for consistency. Dowels were cut on the Stanley No. 150.

Wood Musical instrument accessory Bumper Gas Machine


Wood Machine tool Hardwood Flooring Engineering


So, for those of you who are counters, to place pairs of dowels in the frames required a total of 32 holes. Needless to say I'm pretty comfortable using the #59 / 6 / #49 combo of tools at this stage.

Wood Gas Table Tool Art


Table Wood Gas Bottle Hardwood


Wood Engineering Workbench Machine Machine tool


Two pairs of frames completed, it was time to explore ways the dividers would be incorporated. I decided at that point better access to the crate's interior sides would come by removing the bottom of the crate. That was done with a 5-in-1 painter's took and the nails saved for later re-install.

Wood Handwriting Gas Font Metal


Then, without too much difficulty, I stepped off equal interior height and width segments via dividers; this resulted in two columns of four drawers each. That'd be fine. Next, the partition material was located. This ended up being three pieces of poplar drawer side material from a busted up carcase of one kind or another that I keep on hand for situations just like this one. I didn't like the thickness of the stock, so the alien head planer was pulled into quick action. Some smoothing with the T13 #4 and everything was looking good. A few pencil marks approximately centered the three horizontal dividers to the marks made earlier, and from there I used several scores of the marking knife to create clean sides for the six dados to be completed. I finished them to depth via Stanley #271 router. Horizontal partitions were then cut the length. Here's an in-process picture.

Wood Flooring Floor Line Wood stain


It was time to order the bin pulls at this point, as having those in-hand allows me to establish the set-back required to completely close the cabinet door when all is said and done. I ordered them on a Monday afternoon and continued with the vertical partition. And here again there was a decision to be made: do I match the vertical and horizontal pieces via 'egg crate divider,' or half-lap joints, or cut the vertical into pieces that in turn ride in dados of their own? I made six dados in pine; this would be eight more in poplar. It's either that, or 12 perfect cuts with a handsaw. While we ponder this choice, how about a diversion to my shop's Inspiration Piece for so many things: the Vintage Wall Cabinet (http://lumberjocks.com/Smitty_Cabinetshop/blog/23904) that's been in my shop for five+ years now.

The cabinet is completely hand made, and one of the build details that catches my eye is the dado work of the cubbies. About a third of the interior space is divided into pigeon / cubby holes that I've since filled w/ various tools. Each dado has very crisp / clean side walls, and many times the amount of material remaining between opposing dado cuts is incredibly small.

So maybe the right choice for my tool cabinet is to replicate what the Inspiration Piece has, and that's a solid vertical and side dados. But then the article says to use the egg-crate divider method. Analysis paralysis set in, as the prevailing winds move to and fro between the alternatives. While I waited a week for the pulls and screws to arrive (I ain't paying for expedited shipping!), I even did a test cut of the egg-crate variety. Alrighty then, that's what I'll do! Top and bottom dados were cut using the same process as the sides were created.

Wood Gas Hardwood Flooring Lumber


Guitar accessory Wood Musical instrument String instrument accessory Floor


And with those cuts made, a more complete preview of the finished cabinet comes together. Here's the horizontal partitions…

Table Wood Workbench Hardwood Desk


And the vertical. Note this one has 1/4"overhang of divider, past the stopped dado. That's a detail I really like from Roy's original.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Plank


Oh, and just for grins, the front edge of that vertical divider got a bit of roundover using the #45 and No. 12R.

Wood Gas Flooring Hardwood Machine


I'll talk about setting that reference point for stopped dados in the next installment…

So a number of things move the forefront, re: build activities: Matching up the interior partitions for final placement, working the panel door; choosing stock for and building eight (8) drawers; and final carcase assembly. More to come, and thanks for looking!
 

Attachments

#1,175 ·
Nail (Screw) Cabinet - Forward Progress

This cabinet is essentially a crate with wood-frame exoskeleton and hinged door. Dimensions were set because the crate is what it is… The depth of the cabinet was somewhat variable. My version sets the framing forward of the crate walls to define the opening depth for the door to be added, and also allows the cabinet to be mounted flush to the wall via 'hidden' French Cleat. A major component of the build was creating the wood frames for the top, bottom and sides. After ripping the 1x stock to suitable (and equal) width, it was planed a bit thinner for aesthetic reasons; 3/4" frames stood out too much from the crate, and looked out of proportion. That done, I decided on dowelled butt joints to hold the frames together at the corners, a first for me. Especially the way I chose to cut the dowel holes: via a Stanley #59 dowelling jig, brace, and bit.

Air gun Machine gun Wood Trigger Shotgun


My Stanley #59 came in a box of 'what not' junk a long enough time ago that I don't remember getting it. The jig has only one of the seven (or so) tube sizes that shipped with it originally, so that's what I used (3/8") for the dowels. I drilled the holes via brace and No. 6 bit, and added a Stanley #49 depth stop gauge to the bit for consistency. Dowels were cut on the Stanley No. 150.

Wood Musical instrument accessory Bumper Gas Machine


Wood Machine tool Hardwood Flooring Engineering


So, for those of you who are counters, to place pairs of dowels in the frames required a total of 32 holes. Needless to say I'm pretty comfortable using the #59 / 6 / #49 combo of tools at this stage.

Wood Gas Table Tool Art


Table Wood Gas Bottle Hardwood


Wood Engineering Workbench Machine Machine tool


Two pairs of frames completed, it was time to explore ways the dividers would be incorporated. I decided at that point better access to the crate's interior sides would come by removing the bottom of the crate. That was done with a 5-in-1 painter's took and the nails saved for later re-install.

Wood Handwriting Gas Font Metal


Then, without too much difficulty, I stepped off equal interior height and width segments via dividers; this resulted in two columns of four drawers each. That'd be fine. Next, the partition material was located. This ended up being three pieces of poplar drawer side material from a busted up carcase of one kind or another that I keep on hand for situations just like this one. I didn't like the thickness of the stock, so the alien head planer was pulled into quick action. Some smoothing with the T13 #4 and everything was looking good. A few pencil marks approximately centered the three horizontal dividers to the marks made earlier, and from there I used several scores of the marking knife to create clean sides for the six dados to be completed. I finished them to depth via Stanley #271 router. Horizontal partitions were then cut the length. Here's an in-process picture.

Wood Flooring Floor Line Wood stain


It was time to order the bin pulls at this point, as having those in-hand allows me to establish the set-back required to completely close the cabinet door when all is said and done. I ordered them on a Monday afternoon and continued with the vertical partition. And here again there was a decision to be made: do I match the vertical and horizontal pieces via 'egg crate divider,' or half-lap joints, or cut the vertical into pieces that in turn ride in dados of their own? I made six dados in pine; this would be eight more in poplar. It's either that, or 12 perfect cuts with a handsaw. While we ponder this choice, how about a diversion to my shop's Inspiration Piece for so many things: the Vintage Wall Cabinet (http://lumberjocks.com/Smitty_Cabinetshop/blog/23904) that's been in my shop for five+ years now.

The cabinet is completely hand made, and one of the build details that catches my eye is the dado work of the cubbies. About a third of the interior space is divided into pigeon / cubby holes that I've since filled w/ various tools. Each dado has very crisp / clean side walls, and many times the amount of material remaining between opposing dado cuts is incredibly small.

So maybe the right choice for my tool cabinet is to replicate what the Inspiration Piece has, and that's a solid vertical and side dados. But then the article says to use the egg-crate divider method. Analysis paralysis set in, as the prevailing winds move to and fro between the alternatives. While I waited a week for the pulls and screws to arrive (I ain't paying for expedited shipping!), I even did a test cut of the egg-crate variety. Alrighty then, that's what I'll do! Top and bottom dados were cut using the same process as the sides were created.

Wood Gas Hardwood Flooring Lumber


Guitar accessory Wood Musical instrument String instrument accessory Floor


And with those cuts made, a more complete preview of the finished cabinet comes together. Here's the horizontal partitions…

Table Wood Workbench Hardwood Desk


And the vertical. Note this one has 1/4"overhang of divider, past the stopped dado. That's a detail I really like from Roy's original.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Plank


Oh, and just for grins, the front edge of that vertical divider got a bit of roundover using the #45 and No. 12R.

Wood Gas Flooring Hardwood Machine


I'll talk about setting that reference point for stopped dados in the next installment…

So a number of things move the forefront, re: build activities: Matching up the interior partitions for final placement, working the panel door; choosing stock for and building eight (8) drawers; and final carcase assembly. More to come, and thanks for looking!
Looks very good Smitty. Nice to see someone else using the 59, it is a handy lil' gadget!
 

Attachments

#1,194 ·
Nail (Screw) Cabinet - Internals Done!

Last time:

"I'll talk about setting that reference point for stopped dados in the next installment…

That's simple. The stopped dados are set to allow clearance for the hardware (pulls) to be mounted to the fronts of each drawer. I got that hardware in from D. Lawless in Olney, Illinois.

Rectangle Gas Automotive exterior Automotive lighting Bumper


The depth of that pull set the depth of the drawer fronts. The #198 set the line, and a little chisel work extended the dado to a consistent setback from the front of the soon-to-be cabinet.

Guitar accessory Wood Musical instrument String instrument accessory Floor


Once the center bar was set all proper and final, I had a decision to make. Last time I was set on joining the dividers via egg-crate overlaps. Well, I changed my mind and opted instead to create more stopped dados in the vertical piece.

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


I helped the #272 router plane along with the flat chisel cut, btw.

Wood Wood stain Floor Plank Saw


Table Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Once those were done, I inserted each partition and marked them for notches that were then cut with the gents dovetail saw.

Brown Wood Rectangle Wood stain Flooring


Hand tool Wood Crosscut saw Office ruler Wood stain


Some glue was applied before all was assembled and made ready for 'next steps.'

Wood Art Guitar Audio equipment Machine


Time to replace the back panel and button up this inside carcase!

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Gas Plank


Next time, we might apply the external framework, or complete the panel door, or build drawers. More to come, and thanks for looking!
 

Attachments

#1,195 ·
Nail (Screw) Cabinet - Internals Done!

Last time:

"I'll talk about setting that reference point for stopped dados in the next installment…

That's simple. The stopped dados are set to allow clearance for the hardware (pulls) to be mounted to the fronts of each drawer. I got that hardware in from D. Lawless in Olney, Illinois.

Rectangle Gas Automotive exterior Automotive lighting Bumper


The depth of that pull set the depth of the drawer fronts. The #198 set the line, and a little chisel work extended the dado to a consistent setback from the front of the soon-to-be cabinet.

Guitar accessory Wood Musical instrument String instrument accessory Floor


Once the center bar was set all proper and final, I had a decision to make. Last time I was set on joining the dividers via egg-crate overlaps. Well, I changed my mind and opted instead to create more stopped dados in the vertical piece.

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


I helped the #272 router plane along with the flat chisel cut, btw.

Wood Wood stain Floor Plank Saw


Table Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Once those were done, I inserted each partition and marked them for notches that were then cut with the gents dovetail saw.

Brown Wood Rectangle Wood stain Flooring


Hand tool Wood Crosscut saw Office ruler Wood stain


Some glue was applied before all was assembled and made ready for 'next steps.'

Wood Art Guitar Audio equipment Machine


Time to replace the back panel and button up this inside carcase!

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Gas Plank


Next time, we might apply the external framework, or complete the panel door, or build drawers. More to come, and thanks for looking!
I ordered those same pulls avoit 4 mo ago in anticipation
 

Attachments

#1,217 ·
Block Plane with a Fence?. Yup.

NOTE: This is a recap of several posts made to the Epic Thread back in November 2016 that I've just now decided should be it's own blog post. Just because.

So, here we go.

I've had this customized #120 for a long time now (Aug 2013), just gave it a re-look tonight. Always liked the custom cap, appreciated the careful shaping along with the smart adjuster / set screw. Pics don't really do the plane justice, but the user-made cap is serious workmanship. It's done right, very symetrical, and incredibly effective. There's a machine bolt threaded through the hardwood (maple maybe?) cap used to tighten everything up. So the tool deserves respect in that regard - it's a survivor! Also noticed the two holes tapped on the plane's left side. Well, I found machine screws to fit tonight and decided to make a fence for the plane.







With the fence attached and glued, up we'll see when it's done if the fence is square to the sole of the plane or if adjustments with a bit a smoothing are needed. A fenced block plane is kinda unusual to my mind. I have a Stanley #386 jointer fence but never use it. We'll see if this one stays on a #120.

A bit of shaping with the TFWW toolmaker's rasp, then oil:



And it works good!



Fence wraps under the sole, and adusting iron gets a square edge. Interesting. This might be a permanent tool tote resident.



That's all, thanks for looking.
 

Attachments

#1,218 ·
Block Plane with a Fence?. Yup.

NOTE: This is a recap of several posts made to the Epic Thread back in November 2016 that I've just now decided should be it's own blog post. Just because.

So, here we go.

I've had this customized #120 for a long time now (Aug 2013), just gave it a re-look tonight. Always liked the custom cap, appreciated the careful shaping along with the smart adjuster / set screw. Pics don't really do the plane justice, but the user-made cap is serious workmanship. It's done right, very symetrical, and incredibly effective. There's a machine bolt threaded through the hardwood (maple maybe?) cap used to tighten everything up. So the tool deserves respect in that regard - it's a survivor! Also noticed the two holes tapped on the plane's left side. Well, I found machine screws to fit tonight and decided to make a fence for the plane.

Wood Smoothing plane Musical instrument Hardwood Flooring


Wood Automotive tire Motor vehicle Vehicle Gas


Wood Gas Musical instrument Musical instrument accessory Hardwood


With the fence attached and glued, up we'll see when it's done if the fence is square to the sole of the plane or if adjustments with a bit a smoothing are needed. A fenced block plane is kinda unusual to my mind. I have a Stanley #386 jointer fence but never use it. We'll see if this one stays on a #120.

A bit of shaping with the TFWW toolmaker's rasp, then oil:

Table Hand tool Bottle Wood Tool


And it works good!

Wood Gas Lumber Engineering Hardwood


Fence wraps under the sole, and adusting iron gets a square edge. Interesting. This might be a permanent tool tote resident.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Plank


That's all, thanks for looking.
I have a #386 fence also that I've used twice. Found it somewhat cumbersome. Very nice creation on that one Smitty. Let us know how it works in the long run.
 

Attachments

#1,227 ·
Repairing Sliding Tambour

We've had this Sellers brand hoosier cabinet for many, many years but there's no room for it in the house anymore. One issue that needed attention was the rolling tambor door; it was in four pieces. The challenge has always been finding a way to repair tambor that is fixed in place / not removable.

The first step was finding suitable tambor door material. The interwebz calls it canvas or duck canvas, so I will too. Fortunately, I kept some canvas from an old printer cover and had it in the rags drawer in the shop. It was cut up into a couple of strips long enough to span the range of individual tambors to be joined by fabric. Here's a pic of the new stuff in the same frame as the original.

Brown Wood Rectangle Beige Road surface


The first step in this repair process was joining a single tambor to a three-piece set. That was easy enough in that each of those strips could be slanted in the track and removed / replaced without issue (so there are no pictures). I applied a general coating of wood glue to the fabric and pressed each side together with cauls; from there I was down to three pieces.

Next step was joining the four-tambor piece to the lower, handled section of tambor that could not be removed from the cabinet. For this one, I slathered on glue and used the same cauls with a pair of 3" Pony hand clamps to get the job done.

Wood Floor Flooring Table Tints and shades


Brown Wood Wood stain Hardwood Beam


And the bottom half is complete, with extra canvas ready to mate to the upper half of the sliding tambor.

Brown Wood Tints and shades Hardwood Wood stain


So, down to two pieces but the challenge of joining them remains. Wasn't sure how to proceeed, but came up with a plan that should work: bits of dowel rod used as a type of spring pole clamp. I've seen these in online articles but couldn't re-find those now, so the name is likely wrong, but oh well. For the fix then, I cut a couple thin caul-like pieces that will press against the glued canvas which in turn are held in place by spring poles.

First, hold the bottom half where I want it with stop blocks.

Wood Gas Tints and shades Fixture Door


Close up this gap:

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Tints and shades


Spring Pole / Clampy Thingy pics:

Wood Rectangle Flooring Wall Hardwood


Wood Floor Wood stain Flooring Plank


So, did they work? I don't know, haven't glued it up yet. But… I'll be sure to let you know.

Thanks for looking!
 

Attachments

#1,228 ·
Repairing Sliding Tambour

We've had this Sellers brand hoosier cabinet for many, many years but there's no room for it in the house anymore. One issue that needed attention was the rolling tambor door; it was in four pieces. The challenge has always been finding a way to repair tambor that is fixed in place / not removable.

The first step was finding suitable tambor door material. The interwebz calls it canvas or duck canvas, so I will too. Fortunately, I kept some canvas from an old printer cover and had it in the rags drawer in the shop. It was cut up into a couple of strips long enough to span the range of individual tambors to be joined by fabric. Here's a pic of the new stuff in the same frame as the original.

Brown Wood Rectangle Beige Road surface


The first step in this repair process was joining a single tambor to a three-piece set. That was easy enough in that each of those strips could be slanted in the track and removed / replaced without issue (so there are no pictures). I applied a general coating of wood glue to the fabric and pressed each side together with cauls; from there I was down to three pieces.

Next step was joining the four-tambor piece to the lower, handled section of tambor that could not be removed from the cabinet. For this one, I slathered on glue and used the same cauls with a pair of 3" Pony hand clamps to get the job done.

Wood Floor Flooring Table Tints and shades


Brown Wood Wood stain Hardwood Beam


And the bottom half is complete, with extra canvas ready to mate to the upper half of the sliding tambor.

Brown Wood Tints and shades Hardwood Wood stain


So, down to two pieces but the challenge of joining them remains. Wasn't sure how to proceeed, but came up with a plan that should work: bits of dowel rod used as a type of spring pole clamp. I've seen these in online articles but couldn't re-find those now, so the name is likely wrong, but oh well. For the fix then, I cut a couple thin caul-like pieces that will press against the glued canvas which in turn are held in place by spring poles.

First, hold the bottom half where I want it with stop blocks.

Wood Gas Tints and shades Fixture Door


Close up this gap:

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Tints and shades


Spring Pole / Clampy Thingy pics:

Wood Rectangle Flooring Wall Hardwood


Wood Floor Wood stain Flooring Plank


So, did they work? I don't know, haven't glued it up yet. But… I'll be sure to let you know.

Thanks for looking!
You and Mos, always leaving us in suspense. Lots of innovative thinking going on there Smitty. Great job (if it works) ;-)
 

Attachments

#1,237 ·
It Might Be, It Could Be... A Kerfing Plane?

I've been in love with the idea of having a kerfing plane for years at this point, but haven't gotten one yet. I started a build out of pecan but that stopped because I didn't have the taps for threading the rods. There were posts and activity on adapting a #55 multiplane for the job, but those planes are too expensive to be used as one trick ponies. Then a Facebook plane group talked about a buy of Chinese (or Indian? I don't recall) knock-offs of the Record line, to include a kerfing blade/cutter, but after sending in my contact info there was nothing more forthcoming on it.

Then, as I walked through rows of "antique decor and ideas" vendor displays at a local event, I spotted this beast:

Outdoor bench Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


It was overpriced a bit, but complete in the right areas (tote, rods, fence). Maybe with the addition of a strip of saw blade (and I've got plenty of donors for that) it could become the kerfing plane of my dreams (KPOMD? Nah… anyway) and fill the resewing void I've experienced since, well, since whenever.

Well, the answer is still "maybe," as I've not done much beside disassembly and a bit of repair thus far. Big ole screws holding the fence, and they turned with a bit of elbow grease!

Wood Gas Automotive exterior Bumper Hardwood


Only the back portion of the center skate remained, and was removed pretty easily as well.

Wood Gas Wood stain Nail Hardwood


I'll do some cleanup and light sanding of the whole thing and post more pics, but that's all the progress I've made on the tool. Will it get further attention, or land on the scrap heap of kerfing history (like my pecan-shaped plane of '15)? I don't know, we'll discover that together.

========
UPDATE #1
========


Here's a close up pic of the fence's support strut after rebuild. You can see the remnants of a nail hole in the curved section that's now been glued up and smoothed out. Also re-cut the arched portion a bit (see the bandsaw marks that haven't been fully removed yet) because the fence shrank but strut didn't. There was an overhang of the strut between a 16th and an 8th that had to go.

Wood Hand tool Automotive tire Bumper Fender


I also had to adjust those struts for square, specifically the parts that touched the fence. Because after cleaning and re-assembly I had a fence that was anything but square to the sole of the plane.

Wood Gas Metal Auto part Bumper


One of the struts is a bit 'longer' than the other too, so the fence doesn't sit parallel to the sole 'depth wise.'

Saw Wood Hand tool Tool Metalworking hand tool


Both of those issues were addressed with a quick pass through at the table saw. Finally, there's work to do with the main body of the plane to close up the wood that's missing behind the tote.

Automotive tire Wood Automotive wheel system Gas Computer keyboard
 

Attachments

#1,238 ·
It Might Be, It Could Be... A Kerfing Plane?

I've been in love with the idea of having a kerfing plane for years at this point, but haven't gotten one yet. I started a build out of pecan but that stopped because I didn't have the taps for threading the rods. There were posts and activity on adapting a #55 multiplane for the job, but those planes are too expensive to be used as one trick ponies. Then a Facebook plane group talked about a buy of Chinese (or Indian? I don't recall) knock-offs of the Record line, to include a kerfing blade/cutter, but after sending in my contact info there was nothing more forthcoming on it.

Then, as I walked through rows of "antique decor and ideas" vendor displays at a local event, I spotted this beast:

Outdoor bench Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


It was overpriced a bit, but complete in the right areas (tote, rods, fence). Maybe with the addition of a strip of saw blade (and I've got plenty of donors for that) it could become the kerfing plane of my dreams (KPOMD? Nah… anyway) and fill the resewing void I've experienced since, well, since whenever.

Well, the answer is still "maybe," as I've not done much beside disassembly and a bit of repair thus far. Big ole screws holding the fence, and they turned with a bit of elbow grease!

Wood Gas Automotive exterior Bumper Hardwood


Only the back portion of the center skate remained, and was removed pretty easily as well.

Wood Gas Wood stain Nail Hardwood


I'll do some cleanup and light sanding of the whole thing and post more pics, but that's all the progress I've made on the tool. Will it get further attention, or land on the scrap heap of kerfing history (like my pecan-shaped plane of '15)? I don't know, we'll discover that together.

========
UPDATE #1
========


Here's a close up pic of the fence's support strut after rebuild. You can see the remnants of a nail hole in the curved section that's now been glued up and smoothed out. Also re-cut the arched portion a bit (see the bandsaw marks that haven't been fully removed yet) because the fence shrank but strut didn't. There was an overhang of the strut between a 16th and an 8th that had to go.

Wood Hand tool Automotive tire Bumper Fender


I also had to adjust those struts for square, specifically the parts that touched the fence. Because after cleaning and re-assembly I had a fence that was anything but square to the sole of the plane.

Wood Gas Metal Auto part Bumper


One of the struts is a bit 'longer' than the other too, so the fence doesn't sit parallel to the sole 'depth wise.'

Saw Wood Hand tool Tool Metalworking hand tool


Both of those issues were addressed with a quick pass through at the table saw. Finally, there's work to do with the main body of the plane to close up the wood that's missing behind the tote.

Automotive tire Wood Automotive wheel system Gas Computer keyboard
I'm in. Which activity most often spurs your desire for a kerfing plane?
 

Attachments

#1,256 ·
Nail (Screw) Cabinet - Drawer Fronts vs Drawers

When we left off (last December!), the internal dividers had been set on this piece and I was debating adding the external framing that's been completed for some time. Before getting into that discussion, I'll pass along this update: A fellow LJ (OldFart) gifted me a block of spalted maple probably 2+ years ago that I've been holding onto for the right project. Good News, this is the project. Here's the block, on the far end of the bench, back in Nov 2014.

Wood Flooring Gas Art Engineering


After some resewing and fiddling about, Drawer Fronts came from the maple chunk.

Wood Flooring Hardwood Wood stain Writing desk


That was in February and that's how the cabinet (?) remained until the 4th of July holiday.

What happened that brought the piece back to working status? In a word: Material. Specifically, I came across eight short (identical) pieces of pine that led to a eureka moment… they were long enough, wide enough, and when resawn would result in sixteen drawer side blanks. Perfect for eight drawers, right? Okay, game on!

First, kerf cuts at the table saw.

Train Wood Composite material Wood stain Tints and shades


Wood Bag Musical instrument Electronic instrument Audio equipment


Then a pass for each board at the bandsaw.

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plank Flooring


Smooth away the center waste with the venerable Stanley #4 (a workout in my uncooled shop in July!).

Wood Table Desk Hardwood Event


Then a check to confirm the fronts were beefy enough to support half blind dovetails to attach sides.

Wood Wood stain Material property Hardwood Plank


The sides aren't perfect matches for thickness, despite my best guess at setting the fence on the table saw. No biggie, that just means marking them to fronts to ensure depth of half blinds matches each piece of side stock. All the boards were dovetailed as a single step, and gang cutting two at a time was definitely the way to go.

Wood Outdoor bench Office ruler Natural material Wood stain


Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Art Sculpture


Oh, and the layout for the tails is done freehand by tracing both sides of a chisel in three places on the boards' ends. Angled cuts are whatever comes of the saw. I've shown pics of the process in previous blogs (that are likely useless now thanks to PHOTO 'CHUM' BUCKET, but that's another story). Meanwhile, here are all the tools used for dovetailing, all laid out on the benchtop.

Table Furniture Wood Desk Writing desk


The 'results' pile.

Musical instrument Wood Art Rectangle Flooring


I've mentioned at least a few times that this kind of drawer making is one of my fave woodworking activities and it's still true. Doing small half blinds in somewhat punky, spalted maple is it's own kind of special activity. That said, things are about half way now on putting sides to front.

Wood Burin Tool Stonemason's hammer Wood stain


Wood Shelving Textile Shelf Hardwood


So the tasks remaining to complete drawers are apparent: four more fronts, then figure out what do do for bottoms and backs, make work that results in eight sliding drawers of the proper depth and overall fit. Gee, wonder if that will take another six months? :) Stay tuned, and thanks for looking!
 

Attachments

#1,257 ·
Nail (Screw) Cabinet - Drawer Fronts vs Drawers

When we left off (last December!), the internal dividers had been set on this piece and I was debating adding the external framing that's been completed for some time. Before getting into that discussion, I'll pass along this update: A fellow LJ (OldFart) gifted me a block of spalted maple probably 2+ years ago that I've been holding onto for the right project. Good News, this is the project. Here's the block, on the far end of the bench, back in Nov 2014.

Wood Flooring Gas Art Engineering


After some resewing and fiddling about, Drawer Fronts came from the maple chunk.

Wood Flooring Hardwood Wood stain Writing desk


That was in February and that's how the cabinet (?) remained until the 4th of July holiday.

What happened that brought the piece back to working status? In a word: Material. Specifically, I came across eight short (identical) pieces of pine that led to a eureka moment… they were long enough, wide enough, and when resawn would result in sixteen drawer side blanks. Perfect for eight drawers, right? Okay, game on!

First, kerf cuts at the table saw.

Train Wood Composite material Wood stain Tints and shades


Wood Bag Musical instrument Electronic instrument Audio equipment


Then a pass for each board at the bandsaw.

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plank Flooring


Smooth away the center waste with the venerable Stanley #4 (a workout in my uncooled shop in July!).

Wood Table Desk Hardwood Event


Then a check to confirm the fronts were beefy enough to support half blind dovetails to attach sides.

Wood Wood stain Material property Hardwood Plank


The sides aren't perfect matches for thickness, despite my best guess at setting the fence on the table saw. No biggie, that just means marking them to fronts to ensure depth of half blinds matches each piece of side stock. All the boards were dovetailed as a single step, and gang cutting two at a time was definitely the way to go.

Wood Outdoor bench Office ruler Natural material Wood stain


Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Art Sculpture


Oh, and the layout for the tails is done freehand by tracing both sides of a chisel in three places on the boards' ends. Angled cuts are whatever comes of the saw. I've shown pics of the process in previous blogs (that are likely useless now thanks to PHOTO 'CHUM' BUCKET, but that's another story). Meanwhile, here are all the tools used for dovetailing, all laid out on the benchtop.

Table Furniture Wood Desk Writing desk


The 'results' pile.

Musical instrument Wood Art Rectangle Flooring


I've mentioned at least a few times that this kind of drawer making is one of my fave woodworking activities and it's still true. Doing small half blinds in somewhat punky, spalted maple is it's own kind of special activity. That said, things are about half way now on putting sides to front.

Wood Burin Tool Stonemason's hammer Wood stain


Wood Shelving Textile Shelf Hardwood


So the tasks remaining to complete drawers are apparent: four more fronts, then figure out what do do for bottoms and backs, make work that results in eight sliding drawers of the proper depth and overall fit. Gee, wonder if that will take another six months? :) Stay tuned, and thanks for looking!
That's gonna look killer Smitty! Resawing and a bunch of half blinds in a day is solid progress for sure.
 

Attachments

#1,323 ·
Shapleigh Ephemera

As is usually the case, this entry starts with some background. This particular broken piece was an auction purchase likely more than 20 years ago.

Wood Rectangle Floor Flooring Composite material


It appears to be a three sided display case meant to sit on top of a store cabinet. Problem was (obviously) the glass was in pieces. I liked it and bought it for some small amount and it's been in a cabinet in the garage ever since. But lately, with the same cleaning exercise that reprised the plumb crate that's becoming a nail cabinet, it was rediscovered. Notable feature: the decal on the glass.

Asphalt Motor vehicle Font Road surface Tints and shades


First challenge was removing the glass from the case. A razor blade did the trick.

Wood Bottle Hardwood Wood stain Rectangle


Some marks to create a square piece of glass (I have a glass cutter that wasn't there years ago)...

Door Wood Flooring Hardwood Font


and a scrap oak frame made with Stanley 150 mitre box and #289 skew fillister got me a framed piece of glass from a famous, albeit long-gone, St Louis hardware company.

Wood Office supplies Writing implement Font Hardwood


Not sure what else I can do to it, but at least what's there was saved. The base will get new glass at some point, when I know where to put such a piece when restored.

That's it, thanks for looking!
 

Attachments

#1,324 ·
Shapleigh Ephemera

As is usually the case, this entry starts with some background. This particular broken piece was an auction purchase likely more than 20 years ago.

Wood Rectangle Floor Flooring Composite material


It appears to be a three sided display case meant to sit on top of a store cabinet. Problem was (obviously) the glass was in pieces. I liked it and bought it for some small amount and it's been in a cabinet in the garage ever since. But lately, with the same cleaning exercise that reprised the plumb crate that's becoming a nail cabinet, it was rediscovered. Notable feature: the decal on the glass.

Asphalt Motor vehicle Font Road surface Tints and shades


First challenge was removing the glass from the case. A razor blade did the trick.

Wood Bottle Hardwood Wood stain Rectangle


Some marks to create a square piece of glass (I have a glass cutter that wasn't there years ago)...

Door Wood Flooring Hardwood Font


and a scrap oak frame made with Stanley 150 mitre box and #289 skew fillister got me a framed piece of glass from a famous, albeit long-gone, St Louis hardware company.

Wood Office supplies Writing implement Font Hardwood


Not sure what else I can do to it, but at least what's there was saved. The base will get new glass at some point, when I know where to put such a piece when restored.

That's it, thanks for looking!
Nice save, Smitty! Maybe put a print of the building behind the glass? Like this one from WK Fine Tools web page?
 

Attachments

#1,340 ·
Soft (Brown) Maple in the House

Cut a tree down last year, a soft maple that was really a sh*t tree, and just got the trunk slabbed today into 5/4 boards.

Here's the tree.
Plant Building Green Window Tree


Here are the boards.
Outdoor bench Picnic table Table Street furniture Outdoor furniture


All will finish at 10" + wide and over 8' long, and there's spalting too.

Brown Wood Wood stain Floor Plank


Over 80 board feet.
Wood Publication Shelving Flooring Hardwood


Ponderosa pine at the bottom of the stack, air drying since 2014 or so. A day with wood is a good day! Thanks for looking.
 

Attachments

#1,341 ·
Soft (Brown) Maple in the House

Cut a tree down last year, a soft maple that was really a sh*t tree, and just got the trunk slabbed today into 5/4 boards.

Here's the tree.
Plant Building Green Window Tree


Here are the boards.
Outdoor bench Picnic table Table Street furniture Outdoor furniture


All will finish at 10" + wide and over 8' long, and there's spalting too.

Brown Wood Wood stain Floor Plank


Over 80 board feet.
Wood Publication Shelving Flooring Hardwood


Ponderosa pine at the bottom of the stack, air drying since 2014 or so. A day with wood is a good day! Thanks for looking.
Nice haul smutty!
 

Attachments

#1,350 ·
Craftsman 'CBB' Planes

One of my first 'pristine' tool finds was a Craftsman 5CBB jack plane. Still had the decal, and I liked the red and blue accents.

Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Jack plane Block plane


Fast forward a half dozen years and I find another 'CBB' on ebay and do some research. They're Millers Falls planes made for Craftsman. Not prime bench planes, but quite serviceable. It seems there were Stanley equivalents for bench sizes 3 through 7, no fractionals. I'm not one to covet a 6 (I find them quite worthless), so with today's addition of a 7CBB I'm calling this a Collection.

Plane Jack plane Bumper Wood Tool


Plane Smoothing plane Scrub plane Rebate plane Wood


Just a bit of fun, thought I'd share. C'ya!
 

Attachments

#1,351 ·
Craftsman 'CBB' Planes

One of my first 'pristine' tool finds was a Craftsman 5CBB jack plane. Still had the decal, and I liked the red and blue accents.

Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Jack plane Block plane


Fast forward a half dozen years and I find another 'CBB' on ebay and do some research. They're Millers Falls planes made for Craftsman. Not prime bench planes, but quite serviceable. It seems there were Stanley equivalents for bench sizes 3 through 7, no fractionals. I'm not one to covet a 6 (I find them quite worthless), so with today's addition of a 7CBB I'm calling this a Collection.

Plane Jack plane Bumper Wood Tool


Plane Smoothing plane Scrub plane Rebate plane Wood


Just a bit of fun, thought I'd share. C'ya!
As a Miller's Falls fan.

Nice finds! Looking good
 

Attachments

#1,375 ·
Nail (Screw) Cabinet - Hardware & Glue-up

So I pushed one of the unfinished drawers into it's place in the cabinet and couldn't get it out without help. And that help was installation of a drawer pull.

Brown Rectangle Wood Beige Flooring


With one put into place, an executive decision was reached to install all eight. One setting of dividers was used to get them where it looked good to my eye. So, divider, pencil and Goodell Pratt Birds-Eye Awl readied each front for drilling via the Stanley eggbeater (sporting the latest in blue painter's tape as a depth stop).

Wood Bumper Gas Automotive tire Hardwood


Automotive tire Wood Bumper Gas Auto part


Pretty soon all eight were marked and drilled.

Hand tool Wood Saw Metalworking hand tool Tool


Waxed, slotted screws and all was done.

Wood Hand tool Metalworking hand tool Table Machine


Now it was time to glue up the drawer sides to each of the fronts. All it takes is a vise, carpenter clamp and a couple of F-style clamps per drawer! Why such a conflagration? To tighten sides to front horizontally as well as pull the sides tight to the front of each half blind socket (front to back clamps). At this rate it'll take a few days to finish, as I only have a couple H clamps to work with.

Wood Tool Saw Hand tool Workbench


Wood Floor Hardwood Flooring Engineering


See you later this week for another update.
 

Attachments

#1,376 ·
Nail (Screw) Cabinet - Hardware & Glue-up

So I pushed one of the unfinished drawers into it's place in the cabinet and couldn't get it out without help. And that help was installation of a drawer pull.

Brown Rectangle Wood Beige Flooring


With one put into place, an executive decision was reached to install all eight. One setting of dividers was used to get them where it looked good to my eye. So, divider, pencil and Goodell Pratt Birds-Eye Awl readied each front for drilling via the Stanley eggbeater (sporting the latest in blue painter's tape as a depth stop).

Wood Bumper Gas Automotive tire Hardwood


Automotive tire Wood Bumper Gas Auto part


Pretty soon all eight were marked and drilled.

Hand tool Wood Saw Metalworking hand tool Tool


Waxed, slotted screws and all was done.

Wood Hand tool Metalworking hand tool Table Machine


Now it was time to glue up the drawer sides to each of the fronts. All it takes is a vise, carpenter clamp and a couple of F-style clamps per drawer! Why such a conflagration? To tighten sides to front horizontally as well as pull the sides tight to the front of each half blind socket (front to back clamps). At this rate it'll take a few days to finish, as I only have a couple H clamps to work with.

Wood Tool Saw Hand tool Workbench


Wood Floor Hardwood Flooring Engineering


See you later this week for another update.
Good show Smitty.
 

Attachments

#1,386 ·
Nail (Screw) Cabinet - Final Assembly

Okay. In the last installment I noted that a glued up drawer front / sides piece went kinda 'parallelogram' on me overnight. To affect a repair, I brushed water in each of the front corner joints and set it on the shop heater to warm it up thoroughly. Clamped it square and hoped for the best.

Wood Vise Tool Hardwood Gas


I just like this 'in process' picture.

Wood Window Hardwood Gas Table


And clamped drawer backs into place after gluing.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Flooring Lumber


Marked, drilled, cut and nailed bottoms.

Hand tool Wood Tool Wood stain Hardwood


Removed excess from backs.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Plywood


Wood Wood stain Hardwood Gas Plywood


Wood Hardwood Metal Sandal Carmine


While the glue set, I hit the crate with some Howard's orange oil and beeswax to bring out some of the rich tone of the old pine box while giving it a bit of protection. Not much of a protective finish, I know, but I like it and it's in the Shop Style Guide. Anyway, when that was done, the slanted drawer came out of the clamps and was surprisingly much closer to square. Very pleased to see that!

So with all drawers put together, all eight drawers were put back into the divided crate kinda like a puzzle gets worked on… Grain has to line up, and not all drawers are exactly the same (shocker!). With that, assembly was done!

Wood Hardwood Table Machine Art


With some final fitting remaining tomorrow evening, we have a bench at rest tonight. Almost there!

Table Desk Wood Musical instrument accessory Space
 

Attachments

#1,387 ·
Nail (Screw) Cabinet - Final Assembly

Okay. In the last installment I noted that a glued up drawer front / sides piece went kinda 'parallelogram' on me overnight. To affect a repair, I brushed water in each of the front corner joints and set it on the shop heater to warm it up thoroughly. Clamped it square and hoped for the best.

Wood Vise Tool Hardwood Gas


I just like this 'in process' picture.

Wood Window Hardwood Gas Table


And clamped drawer backs into place after gluing.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Flooring Lumber


Marked, drilled, cut and nailed bottoms.

Hand tool Wood Tool Wood stain Hardwood


Removed excess from backs.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Plywood


Wood Wood stain Hardwood Gas Plywood


Wood Hardwood Metal Sandal Carmine


While the glue set, I hit the crate with some Howard's orange oil and beeswax to bring out some of the rich tone of the old pine box while giving it a bit of protection. Not much of a protective finish, I know, but I like it and it's in the Shop Style Guide. Anyway, when that was done, the slanted drawer came out of the clamps and was surprisingly much closer to square. Very pleased to see that!

So with all drawers put together, all eight drawers were put back into the divided crate kinda like a puzzle gets worked on… Grain has to line up, and not all drawers are exactly the same (shocker!). With that, assembly was done!

Wood Hardwood Table Machine Art


With some final fitting remaining tomorrow evening, we have a bench at rest tonight. Almost there!

Table Desk Wood Musical instrument accessory Space
You old workhorse you :) your makin is look bad

I like how the excess from the back was removed by immaculate sawing. All of a sudden it was cut just right wit the scrap laying there. I need to learn that trick :)

Looking good. Send it my way when you get a chance.
 

Attachments

#1,407 ·
Tumbler for Small Stuff

I have a Folgers tub mostly full of 1" slotted screws, but they're a rusty mess.

Hand Finger Thumb Terrestrial plant Nail


I recently heard a clothes dryer works as a parts tumbler, so here we go! Start with rusty screws and a tightly lidded / sealed container.

Wood Glove Hardwood Electric blue Kitchen utensil


Tumble with a medium load of towels about 30 minutes and the threads and slots were looking much better.

Ingredient Plant Cuisine Staple food Dish


Lots of pulverized rust left behind!

Brown Hat Natural material Dishware Serveware


I then soaked them with WD-40 and let them dry in the sun before a final wipe down with a rag.

Finger Wood Serveware Coffee Nail


Ready for later use!
 

Attachments

#1,408 ·
Tumbler for Small Stuff

I have a Folgers tub mostly full of 1" slotted screws, but they're a rusty mess.

Hand Finger Thumb Terrestrial plant Nail


I recently heard a clothes dryer works as a parts tumbler, so here we go! Start with rusty screws and a tightly lidded / sealed container.

Wood Glove Hardwood Electric blue Kitchen utensil


Tumble with a medium load of towels about 30 minutes and the threads and slots were looking much better.

Ingredient Plant Cuisine Staple food Dish


Lots of pulverized rust left behind!

Brown Hat Natural material Dishware Serveware


I then soaked them with WD-40 and let them dry in the sun before a final wipe down with a rag.

Finger Wood Serveware Coffee Nail


Ready for later use!
You are a clever boy.
 

Attachments

#1,423 ·
Unusual SW Marking

Well, unusual to my knowledge, anyway.

Salvaging some hinges earlier this week

Wood Office ruler Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


First one gave up some Stanley love

Brown Wood Door Gas Metal


Logo difficult to make out (even more difficult to photograph), but it says "STANLEY WORKS MADE IN USA" all inside that heart.

Did some clean up for a better pic:

Finger Wood Household hardware Thumb Gas


Not important or even tremendously interesting (except for me, of course), but it put a smile into a menial task. Now t find a project to use them on!
 

Attachments

#1,424 ·
Unusual SW Marking

Well, unusual to my knowledge, anyway.

Salvaging some hinges earlier this week

Wood Office ruler Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


First one gave up some Stanley love

Brown Wood Door Gas Metal


Logo difficult to make out (even more difficult to photograph), but it says "STANLEY WORKS MADE IN USA" all inside that heart.

Did some clean up for a better pic:

Finger Wood Household hardware Thumb Gas


Not important or even tremendously interesting (except for me, of course), but it put a smile into a menial task. Now t find a project to use them on!
Actually I think that is pretty cool, Smitty
 

Attachments

#1,433 ·
A Simple Cabinet

It all started with a bit of horsing around with one of the M. Crannell moulding planes that came with the H&R half set + I got from Don Yoda over a year ago.

Wood Metal Fashion accessory Event Wind instrument


Found some straight grained pine and made a decent profile, then decided to rough out a simple cabinet I could nail it onto. Start with more reclaimed (old, salvaged) pine boards and rough 'em to size.

Furniture Wood Chair Plant Table


Saw Wood Workbench Machine tool Tool


Do some notch cuts and rabbets.

Brown Wood Finger Thumb Nail


Wood Machine Engineering Hardwood Auto part


Square nail fasteners for the face, then added beadboard back and shelf cleats.

Wood Flooring Hardwood Automotive exterior Bumper


Wood Rectangle Plank Wood stain Flooring


Wood Hardwood Shelving Machine Engineering


Then, get a door on this thing. M&T frame, floating panel.

Hand tool Wood Metalworking hand tool Tool Gas


Wood Hardwood Gas Engineering Machine


Oh, and this was about the moulding, right?

Wood Table Tool Machine tool Workbench


Barrel Wood Shotgun Gas Air gun


And that's as far as I've gotten thus far.

PROJECT POST IS HERE! Thanks for looking!
 

Attachments

#1,434 ·
A Simple Cabinet

It all started with a bit of horsing around with one of the M. Crannell moulding planes that came with the H&R half set + I got from Don Yoda over a year ago.

Wood Metal Fashion accessory Event Wind instrument


Found some straight grained pine and made a decent profile, then decided to rough out a simple cabinet I could nail it onto. Start with more reclaimed (old, salvaged) pine boards and rough 'em to size.

Furniture Wood Chair Plant Table


Saw Wood Workbench Machine tool Tool


Do some notch cuts and rabbets.

Brown Wood Finger Thumb Nail


Wood Machine Engineering Hardwood Auto part


Square nail fasteners for the face, then added beadboard back and shelf cleats.

Wood Flooring Hardwood Automotive exterior Bumper


Wood Rectangle Plank Wood stain Flooring


Wood Hardwood Shelving Machine Engineering


Then, get a door on this thing. M&T frame, floating panel.

Hand tool Wood Metalworking hand tool Tool Gas


Wood Hardwood Gas Engineering Machine


Oh, and this was about the moulding, right?

Wood Table Tool Machine tool Workbench


Barrel Wood Shotgun Gas Air gun


And that's as far as I've gotten thus far.

PROJECT POST IS HERE! Thanks for looking!
Looks good Smitty, pictures are like taking a step back in time.
 

Attachments

#1,467 ·
Another Simple Cabinet

It begins anew…

For background, check here. And new build stuff could be on the OP (here) or below, so "WATCH" this blog and stay alert. ;-)

First, find some pine. Never mind the one piece had a huge stress crack in it; cut it out, joint the edges and make a good board out of it.

Wood Gas Machine Metal Door


Those were gonna be the sides, then the second board needed attention.

Wood Tool Machine Bumper Engineering


Then the first one had issues…

Wood Gas Stonemason's hammer Tool Hardwood


So, new stock was chosen.

Wood Motor vehicle Gas Machine Engineering


Marked and cut corners for face frame pieces.

Motor vehicle Wood Line Automotive exterior Tire


Wood Table Workbench Tool Hardwood


Sized and jointed those face pieces, pulling the No. 9 mitre plane into service.

Wood Engineering Machine Flooring Metal


Add some square nails.

Table Wood Hand tool Table tennis racket Hardwood


Wood Hardwood Wood stain Gas Auto part


And we're making progress!

Wood Hardwood Gas Wood stain Composite material


The back of these cabinets has 1/4" T&G, so a rabbet is needed. Press the No. 78!

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Electric blue


And celebrate the Humble #203 Clamp along the way.

Wood Wood stain Fixture Hardwood Door


Work the top and bottom plates, getting length right for the inserts before marking to proper width.

Wood Tire Wheel Motor vehicle Automotive exterior


Rip pieces for door panel, rails and stiles, via RAS…

Wood Composite material Hardwood Plank Gas


then groove w/ Stanley No.48 T&G plane.

Wood Gas Engineering Metal Machine


Found the stock to be made into the upper and lower moulding.

Wood Rolling Machine Automotive exterior Engineering


Grain is tight and straight, as it should be.

Wood Art Font Publication Metal


In the Comments section below I've posted on cutting the mouldings, creating adjustable shelves, and working the M&T joinery for the panel door~!

PROJECT POST IS HERE! Thanks for looking!
 

Attachments

#1,468 ·
Another Simple Cabinet

It begins anew…

For background, check here. And new build stuff could be on the OP (here) or below, so "WATCH" this blog and stay alert. ;-)

First, find some pine. Never mind the one piece had a huge stress crack in it; cut it out, joint the edges and make a good board out of it.

Wood Gas Machine Metal Door


Those were gonna be the sides, then the second board needed attention.

Wood Tool Machine Bumper Engineering


Then the first one had issues…

Wood Gas Stonemason's hammer Tool Hardwood


So, new stock was chosen.

Wood Motor vehicle Gas Machine Engineering


Marked and cut corners for face frame pieces.

Motor vehicle Wood Line Automotive exterior Tire


Wood Table Workbench Tool Hardwood


Sized and jointed those face pieces, pulling the No. 9 mitre plane into service.

Wood Engineering Machine Flooring Metal


Add some square nails.

Table Wood Hand tool Table tennis racket Hardwood


Wood Hardwood Wood stain Gas Auto part


And we're making progress!

Wood Hardwood Gas Wood stain Composite material


The back of these cabinets has 1/4" T&G, so a rabbet is needed. Press the No. 78!

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Electric blue


And celebrate the Humble #203 Clamp along the way.

Wood Wood stain Fixture Hardwood Door


Work the top and bottom plates, getting length right for the inserts before marking to proper width.

Wood Tire Wheel Motor vehicle Automotive exterior


Rip pieces for door panel, rails and stiles, via RAS…

Wood Composite material Hardwood Plank Gas


then groove w/ Stanley No.48 T&G plane.

Wood Gas Engineering Metal Machine


Found the stock to be made into the upper and lower moulding.

Wood Rolling Machine Automotive exterior Engineering


Grain is tight and straight, as it should be.

Wood Art Font Publication Metal


In the Comments section below I've posted on cutting the mouldings, creating adjustable shelves, and working the M&T joinery for the panel door~!

PROJECT POST IS HERE! Thanks for looking!
That's coming along nicely! Nice to see your still cranking out beautiful hand work in the shop.
 

Attachments

#1,552 ·
The No 1 Stanley Odd-Jobs

Let's explore the No. 1 Stanley Odd-Jobs! There are at least three 'types' out there, mostly differentiated by scribe type (earliest ones could hold a pencil) and presence of various patent dates. The Stanley version first appeared in the late 1880s ('87 or '88, per the inter webs) and the tool was ultimately discontinued in 1935. An interesting article on the earliest iterations of the tool can be found here. Here is another article with pics of the tool is use. The Odd-Jobs also appeared on page 35 of Stanley's 1922 copy of Catalogue No. 34:

Font Engineering Parallel Machine Drawing


And courtesy of Stan Faulin, here is a cover scan from the tool's instruction sheet:

Font Parallel Rectangle Illustration Art


Here's my version of the tool, one of the later types (no Pat'd dates, identical to the Catalogue illustration above) with Level bubble visible that makes the tool capable of checking horizontal and vertical Level (or plumb).

Wood Rectangle Font Hardwood Metal


Blurry pic, but there's flaking nickel coating that is keeping the face of the tool from being flat and smooth.

Wood Tool Hardwood Metal Screw


A few swipes 'back and forth' over 400 grit paper (on a flat surface) addressed that issue in short order. Looks better, too.

Hand tool Tool Wood Metalworking hand tool Pipe wrench


What does the Odd-Jobs do besides serve as a level, you ask? It was advertised as 10 Tools in One… I can't vouch for that (yet), but here are a few. Starting with Square (honorable mention: the Scribe Tool):

Calipers Hand Wood Tool Finger


Wood Automotive tire Rectangle Road surface Material property


Reinsert that scribe tool into the Odd-Jobs, add a pencil, and you've got a Mortising Gauge:

Finger Wood Thumb Fashion accessory Hardwood


Brown Wood Flooring Rectangle House


Table Wood Finger Automotive tire Nail


Wood Table Gas Office supplies Machine


Another feature of the Scribe Tool is a Screwdriver; it is tailored to be used for extending a point at the top of the Odd-Jobs, creating a Beam Compass:

Gesture Wood Finger Thumb Nail


Wood Pipe wrench Metal Fashion accessory Bumper


Wood Bumper Carbon Metal Bicycle part


Wood Ruler Font Gas Office ruler


The tool is a Depth Gauge:

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Gas


Wood Calipers Hardwood Wood stain Plank


And a Mitre Square, too.

Tape measure Ruler Wood Guitar accessory Office ruler


And finally, the Odd-Jobs can check for Inside Square on boxes, frames, drawers, etc.

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Wood stain


Any Stanley 1" wide carpenter's rule will fit, included this longer, brass-edge variety, should it be preferred.

Guitar accessory Wood Finger Flooring Wood stain


Thanks for looking!
 

Attachments

#1,553 ·
The No 1 Stanley Odd-Jobs

Let's explore the No. 1 Stanley Odd-Jobs! There are at least three 'types' out there, mostly differentiated by scribe type (earliest ones could hold a pencil) and presence of various patent dates. The Stanley version first appeared in the late 1880s ('87 or '88, per the inter webs) and the tool was ultimately discontinued in 1935. An interesting article on the earliest iterations of the tool can be found here. Here is another article with pics of the tool is use. The Odd-Jobs also appeared on page 35 of Stanley's 1922 copy of Catalogue No. 34:

Font Engineering Parallel Machine Drawing


And courtesy of Stan Faulin, here is a cover scan from the tool's instruction sheet:

Font Parallel Rectangle Illustration Art


Here's my version of the tool, one of the later types (no Pat'd dates, identical to the Catalogue illustration above) with Level bubble visible that makes the tool capable of checking horizontal and vertical Level (or plumb).

Wood Rectangle Font Hardwood Metal


Blurry pic, but there's flaking nickel coating that is keeping the face of the tool from being flat and smooth.

Wood Tool Hardwood Metal Screw


A few swipes 'back and forth' over 400 grit paper (on a flat surface) addressed that issue in short order. Looks better, too.

Hand tool Tool Wood Metalworking hand tool Pipe wrench


What does the Odd-Jobs do besides serve as a level, you ask? It was advertised as 10 Tools in One… I can't vouch for that (yet), but here are a few. Starting with Square (honorable mention: the Scribe Tool):

Calipers Hand Wood Tool Finger


Wood Automotive tire Rectangle Road surface Material property


Reinsert that scribe tool into the Odd-Jobs, add a pencil, and you've got a Mortising Gauge:

Finger Wood Thumb Fashion accessory Hardwood


Brown Wood Flooring Rectangle House


Table Wood Finger Automotive tire Nail


Wood Table Gas Office supplies Machine


Another feature of the Scribe Tool is a Screwdriver; it is tailored to be used for extending a point at the top of the Odd-Jobs, creating a Beam Compass:

Gesture Wood Finger Thumb Nail


Wood Pipe wrench Metal Fashion accessory Bumper


Wood Bumper Carbon Metal Bicycle part


Wood Ruler Font Gas Office ruler


The tool is a Depth Gauge:

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Gas


Wood Calipers Hardwood Wood stain Plank


And a Mitre Square, too.

Tape measure Ruler Wood Guitar accessory Office ruler


And finally, the Odd-Jobs can check for Inside Square on boxes, frames, drawers, etc.

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Wood stain


Any Stanley 1" wide carpenter's rule will fit, included this longer, brass-edge variety, should it be preferred.

Guitar accessory Wood Finger Flooring Wood stain


Thanks for looking!
Such a cool tool. I have one without the scribe and the ruler. I'm thinking of making a scribe.
 

Attachments

#1,562 ·
Attaining 100%

Had an inherited oak washstand in the upstairs bathroom. Not complete, as there was no towel rack on the back, as there once was. Literally found one at an auction, stripped, in pieces, but too wide. I cut and reshaped it years ago, never applied finish. Ah, the dreaded "99% Complete" project.

Well, that was addressed this week, and today it was installed.

Wood Chair Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain


BTW, everything above the flat surface (harp looking side pieces with straight rod between) is what I'm calling a 'towel rack.' Looks like it was always there. Exhale, job done! Thx for looking.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Wood stain
 

Attachments

#1,563 ·
Attaining 100%

Had an inherited oak washstand in the upstairs bathroom. Not complete, as there was no towel rack on the back, as there once was. Literally found one at an auction, stripped, in pieces, but too wide. I cut and reshaped it years ago, never applied finish. Ah, the dreaded "99% Complete" project.

Well, that was addressed this week, and today it was installed.

Wood Chair Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain


BTW, everything above the flat surface (harp looking side pieces with straight rod between) is what I'm calling a 'towel rack.' Looks like it was always there. Exhale, job done! Thx for looking.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Wood stain
That's a beautiful piece, Smitty. Nice job. Most of my house is furnished with similar vintage oak furniture.
 

Attachments

#1,575 ·
Continuing to Outfit the Toolchest

If you know me, you know there's no substitute for brass and rosewood. No surprise then, my marking gauges of choice are the relatively scarce Stanley Nos. 197 (single post) and 198 models. I have one of each in my bench cabinet, and wanted the same set in the chest. Well, good times, as ebay came through with a 198 last week and that was the piece I needed.

Hand tool Wood Metalworking hand tool Tool Air gun


Not a big deal, but a nice feeling to continue placing quality user tools in the chest!
 

Attachments

#1,576 ·
Continuing to Outfit the Toolchest

If you know me, you know there's no substitute for brass and rosewood. No surprise then, my marking gauges of choice are the relatively scarce Stanley Nos. 197 (single post) and 198 models. I have one of each in my bench cabinet, and wanted the same set in the chest. Well, good times, as ebay came through with a 198 last week and that was the piece I needed.

Hand tool Wood Metalworking hand tool Tool Air gun


Not a big deal, but a nice feeling to continue placing quality user tools in the chest!
Nice score(pun intended). :)

Like my Goodell Pratt's. One, two and three beam models.
 

Attachments

#1,586 ·
A Collection of DeWalt MBFs?

Well, it started a number of years ago with this MBF, bought via CL ad.

Saw Wood Table Machine tool Power tool


Love it, use it just about every time I'm in the shop. Now I am doing a bit in my father's shop space, using his 80s-era Craftsman RAS that looks like this.

Pneumatic tool Saw Drill Handheld power drill Wood


Scary tool. Seriously.

CL ad last weekend said RAS for $50. I picked it up tonight.

Wood Door Hardwood Flooring Table


Looks new, considering it's 65 years old!

Sewing machine feet Sewing machine Table Wood Engineering


It's heading to Dad's tomorrow!
 

Attachments

#1,587 ·
A Collection of DeWalt MBFs?

Well, it started a number of years ago with this MBF, bought via CL ad.

Saw Wood Table Machine tool Power tool


Love it, use it just about every time I'm in the shop. Now I am doing a bit in my father's shop space, using his 80s-era Craftsman RAS that looks like this.

Pneumatic tool Saw Drill Handheld power drill Wood


Scary tool. Seriously.

CL ad last weekend said RAS for $50. I picked it up tonight.

Wood Door Hardwood Flooring Table


Looks new, considering it's 65 years old!

Sewing machine feet Sewing machine Table Wood Engineering


It's heading to Dad's tomorrow!
Very nice Smitty! I've got a Powr-Kraft RAS in my shop, used to be my grandfathers. I'd love to pick up an MBF, especially for $50!
 

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