The Craftsman's Path #2: Woodworking choices: hand or power?
This post is a pragmatic look at the choices between hand a power tool woodworking. Click here for the post. Thanks for reading!
screws
ever want to say – to hell with the high fahlutin joinery – and just screw the dang project together? i’m close people – real close – to doing just that. well, not really. just maybe a little. maybe. a bit. they’ll be unseen. i mean, they’re screws, there is a serious skill level involved. right? getting them straight, allowing for wood movement, choosing the right ones, placement, yadda yadda yadda. what if i put them in by hand? would...
My close call
I know you guys think I’ve vanished but to your dismay I am still here. It happens that a couple of french friends have come over to visit the country and they are staying over at our home for two weeks so I am quite busy showing them the area. Although after reading Hawg's post I couldn’t help but remember my close call with a spinning blade. Too close for my taste. It was a few years ago and I was building a new porch for a friend of mine. Her house is an ancient (170 year...
Garden Bench and Table Construction #2
I forgot to mention on the first part of this blog that I don’t have any pictures of construction on the bench. This was due partly to my camera crapping out on me and I really didn’t know this thing would turn out as good as it did. After completing the bench and seeing the results, I figured it would be a good idea to take pictures when I decided to do the table and share them with ya’ll. So, I bought a new camera. With that said I continue:Here’s what I used for a &...
Inspired or Insane
After mulling around a bit thinking about the music box I want to build and cursing the lack of tools in my shop (specifically the Rikon 10-325 I not so secretly lust after) I was remembered a post I read and was inspired, http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/woodspar/blog/1370 or stricken by a very severe dementia. I’m not sure. I plan on building a music box with a frame and panel top. The frame will likely be curly maple and the panel will be a black walnut crotch. The crotch I have i...
Living Room and Bar Project #1: #1
Some additional photos of the Living room and bar project Photo one shows the matching arches we did in the foyer. Photo two shows the custom bar stools the client had made. Photo three show the hand carved limestone and marble fireplace. Photo four shows the iron work added to the glass doors. Lee
Hand Tools #1: Watching Paint Dry
While I was watching the top coat paint dry on my shutters, (the acrylic based topcoat dries a good deal faster than the oil based primer!) I got this crazy idea in my head to start working with hand tools. So I got out my planes and chisels and my pull saw and started hacking away at some pine I had laying around the shop. At one point, (it must have been the caffiene in the coffee ice cream,) I dug up my copy of “Joinery Basics” by Sam Allen, and read his in...
Woodworking Clubs #2: Central Valley Woodworkers Club
ATTENTION CENTRAL VALLEY WOODWORKERS For July I was thinking of making a wood plane. I got a couple of pieces of 01 tool steel and have been wanting to make a plane for a long time. I have a couple of sets of plans, so maybe that would be a project that whoever wants to attend might be interested in and have some comments on.
Hand Plane Restoration #2: Stanley 9 1/2 Block Plane
Stanley Block Plane Restoration PDF ELECTROLYTIC RUST REMOVAL INSTRUCTION SHEET A couple of days ago I spent some time rehabbing an old block plane that used to sit on the bottom of my steel carpenters box or in my nail bags depending on what I was working on at the time. I was motivated and inspired by fellow LumerJocks Wayne and Matt to pull this plane out and put it to use in the shop. I do not have photos before starting my rehab – maybe a Freudian slip as I would be embarasse...
Hand Plane catastrophe...or almost nearly a catastrophe!!!
So there I was last night. Down in the shop putting the finishing touches on a piece of cherry that would become a part of the desk I’ve been making for my daughter Madison. The pieces are all cut and dimensioned so now I’m just using my smoothing planes to put that sheen on the face that only a sharp blade can achieve. I have nothing against sanding, but I promised myself a long time ago to keep on practicing when and where I can with the hand planes. I’ve come a long w...
