Wish the shop was bigger.....

I wasn't going to blog about this but I came home all ready to go to work and I couldn't. Shop is a tad too small to multi-project at the level I wanted to. Since I can't do that, I can do this.

This is the reason why I can't use my workbench to do what I want. These are going to be replacement shutters for the house. The bride has been asking me for going on two years to make new ones. I finally decided start them and use it as an exercise in hand tool working. The shutters are basically just a series of rip and cross cuts. My rip handsaw is with bad axe awaiting fixing and sharpening (table saw used here). I have 3 xcut handsaws so I used a mix of hand and power tool working. It was a nice time that was rather peaceful with the exception of the table saw whine.


I started by cross cutting a 1 x12 piece of pine to the length of stiles. I cut a few extras to cross cut later into battens to hold the vertical stiles in place (two per shutter). Once this was done I ripped them out on the table saw. I used a bench hook to cut the stiles to length. The shutters consist of three stiles, the middle one is cut straight at the top and bottom and the two outboard stiles have a 45 cut on the top. I cut the 45's with my LN cross cut saw and all the 90's on the battens. A lot of repetitive cuts but good practice.

My first cross cuts were horrible (my new 10 pt xcut handsaw). They were pretty much square across the board on the first cut but beveled. The second cut looked like a drunken sailor walking the plank but the bevel was smaller.  By the time I got to the sixth cut I was cutting square across the board and square across the edge. I really thought I would have done a better job on my first attempt. Using a handsaw is not new to me. I had to use one for years on my side line construction jobs as a lot sites didn't have any electricity. It's like riding a bike, you're a little wobbly at first but the balance comes right back.

 I cleaned up all the long edges with my fore plane. I started to clean the 45's and the 90's but stopped. This is an outdoor project where no one is going to get close enough to see them. Besides I cut them with a good cross cut saw and they were pretty smooth to begin with. Most of the shavings on the floor are from this exercise.

This whole thing (not including the paint job) took me a little less then two hours to complete. I used an old bench as a sawbench that I have had since I was stationed on my first submarine. The shipyard replaced our batteries and the built all the things they needed right there at the pier. I kept this little workbench as a souvenir. It has one broken leg but it's still serviceable. It worked fine for doing the cuts and it would have been awesome if it was just a few inches taller. So all this up above is what I wasn't going to blog about.

This is what I wanted to write about. I started a box for keeping my new rabbet plane in. The workbench is occupied and I didn't want to clear it off to work on this. It just would have been clear it off and put the stiles back, and repeat as necessary to build the box. The other pain is that it's been about 10 degrees cooler than normal around here. Makes painting a tad difficult. The temperature is right around the very low end of the range for painting.  Painting is one thing my father taught me to do and his cardinal rule was never paint anything when the temp is below 58. My shop is hovering around 54. So just like the painting will have to wait, my working on a new box will have to wait also.

accidental woodworker

rabbet plane pt 2.......

This is the missing part of my tool opinion of the LV rabbet plane. Today I did a check of the plane's ability to make a rabbet across the grain. I was impressed with the results I got. Setting the circular scoring blade was easy to do. It requires both a phillips (#1 or smaller) and a flat blade screwdriver. The flat blade unlocks how the scoring blade is secured and the phillips allows you to set the offset scoring blade how much you want it to project beneath the sole of the plane. LV also has a mechanism in place that allows you to move the scoring blade in/out to align it with the edge of the plane blade. You can sharpen the scoring blade but just thinking of how to hold something this small is giving me a headache. I think it would be better to just order a new one and avoid the headache of trying to sharpen it. But that's me, you might have a way of doing it.

This is the first board I tried. It's a piece of qtr sawn white oak. My first pass was a little light and I didn't get a consistent scoring line from one side to the other. The outboard side is a little deeper than the inboard one. I am still not shifting my pressure at the end of the planing stroke.
There was a little fuzz at the scoring line that I removed with a chisel. Maybe I should have set the scoring blade a little deeper?

A quick and easy way to get a rabbet across the grain. This is the result of 7 strokes with the plane. The face of the rabbet is as smooth as the face of the board. There aren't any divots, chatter marks, or tear out at all. I am very impressed with this result. This is using the plane right out of the box, no tune up, no quick honing, just setting the depth and width and planing away.

Just so I wouldn't get a false impression from the white oak, I tried the same operation with a piece of flat sawn white pine. It's not as wide as the white oak but it's wide enough to form an opinion of it.

I got the same impression with the pine as I did with the white oak. I planed for 7 strokes. Same result. No chatter marks, no tear out, and as smooth as the face of the board. The scoring line on the pine was clean and there wasn't any fuzz on the cut line. This is the only difference between the oak and pine.



I can see myself using this plane for all my rabbeting needs. I especially like the quiet in using this. I feel a better connection with the wood I am working. I can sense whether or not I am titling in or out as I stroke the plane up and down the board. One thing I think I'll definitely do is put a wooden fence. This will aid in registering the start of the cut and keeping the end of the cut true to the edge. This plane cost a few cookies from the tool savings cookie jar but after using it I would say that it is worth every penny. Still haven't figured out what I would use the extra long fence bars for.

accidental woodworker

Veritas skew rabbet ......

Got a new toy the other day. I bought a right hand Veritas skew rabbet plane. There is a lot of confusion on my part as to what exactly is the correct spelling for this type of joint. I mostly spell it with an "i" in place of the "e". I have read in a few different books a different spelling along with a differing explanations. I think a lot of has to do with what side of the pond you live on and whether you are english or french. As long as everyone knows what I am talking about, that's all that matters to me.

As usual I am not disappointed with what I got from LV with this tool. The fit and finish is very good. The only thing I don't like is the tote. I don't like the totes on any of the LV planes. To my eye they look incomplete. Like the guy making them went to lunch before he was done and when he came back put it into the done box and started on the next one. I guess it's a matter of what looks good to your eye. My friend doesn't see any difference between LV or LN. His thing is does it fit the hand and can you do the job?

I bought the long fence rods with this and why I did I don't know. I can not think of a situation where I would need them. LV was offering free shipping so I bought them thinking that if I did need them I had them. Nothing worse then should've, would've, could've, but didn't.  LV has a special system of locking nuts on the rods to secure the fence. I don't have a lot of experience with it but the time I did play with it, it seemed to work fine. I didn't get all anal and measure for parallel between the fence and the work. What I did do was put piece of wood between the fence and the work as a spacer and tightened it down. Not an original thought on my part, I got this tip from Wm Fairham and his woodworker series. The blade is thicker than what I have seen with other plane makers. However, lately I've been seeing that even the lower priced planes are starting to use thicker plane blades. This one was sharp right out of the box. I like this a lot. I believe that you shouldn't have "tune" it before you use it. The blade is also skewed and supposedly it will help keep the blade up tight in the corner of the rabbit. There aren't any sharp edges as I wasn't knicked or bleeding after I used it. The bottom of the plane and the bottom of the depth stop both appeared to have been lapped smooth. I like the size of the nut on the depth stop. It isn't a little piss ant size but rather substantial. I didn't feel like I was grabbing a pea when I loosened/tightened it.

This was my first "rabbet" and the associated shavings I made. The rabbet is 7/16" deep and 1 1/4" across. I just eyeballed the blade projection and went to town. I did this against the grain, I went uphill on purpose.



 After I got done, I measured the curls. (well almost all of them) I got a consistent measurement of .013 inches and it is within the the recommendation from LV of .005 to .020 inches per pass. It required almost no effort to cut this deep and I'm sure that it would have been even easy if I had gone down hill with the grain.

The "rabbet" came out pretty much square. I say pretty much because the exit side on the last inch or so runs out to the outside and down. So it appears my habit with my bench planes is carrying over to this plane. I don't feel bad about this because I have read in several books (and a couple of blogs) about checking that your "rabbets" are square and making any necessary corrections. For a first time use I am happy with the results and I don't think the learning curve is going to be all that hard to getting over the hump.

This is my only rabbet plane. I did own a stanley 78? that I got when I was 18 and I used it once. Didn't know about sharpening at that time so I chalked my inexperience up to a inferior tool.( I can't find it anywhere.) I bought this one after sitting on it and thinking for a while. I had read Sir Chris's review of the tool sometime ago and I don't recall seeing a review from anyone else. I read a couple of blogs about wooden rabbet planes but besides them being wooden (I don't like) you have to have more than one. Or buy a one with some type of fence arrangement.

I still have yet to try it across the grain. It has a scoring blade and along with the skew of the blade, I anticipate that cut will be pretty good. Not a comprehensive review but what little I did use it I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. Not having to listen to the whine of a router or the table saw is worth the extra time to use this plane. Besides what router will cut a 1 1/4" wide rabbet in one pass? I have yet to find anything major in the negative department with the LV tools that  I have bought. I don't consider my not liking their tote design as negative. This is just a personal preference on my part. I can feel another box coming on.

accidental woodworker

I don't understand....

I had just finished the latest project to come out of the accidental woodworker's workshop. I was pretty much satisfied with what I had done. The project was functional and would do it's intended purpose without any problems. It fit the spot I where I thought it would live it's life out. It did have a few blemishes, with the biggest being the gap caused by an errant cut on the wrong side of the line. All and all, a next country object with a purpose.

I had just finished sanding it and the next step would be putting a shellac sealer coat followed by a billion or two coats of home made wiping varnish. (regular strength poly thinned 50% with turpentine). As I stood there admiring what a good  job I had done looking at this purpose built object, the bride strolled over to look see also.

Talk about getting the wind sucked right out of your sails. Her comments started with "what's that?". I replied, proudly I might add, "the new recycling bin for paper". She came back lighting fast with "It's not staying there is it"? This was followed by "I don't like having the recycling in the living room".

Update: For the past 3 years (since Xmas of 2008) all the paper recycling had been collected at this very spot and held in a cardboard box 6" high x 14" wide x 18" long. A ratty, falling apart, ugly, ripped, torn, tapped at the corners,  looks like it should be recycled itself, cardboard box. The replacement box I had made was about 1 1/2" longer and wider (the cardboard box fit inside the new one). This was wood, looked a lot better, won't get ratty, torn, or have to be taped at the corners. This box also had handles, something the cardboard box doesn't have. You can pick this whole box up, carry it out to the big green recycling bin, and dump it. Did I mention that this was made of wood and eventually would look a little shiny? Did I mention that I made this myself? I didn't go to the pine mine and pick it out. Did I forget to tell you that it has handles?

So I now have a big box that will be added to the "I don't have a life project pile" in my den. The upside is the original pine recycling box that I made is now the one being used to hold the paper recycling. Instead of residing on the chair (where the cardboard box lived) it is going to live underneath the end table. This is acceptable, but the chair isn't. Duh, what am I missing here?  A crappy looking cardboard box was acceptable but a (in my opinion) pine box isn't.

I am incredibly stupid about some things, will scratch my head at other problems, but I have learned that when the bride says "where are you going put that ?", she really means it isn't going where I thought it should be. And she being the good wife that she is, with each new project, will continue to ooh and aah at the right time and put forth the requisite amount of attention before saying "what is that ?", followed by "where are you going to ......".

accidental woodworker

Tool Box revisited....

 

A couple of years back I made this toolbox when I was repairing medical equipment for a living. The company gave everyone a roll around cabinet. But since I wanted to be different and I'm a woodworker, I opted for this. When I made this I had every intention of making two of them but here it is years later and it's still only one. This is made mostly of red oak plywood (1/2") solid cherry, poplar and one piece of 1/4" plywood.

This first one was to be a model and for working out/figuring the kinks. The second one was to be made with all solid wood (cherry). Poplar for all the secondary wood and one piece of 1/4" plywood for the divider between the four small drawers and and the one large drawer. I even bought a new router bit, a drawer lock bit from Rockler. I went one step further and bought the set block for it of which I have no idea where I put it. Phil from Woodsmith did a UTube video that really showed  how to use this bit. Just wish that I had seen it before I made the toolbox. It would have eliminated a lot of trial and error and all those set ups.

I came up with my own locking system for the door. Rockler sells a locking system that automatically locks the door when you shut the lid.  When I started this project I didn't want to wait for anything to come in through the mail so I thought this up. It consists of a brass tube and some brass rod. The brass rod fits in the inside diameter of the brass tube. The brass tube goes from the top of the of the top rail right into the top of the door and down into that for about an inch and a half.

The door has a lip on the inside bottom that is sort of half lapped that keeps the door bottom in place. There is a space under the bottom drawer for stowing the door when the box is open.The two bent pieces of brass rod hold and lock the door in place. The door also sits flush against the drawer fronts keeping them shut.  I had to cut a shallow groove for the brass rod so that the lid would close properly. It's not as elegant as the one sold by rockler but it works just as well. The only hard part for me was ensuring that the hole for the brass tube was straight and true. I bought a 6" drill bit from McMaster Carr that matched the outside diameter of the brass tube. I made a drilling block out of a piece of scrap wood and used that to drill the holes in the top apron into the door to ensure that they were true. I then used this drilled hole to drill holes into the top of the door.

The case or carcass of the toolbox is basically just a box. There are two rabbets at the top and bottom along with two dadoes.  I used a tongue and groove thing for the back panel. One dado is for the shelf under the lid and the other is for the 1/4" plywood dust panel separating the small and large drawers.The dust panel's real purpose is to secure the bottom of the vertical divider.  The vertical divider between the left and right small drawers sits in a shallow dado (1/8") in the underside of the bottom of the shelf. I put three screws into this from the shelf side and I also screwed the 1/4" dust panel into it. So far it has held well without any sagging or loosening at all. Granted, I don't have a ton of weight hanging off of it, but I still wanted to impart some strength to it.

The drawer runners are just nailed in place. I never glued them or replaced the nails with screws. After all this was a prototype. That type of effort was supposed to be expended on the second one. All the edges of the exposed ply are covered with cherry strips. I used an extra wide cherry strip on the front due to the size of the lock and latches. I put some brass corner protectors on because I had them. I must of bought them for something and never used them. I glued a piece of cherry (5/16" thick) to the lid and then screwed the handle into that. I needed to build it up so the screws for the handle wouldn't blow through the lid.

Now that I have just about finished this blog, I've come to the conclusion that if I do make another one, it'll be most likely be built pretty much the same way. I have since seen plans on the WWW for making a locking system that is spring loaded (looked easy). Because I don't open and close this toolbox a billion times a day, it's system of locking doesn't bother me. But the next one will probably have an auto closing/locking system over my tube and rod one. I will also change the way you open the drawers. The half circle I made isn't making it. I have trouble getting my ham hock sized fingers in the hole to open the drawers. Maybe I could put those little brass screw knobby thingys I have that are hanging around collecting dust. (where and why did I buy these?) A bigger hole would negate what I could stow in the drawers. As it is now I stick myself sometimes when opening them. The only downside to the knobs that I can see is the depth of the drawer would be less. but you can get that back by making the depth of the toolbox bigger.

One last point. I think using plywood gives two immediate advantages. The first is you don't have to build with wood movement in mind. You don't have to allow for the inevitable cross grain situations. Secondly, you have a weight savings. I am probably wrong, but I think plywood (1/2") would weigh less than  solid wood. But that would depend on the species of wood.  I'm not sure what thickness of solid wood is acceptable (1/2 or 5/8 ?).As much as I want to pursue hand tool woodworking, I am still not adverse to using plywood. 

accidental woodworker

Round two.....

Since I made a faux pas on my last attempt to make a recycling box I decided to actually take measurements this time and make sure I didn't make it too big. It's coming none too late as the box I have been using is getting a tad ratty. I am sure that this wooden box will hold up better then the cardboard box did.

 The box on the very top is the first one I made (mistake free I might add). The spot that the bride said it should reside was a couple of inches too small. I know that the one in the works right now will fit because not only did I measure it twice, I also checked it when I did a dry fit up of the box. It fits the space with about an inch to spare. I don't have a need for something like this so it resides in my den with the rest of the "I don't have a home projects".

I forgot to take some pictures of the start of the project. Sorry, I was a little excited about having something to do and make in the shop. Cleaning up and reorganizing doesn't count. Anyway at this step I've cut the box joints on my table saw and I'm using my smoother to clean up the inside before I glue everything up. Made one boo-boob in that I cut one finger on the wrong side of the line. So I'll have to plug a gap of about an 1/8" of an inch. I used to plane boards between my bench dogs but I've stopped that. I found that I was arching the board from clamping it . Planing against a stop is much better. Next bench will have one that's built in.

Used this set up to drill the handle for the box. I was going to drill it out with my brace and bits but before I can do that I have to clean them up. I haven't used them in about 15 years and the both of them are a tad rusty. This was quick and easy and done in seconds.

 I drilled 99% of the waste out by doing over lapping holes. Here I'm doing a quick clean up of the handle with my 4-in-one rasp. Been thinking of getting the Auriou rasps that Sir Chris blogged about recently. His three piece recommendation from Lie Neilsen will set you back about 300 large ones. I am giving this some real serious consideration as I do use my rasps a lot. Unfortunately, I don't think that what I have is in the same league as the Auriou rasps.

Doing a real quick shallow 1/4" round over of the handles on both sides.  Forgot to do this on the first box I made. I had to round over the edges with emery cloth that I use for plumbing. I also did a round over of the top edges. I am going to wait until after glue up to clean them up and flush them with the sides.

 Everything is all glued up and cooking away. I used hide glue so I'll have to wait until tomorrow before I can play again with it. I read on some one's blog (can't remember whose) about making your own hide glue. It had never occurred to me that this was something you could do. I just assumed that you either bought  old brown glue (or Franklin) or you made it up in a glue pot. The recipe isn't that difficult as the only other ingredient besides the hide glue is salt or urea. Lee Valley sells hide glue in granular and pearls. I wonder if you can mix the two in order to get a different strength?

This is the mistake I had to fix, the consequence of cutting on the wrong side of the line. I had some strips of padauk on the bench and it fit just right, so that's what I used. I could have used pine to fix this but the padauk was handy and I don't mind having an error like this. Most people (other than woodworkers) don't even notice it unless you point out to them. Why do we woodworkers spend so much time on a project and then when we show it off the first thing we point out  is the mistakes we've made.

accidental woodworker

In the end I sharpened.....

I've been reading quite a few books on woodworking lately. I just finished two books by Wm Fairham that I think are two must reads if you like to follow the history of woodworking. Both of these books were written in the early twenties and are mostly about handwork with a little  power tool woodworking. I also ordered a new book by Jim Toplin (Traditional Woodworker) which is an advance, so it'll be a while before I get it. I also got the book "Grove Park Inn Arts & Craft furniture", by Bruce E Johnson. I haven't read this book yet, I just skimmed through it. My first impression is that it's not what I expected it to be. There is a ton of history about the furniture at this inn and the inn itself.  I expected pictures and drawings of the furniture, I can't wait to read this one.

The old timers who worked wood for a living around the turn of century worked some long hours. 12 to 14 hours a day, 6 days a week were common. I am not a historian and I haven't read a library of books, but I have gotten the impression that power tools were embraced and used a whole lot more here in the states then across the pond in Europe. It was also very common in Europe, especially in the villages, for woodworking shops to have no electricity at all (right up to and after WWII). Hence no power tools at all, all was done with hand tools. One other common thread I picked up from different authors, was that Saturday usually wasn't a "work day". This was a day that most workers used to clean and repair their tools. This seems to be the day that was devoted to sharpening and all the other tasks not directly involved with actually working wood.

There is a reason for the preceding two paragraphs of dribble above. I was in the shop playing with my new edge trimming plane I just got from Lee Valley. As I was using it I noticed that the edge was chipped in a couple of spots. Not big chips, but small ones that shouldn't take much time to get rid of. So I am thinking to myself that at some time in the not too distant future I am going to have time sharpen this blade. I also think to myself that I should at same time also touch up my block plane blade. I use the block plane for everything so I notice when it isn't cutting as good as when I have just honed it. Maybe I could also leave them out for the elves to do for me when I am sleeping. As far as I know, this only happens in fairy tales.

I got to thinking about the old timers using "saturdays" to do their sharpening and whatever. Why can't I do the same thing but pick a different day? I like sunday mornings because I do the laundry at that time. I can throw a load in and sharpen a few things. Please note I didn't mention cleaning the shop during this time, after all let's not get crazy.

I got smart this time and put a cut open garbage bag down on the bench to catch all the sharpening crud. I used my "sharpening stone box" for the first time. It caught all the run off and contained it in one spot. The stone I moved (from the middle of the box) so it rested against the back of the box. I thought that the natural grit of the stone would keep it still but it didn't so I moved it so the back acts as a stop.

I sharpened my new edge trimmer, my old edge trimmer (decided to keep this), and my block plane blade. This sharpening experience was a first for me as I did this free hand. The edge trimmer blades are too short to fit in my honing guide. The block plane does but I honed all the blades free hand. I checked that I was maintaining a square edge using a square I bought from woodpeckers made specifically for this purpose. It is worth every penny I spent on it. It is too frustrating trying to do this with a small square. Anyway, all worked out well for me. All three blades are square and sharp. The free hand drill wasn't that difficult. I just rocked the blade until I found the bevel and then drew it back. I didn't push it forward. I tried that once and I wasn't sure that I kept the bevel down on the stone so it was a one and only time.

One last thing. Am I the only person on this planet who has a hard time opening these stone holders ? Try as I might I can't open these holders without using a screwdriver. Mr Stone met Mr Screwdriver on this encounter (chipped my 1000 grit stone). I chipped  my 8000 stone too but it's a lot smaller. It's going to take a whole of sharpening before I abrade this chip away with use. I ripped the hinge off all the boxes (two half boxes) so I don't have to use a screwdriver to open these anymore.


It took me about 40 minutes to hone the three blades. When I was done, and of course had put everything  away, I realized that I had wanted to sharpen my japanese chisels (got distracted by the laundry thing). I have three dog leg and three mortise chisels that haven't seen a sharpening anything in years. They may start crying when I finally introduce them to each other.   Maybe they'll meet next sunday.

accidental woodworker

As done as it's gonna be...

Bit the bullet, pulled my head out of my butt and finished the mallet. By biting the bullet, I mean I did what I had to with chisels. I did alright as the acid test for me is how does it feel in my hand ? I am happy with that result. I had to go against the grain with my chisels but I didn't end up with any splinters. I took my time and made very shallow cuts, which if you know me, doesn't happen often. Robert Wearing shows some nice little up sweeps (lamb's tongues ?) at the top and bottom of the handle in the book. Mine are no where near as pronounced as his are. You might say that mine are invisible.

The photo on the above is the mallet right after I had glued it up. For a small mallet I felt that one, it didn't feel right,  and two, it was too bulky. It was also to wide so I thinned the sides down a tad. I took about 1/4" off of both sides. It made the mallet a little lighter and a whole lot less unyielding by paring the overall weight down some. I wanted to make the head a little smaller but in the end I decided to keep that as is. (right photo) I smoothed the band saw cuts with my smoother and you can see that I still suffer from rounding the start and end of the cut.

I just took the bare minimum off with my chisels. This handle is only 3/4 thick so I couldn't take off too much. There are no sharp edges as you grip the handle. It was a pain trying to make the little tongue on the handle closest to the mallet head so my tongues here really suck. (really small sucky tongues)




I did buy a spokeshave. I hit the books (and the WWW) for a couple of nights reading all I could on shaves  before I ordered one. I didn't find one shave that would be an all around user. I am just going to have buy a couple of more of them before I can call it complete for covering average workshop use. I haven't gotten it yet as the seller is probably waiting for the check to clear before mailing the shave to me. It's a wooden one with a brass wear plate. The blade is adjusted by running two set screws up/down which causes the blade/mouth opening to close/open. This all new to me as just about everything to do with a spokeshave is. I will post something once I get it and play with it for a while.

I didn't break down and buy the small metal shave neither. The only thing that kept from doing that is I have to pay the mortgage this week. Banks are funny in that they don't understand the priorities of getting a new tool.  Now I have absolutely nothing to do project wise in the shop. I might put a finish on the mallet just to have and excuse to go in the shop.

accidental woodworker

which way at the fork...

I am having a problem finishing my mallet. I need to shape the handle so that I don't have any sharp edges, a plus when you're using it. The problem is I need to get a spokeshave but I don't really know which one to get. I went to my favorite tool purveyor and I didn't get any answers there (nice eye candy but I need to read how to use this one). So I  broke out the books from which knowledge pours forth and got the same results. A whole lot of how to use one (of which I need copious instruction) but not a whisper as to which one to use for any particular task. There isn't a whole lot written about spokeshaves.

I did briefly consider using a chisel to shape the handle. However I don't think my chisel skills are up to the task of doing it. I watched a video of Sir Chris using just chisels to cut a lamb's tongue on an edge. This is  basically what I want to do with my handle, but round it a tad more to relieve any sharp edges. Another hindrance to my plan is that I made the handle out of white oak which isn't the softest wood to try a "first time" thingy on. I tried to make a tongue on a piece of poplar and my efforts yielded - "you need a lot more practice".

I found quite a few sites that sell wooden spokeshaves which surprised me. Almost all of them sell them with  brass wear plates (or not) and with some type of  screw adjustment system for setting the  blade. One of the wooden makers even sells a very small metal spokeshave. I don't know about you, but miniature tools really appeal to me. I must own a thousand little adjustable wrenches that you can put on your key chain. When I see one I buy it without hesitation. I digress and let me return to the topic. Although this small spoke appeals to me, I think I could do what I need to do on the handle with it. It will get into the tight corners near the bottom of the mallet head without busting my knuckles.

I need a spokeshave as the two I had went south. I had a iron stanley one from the turn of the century I got from my father-in-law who had gotten it from his father. It had a "U" shaped thingy that held the blade and it cracked and broke on me. Rendered the tool completely useless. The wooden spoke I had didn't survive the  bounce test with Mr Concrete floor. It split and broke in half  right in the mouth area. I couldn't see any way to glue this back together especially since it was the mouth and could it withstand the stress of using it? I saved the blade and the brass wear plate as I plan on attempting to make one when I pigs start to fly. I didn't use either of these that much due to my lack of sharpening skills at the time. I know now that a dull spoke is not what you need to have when you are trying to learn how to use it. Wish I could go back with what I know now and use them again.

I have come to that fork in the road and must make a decision as to which way to go. As I am in no appreciable hurry I have the luxury of taking my time. Kind of like my wife at a restaurant that has only two items on the menu, she will obsess for an hour over which to choose. I am leaning toward the small metal one but I am also leaning toward the price side of the equation. Which one to choose....

accidental woodworker

Do one thing, decide what to do next......

I got the mallet handle inserted and got the wedges in and seated. Now that this is done, I truly have a sense of what kind of mallet I have. Big and heavy are two attributes that stand out. This thing has a real presence in your hands. I feel like I could demo old buildings with this.

 I glued the wedges in with hide glue. The handle I wedged in place by pushing in until it stopped. I don't think this is going to come loose in my lifetime. I like the projection of the handle above the mallet head. I plan on flush cutting the wedges and then rounding the projection to match the radius of the mallet.

There are two aspects of this mallet that need further attention. The first one is the handle needs to be shaped to remove the sharp edges. I feel a real good excuse for buying a spoke shave coming on. I had some doubts about a 3/4" thick handle being ok but seeing and using it, however briefly, put those thoughts to bed. I have some reservations about the thickness of the head, especially the two outside faces. Again, this is a really big mallet that looks a little bit bigger then it should.


It looks like I have a project that is going to sit and simmer a while I decide what I am going to. Right now it's buy a spoke shave and maybe shave a 1/4" or so off each outside face. I think a thinner look will help with the look of the mallet. Subject to change while I wait for my spoke shave.

accidental woodworker

almost done

Good news and something to cheer about. I finally got the green light to go back to work yesterday. It wasn't that bad and like riding a bike, I didn't forget how to do my job or the people I work with. I made it through the day and I came home, felt good, and decided to spend a little time in the shop.

I got my bench slave fixed. I made the tenon a 1/2" longer and wedged it. The mortise ended up a little wider due to the filing job I had to do to get rid of the dried glue. To compensate for this I glued two thin pieces of wood to each side of the tenon cheeks. Turned out to be a nice snug fit that I  fine tuned a tad with a file. It's a lot tighter than it was before.

Robert Wearing writes that you should lay out and cut the mallet to shape before you fix the handle to the mallet head. I made a full scale drawing of the mallet so I could get the correct slope on the face of the mallet. Robert does not tell you want this angle is, or what the slope is. It is a very shallow angle. This is the way I figured it out.

This is how I determined what the radius on the top of the mallet was. (I remember Normie doing something similar) I made this compass a billion years ago and it's one of the few tools I have made that I still use on a constant basis. I got measurements along the beam but they are a tad off. I measured the distance from the pin to the pencil and I came up with a 7-3/16" radius. (about, my mallet is smaller than Bob's). The layout is done, now it's off to the bandsaw and then some sanding.

I lucked out on the handle length. Bob writes that the length is to suit you. I guesstimated mine. With the handle pushed in as far as it will go, there is about a 1/2" sticking up above the mallet head. The length left sticking out the bottom felt about right in hand. All that is really left is to finish the shaping of the head and then I can wedge the handle in place.

So at this point I have one done and one almost done. One more good note - I finally found a guy locally that sharpens hand saws. He's retired and worked in the old mills in the carpenter shop. His last job there was sharpening all the tools. From saws to chisels to scissors to whatever they handed him. I'm bringing him one of saws Saturday.

accidental woodworker