Finished.....

True to my word, I'm done - fini, it's over, the end, completed, yada, yada, - with the record 405 box. I cut off the protruding ends of the dowels, planed the handles and then hit it quickly with sandpaper. As of right now, I have no intention of applying any type of finish to the handles. However, this is subject to change depending on how bored I get in the future.

My homemade 405 box

 my homemade and the original

Better layout in my box

Cutter boxes

I am leaning toward replacing these two cutter boxes and making one that will hold both. For the time being I am putting both of them in the box to keep everything together.

accidental woodworker

Handle change authorized......

I finally got my handles in for my record box. Now that I have them in hand I am not so keen on putting them on. They would stick out like dumbo ears and in my opinion will not look right. Brass bail type drop down handles cost too much (this is what I wanted). I decided to make wooden handles to go on the box.

I looked around for scraps and found a couple pieces of oak that were thick enough to make a handle. I don't know what this was originally -I had cut a 3' piece into 10" lengths and used them as cauls. This was an easy project to complete with hand tools. I made only one cut on the table saw (removed the flutes),  the rest was done with hand tools. From start to finish (glued in place) took about 30 minutes.

Stock selected, removed the flutes, planed the exposed edges

Layout for the handle recess

Multiple saw kerfs to aid in removal

Some chisel work to remove the bulk of the waste

All cleaned up

Cut it and end up with two handles

Just about right here

Drilled some holes for miller dowels

Waiting for the glue to dry

 Seems I've been here at this stage a great deal lately. Tomorrow I'll remove the clamps and flush cut the dowels. A little light sanding and I think that will be it. I don't think I am going to put any finish on these handles. I can fit enough fingers (3) in the handles to lift the box comfortably w/o fear of doing a bounce test. These definitely are a better choice then the brass handles. Maybe tomorrow I'll have a done deal.

accidental woodworker

Improved more then the look.......

A few months back I ordered a replacement tote and knob from R & B Enterprises for my Lee Valley BU Jack plane. I got them, installed  them, and they have improved the look of the plane 100%. Along with the look the tote feels more natural. It matches the tote feel on my other planes. The swishing is awesome now.

Lee Valley BU Jack plane

For me, this tote just looks unfinished. It doesn't have the sinewy flowing curves of the Stanley style totes. It doesn't have the Stanley top horn thingy either. This LV tote looks like the leaning tower of Pisa.  I always felt a little awkward using this plane. The tote just didn't feel right when I pushed the plane. I'm not that fond of the knob but I would've learned to accept it. The knob looks like it's been squashed (mushroom?).

I read a review about the replacement totes and knobs from Rob @Heartwood blog. I had also read about someone else on ebay selling replacements. I went with Rob's recommendation due to I read several reviews (Sir Chris was one) and I read only one about the ebay seller. I had to wait a few months but R & B came thru with flying colors.

There are two big differences between the ebay seller (search for replacement totes) and R & B. One is price - R & B is $40 and the ebay guy was $16 (I'm not 100% sure of this price). The second difference is the way the tote is secured. The ebay guy uses two screws like Lee Valley does. R & B uses only one screw to secure the tote. As for how the two look side by side I can't say. If I can remember who, I'll post the blog I read about the ebay seller from. I know he's Canadian, from Ontario, a teacher, but I can't remember the name of his blog. (I didn't bookmark it)
Update 6/30/11 here's the link go to Friday, May 6th enty

Much better

The knob replacement is little more squashed than a Stanley (not as round) but it still looks better then the LV one. The tote fits my hand like R & B used it for a template. Sweet as fresh honey on a warm corn muffin.

Sleek and racy now

The knob and tote cost 40 bucks plus I had to pony up 4 more for USPS shipping (other shipping options are available). You might have to wait and be patient as R & B makes your replacements. He must be rather busy if my wait is an indication.  I definitely think the wait and price are worth it.

accidental woodworker

Finished one, learned something on another......

I finished my little tote. I am calling it a silverware caddy and I'm giving it to daughter #2 who is setting up house. I don't think these are used as much as they once were. I don't remember anything like this when I was growing up. However, I did see a lot of them when I went antiquing with the bride. Most of them had slanted sides and a solid wood bottom. Didn't take my camera with me, so if I make one I saw it'll look like .....

All done

Of all the silverware totes/caddies I saw the other day, none were dovetailed as mine is (no finger jointed ones either). For the most part they were made of butt joints and nailed. I didn't see any that were rabbeted or  mitered at the corners. They were old if you use the solid wood bottoms as an indicator. I saw none with a plywood bottom. I only saw one or two that were made of 1/2" stock, most looked like 3/8". I thought the prices were out to lunch. I saw one with nailed butt joints, straight sides, and a tiny hole for a handle grab, that was priced at 40 bucks. The seller did state it was from the late 40's, so I guess that justified the price.

Learned a few things about BLO over the weekend. The biggest is that pure gum turpentine makes a huge difference when mixing it with BLO. FYI - don't use it indoors, it stinks and lingers (I forgot this). I mixed some up and applied it to my big tool tote and the odors soon could smelled anywhere in the house. My second coat was done out in the drive way. Much smarter route to take. Anyway, I noticed that pure turpentine imparts a more yellowish color to the wood when you apply it. Mineral spirits just doesn't have the same effect as pure turpentine does.

I found out that the BLO you buy at the store has some real nasty chemicals in it to help speed up it's drying. Rather than use BLO, you could use Raw Linseed oil and "boil" it yourself. One recipe I found called for equal parts of RLO, pure gun turpentine, and vinegar. White or apple cider will do. The best vinegar to use is real apple cider vinegar. I've been looking and I have yet to find any. This is an old time application for tools, handles, floors, just about anything wooden or not wooden (stone was one application).

There is a nasty caveat with this. Making your own BLO is a dangerous and stinky process. The safest way (searching the www)  I found to do it is to use a crock pot and cook it on high for day. I don't think I'm ready to go down that road at this time. I will continue to make a faux pas and use BLO with the nasty things in it and cut it with pure turpentine. Vinegar might or might not be added.

BLO and pure gum turpentine 50/50

If you are going to try BLO, don't use mineral spirits to cut it. Pure gum turpentine is worth hunting around for and finding. Having used both to cut BLO, hands down pure turpentine is the way to go. Just remember to use it outdoors or like me, use a fan to blow across the project and out an open window.

accidental woodworker

A find is fun, cleaning it sucks.......

I took saturday off and went around to a few antique shops and consignment shops with the bride. We went to quite a few places and had lunch along the way.  It rates pretty close to being the same as a day in the shop with me.

The first place we stopped at a few dealers had some saws out for sale. One had about twenty of them and they were all reasonably priced (surprise). He probably doesn't watch antique roadshow and so doesn't know he's selling his treasures for almost nothing. Most of his wares were crap in my opinion but he did have one that caught my eye and I bought it. It is only 19" long and the tooth line is as straight as an arrow.  I don't know if it's a panel saw or something made for a child. It's cute (yes I said cute) and I have a thing for small tools. It didn't have any signs of abuse, just tons of rust. Hope it isn't pitted but for 4 bucks it's mine.

From another dealer I found two other saws that were quite rusty. I couldn't make out the etch at all but the heel was marked 5 1/2, so that makes it a rip which is what I wanted. Looking down the tooth line revealed that both saws were straight and not kinked. I bought both of them maker unknown and I really didn't care.

Two of my treasures

The big rip saw is a D23 by Disston ($5) and if I figured it out right, it's from around WWII, or right after. I'm pretty sure it has an apple handle. The small saw has an 8 on the heel and the etch says "our saw warranted cast steel". There isn't any medallion, just 3 screw posts. I followed the instructions for cleaning the saws from Matt at the Saw blog. I used the simple green he recommended and it worked fine. Wish I had taken a before pic to post but I was in a hurry and didn't think of it.

All clean

This saw is a Disston D7 ($5) and it doesn't show the use that the D23 has. This handle is beech so it dates it as being after WWII at a minimum. This one hasn't been sharpened as much as the D23. The teeth on the D7 at the toe (approx 2") are almost worn away to nothing. The rest of the tooth line is ok. Can't figure out how this happened. This saw handle had a ton of black goo crap on it so I zapped it with oven cleaner and this is what I have. Tomorrow I'll put on some BLO and after that dries, a couple of coats of shellac. I put BLO on the other two handles and they'll get shellac too.

I plan on sending these 3 saws to the Saw Blog guy (Matt) to get them sharpened. I made the box because the last time I shipped a saw to get it sharpened it turned out to be nightmare. Saws aren't a standard size and you have to protect the horns during shipping. I could not find a cardboard box that met my needs. I ended up dis-assembling the saw and shipping it broken down.

I don't have that problem with this box. It's 1/2" ply top and bottom with 3/4" pine sides. I think this will survive anything when I ship this. It's a little bit of overkill and will probably cost a few pennies more than cardboard but I won't worry about the saws getting damaged during shipping. The top will be screwed on/off to allow access. The bottom is glued and nailed solid. I didn't want to use 1/4 (too easy to punch through), and I couldn't find any 3/8, so I used 1/2.

For $14, I got 3 really good looking saws. I got two rip saws which I have been looking for (only need one) and a I don't know what it is saw. I'm guessing it's a crosscut just from looking at the teeth but I'm far from being an expert. You can still put what I know of saws in a thimble and have 3/4 of it left over. Now I have email Mark and arrange to get my saws sharpened.

accidental woodworker

zoom, zoom, almost done.....

After work tonight I started the last stages of finishing my little tote. I know it'll be ready for finish tomorrow because I have the shellac to do it.

I started by rough cutting my stock for the bottom of the tote. The 45's off this bench hook are pretty close.

 

All the stock is cut with fudge factors all around. I  mounted the screwdrivers and my old bench chisels to the bench.  So far I like having them there within easy reach.  I'm going to give it a little more time before there's joy in Mudville.

This rabbet in the molding will face down so I can put a piece of ply in it

This piece of 1/8 ply was left over from my cutter box project. It was a tad too small, that's why  I made the rabbeted molding. What was once too small, now has to be trimmed to fit.

I used the block plane to trim the angles because it was on the bench when I needed it.

This is the shavings pile from the trimming of the moldings. I guess my fudge factor wasn't as large as I thought it was.

Started on one side and worked around till I ended back were I started.  I used my pin nailer because I didn't want to wait for the clamped moldings to dry. I put a center strip in the middle to keep everything level.

1/8 ply fitted to the bottom. It isn't a perfect fit as one corner was a tad out of square due to me rounding the corner when I planed and sanded it.

Here's a  pic of the inside. I have to do a little glue clean up here and there.

I think this would make a good silverware caddy for daughter #1 or #2. Either way I'm screwed because I only have one to give away.  I can see me making another one, especially if the daughter who gets it, likes it.

accidental woodworker

Another boneyard starting......

boneyard material

These four projects are what I am working on at the moment. The tool tote on the far right is done. The box 2nd from the right is done except for handles (on order, arriving..?) The long tote 3rd from the right, or 2nd from the left, needs a BLO finish. Last is the smallest project in the group and this one needs the most work to be completed.

Wednesday night I glued up the small tote and tonight I put the splines in all of the pins/tails. Tomorrow I should be able to plane the sides flush and it'll be ready for some kind of finish (shellac). I am really not liking how big I made the handle hole - smaller would have looked better.

splines drying

I couldn't find any walnut scraps anywhere so I used mahogany. It won't be as great a contrast as the walnut, but it's enough to stand out. And that is the look I am after and you can't tell why it was done.

fastener detail

I used miller dowels (the smallest size) to reinforce the four corners. I hope that this works as I am concerned that these corners are a tad on the thin side. I am going to give this to my sister-in-law to use in her garden for veggie transport. Might even be too big for this.

The weekend is coming and I get to play the dance I did the last one trying to find gum turpentine. This time I plan on starting right when they open. Wish me luck.

accidental woodworker

Almost ready for glue......

Worked some more on my little tote project last night after work. It's coming along nicely. I now have three projects in varying stages of done-ness. The first is my record box - needs handles, second is my last tool tote - needs BLO finish and third is this little tote - glue up and finish.- My "I wouldn't dry underneath the handle" tool tote is done. Decided to leave the handle as is with one coat of shellac to seal it.

Handle shape laid out and holes started

Flip it and finish the holes

I didn't forget how to use the bit and brace. It's been a long time since I've used this as the rust on the bit shows. It was still sharp enough to cut the two holes.

Cutting out the in between stuff

This is brutal looking

The after pic

It isn't perfect but it fits my hand.  More than enough room to get my ham fist-ed fingers in out with ease. Did most of the clean up with a rasp and followed it up with a couple different grits of sandpaper. Pine is real easy to sand out and smooth.

Ready for glue up

I did a quick smoothing of the inside parts of the tote and it's almost ready for glue up. I still have a few spots on the handle I have to hit before I can do that. I'll save this for tonight after work. It's the pesky pencil lines that I have to remove. I'll try alcohol first, then sandpaper and call it done.

I am going to highlight the pins/tails with some walnut splines. There is one corner that has one tail and one pin that is too gappy to ignore. It's an angular gap, tight at the bottom and open towards the top.The tote would hold together fine if I glued it as is, but I want it to be as good as I can possibly make it. It's not like it's a new thing for me. Hopefully with more practice I won't have to close up gappy joints.

accidental woodworker

I'm getting better at this......

Sunday night I started and finished my 4th dovetail project. I did this one without the assistance of my Lee Valley dovetail thingy. I laid it out and cut it free hand. I removed most the waste with a coping saw. I then cut the remaining waste with my chisels. I did it right this time by checking, before cutting, that my orientation was correct. It isn't a masterpiece, but it's something I did and I am learning. Most importantly, each project is just a little better the last one.

I started with this

I saved this scrap from the record box project. I cut it down to a 1/2" thickness on my table saw. I also now have some 3/16" veneer stock for whatever.

12" long and 2 1/2" high

not perfect, but it'll stays together

A lot of pitch pockets in this side

Now that I had a pretty decent result I decided to make a little tote. Probably end up as a give away for someone.

Stopped dado for the handle

In the past I would have made a straight through dado. This piece is too small to free hand with a router. This is my first attempt at doing this by hand. Here I got my initial cuts defined around the perimeter of the dado.

This tool is better then sliced bread

I got the bench hook clamped to the workbench and a 1/2" piece of scrap clamped against the tote end piece so I can use the router plane. I made this cut, down to depth, in four passes. Nice and clean without any tear out.

finished dado

Handle  taking shape, stopped dado is a little proud

This board was supposed to be used for covering the plywood end on my drawer project. I can live with the plywood look so I can finish this. I'll plane the bottom of the handle even with the bottom when I decide what's going to be the bottom.

Laying out the curve for the handle

I made this  beam compass a few years back. It's the only tool that I made that I still have and use. I don't count bench hooks as tools.

needs a hole for grabbing

 So far I have done the majority of the cutting with hand tools. I cut this curve with my coping saw and then I smoothed it (not completed) with my spoke shave. I am thinking of cutting the finger hole with my brace and bit and then cutting the remainder with my coping saw.

The total time for doing the dado thing and the work on the handle was about 50 minutes, give or take 5. I can very easily get used to this hand tool thing. It was quiet, not hurried, and I felt almost giddy when I was done. This is something that was accomplished by my skill and if I was any happier I would need a diaper.

accidental woodworker

I've got a combo plane.....

finally died

First I say good-by. I have had this hammer since dirt was invented. I bought it in a yard sale when I was in high school. It has learned some new words with me and it has coaxed many boards into alignment. It has done it's share of beating the snot out of things that pissed me off. Through it all, it has silently taken all the abuse I heaped upon it. Until last night when I was trying to loosen a bench hook. It failed on the second whack and I knew it immediately. I can't bring myself to toss it in the garbage. So I am going to put it in the drawer of crappola that I don't use that much. Now it's good luck trying to find a replacement. Whoever made this probably either went out of business or has a new and improved model on the market. Somehow, either way, it just won't be the same again.

new project on the way

This is what I am making now. I need this as much as I need a diamond studded belly button lint removing tweezers. It's all dry clamped and everything seems to fit alright. The long sides have a cross grain rabbet to receive the ends and there is a 1/4" groove all around the bottom for the 1/4" piece of plywood . Sounds pretty straight forward but getting there wasn't.

Record 405

I used this plane to make the 1/4" x 1/4" groove. I first practiced on some scraps because I have almost no time on the pond with this. Glad I did. I lined up the skates on the outside of the blade and set the depth. This is where I had a problem initially. Rather then rely on the depth stop, I kept increasing the depth of the blade to increase the depth of the cut. Once I realized that my head was buried in my butt and the depth stop actually works, I was fine. I realized that the blade once set for a light cut, continues to cut until the depth stop bottoms out. A little bit of a fit and a stall to start but I ended up with a consistent groove all around.

I didn't have any problems with getting a square u shaped cut. Alf at the Cornish workshop has a pictorial that shows herself planing with a dowel stuck vertically in the wooden fence. This way you can see if you are wandering off square. For some reason, (lucky) I nailed it the first time.

Lee Valley skew rabbet plane

I used this to make the cross grain rabbets. Now the fun began. I had a few problems using this plane. The first is I couldn't get a sense of the depth stop. The record will bottom out and stop cutting. This plane never did this for me. Or if it did I didn't feel it. Because of this when I thought I was done, all the rabbets were at different depths. The second problem was I wasn't anywhere near having a square cut. It looked like I was cutting a half pins for dovetails. The last problem was the width of my cut was off by about an 1/8" strong.

I was able to correct all of these without having to cut them off and restarting. The width isn't a big deal and the depth ending up at about 5/16" thick. A little thinner than I would like but for this it's ok. I corrected the out of square-ness with my tenon plane. It was easier keeping this plane square then the skew rabbet. I am going to re-enforce the joints with miller dowels to make up for the thin-ness.

 

the pile

This is the pile of shavings I made making these joints. No dust here to interfere with the finish drying at the same time. A lot of shavings for not much joinery. (this is a big pile)

tool tote handle

This is going to be the handle for the tote. My drill bit is exactly 1-1/4" and this dowel is 1/16" over that. It fit in the hole but it needed some persuasion. My plan is to thin it down with the spoke shave and cut a slot in it for a wedge.

Cooking in the clamps

 I had brain fart and almost messed this all up because I glued it and forgot to put the handle in. I knew it was too good to be true. It was a 1-2-3 glue up without any hitches, or so I thought. As I stood back and admired my easy glue up, I saw I forgot the handle. Sure glad it hadn't had any time to set up. I whacked it apart and put the handle in and reset the clamps. About a half hour later I noticed that I hadn't cut the slot for the wedges.So to correct this faux pas, I drilled a hole from the top down into the handle for a miller dowel. I did this at both ends. The handle isn't going to spin as you pick it up.

When I was out and about trying to find my turpentine, I stopped at an antique mall I was passing. I saw two tool totes like the one I just made that were for sale. One was smaller and the other was about this size, give or take an inch or two. Both had years of honest wear and tear on them.  I'm going to have to start taking my camera with me on these outings. There were a ton of ideas for future projects that I could make all over.

accidental woodworker