is it good enough.........

After work tonight I made another dovetail gauge. Not that I need one, but in making one I can practice doing a lot of "woodworking exercises". I was surprised when I was done making it and I went back over the steps. Sawing to length, cheeks, tenons, shoulders, scribing, knife walls, squaring, etc etc etc. There were a lot of things I am not good at that I was able to practice and confirm that I'm still not good at it.

upcoming dovetail gauge

squared two sides

This is a piece of scrap mahogany that will be my 4th dovetail gauge. I got two faces smooth and square to each other. All four corners of this were round and one corner is so for out of square you can see it. This has been around the shop for about 3 years so it should be acclimated by now. I did the rip cut on the table saw and then I cleaned up the saw marks with my #7.

first practice run upcoming

 First up on the hit parade is attempting to cut this end off square. I got it knifed on all four sides but no knife wall. I saw Paul Sellers make a cut like this without the knife wall and I am going to try and do the same thing.

this cut is toast

This is the cut I have the most problems doing. The face cut is 90 degrees. I didn't have any trouble keeping the saw on the knife line I made for that  I've made this cut pretty good on the pine I used on shelf #4 but on this mahogany it's off.

squared it up on my shooting board

doing the cut again but with a knife wall

a little better

Again my face cut is dead nuts but the vertical cut is tad off. I'll square this up on the shooting board too.

I'm going to use my 10 degree thingie to mark

This marking gauge didn't work out to good. One it's big and a tad awkward trying to get it positioned to mark with a pencil. It wasn't easy to align it on all four faces. It was worse trying to use my marking knife to strike a line with it. I'm coming around to the conclusion that these wooden gauges aren't meant to be used for marking with anything unless it's a pencil. Or maybe a different type of marking knife other than what I have.

marking the tenons

cheeks sawn

I did the cheeks first and then I cut the shoulders. In the past I've done this the opposite way first. I like doing the cheeks first and then cutting the shoulders. I seem to be able to make the short vertical cuts squarer than if I cut them first and then the cheeks.

matches up with the big gauge

square part of the gauge is square

One thing I haven't done with all of these gauges I've made is to make dovetails with them. I spent about twenty minutes playing with scraps and making layout lines with it  and comparing them. They are square but they aren't really dead nuts so. Is that good enough?

Could I make something that is a couple of hairs short of perfect? Tomorrow I'm going to find out. I am going to make a dovetail box with the latest gauge. I have some scrap pine left over from the shelf projects that I can use. Then I'll see if it's good enough.

accidental woodworker

blogger rant pt II......

It's day two where at work I still can't access my blog posts from my blogger home page. I now can't access it via the Close Grain blog either (like I did yesterday). Today I was able to do it from Dan's Shop blog. Yesterday I couldn't do it from Dan's Shop blog. What's in store for tomorrow?

 Even the header I have at home is different than what it used to be. It's missing 80% of what was on the previous header I had. I have to access the blog from a "dashboard" mouse click. View blog and a couple of the other used to be there thingies are gone. And the header has shrunk from being about an 1/2" wide down to a very narrow 1/4"ish strip.

At home I'm using WIN7 64 bit pro and at work they are still using WINXP with IE 7 (update to WIN7 pro coming). I've had problems with WIN7 64 not being able to upload photos and now I have this problem with WINXP at work. I like blogger but these problems are now going way past annoying and are approaching the "flying lessons" zone.

I will rant no more about this unless blogger really does something to piss me off.

accidental woodworker

LN 51......

Back in December of 2011 I got a stanley 51 shooter from Patrick Leach. I blogged about that here. I cleaned her up and got her working again but I wasn't happy with her. It was a good idea for a plane supposedly made for pattern makers but I found myself reaching for my LV bevel up jack for shooting instead her.

I had just spent some serious cash american to get this "I can't possibly live unless I have one" plane and a lot of calories bringing it back to user status. All that and I still wasn't using it. Why wasn't I using it? It was due to two big reasons.

The first reason was due to it's weight. Compared to my LV jack plane, it would take 2 or 3 stanley 51's to equal it in the weight mass ratio category. One thing in your favor when shooting end grain is mass and weight. The stanley 51 worked but I could do more with less effort with the LV jack.

Reason number two is you have to use a chute board with it. You need a right side runner to help you keep the plane straight and up against what you are shooting. I tried to shoot without one and it didn't work so good. The plane has a tendency to go to the right more than my ability to try and keep it going left. The LV didn't exhibit this trait when I used it to shoot.

I sold her at a loss on the Sawcreek Mill classifieds so someone else could use it. (I don't collect tools for show) I should have bought the LN 51 from the git go, it was only about 80 dollars more than what I paid for the stanley.  I thought I was saving some money I could use to buy other tools I just had to have.

my LN 51

I've had the LN 51 for a few months now and I use it for everything that involves shooting. I do mostly end grain but I have used it shoot long grain too. It's bigger, and weighs more twice what the stanley 51 does. That added weight and extra mass translates into a much better shooting experience. Especially on end grain.

made for righties

According to LN this plane will fit in the original stanley chute board. The base has to be the same size but the upright "L" is taller then the stanley. I have the same problem with the LN 51 I had with the stanley 51 with regards to needing a runner on the shooting board. Although it's easier with the LN to shoot end grain and keep it in the cut, it could use the runner to help out. Something I'm planning on doing. It's either make a new shoot board or modify the one I'm using now. I'm procrastinating on doing that.

typical LN quality

If you compare the LN frog ass'y to the stanley frog ass'y you see that the LN is a huge improvement. Along with a thicker and wider iron coupled with an impressive looking chipbreaker, it's no contest. The stanley can't offer any realistic competition to the LN 51. This plane is made with all the quality that LN builds into everything that they sell.

The LN frog ass'y is as massive as the rest of the plane. It's your typical LN bedrock design that can handle any end grain you try to plane. I was very surprised when I first looked at the stanley frog and how fragile it looked. Patrick Leach told me that that was state of the art engineering for a frog at that time.

iron and chipbreaker

This iron and chipbreaker measures over a 1/4" thick as you see it here. I wouldn't be too surprised if the chipbreaker and iron on the stanley barely went more than an 1/8".

business end view

I like hand planes and I try to use them as much as I can.  I definitely could have continued to use my LV bevel up jack as a shooter or even one my #7's. But I killed that idea when I got the stanley, sold it,  and I then couldn't wait until I saved up enough pennies to get the LN 51. I like having a dedicated tool that does one thing and does it exceedingly well. So far I have no complaints about this plane and using it trying to do all my shooting. It's what I've come to expect from any LN tool I've bought.

Like any other plane there is a period of getting to know your plane. For me it was getting the blade projection right. It took a little more time then I do on my bench planes. Too little projection and you get dust and too much and you can't plane end grain. Getting the right amount of blade is a combination of where the frog is positioned, the size of the mouth, and how the far the blade is advanced. Then you have to use the lateral adjustment lever to get your edge square. I like this process of trial and error and setting the plane up.  Once I figured all that out the plane started singing it's song.

For me I think it's worth the pennies. Others may find this too costly and not to their liking. Having a tool that is used for only one purpose isn't for everyone. It's not a tool that would be needed in all power tool workshop. For a budding wanna be handtool workshop and being able to shoot any angle I need (0-180) dead nuts, it's a must have plane for me. I looked at the cost, and being able to use other planes for this purpose, and still decided that I wanted this plane.

Combine that with it being made by Lie Neilsen you have a tool that your grandkids should be able to pass down to their grandkids. Hopefully trees will still be around then.

accidental woodworker

2 done, 2 undecided.......

Tonight after work, I unclamped one of the 2 undecided that was decided yesterday, but today it's undecided again. I was going to paint it red and now that color has taken a back seat to yellow. I'm flopping back forth on the color like a fish out of the water.

sawing off the excess wedges

I initially was going to cut the tenon flush to the side but I went with sawing off the excess tenon. I can get pretty close to flush with this saw as long as I go slowly, which I did.

cleaning up the saw marks

A couple of swipes with the block plane from each end to the middle cleaned this up. It's going to be painted so it doesn't have to be perfection here.

used the #3 to clean up the top and bottom

through dadoes look good

I used my block plane to clean up around the through dadoes. I think they came out good enough that I could have gone with a clear finish.

still square

I am so happy with how this came out square that I could wet myself. I am very pleased that I was able to do this. I'm thinking now of making a new shelf but with a door. And I'm going to try to do that by hand. After all it's not such a leap to go from this to that.

undecided on the left - finished on the right

Yellow is a complimentary color to blue. The wife thinks that it would be a better choice over red.

finished on the left - undecided on the right

Four shelves, basically the same but all different. One thing I won't be doing is making one with a drawer again. I am really not liking that idea so much. However, comma, slant, backslash, a door sounds better. I still haven't made up mind about the finish on the drawer shelf unit and it's mostly because I don't like the drawer.

legs

I started in on the wine table. I cut the legs out and cleaned up the burn marks from the table saw. My hand saw skills are not up to cutting out four legs.  I'll sticker these until the weekend before I do anything else to them. In the interim I'll try and come up with a few more how am I going to build this ideas.

accidental woodworker

blogger rant.....

This morning when I got to work and I tried to post my blog I couldn't because my header was gone. The one that has the dashboard, view blog, new post, etc etc yada yada. It is MIA. I tried signing in and out and nothing. Header was still gone. So I bet you're wondering why and how am I posting a blog now?

Simple, I started to read all the blogs I do every morning before I start work. On the third blog, Close Grain, my header was there? What gives? Another fine blogger I'm screwing you because your browser isn't one that I like. I have found my header on two other blogs that I read also.

My work is finally updating the OS and browsers but that roll out is going to take some time. I tried using a test station with the new OS and browser but that too didn't have my header. Might be a problem with the filters at work here. At least I am able to find my blogger dashboard so I can post. This is a very restrained rant about blogger. (again)

Anyone else having problems like this with their blogger? I would like to think that I am not alone in the universe with this problem.

accidental woodworker

hand made shelf pt II......

Before I could glue up the shelf and set it aside to cook I had to do a few things first. The first was knocking it apart and doing a light cleanup with my #3 plane. Then I sawed kerfs on each end of the through tenon rail, make a few wedges, and then I could start the glue up.

quick clean up

Since I am painting this shelf I wanted to experiment a little with planing. On my other shelves I didn't plane the inside of the shelves because I thought the plane would tear out around the dadoes. I figured I would try the planing on this shelf and if it tears out, oh well, it's going to be painted. I can fill in the tear outs with some wood putty.

I set the blade shallow and tightened the mouth up a tad and went to town. I didn't get any tear out anywhere at all. None, nada, zip, zero, the big rolling donut hole of nothingness. I planed at a slight skew and I was careful to go slowly around the dadoes. I'll try this again on a project that will have a clear finish applied. I would rather plane then use sandpaper.

sawing my kerfs for the wedges

I didn't do so good of a job on the first saw kerf. I was able to split the corner of the tenon closest to me straight down. The side away from me was off. I didn't check to make sure I splitting that corner too. The second cut came out perfect because I checked both sides as I cut it.

sawed out a couple of wedges

nice pointed ends

I used my 1" chisel to make the ends of the wedges pointy. I had to do this because my carcass saw doesn't leave a big kerf.

checking for square as I clamped it up

whacking one wedge home

clamped and cooking

I had to use hide glue on this glue up. I didn't have enough white glue to do it. I still have to put miller dowels in the top and bottom but that will happen tomorrow.

I used a diagonal wedge because it is something I learned in the class I took at LN a month or so back.  I found out then that I had been putting my wedges in wrong and that they were totally useless. With a diagonal wedge  you get a spreading action out to both sides. If you put them in on the ends make sure that you don't put them more than an 1/8" away because anything greater and you lose your wedging action. And make a slight ramp on the ends of the mortise.

Tomorrow I'll put my dowels in and set it aside until this weekend and I'll paint it then. I want to start in on my daughter's wine table thingie.

accidental woodworker

first all hand made project.....

I've been on a kick of sorts making shelves lately. I made two large ones and two smaller ones. I made the 4th small one all by hand, no power tools or anything with a plug was used.  The 3rd shelf  I did 99% of that by hand. I only made the rip cuts for it and did the rest with hand tools. This 4th shelf was 100% hand tool  made.

 shelf stock

 The shelf stock is a 6 foot 1x8 and a 3 foot 1x12. The 1x8 will give up the two sides, the shelf, and the two cross rails. The 1x12 will give up the top and bottom pieces.

cut the 1x8 so I have a shelf and the two sides (as one piece)

squaring one edge on the shelf - this will be my reference edge

squaring up one edge on the sides

checking the squared edge flat with a straight edge

cross cutting the top/bottom to a rough length

ripped the top/bottom to rough width

This is the first rip cut I've made that came out pretty good. I followed the line until I got to the end but even there I'll take what I did as ok. I'm not sure if I am doing all of this in the correct "sequence". Of all the books I have, none address this part of hand tool work. It's usually just a word or two like, "prepare your stock". Well just how do you prepare the stock? This is the way I did it and it came out alright.

I have no panel gauge so I marked a tic on each end - this is the squared edge I did earlier and this is my reference for everything I'll lay out from here on in

connect the two tics with a straight edge and plane it to the line

just a tad bit off

I am not going to go nutso and try to get these dead nuts even. There really isn't any need to do that. This is the back of sides and everything is referenced off the front. If anything is a little proud of it I can plane it flush and if it's a little short, it's at the back where it won't be seen.

shoot one edge square on the top/bottom pieces

shoot the other edges square

The top/bottom pieces are less than a 1/16" off in their lengths. Again this isn't a deal killer as there is no way the eye can see that small of a difference.

sides and shelf marked for their rip cuts

rip cuts done

 The offcuts from the sides will become the cross rails. The start of my rip cuts were good on all 3 and started to go OTL at the end. I think I did this because I wasn't looking right down on the saw cut but looking backwards at it. Next time I rip something I'll use the other sawbench so I can keep the cut line beneath me by pushing the board forward onto the other bench.

squared the rip sawn edge for one cross rail

doing the same for the shelf's rip sawn edge

squared the edge of one of the sides - checking it flat with a straight edge

The two sides were treated the same way I did the top/bottom pieces except that I did go a little nutso trying to get the sides to be an equal length. The width of them isn't a deal killer but the length needs to be the same. The shelf was easy to do, just shoot the two edges square.

the tools I used to prep the stock for the shelf (missing the straight edges)

 I got the sides, shelf, cross rails, and the top/bottom finished. Everything is square to my reference edges and ready to put together. I left the cross rails long and I'll cut them to length before  I mark them for the shoulders.

shelf dadoes done

I made a full width dado here because I forgot to layout for a stopped one. I'll just have to use this as a practice run for making nice tight full width dadoes that will look good from the front.

like this one

stopped dadoes for the top/bottom done

marking for the side notches

sawing out the notches on the sides

notches fit well

marking for the position of the cross rails

cutting the cross rails to final length

marking the shoulders on the cross rails

mortise done for the stopped dado

through rails mortises done

I got a little blowout on the through mortise on the right. I didn't have anything underneath when I chopped it from the opposite side. For some idiotic reason I chopped one side and then flipped it over and placed it so that it was over an empty space on my wagon vice. No wonder I blew it out so badly.

I cut the tenons with my carcass saw

I cut the cheeks first, now I'm cutting the shoulders

dry fit upcoming

 My tenons are a tad undersized and they are loose. When I used the marking gauge to layout the tenons I put the outside pin on the outside of the rail edge. I should have put it on the inside of the rail edge. By putting it on the outside I thinned the tenon when I thought I was making it fat. A tip to put into the brain bucket for future reference.

dry fit looks good

I am not going to put an arch on either of the cross rails. I'm leaving them as they are. This is my take on Paul Seller's design.

square

square

This is my first all hand tool made project. I am very happy with how this turned out and how it is square every where I checked it.  I had a fear that by doing it by hand,  I would end up with a piece of unsquare crappola. Not so and it definitely pays to make, and keep throughout the build, a reference edge and mark everything off that.

I'll have to add some wedges in the tenons on the through cross rail to tighten them up. I'll have to plane and sand the shelf to clean it up before I paint it. I think the color will be red.  I am also going to use white glue on this glue up and I'm putting miller dowels in the top/bottom.

I had more pics of this build but I edited them again as I posted. I didn't want to make this too long and I didn't want to make two or more posts out of it. What I eliminated were the repetitious pics of me doing the same thing.  I think the next shelf will also be done with hand tools only too, but maybe I'll add one more shelf just to make it interesting.

Making this simple project by hand only increases my awe and respect for the old cabinetmakers and what they did day in and day out with only hand tools. I wish that I had learned to do this when I first started woodworking.

accidental woodworker