As I move more and more of my woodworking to using hand tools, I have to try and experiment with different elements and techniques of hand tool applications. My latest attempt is re-sawing boards which is most commonly done with band saws.
I have an increasing collection of saws. I have a bow saw that I [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Skills’
Re-sawing by hand
Dovetail practice
Just a quick post. In addition to the mortise and tenons, I have continued on with my dovetail practice. I hope I’m reaching a significant milestone because I cut one of my best dovetails yet. It was tight (except for one small corner) in all places. A joint like that would be one that I [...]
Mortise and Tenon Practice
I’ve been practicing Mortise and Tenon joints for the past couple of days.
I’ve found some things out about hand cut Mortise and Tenon joints.
Shallow mortise/tenons are easier to keep square
Conversely, deep mortise/tenons are much harder to keep square
Deep mortise/tenons can be tuned a bit to make square after they are cut
Keeping the mortise inside the [...]
Mortise and Tenon
I decided that I should mix some Mortise and Tenon practice amidst my dovetail practice. The real reason, is that I have done machine cut mortise and tenon but not very well. Since this was a different technique given that I’m cutting them by hand, I was hopeful that I could do much better.
I used [...]
More dovetail practice – oak
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I have taken a path to practice hand cut dovetails. In the first round, I worked with poplar.
Now, I’m down the path of using oak. My first attempt (back before Thanksgiving) was a disaster. I had forgotten how easy it is to split oak and I did split the [...]
Another new tool – Brace and hand drill
Yesterday, I made a post about getting a new tool (which arrived today). I forgot that I had also ordered a Hand Drill (eggbeater drill) and Hand Brace. As I move to using hand tools, this is a new set of tools that I’m excited to use and experiment with. I have hand drills and [...]
Not Woodworking – Electrical Soldering
About 2 years ago, I went out and got a “real” soldering iron under the supposition that the crappy Radio Shack (or “Shack” as it is now known) was the cause of much of my bad soldering both electrical and plumbing.
Well, this was the first time that I had a need for electrical soldering (circuit [...]
Dovetail Practice – an update
OK, I’ve been practicing…and practicing…and practicing…and…
Here are some of my test samples:
I’ve tried both tails first and pins first. Pins first is frustrating. I find that I make many more errors with pins probably due to assumptions and skipping steps. For instance, when I make tails first, I mark the waste before I cut. I [...]
Dovetails – Tails vs Pins
As I noted in a previous post regarding my Handcut Dovetail Hopechest class, we learned about cutting tails first. I came into the class with no opinion on the old battle about cutting pins vs tails first. Even if I had, I would have probably gone with the direction from the class. What’s the point [...]
Hand Plane for shooting board
As I mentioned in my last post regarding the Lie-Nielsen Tool Event, I was thinking about a dedicated hand plane for the shooting board.
I’m currently using my Lie-Nielsen Jointer Plane which is set up for medium planing work (versus rough/aggressive or smooth/fine work). This works though I’ve found that the plane should be set up [...]
Off to Port Townsend
Today and Tomorrow Lie-Nielsen Toolworks is at Edensaw Woods in Port Townsend. They are supposed to be showing attendies how to use and tune our tools to make us better woodworkers.
I own a few Lie-Nielsen tools so I felt it was worth the long drive time (and a ferry ride too) to see what I [...]
Finished – Shooting Board and Bench Hook
OK, after my initial hick up. I’ve created 2 shooting boards. The first is a 90 degree shooting board. This is probably the one that I will need the most often. Notice the high fence and the runners that the hand planes can ride.
I also created one type of 45 degree miter shooting board. I [...]
Bench hook vs Shooting board
OK, in my previous post on Shooting board, I said I was putting runners for the hand plane to ride against. That worked well.
My issue came when my plans called for me to lower the fence on the shooting board. The reason for this idea was to combine the notion of a bench hook with [...]
Handcut Dovetail practice
At the class on Handcut Dovetails that I attended at Northwest Woodworking Studio, for the first half of a day, we used a simple technique to practice cutting dovetails. Gary, the instructor, used the analogy of a muscisian or a runner warming up and I think that fits well.
All that is needed is blocks of [...]
How to determine how much finish is needed?
I’m working on finishing the Handcut Dovetail Hope Chest that I discussed several posts ago. In class, we used Shellac to finish the interior (ok, pre-finish). I’ve not used Shellac really. It seems like a really interesting finish and can provide some color to the work without the over powering nature of some dyes and [...]
