Lunch Special

 

The sapling grows through summer. By the end of August,  it has eighteen leaves and is the same height as the launches of a lynx. 

North Woods, Daniel Mason 

After several did not finishes in the fiction category of my reading, this book has restored my faith in fiction.  Just an amazing book. It's a ghost story about apples trees.  That's all you need to know you can thank me later.  

So the next few images are of a chair that was a test subject. I've always wondered about how my chairs fair in the wild. I have never gotten a call back or a complaint and when I am contacted by previous clients its for more chairs or they have referred another client. 

So this simple little side chair was a test subject. Years ago maybe 10 I loaned this chair to the kind owners of the Thomaston Cafe and asked that they simply use the chair along with the other rather eclectic assortment of chairs. No special mention or treatment.  I wanted to see how the chair would hold up under daily use in a busy cafe. 

So after ten years or so the owners were selling the cafe and I got the chair back (I gave them the twin for their house) and now use it in my kitchen. 

I chose this chair because from a structural point of view, it is a bad design. The back post don't have the benefit of arms and a front post that create half of a suspension bridge. It's simply glued and wedged in as are the spindles. The legs are a box stretcher system which is about as strong as an "H" stretcher system.  

All in all other than the paint wearing off the chair is as solid as the day it was built. There is absolutely no looseness in any of the joints. None. I was honestly expecting some especially considering it probably lived a pretty hard life but it's like brand new.  This is a great testament to the longevity of the chair building methods I (and others) use; namely using moisture content differential and always always using handtools to follow the long wood fibers.  I guess the old adage is true if you can build a chair you can build anything.  

Sharpening Curved Blades

 

Sharpening Curved Blades

"A promise is a promise,"  Call said. "A promise is words-a son is a life," Clara said.

Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry 

So a couple things. First off I just finished Lonesome Dove and all I can say is wow. An absolutely amazing book Larry McMurtry is a true master. 

The second thing is the post that follows was supposed to be published by Fine Woodworking but then covid happened then the editors changed then they evidently published a similar article by a much better known builder/author and mine got scuttled which was disappointing but life goes on.  the double spaced text below is from the original proposal then the regular centered text if mine from today. 

Sharpening curved blades

When I started building Windsor chairs after years of building mostly square

pieces (dressers, blanket chests and the like) I realized that one of the biggest

challenges was learning how to sharpen tools with curved blades like scorps (in

shaves), compass planes, heel shaves and the like.

Initially I read all the books and did what they instructed, which was mostly

automotive sandpaper wrapped around dowels or pipes of roughly the same size

or free hand paddles on the face. I was used to sharpening straight blades like

plane irons or chisels using a couple different jigs and waterstones for fast,

consistent results. I heard once that sharpening without a jig is like shooting a rifle

without sights. You do occasionally hit what you’re aiming at, but it’s literally hit

and miss. So, after years using dowels and sandpaper freehand on my curved

blades with slow inconsistent results, I decided to apply the rational of jigs to

curved blades. The result is a fast, consistent, repeatable way to sharpen curved

blades in the same way that my various jigs sharpened straight blades.

Over the course of a couple years I was able to develop jigs, holders and methods

that allow repeatable and safe ways to sharpen everything from scorps to

travishers to carving tools in ways that are fast, safe and repeatable.

Tool that makes this all work is this strip sander from Lee Valley. I had this for a few years and used it solely to sharpen kitchen knives. The problem is the table only goes to 90 degrees and in order to sharpen scorps or travisher blades it needed to go past 90 sometimes way past 90. So when I looked at sharpening the scorp I came up with a simple pine (or whatever wood) block clamped to the top of the table. Then by tipping the table towards me, the block of wood became the new "tool rest" and then I could hit any angle I needed. Later I added the plywood top that makes the rest bigger and also aids in clamping it on. I may someday bolt it on to avoid clamps.  One important note is I removed the back platen which allows the strip to flex on the curved blade. 

The above pic shows how the Lee Valley strip sander without the wooden block lands at 90 (actually mine lands at like 5 degrees short of 90) and thus renders it useless for the scorp. 

Here you can see the block clamped on the aluminum table (or tool rest) and rolled back to 10 (or 80) degrees using a bevel gauge.

The below picture shows how the sanding strip now rubs perfectly on the bevel of the scorp. 

You can also use the same setup to sharpen travisher blades (the pieces of wood used to hold the blade idea I got from Pete Galbert). The blades are fastened to the block of wood with small wood screws and the pieces of wood matches the arc of whatever travisher you're using. This is a fairly flat travisher I built awhile back. 

The blade is screwed to the wooden holder and passed over the sanding strip. I usually go from a 400 grit belt and end with a 9u which I think is around 1500 which is razor sharp. 

Then is put the blade on the other end of the holder and turn the burr off and it is absolutely razor sharp. 

Here you can see how by using a marker it left just a whisper of the hollow grind. I get my strips from sharpeningsupplies.com and keep them hanging next to the sander which has a permanent spot on the bench. I usually start with a 600 grit and end at 6u. The last 2 pictures show the motor and switch setup for the sander. And yes I still use it to sharpen kitchen knives. 

Scrub Plane out of Firewood

 

Long is the way, and hard, that out of Hell leads to light

Milton., Paradise Lost

So first off this is my first post is a long, long time. I had a couple management jobs away from woodworking and chairs the kept me busy and frankly life has been really busy. But like Longfellow said, don't tell me your busy, ants are busy, tell me what you're about. It's also funny (funny weird not funny ha ha) how a non emotion, an adverb, has become the go to answer for how we are. 

As you can see I can still tangent. So yeah a couple jobs and other life stuff but I did recently get a really nice order and am setting up a shop which I will post about in the coming weeks. My current bill payer is carpentry which well pays the bills. Nothing more. 

Below you can see a handplane, specifically a scrub plane, that I made a while back. I could have bought one but this a really simple,  really forgiving introduction into plane making. The body is ash (made like a sandwich) and the front tote is ash as well.  All the wood came from a very well seasoned piece of firewood. 

It's sitting next to a Lie-Nielsen #5 for size comparison. The iron (also from L-N) is held in place with a pin and wedge which holds is tight enough. I do get pretty aggressive with this plane and the blade has come loose but that's a sign to me to settle down not a failure on the part of the plane. 

Here is a view of the cambered blade and wide open mouth. 

I don't lavish a lot of sanding on my shop tools or fixtures and this plane is no different. I barely sanded the bandsaw marks off and the finish is just wax but it does work really well. One thing that flies in the face of conventional plane wisdom is despite being a very light plane it cuts remarkably well. It's not a show pony more like an old pickup. If you want the plans I'd be happy to draw the shape and email them to you. 

High Vise

 "When my grandfather brought us home,  I could still hear her voice down the corridor, the tail end of a whisper"

Akil Kumarasamy, Half Gods

Here is the latest addition to my ongoing vise collection (which brings the total to 5).  I usually use a mechanics vise to elevate the work and while it worked it was far from ideal so when I saw this idea I decided to build one. 

Benchcrafted makes a beautiful one with all the bells and whistles but I didn't want to spend much on it not being sure how much I'd use it. Also it's a pretty simple project requiring not much skill or wood. 

There are many ways to mount it to the bench (clamps, shoulder vise etc) but I decided to use ⅝ bolts to hold it down and ⅜ thru bolts to hold the inside upright to the clamp bar. This one is red oak with some chamfers to ease edges and add a bit of craftsmanship.  I thought layer a lambs tongue would have looked nice maybe someday. 

The screw is from Lee Valley. I also decided to keep it simple and use a spacer bar that is held in place with oak dowels which keeps it from wracking. The leather pad helps with grip. 

While I haven't carved anything yet I do have a couple chairs with knuckles coming so I'll keep you posted on how it works. 

 

Fixing a hole

 That's the power of literature,  you know, it can act like little love letters between two people who can only explain their feelings by pointing at other people's 

Fredrik Backman, Anxious People

So Anxious People was the best book I read (I try to read one book a week) in 2022. Just amazing and I have to say the Netflix adaptation was amazing. 

So I was building a so called high vise (see last picture) for carving and I drilled the hole for the threaded rod the wrong size, namely I drilled the thru hole too small which of course didn't give the larger counter bore hole anything to center on. 

I knew I could cut a 1 inch diameter plug to center the plug but that wouldn't allow me to actually drill it. So in a moment of inspiration I stuck a couple ear plugs in to push the plug up enough to engage the center but then allow the plug to get pushed down and cut the counter bore. 

And here's the hole and vise. I'll post on this next week but I do find it quite handy; more than I thought. 

Two Benches

"Oh you old woman. She said it again,  oh you old woman"

Stuart Maclean,  Rock of Ages

from his Vinyl Cafe Stories

So I finally finished my seat carving bench. I'm my old shop at my old house during my old life I had a pretty rough but effective small bench that I used to carve seats. What's so ideal about it is the small size allows me to carve all the way around the seat without having to unclamp the seat. Because as you carve a seat the grain is constantly changing so must your approach to the seat. 

My new shop is a converted one car garage so every foot counts and I made a couple chairs with my big bench and while it's possible clamping and unclamping turned into a pain. So while watching Curtis' YouTube videos I saw this bench and built one with his plans. To be honest I totally messed up and somehow put the vise on the wrong leg but it's fine. Who knows it may be better this way.  The plywood box is filled with old nuts and bolts and such from my new job and weighs around 200 lbs. 

Here is my other new bench.  A fair bit different to say the least. The legs I welded up from old box tube and the top and shelf are ⅜ plate which will withstand years and years of millwright and welding abuse. I like welding tables (oddly in fab and machine shops they are called tables not benches)  tall around 42 to 44 inches for welding.  I may paint the legs and shelf but maybe not. The shelf holds all the various tools for welding and wheels work really well to move heavy equipment around. 

So yeah. Didn't think I'd ever be welding again but life is nothing if not ever changing. 

Trimming tenons

 

In our eternal migrations as humans, we leave our histories behind, so a human yearning to know what came before us is as fixed as the nose on our face

     Kerri Arsenault, Mill Town 

Above are a couple recent chairs. The close one is my design (based at least the bottom off Pete Galberts rocker that appeared in FWW) the farther one is Curtis Buchanan's birdcage rocker. One of these chairs almost put itself together.  The drilled angles were perfect all the measures spot on just easy going. The other one had an extra set of legs made, 3 crests (one drilled acutely not obtuse one broke) 2 sets of arms ( bandsawed them before turning the tenon) and a weird 1" error in the back posts that I only partially fixed. 

My point is that, after paint and finishing, they both look fine and 5 years from now (maybe less) I couldn't tell you which was which. My further point is often just keep going. Because often in chairs are small errors all that noticeable and besides you always need a chair for the neighbor.

So onto the post. One thing that has always vexed me was the little shoulder that forms on the end of the stretcher tenons. I turn my tenons on the lathe with a Veritas tenon cutter ⅝ and because they are green when I turn them initially I have to make them oversize then spin them once dry. This invariably leaves a slight (or not so slight) shoulder which bugs me. 

So I was watching a video with Elia Bizzari and he mentioned how the inside of a steb center is ⅝ and thus will seat the end of the tenon so I can turn and sand it off. 

The problem was the spring loaded spike that comes in the steb center. It made it hard to center the tenon which is kind of the whole point. But a few minutes and a long punch (actually a 4mm Allen wrench) removed the center and now the tenon seats perfectly.  Turn the tenon even little sandpaper and its perfect.  Or as seen in the first picture close enough to perfect. 

Rocker Blade Jig

 

If you can't change it, you got to stand it

Ennis Delmar, BrokeBack Mountain, Annie Proulx

So I come from a casework background and as such I try to use that knowledge and those tools to simplify or at least speed up certain aspects of chair making. 

A good example is how I make my rocker blades. Years ago I made this jig to cut some large circles out of plywood for some project and I altered the dimensions to work with cutting the rocker blades. 

The base for the jig is this 12 by 52 inch piece of ¾ plywood.  Its fastened to the bandsaw table with a couple bolts drilled thru the table. 

The hole that the rocker pin goes in is 46 inches from the blade. As you have probably guessed the bottom of the blade is a section of a circle which seems to work fine and 46 does give a nice steady rocking motion.  

 

I built this one with looks like mostly pocket screws but anything will work provided the bottom stays flat and free from obstructions.  

Below you can see the top side. Its just a big T shaped piece that measures 52 on both axis.  The pin hole is 46 away from the blade and a couple toggle clamps hold it firmly in place. I figure out the angle of the front legs where they meet the floor (which is the same angle as the stretcher) and set the bandsaw table to that angle.  Then clamp it in place and cut it. The typical size of the blank is ½ x 6 x 42 which seems to work well. Also please note that there is a left and right. 

Further note the blade pattern I use is from Pete Galberts rocker plan found in FWW. I use the same pattern on all my chairs the only difference is on smaller chairs I shorten the length a little.

Why did it take so long

 There’s value in work you enjoy, or that serves a need. There’s no value in work for its own sake

Elizabeth Bear, Ancestral Nights

(if you like Sci-fi check out Elizabeth Bear)

One thing thats always bugged me was turning the bottom 6⁰ taper smooth after the end (and thus the center) has been cut off. It's near impossible to find the absolute dead center again and so the piece spins off center which is doesn't help at all. This is especially problematic with arm posts as they are double ended and they are visible...very visible.  I use a tenoner from Elia Bizzari which makes a great 6⁰ tenon but it does leave a rough spot where it ends that must be turned away. 

So tonite after 15 years and maybe hundreds of arm posts and legs it dawned on me to just put the tapered end in the open #2 Morse taper on the drive end and stick the other end (which still has a center) on the live center and there ya go. Bob's your uncle. A perfectly centered piece that can be trued up and looks great. On one hand I'm glad I thought of it on the other I'm kinda wondering why it took 15 years to see this. 

Fast Growth is Stronger (sometimes)

The Devil can quote scripture, after all. And monsters can say “please” and “thank you” same as any mother’s son.

Elizabeth Bear, Karen Memory

I noticed this piece of red oak and thought it would be a good opportunity to explain why fast growing wood is, in some cases, stronger than slow growing wood. You can see below the holes (more of a matrix really) that is seen in ring porous woods during early wood growth stage. This is during the spring of the year when the sap runs and the tree is growing quickly.  The size of this growth, ie the width, is pretty consistent year over year. Next as the starches in the roots run out the tree transitions to so called late wood this is the growth that is put on during the summer and early fall.  

Below you can clearly see years of good late wood growth and years of poor late wood growth.  The difference in strength thus becomes the ratio of early growth to late wood. In the lower part of the picture you can see the ratio is about 50 50 vs the upper part where it looks to me to be about 4 or 5 to 1. So the wood in the top of the picture is much stronger than the wood in the bottom. 

A couple points. Early wood and late wood are not to be confused with juvenile (sometimes called reaction) wood which is something else entirely.  

Second this does not apply to diffuse porous woods (like maple) which are stronger the slower they grow. 

So when you are looking at ash logs or oak for chairs be sure to look for faster growing trees. 

(There is no red oak where I live (Northern Maine) so this log came from central New Brunswick and if you zoom the below picture you can clearly see times of fast growth and for some reason two 5 to 8 year periods of very slow growth).

Sanding Sharpener

      

      That same night, I wrote my first short story. It took me thirty minutes. It was a dark little tale about a man who found a magic cup and learned that if he wept into the cup, his tears turned into pearls. But even though he had always been poor, he was a happy man and rarely shed a tear. So he found ways to make himself sad so that his tears could make him rich. As the pearls piled up, so did his greed grow. The story ended with the man sitting on a mountain of pearls, knife in hand, weeping helplessly into the cup with his beloved wife's slain body in his arms.

Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

So some time ago I bought a strip sander from Lee Valley (I've covered using it for curved blades in earlier posts). During covid lockdown I somehow stumbled across the tormek.  Maybe I was thinking about buying the Tormek I don't remember really. Pandemic fog is a thing. 

Anyway I didn't get the tormek but I did buy the guide bar and sought about seeing if I could use it on my sander. 

Well I did get it mounted and was able to use it on carving gouges which are definitely not my strong suit when it comes to sharpening.   

I use the big gouge to trim the tops of the legs and ends of tenons etc.  I noticed the other day it had some pretty good nicks in it so I decided to see how fast I could sharpen it start to finish. 

I used four different grits in the interest of time...180, 600, 1000 and 2000. Normally I wouldn't go all the way down to 180 but like I said there were nicks. 

I didn't take any shots as I was just seeing how quickly I could sharpen from nicked to razor. 

The official time was 2:40. That's it. Another thing I like about the sander is there isn't any (well very little) set up. No stones to wet not paper to dig out. It's literally just set the bevel, mark it make sure it's hitting right and sand for 2 minutes. Done. You can see the results below. Plenty sharp for me.