Down time con't

Down time. Con't.

Yesterday and today I spent some time in the shop working on some shop projects. I have a window over a work bench that I love to have open in the summer but when we're shooting an episdoe it needs to be closed. The problem is that even with a shade drawn over it , it stills reflects to much light glare.

I beefed up the window jambs with a couple of strips of wood and attached to plywood doors/or shutters. I cut a dado in both doors and attached a shelf. I made an old style wooden lock for the doors. It worked our really well. I attached the doors with gate hinges so I can swing the doors open in the good weather and open the window.

The doors will certainly help with the glare issue and also adds some much needed insulation to the window area.

As always - Thanks for following
Be safe and be creative
Best
Steve

Cove cuts

Cove cuts

As mentioned in an earlier post, I'm making a coopered lid chest for the next project of the show. The lid is made up of individual pieces called staves. The outside of the staves will get beveled and hand planed to produce a curve.

The underside of the staves will get a shallow cove cut into them to match the curve of the sides. I'll demonstrate how to cut the coves by various methods. By using a molding plane, on the table saw with a jig and regular saw blade, and by using a molding head cutter on the table saw.

Back in the day 'Craftsman tools' were the most popular tools among DIY'ers and home handymen. Craftsman tools produce all sorts of accessories for their table and radial arm saws.
The quality of Craftsman products then was good, and you can still find some great deals at flea markets and thrift stores.

I have a collection of early Craftsman dado blades and molding head cutters that I picked up for just a couple of dollars at flea markets years ago. Some are still new in the box.

I forgot about these cutters until recently. The molding cutters have a blade perfect for cutting a shallow cove. I think I'll use it to cut the coves on the table saw.

As always - Thanks for following
Be safe an and be creative
Best
Steve

Down time

Down time

We've taken a break from shooting and are editing a few new episodes. This downtime is a good time to do a little maintenance around the shop. Tools and machines get tuned up and projects for the shop get done.
There's not a lot of fine woodworking happening but it's still as much fun too build shop projects.

Yesterday I made a simple shelf for the wall behind my bench.
The shelf is simple yet very sturdy. I took a piece of one inch plywood and cut a groove down the center of it, approximately 1/2 " deep. I then glued and screwed a piece of 3/4" plywood into the groove. This is the shelf. I screwed it to the wall.
Now for the brackets.

I cut four pieces at 45 degrees and cut a notch into the back of the pieces to sit over the one inch piece of plywood.
I cut four small pieces of 3/4" plywood and cut a groove down the center of them. I then glued and screwed the four 45 degree pieces into them.
Brackets are done

I attached them to the wall underneath the shelf and screwed the shelf to the brackets. The shelf is simple, but very sturdy.
I think I'll clamp my old Stanley #700 vise to it.
Now on to the next project.

As always - Thanks for following
Be safe and be creative
Best
Steve

following.

Sharpening stones

Sharpening stones

There are many ways to sharpen plane irons and chisels.
And - there are many types of stones to use. If you're just starting out in woodworking sharpening your tools can be a very daunting task. The information out there can be confusing and overwhelming at best, and sharpening takes time and practice.

It is, unfortunately a necessary chore to do. My first accident in a wood shop happened because I was using a dull chisel. The chisel skipped across the piece of wood and right into my hand.
A sharp chisel wouldn't have done that. Also - I learned to never make your body a target. I should have had the hand I was holding the board with behind the chisel I was working with.

Unless you have a large nick in a tool you shouldn't need to use a grinder, just take it to the sharpening stone. But which one?
There are many types out there and all of them work well. It just depends on your method and what works best for you. There are diamond plated stones, ceramic stones, water stones, and oil stones. Oil stones have been around the longest and are getting harder to find but I prefer using them. Sharpening stones require that you use a lubricant to help aid in the sharpening of your tool.
What kind of lubricant? Again this is entirely up to you and what you prefer. A water stone needs water as a lubricant. Anything else will clog the stone. It should also be stored in a container in water. You don't want to use a lubricant oil such as a 3 in 1, etc: Your tool will ride on the oil and nothing will happen. You need what is known as a cutting/honing oil. A thin oil such as baby oil or Kerosene works well. The oil is used to flush the filings to the surface of the stone/abrasive. The blade of the tool then pushes them away.

You can buy small quantities of honing oil from woodworker supply stores online. I prefer to use kerosene. It works well and evaporates quickly, but remember, it's toxic. try not to splash to much on the stone or get it in your eyes or on the skin. If so flush with water right away. Baby oil ( which is a light mineral oil ) works well also. its' available at most pharmacy stores. Kerosene is available at most home centers and hardware stores, unfortunately it is sold in large containers.
Unless you have some old kerosene lanterns you're still using you'll never use all of it in a thousand years of sharpening your tools.
If you live near a heating oil supply place go and ask them if they also sell kerosene. My local place does. I bring an empty can or soda bottle and they fill it for me for free. The kerosene is dispensed like gas is at a gas pump. If I had to pay for it it would cost me a penny. A great deal and it works well.'

Oil stones last a very long time. Once in a while you'll have to lap them flat again. I have a pair of stones ( different grits ) stored in a box that also holds them in place. I simply flip the lid, pour on my oil and start sharpening. afterwards I just wipe it clean and store it away until next time. If you go the kerosene route make sure you store the container away and properly label it. You don't want anyone taking a swig of it thinking it's soda. Try different stones and methods and use what works best for you.

As always - Thanks for following
Be safe and be creative
Best
Steve

Berkshire adventure: Day Three.

Day three of my Berkshire mountain adventure consisted mostly of hanging around with my son, my wife and her family.
I'm fortunate to be able to visit such a beautiful place and to have the chance to walk through their woods with my son.
My wife's Grandmother was on a roll when we were there, entertaining us with her 100 years worth of stories'
It was awesome.

The house is full of antiques. In the formal living room is a fireplace/hearth with beautiful woodwork. The dining table is a gate leg table. The construction of the mechanism is fantastic in it's complexity, yet the idea is simple. I attached some images of it but they aren't the greatest. Essentially there are two boards attached to the underside of the table. They are attached to a wooden hinge, or knuckle. The two boards are attached to a leg that is notched out so that when the table leaf is folded away, they fit into the main table legs, hidden out of the way.
When you need a little extra dining room you simply lift up the table leaf and swing the gate legs out as far as they will go. The gate legs will only swing until they hit a stop block.
I think in the future I'll make a table like this as a project for the show.

As always - Thanks for following
Be safe and be creative
Best
Steve

Day two continued

As promised.

More images of my adventures at Berkshire Products.

I love this place. Wait a minute- I'm getting weepy.

Excuse me. I have to go....

Enjoy

As always - Thanks for following

Be safe and be creative

Best

Steve

Berkshire adventure; Day two.

If you have a sweet tooth then you love candy. If you're a woodworker then you love - Well - Let me show you'
Welcome to my candy store.

Day two of our Berkshire mountain area adventure involved a trip to my favorite lumber yard.

Berkshire Products Inc. is a specialty lumber company located in the Berkshire mountains, in the Southwest corner of Massachusetts. It is a few miles down the road from my wife's Grandmas place.
They carry both native hardwoods and exotics. They specialize in extra wide and figured slabs.
Berkshire products has quartersawn lumber, book matched sets, matched flitches, natural edge slabs, burls and instrument woods
Their lumber inventory ranges from 4" to 90" wide and from 1" to 6" thick. All lumber is kiln-dried.

For over 25 years they've have been selling fine woods to woodworkers, cabinetmakers and craftsmen from all over the country. They travel all over the country locating hard to find logs and burls that can saw into unique and beautiful pieces of wood.

This place is incredible. I took so many photos. I'll spread them out over a few posts. My son Quinn came with me. He seemed minuscule against some of the boards, but seeing the look on his face as he walked among these awesome boards was fantastic'. Some boards are so beautiful that you just want to leave them as they are. They are fantastic pieces of art, produced by nature. There is a main building where they store normal size lumber. There are four out buildings that are climatically controlled and store large slabs of wood. Most of these boards end up as large board room and conference type tables. One giant slab as a table top.

It's a little sad seeing a spectacular piece of wood in a building when it should be left on a tree, but it is also comforting to know that these species still exist. I equate a beautiful table made with a large beautiful slab to animals in a zoo. For generations people will be able to admire and see such pieces of long after the species is gone.

Anyways-enough politics. Berkshire products has an incredible inventory of spectacular lumber. Enjoy the images. I will post more images tomorrow.
Please check them out at http://www.berkshireproducts.com/index.php

As always - Thanks for following.
Be safe and be creative
Best
Steve

Furniture bank

Last evening I watched a woodworking show out of Ohio.
During the show the host featured an organization called the Furniture Bank. The furniture bank is a non profit nationwide organization that helps underprivileged individuals and others who are transitioning from a shelter to their own home furnish their home. Providing qualified individuals and families with new and gently use furnishings.

The show I watched featured a local Ohio woodworkers guild who volunteer their time once a month and build new chests of drawers for the furniture bank. There was about 30 members of the guild who gathered together too build the pieces.

There is a furniture bank in every state. The images and linked address I included are from the Rhode Island furniture bank but if you google the name you'll see there is an organization in every state.

Before last evening I never had heard of the furniture bank. I think this is fabulous.' Folks in need are so concerned about putting food on the table and heating their homes that sometimes they lack common furnishings. Furnishing a home is the last thing they're worried about. If you or someone you know is in need, or you have some new or gently used furniture you'd like to donate please give your local furniture bank a call.
They will even come and pick it up

As always - Thanks for following
Be safe and be creative
Best
Steve

https://furniturebankri.wordpress.com/donate/

State of the Craft

I'm not one for making resolutions, but with the end of one year and the beginning of another it's only natural however to be reflective. To look back and review the past, the pros and cons, the highs and lows.  And to look forward. To think about the new challenges and adventures.  I'm proud of the strides the show made in the past year.  I'm excited to face new challenges and to create new projects for new episodes.

In 2008 I attended the Furniture Society's annual conference.  The title of the conference that year was ' State of the Craft'.  The conference was held at the School of the arts, Purchase College, SUNY in Purchase, NY.   I was one of many people, who on the last day of the conference  sat in the theater and listened to a wonderful conversation  between Bebe Pritman Johnson, Pritman and Eames gallery and Artist/Furniture maker Wendell Castle.  The conversation lasted over an hour.

 It's at this time of year, between the old and the new that I reflect, and try to keep moving forward.  I have a  quote on my office wall from that conference I attended eight years ago.  I guess in a sense it's my resolution.  It's by Wendell Castle, something he said during that conversation I listened to.  It still resonates with me today:

" There are three kinds of people:

People who make things happen,

People who watch things happen,

and people who wonder what happened.

Let's be the first kind"

Happy New Year

As always - Thanks for watching and following

Be safe and be creative

Best

Steve

• 

  Written by

  Steve Butler

• 
  

Berkshire Adventure

We just came back from the Berkshire mountain area of Massachusetts. We were visiting my wife's grandmother, who happens to be 100 years old, full of stories and mischief and going strong. She lives in a beautiful old farm house. I love going there. The area is rich in history, full of culture and old farms. There are all kinds of flea-markets and antique stores to rummage through. The area is also rich in arts and crafts and music. There are many woodworkers in the area as well as glass artist and ceramist. Arlo Guthrie and James Taylor call this area home. For four days we left technology at home and enjoyed walks through their woods and land.

During our visit I was given a beautiful old hand saw. The saw is 26 inches long and was made by Henry Disston and sons out of Philadelphia, PA. The saw is in great shape. There's lots of steel left on the blade and the teeth are in good shape and sharp. Henry Disston has been producing saws since the early 1800's. My saw is called a no# 12 panel saw.

Old panel saws are a common find in flea markets and tool auctions. They fit easily into toolboxes, so would have been the choice for workers who had to carry their tools to the job site

The Disston No. 12 handsaw can be considered their top of the line saw. The saw is a work of art on a mass-produced scale. It has London Spring steel. It also has an ornate chip-carved apple wood handle with the old-style mounting. The saw feels big in the hand.
The stamped number 8 is the number of tooth points per inch. The most popular crosscut handsaw was 8 ppi.

The medallions on Disston handsaws changed more over time
than any other feature on the saw. By using the medallion,
you can estimate the age of your saw. The handles also give a rough idea of the age of a particular saw, along with the medallion, which in most cases will tie down the age of a saw with reasonable accuracy. the medallion on my saw is exactly like the one in the image, therefore by using it as a guide my saw was produced some time between 1896-1917.

If you like to learn more about Henry Disston, Keystone saw works, the factory and it's history visit
http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/100anniversary.html

I can't wait to get to work with this saw.

As always- Thanks for following
Be safe and be creative
Best
Steve