Staves

Staves

It's been a busy week but I finally got around to cutting and making the templates for the coopered lid.
I made a full scale drawing and worked out the radius of the sides of the lid, and the angle of the staves. Staves are the individual pieces of wood that are cut on an angle to make a curved component, like a bucket or barrel. The process of cutting these components is called coopering.
The sides are a partial ellipse so each angle is different. The lid is comprised of ten staves an 1 1/4" wide.

The best way to cut the staves is by laying them out right on the full scale drawing. The good thing is you only half to work out half of the staves. The other half is a mirror image
I made a smaller prototype and wrote the angle degree right on the pieces of pine.

I glued up the staves in stages, gluing a couple at a time until I had them all glued up. You could make a jig if you wanted to but when I cut and glue the full size staves for the lid I'll glue and nail them right onto the sides.

This simple chest has a lot of smaller, complicated parts. I love it'

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

Bottoms up'

Yesterday i spent some time cutting and fitting the bottom of the chest/box. Why spend money when you don't have to. I while ago I found a small bookcase made out of pine that came from the Pier One Import company. I took it apart and have since use some of the wood from it. I had a single board left that I used for the bottom of the box. The board wasn't wide enough to fit the entire box bottom so I used a piece of pine I took from a pallet.
I cut the stained pine board and put the pallet board in the middle. I thought it looked better. The pine board was cut from the pith ( center ) of the tree so it has some great grain running through it.

One of the boards has the pier one import logo stamped into it.
I love it.' Gives it a little history.
I know recycling/re-use/ up-cycling, whatever you want to call it, is popular and trendy these days. I call it being thrifty and smart.
Some might not like the look of it, I happen to like it and it makes me feel good knowing I didn't waste anything. I love giving new life to old objects or materials

I added 3/8 inch strips of wood to the bottom edges to elevate the box slightly. This makes the box look lighter. The strips are inset back approximately an 1/8 of an inch from the edge of the sides and front and back. This also gives it a sense of being lighter but it also creates a shadow line. If I had attached the strips so that they were flush with the sides and front and back you would be able to see the difference where the two meet. Any discrepancies would stand out. By setting them back you avoid this.

Now I'm off to make the curved top.

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

following.

'Come Together'

i spent the last few days working on the prototype for the next project of the show. I making a pine coopered lid chest. The box itself is joined together using large box/finger joints. I made a simple jig for the router to cut the joints. The front and back of the box fits nicely into the sides. I then glued and nailed the box together using old fashioned square head nails, giving it a rustic look.

The jig was simple too make. I cut a scrap piece of plywood to the width of my boards, In this case ten inches. I attached a fence at the ten inch mark. On one edge of the jig, using my table saw and a set of stacked dado blades, I cut the fingers for the front and back, and on the other edge of the jig I cut the mating fingers and recesses for the sides.

I simply cut the boards to length and width, placed one end and edge against the fence of the jig. I'm using a top bearing flush trim bit so I placed my boards on top of the jig, but - you also could use a bottom bearing pattern bit and do the same thing by placing the jig on top of the boards.

The bearing rides against the plywood jig/template and the bit cuts away the pine following the pattern. That's it. Turn the board end for end and do the same thing to the other end. Line up the side boards to the side pattern of the jig and do the same thing.
It couldn't be any easier. It all comes together nicely. Jigs don't have to be fancy, they just have to work. You'll have to trim a small amount of wood away because of the round profile of the router bit. Just simply take a chisel and square up the corners.

Next I have to attach the bottom and make the curved sides for the top.

as always - Thanks for
Be safe and be creative
Best
Steve

following

Fork in the road

Sometimes you never know what you'll see when you take a left at the fork in the road instead of a right'
Saw this this morning
I love it -
Chainsaw woodworking at it's best

As always - Thanks for following
Be safe and be creative

Best

Steve

Process

I spent the day drawing a full scale drawing of the coopered lid chest that I'm building for the next episdoe. Drawings don't have to be elaborate or drawn on expensive drafting paper. I use Kraft paper. Even if your drawing style and technique isn't the greatest, I would still try to draw a full scale drawing of the project you're making.
You can save some money by making your mistakes on paper rather than on expensive lumber. Work the kinks out on ink first, it's cheaper in the long run, even though it might take some time to do a full scale drawing. Once you have the drawing done you have it for a life time.

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

Modernism Museum Mount Dora is a small, private, and focused museum devoted to collecting, exhibiting, and promoting the work of the American Studio Movement, with a core private collection of its founder, who resides in Mount Dora, just north of Orlando, Florida. Its new show “Esherick to Nakashima,” presents two seminal figures of the two formative generations of the American Studio Movement, which came to introduce craftsmanship to the notion of modern design. While Wharton Esherick, the ‘father’ of the American Furniture Movement was inspired by avant-garde European art and architecture as early as the 30s, Nakashima began his career as a furniture maker after WWII and his work was rooted in Japanese aesthetic sensibility and philosophy, paired with the his love for the legacy of early American furniture. Esherick, the pioneer, is known to have crafted no more than a couple of hundreds pieces of furniture, while Nakashima, who operated a successful business in his hometown New Hope, Pennsylvania, has made an extensive body of work. The exhibition seeks to present a comparison between these two giants who created personal languages in their crafted design, and who had made tremendous contributions to the story of modern design in America.

The information taken from the attached link below

http://www.daniellaondesign.com/blog/esherick-to-nakashima1

 

A family addition'

Nah'''' It's not what you think.
Yesterday we had some friends over and decided to go and peruse through Bernat antiques.
While rummaging through some odds and sods downstairs I spotted it' Could it be?, could it be?
Yes- It was''' My family of cove planes is complete'

I found an 1 1/4 inch cove plane, the one I needed. And - it's in great shape. The wood was a little thirsty but after a good cleaning and a fresh coat of wax the plane now resides beside the other family members.

I couldn't be happier' All I need to do is sharpen up the blade and get to work cutting coves on the underside of the staves for the chest I'm making for the next episode.
Ah''' The life of a woodworker'
It's these special moments that make it all worthwhile
Ha''' Sorry- I just couldn't help myself.

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

Cutting coves

Cutting Coves

Cutting coves are decorative cuts I often use for moldings and raised panels. They can be cut on the table saw by clamping an auxiliary fence to the table and feeding the work piece into the saw blade at an angle.

I made a simple parallelogram jig to determine the angle for the auxiliary fence. You begin by laying out the desired cut on the end of the work piece that will come in contact with the blade first.
Place the layout next to the blade, and raise the blade to the correct height.

Next- use the adjustable jig to determine the angle for the auxiliary fence. set the jig to the same width as the cove layout, then angle the jig until the far tooth of the blade just touches the left arm of the jig. And - The tooth closets to you meets the right arm. Now clamp the auxiliary fence at this angle on the downward side of the blade.

Because you will feed material at an angle , the fence will help keep the stock in contact with the blade. Lower the blade to about an 1/8" in. above the blade. Position the material against the fence and start to feed stock into the spinning blade.

Coves can also be cut by hand using a cove plane. In the attached image, the cove on the right was cut using the table saw and the one on the right by hand using a cove plane. I'll be cutting coves on the underside of the staves for the coopered lid chest I'm making for the next episode.

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

Full circle

Full Circle

In a recent episode I made a Shaker Bench, modeled after one from the Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, MA. Most of the pieces I build as projects for the show get donated. I couldn't be happier. When building projects for the show I usually build two of them. This helps get the kinks out and makes production run smoother when we're shooting an episdoe. Usually'
The first bench went to a friend as a gift for Christmas. The second bench will be travelling full circle.

In the next couple of weeks I'll be delivering the bench to the Hancock Shaker Village where it will reside permanently and be used for public seating.

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

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