White Oak and Black Stout

Building an Exterior Door by Hand

Well I've been at it this week, working through the door construction. So far so good as they say; the Oak is straight grained, heavy as sin and its aroma through my basement shop is intoxicating. A good start I'll give you a look at the process thus far. Enjoy...
















The first step and biggest challenge in the basement wood shop is space, or lack there of. I started with making a full size pattern or template showing all of the door components to scale-the joinery, mortise depth, haunches etc...this will go far at eliminating any unforeseen challenges on my way through the lay out stage. Take your time with this and make things accurate! Skipping a step or cutting a corner would be completely counter productive, square, straight and true this is my map to Heritage Doorville...I have to follow the road. The 1/4" piece of Luan is great for this template, I screwed some hardwood offcuts on the underside of the pattern and affixed it to my shop bents in front of my workbench. Space is limited so I have to work clean. This project will really be a test of patience in this small work space.

















With an accurate template it's time to start muscling the heavy planks of Oak around the shop, again the only hard part and sometimes frustrating thing about a small workspace. I'll begin by selecting my timber, carefully studying the grain patterns for a nice aesthetic and gentle flow throughout the finished piece. Again I'm drawn into the grain of this quarter sawn timber...it's amazing and humbling to think of this tree as a living thing-so beautiful I really feel lucky to be working with such fine stock. I clearly and carefully mark each component and begin cross cutting my lengths to just over finished sizes. My joinery for the rails consist of 3" mortise and tenons with haunches on the upper and lower rails. The middle or 'locking' rail doesn't have haunched shoulders but both the mid and lower one will be split into two tenons due to the width of the pieces. Cross cutting 7/4 stock is a challenge in itself so I have to consider my options here. Saw bench with panel saw? Hook on my work bench with a back saw? I tried both and decided I had much more control and a far more accurate saw cut with the back saw. My 12" Lie Nielsen Tenon saw is up for the challenge; these cuts are at the absolute top of the size of stock I could work with this saw plate. I actually had to make two cuts from both sides-a procedure I try to avoid but is my only option on this day. If I had my Bad Axe 16" or 18" back saws this would be a much better operation but unfortunately they're still a few weeks away...I'll go through the entire lot and get everything to size, from here it's over to the saw bench and my rip saw will be introduced.














Again, ripping 7/4 white Oak by hand is not for everyone...I purchased this lumber pre-dimensioned but as you can see I still have to 'work' each piece by hand. The pre-dimensioning really saves me some time early on; buying rough stock is great for my own work but a commission like this justifies the extra expense. You can usually be safe with a 10% increase on the total cut list when pricing a piece. For me the additional hundred dollars spent on my thousand for wood is well worth it. At least a week of time saved. By pre-dimensioned lumber I mean it's been surface planned on both faces and jointed on its edges. I'll still hand plane each square inch of this stuff but only to remove the mill marks. A good investment when you're trying to make a buck while working wood with only hand tools this is something I get asked about quite often. So consider that a trade secret revealed.

I'll start off with my new Lie Nielsen panel gauge to establish the width of the pieces. I find my regular marking gauge is great for thinner jobs but anything over the 5 or 6" mark and it tends to wander a bit. The marking gauge doesn't but my control over the cut can. This panel gauge is great for this procedure. My full size Corporate Kangaroo is just getting by with the job...I have a new Rip saw in my future for the next door project but you'll have to stay tuned for that one! In the shot above you can see my limited space here between the work bench and the tool cabinet; I usually do all of my sawing on the other side of the bench which is currently where the full-size door template is set up. Work clean and 'Patience of Job'...gotta keep reminding myself that!

Alright, the components are cross cut and ripped, from here it's on to hand plane alley. A welcome place to be after the day of sawing; my shoulders are thanking me already. I'll begin with my Jack plane and go across the width of the pieces taking a traversing/controlled tear shaving.
















The same procedure when using a scrub plane this process will quickly get these planks flattened out. You'd be surprised at the slight hollows and tiny hills...even off of the fine machinery they have out at A & M Wood, there is still work to be done to get these things square on four sides.
















A light cut is necessary with this cross grain technique and always be careful on the outside edge especially when running at the opposing angle to the grain. A few passes back and forth, end to end then I'll go with the grain to finish off. I establish the first flat surface and then I'll do the opposite side making it parallel to this first one. With two flat surfaces I'll get into the shoulder vise and get out the Jointing plane. Because I'm paranoid about keeping everything dead accurate with this project I'm using my Veritas Jointing fence. This is an accessory they sell that clamps onto the side body of their Bevel up Jointing plane and makes sure you're planning an edge square to the first registered surface.
















A good day spent surfacing the Oak and I'm finally starting to see how the door will look. This is getting exciting, the grain flowing naturally across the heavy timbers I began to appreciate just how heavy and strong this door will be when finished. I can now move on to joinery lay out and the two long stiles are the place to begin.
















As I mentioned they'll have haunched mortise and tenons with two at each of the locking and lower rails. The upper rail being only 5" in width will only have one plus the two outside shoulders. These shoulders or haunches will really help to avoid any twisting or winding in the finished door.
















I'll clamp the stiles together and mark them off simultaneously ensuring a truly accurate lay-out. This is just penciled in and I'll come back with a deep marking gauge and knife to make the locations permanent.

With the mortises all laid out it's time to bet my brace and a bit together. Coincidentally about three weeks ago I stopped by a local antique store and found some nice old 8" Irwin Auger bits. These things looked like they didn't see much work in their life so a quick sharpening and they were ready to go. Good bits are still hard to come by but I did notice Tools for Working Wood sell some new ones that I'm interested in. These 8" antiques were a perfect length for this application, anything longer and I'd have to work with the timber on my floor.

















A few hours of drilling and the bulk of material in my mortises is removed. For anyone interested in a good arm toning work out then this is it! I'm feeling the burn in the backs of my arms for sure. A good honest days work and I'm thinking about the tenons tonight. So to back track to the title of this post...a good black stout goes down some fine with the smell of white oak lingering. Stay tuned for more.
Cheers!






















PS.
The stout was enjoyed after the tools went away for anyone concerned with my personal safety.

A Good Road Trip

White Oak, Irons and Wedges

This past Saturday turned out to be a good one for me; first off I finally made it out to A & M Wood to pick up my order of Quarter Sawn White Oak. Terry Johnston did a fantastic job finding some of the nicest Oak I've seen in awhile. I now have a shop full of planks in the neighborhood of 1 3/4" thick by 8" wide by 8' long. Some serious weight there indeed. On my way out to Cambridge, where A & M is located I made a quick pit stop in the Ontario Carpenters Training Center. That's where I hooked up with Dan Barrett of DL Barrett and Sons toolworks.
I had contacted Dan earlier about an old plough plane I had and was in need of some irons and a wedge. I had never met Dan before but he's one of those guys that when you do meet him it's like you've known him for years. He said he had some old irons for me and also a wedge I could have. I dropped by with my plough plane for him to see and he ended up fitting the wedge for me and sharpening up an iron to take it for a test drive! Way beyond the call of duty he really helped me out by taking the time out of his schedule.














Now if you don't know about Dans work he makes amazing wooden bodied planes here in Southern Ontario. Chris Schwarz wrote a review on one of their ploughs at his Lost Art Press blog. I'm putting one of these at the top of my wish list.
As a side note, while I was there visiting Dan he had some of his tools on his workbench. I quickly noticed two backsaws and asked him where they came from. He said they were custom builds from Ed Paik of Medallion Toolworks. One was a small dovetail saw and the other a larger backsaw fitted with an ebony handle. Dan being the kind of guy he is quickly said "Here Tom, take 'em for a test drive." I did indeed and can say I was blown away. They looked and performed great although I did only make a handful of cuts with them. Again the wish list grows longer and my wallet is getting nervous! It's nice to know that here in Southern Ontario, we have some of the finest craftsmen making truly incredible hand tools.






















Cheers!

Ripping Wood

Saws, Bents and Benches

















I recently had a question about the specs on the rip saw I was using in the Moulding plane/Miter blog from a few days ago. Instead of answering in the comment section I thought I'd do it here.
I have a few old Rip saws I've acquired through yard sales and flea markets as well as a new Pax from England. I barely touch the Pax except for soft, green wood outside of my shop...kind of the weekend work, helping out the brother-in-law build a fence or deck stuff. The particular saw in question is the one pictured above; the medallion says Corporate Mark Kangaroo and the plate has Rob Sorby Sheffield punched into it.
It's 28" long and filed at 6 tpi. (teeth per inch) I sent it down to Mark at Technoprimitives and he over hauled it last year. Needless to say he did an amazing job and it became my daily user.

It's the main saw I reach for except when ripping stock in the 1/2" range. I have another old Disston that has a 24" saw plate and is filed at 10 tpi. Between these two that usually takes care of my ripping needs but I'm very interested in the new Lie Nielsen panel saws. I have a few other old Rip saws as well but they're in need of some work. When ripping wood, to further answer the question asked I generally use my saw bench. This is the design by Chris Schwarz published in Woodworking Magazine a few years back. It's a nice design and a perfect height but I find with the two angled legs I sometimes hit the end of the saw into the lower stretcher...I've since designed my own saw bench and will share it with you here in a future post. For small stock I usually just fore go the saw bench and use my tail vise for most of my rip cuts. My bench is low enough that I never seem to have an issue with this method. I'll sometimes hold the piece in the tail vise and use a hold fast as well on my bench top to keep the work piece stable. I also have a couple of 'shop bents' as I call them. Basically they're saw horses that are the same overall dimension as the end profile of my work bench. I'll use these from time to time when ripping the edge of real large work but this is pretty rare in my shop.
The plans for these will be in my book so I better not put them here...my editor may whack me across the knuckles with a yard stick!
Ripping wood by hand is probably one of the most intimidating things for people considering a hand tool only work shop; it's time and labor intensive but once you get your head around it it quickly becomes second nature. I clearly remember thinking back when I was first considering a shop with no power tools and the idea of ripping all of the wood for a piece of furniture scared the hell out of me! That said, it's been a year of hand saws and wood shavings and I don't even think about it now...assembling a cut list and grab the saw. It actually doesn't take that long either-another mis-conception I had.












So for anyone starting down this road I'll recommend a full size panel saw in the 28" ball park with a low tooth count for thick stock and then a smaller panel saw with a finer tooth for lighter work.
The saw bench mentioned from Woodworking Magazine is a great design and I'd recommend it to anyone but for me and my body type it wasn't a perfect fit. Try ripping along the workbench too, this is my preferred method but again to each his own...what ever feels comfortable is always the best way to go.
Cheers!

Greener Is as Greener Does...

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
















As a woodworker-day in and day out, working with a medium that is truly all things living, I have a hard time not thinking about our planet, our forests and our environment. Not to get all 'Al Gore' on you- but global warming, green house gases and my own carbon footprint...we've all heard the arguments and hopefully we're all doing our share to help. That said I just received a letter from Mark at Technoprimitives describing how he's doing his own part. Bad Axe Tool works is his new saw manufacturing company and I thought (or hoped) that some of you out there may be interested to hear about his choices for packaging his new hand saws. This is a blog link from a company called Salazar packaging out of Chicago, they specialize in 100% recycled products. He's also working with another company that manufacturers a void fill/blocking/cushioning product called green cell foam to safely and soundly pack his saws- which by the way should be shipping next week!
On this note, I try my best to use reclaimed lumber whenever I can but when buying from a mill it's up to you as a woodworker to ask if the wood products you're using are sustainably harvested. Every little bit counts right?
Here is the blog: Salazar Packaging
Cheers!

Mouldings, Miters and More...

Hollows and Rounds
















My new hollows and rounds arrived on Friday from Philly Planes in England, right on schedule as Phil Edwards told me. They looked and smelled great(new tools always smell so good), right out of the box all packaged up safely making the trip across the pond. He threw in a nice Philly Planes T-Shirt as well! A nice touch indeed...This morning I set aside a few hours and finally made some shavings and I'm very happy to report that they're great! Worth every cent which I should note wasn't out of touch by any means for some custom made hand planes. They have a nice, traditional shape, comfortable to hold and a nice light weight; Phil had mentioned some additional honing may be necessary but not before they're put to work awhile. He did a great job and I will recommend them to anyone interested in wooden bodied hand planes.
As you know if you're a frequent reader here I have a new project I'm starting this week. I'm building a solid exterior wooden door for a heritage property here in Toronto and this is what the planes were specifically purchased for. Wanting to take the planes for a test drive I decided to work on a sample section of one of the mouldings on the door; this will be the trim around the panels and I'll need about twenty running feet of this particular profile. I cut a scrap of poplar I had about 28" long and squared it up to begin. The following process represents a brief description of the steps in 'sticking' traditional mouldings.
















To begin the moulding I first had to dimension the stock to size and this started with ripping it to width followed with some jointing with my 5 1/2 Bench plane. With the stock straight and square I'll lay out the moulding profile at each end and figure out my rabbet and dado configurations. Funny when sticking mouldings, we think of the hollows and rounds first and foremost but the reality is that most of the bulk of the material will be removed with a rabbet and plough plane. The hollows and rounds follow to the create the curves, slopes and fair out the sharp edges left behind by the first special purpose planes.






















The rabbet and plough plane I'm using are Veritas with my Lie Nielsen medium shoulder plane to clean up the inside corners. I used my right handed Lie Nielsen as well to put the small rabbet on the opposite side of the profile, this was a luxury having the right handed plane to deal with the grain direction. The curves of the moulding is squared off with a series of rabbets determining each stepped area. This process continues on until all that is left is a small dado and then again with my shoulder plane the edges are beveled. This was a tip I got while watching Don McConnell's moulding making DVD; he states the you should always relieve any sharp edges before going to the moulding planes to help preserve the shape of the hollows and rounds. Actually, that tip as well as this entire process was demonstrated quite clearly in Dons excellent video- I recommend anyone planning on doing this kind of work watching it.






















The moulding planes are a real pleasure to use, with a nice fine shaving it's very therapeutic work...this is a good thing considering the amount of moulding I'll have to make for this door project! The finish left behind from the hollows is quite incredible, a smooth burnished feel that doesn't come across in photographs but really is something to behold. The entire process up to this point was probably no more than an hour for this piece just over two feet long.






















With the profile complete I'll put it aside to get ready to cut some miters, this will be another important stage of the door project. Lots of mouldings with twice the miters. I found a great old Stanley miter hook at a yard sale last year for $15.00- a sweet deal for this appliance it needed a little work but otherwise was in real good shape.
















These miter cuts are purely for practice so lengths are a non-issue. This being only a sample the miter will really show me how even my profile is along its length. From here it's to the shooting board to clean up the saw cut and I can finally see how it looks.
















I'm using my new shooting board with my Lie Nielsen NO. 9 for this final step. I still didn't make a 45 degree fence for this new board so I used the block portion of my combination square...this worked out well and it's time to check the final fit.

















I'm happy with this and am looking forward to getting into some quarter sawn White Oak later this week.
Stay tuned.

Spring Cleaning

Work Bench Surfacing

After a long winter of work shop projects and now coming to the end of a wet Spring here in Southern Ontario it's time to do a little 'spring cleaning' around the wood shop. I've been putting this off for far too long and before I start my next project, I promised myself to spend some time and fine tune the work space. My workbench being the heart of the wood shop I'll be starting there. I resurfaced it last year when we made the move from the East coast up here to Toronto but the heavy winter work schedule I just finished it's due to be flattened again.
These are the steps I take when resurfacing my work bench...it usually takes me no more than an hour or two, and last night, that included taking a break to go get an ice cream with my wife and kids.

Oiling the Vices

















The first step I take is oiling my vices; I used some Norton sharpening oil I have and gave the threads a nice light coating. This small can is about 4 years old and there's still half left; I also use this product on my tools and any other oiling needs that come up around the shop. As they say: A little dab will do ya'.

Tighten and Adjust the Vices

















Once the vises are oiled I'll make sure they're as level as I can get them to the bench top and tighten up all of the bolts. You'd be surprised at how these can back off over time. Small discrepancies from the vice jaws to the workbench top will be planed flush in a later step.

Checking the Top for Flat














With the vices oiled and tightened I'll go around the entire bench top with a reliable straight edge and note any cups or hollows; this is a steel straight edge from Lee Valley...a dependable edge for checking plane bottoms and the like.

A Second Opinion















After I checked the surface and noted any hollows or humps, my three year old daughter Piper gave things a quick inspection to make sure Daddy is keeping things on track. Nelson, my four year old son is just out of view...he was pre-occupied with launching some of his little cars down the basement stairs. Almost ice-cream time.

Lowering the Back Edge of the Tool Tray

















Because this isn't the first time I've flattened my bench top, the work surface has become slightly lower than the back edge of the bench. If I were to go ahead and begin planing, the toe of my plane would be banging into this outside edge at every pass. To correct the problem I'll take a few full length shavings off of here to ensure this doesn't happen. Again, a straight edge to check and I'm good to go. A quick note on tool trays...when I do build another bench or if I ever purchase another, a tool tray won't be on the wish list. Although it gives somewhere to store tools while I work, I don't think I'd miss not having one. My shop is set up so my tool cabinet and side shelves are close enough to store everything I need.

First Pass















I'm using my Veritas Jointing plane set for a pretty aggressive cut and will begin by planing directly across the grain on the bench top. Working my way down, overlapping each pass as I go. You can see how the center section of the bench has developed quite a cup; I figure this is mostly due to the move from the coast and then the winter and spring changes in humidity here. Being in the basement probably doesn't help alot but this is the reality of a home wood shop. I should mention that the iron in my jointing plane has a straight edge, not a cambered blade like my smoothing planes and block planes. This straight edge leaves some 'plane tracks' but at this stage I'm not too worried about them. They'll be removed when I go back over the top with my 5 1/2 which does have a cambered iron.

Second Pass and Check Again

















After the first pass with the jointer I'll go back over the entire surface again taking a slightly angled cut. This system is a bit like using a scrub plane for flattening boards. I'll plane down on the diagonal and then repeat the process orienting the plane in the opposite direction. I'm careful around the vice jaws where they meet the bench top, focusing on keeping things as flat as I possibly can.
With the main surface clear I'll go back over the entire surface with my 5 1/2 bench plane. Again traveling across the grain, taking a much lighter shaving this time around. When all of the cups have been removed I'll plane along the grain over the entire length of the bench truing things up for a final finish. Another check with the straight edge and it's ready for finish. Before I proceeded with the finish it's time for ice cream.

Finishing














With a belly full of ice cream and the kids getting ready for bed I'll do a quick finish and call this job done. I know most woodworkers use either an oil or oil blend for their bench tops but I actually like using paste wax for mine. My process is a light rub with the wax and once dry I'll rub down the entire surface with super fine steel wool. This probably removes most of the wax but gives the top a nice burnished feel. I've never had a problem with my bench being too slippery or difficulties while planing or work holding. 'Slick as a waxed snake on a marble floor' comes to mind. From here with the top complete I'll go around the perimeter with a block plane to clean up any torn edges or stray splinters patiently waiting on an unsuspecting finger. I'm just putting a very small bevel on things..careful not to put too much on the front edge where we want a nice sharp corner for planing. A quick process that's easy to do, my bench is ready for the next project.
Cheers!

Bad Axe

TOOLWORKS


A teaser for all of the Galoots out there patiently waiting for the Bad Axe Tool Works hand saws to become available...we're getting closer!
Stay tuned...