4 More (at a time)

The plateau I have experienced in improving dovetail joints was frustrating.  I did get some good encouragement and suggestions.  One, which was painfully obvious in hindsight, was to check the floors of my sockets with a square.  I had been merely sighting along the baseline and using my eyes and fingers to check for flatness.  Obviously this was not working since I was still having trouble getting a good fit.

Another suggestion was to go ahead and make boxes, even if the joints aren't perfect.  I had been shying away from this approach, valid as I think it is, because I don't always have time in the shop to do multiple joints at once and like the sense of completion of these little individual joints.  It was also suggested that I actually glue the joint, as the glue can affect the final appearance in a few ways.

Well, yesterday I did go ahead and make a box carcase, and used a square to ensure that the floors were flat.  Still not perfect, but definitely a bump forwards and with my "dovetail month" total now at 20, I feel pretty good about where I might be with 11 more.  Maybe we'll make it 12 more, for 3 more boxes.  I feel like this one is actually good enough for shop use or a gift to a family member (the type who would frame my childhood art class disasters and proudly display them).

I do have to admit to cheating here though: the joints have only two tails.  I am not sure if this reduction in number of joints is the reason for the sudden improvement, or if its the above.  I'll resume 3 and 4 tailed joints next, but it is nice to have something go together fairly well.  The shoulders one the tailboard (or the half-pin sockets) give me the most trouble.  I use the dovetail saw to make them, and start the cut in a chisel V-groove cut out of the knifeline.  The dovetail saw leaves a bit of a rough surface, and I think my attempts to smooth it introduce roundness.  Perhaps my sawing technique needs to improve, or perhaps my chiseling does more harm than good.  I'll keep working on both.

The box is made from alder milled from a tree in a neighbor's yard.  I saw this tree when it was a log sitting next to the bandsaw mill.  Its quite satisfying to dimension and true it by hand, and cobble together something resembling an artifact from it!

The BOB Lives On

I recently posted about my Bench on Bench from Tools for Working Wood failing.  [edit:  I recently learned that this is not in fact built by Gramercy Tools, but by Philadelphia Furniture Workshop. It was a real disappointment because 1) the thing is not cheap, and 2) it is crucial to the types of work I am doing now.  It is also heavy and difficult to ship for repair.  Most disappointing of all, though, was a perceived lack of response by the generally expedient, patient, and all-around good-guy proprietor, Joel Moskowitz.

I removed the post because I did receive a reply from Joel, and he explained how to address the issue with my unit and also explained the reason for the delay in replying.  Its all too easy to become spoiled by instant customer service in this day and age, and in the end, I am now happy with the BOB again.

The issue is that the vise screws hook into nuts that are set into mortices cut into the bottom of the maple slab.  These mortises were obscured by my base, and I did not remove it to troubleshoot.  If I had, I would have cleared this issue up quickly.  Silly of me to not do so, but at the same time, this should not have been an issue to begin with.  One of the nuts had enough room in the mortise to float and spin freely, rather than remain in place.  Easily fixed with some shims.  I shimmed the other, more snug one as well and covered the mortises with tape to ensure this doesn't happen again.  It would be a simple step for this to be done before sales, but I do realize this is a specialty item and by its very nature, it is sold to tinkerers who should be able to figure this out.

So I will hold up my recommendation of the TFWW Bench-on-bench for anyone without the inclination, time, or skill to build their own.  In my case, it was a matter of wanting to get working using the vise, not wanting to get to work building a vise.  In general, I believe as many appliances as possible should be shop-made, but there are always times when purchasing one can make sense, and if this is your situation, I recommend this deivce.  Perhaps the assembly instructions could be augmented to suggest adding shims and tape before attaching the base, or perhaps I am just a rare knucklehead who is able to break about anything in unique ways.

Joel has always been very patient with my newbish questions about his tools (as well as his contributions to The Joiner and Cabinet Maker book).  I will continue to respect his toolmaking, scholarship, and business although this was a bit of an easily-avoidable issue on both of our parts.

Now that the vise is functioning perfectly again, its back to the shop!

Trouble with Tails

Dovetail troubles...

I can blame the wood: hemlock is a soft wood.  It crushes and chips instead of slicing nicely.  I've also been using poplar, which is much nicer to work, and alder, which is my favorite of all but I do not have much more scrap material to work with.

I can blame my tools: try as I might, I am not sure my chisels are entirely flat and sharp.  They look good, to me.  They have a nice mirror-polish on the backs (8000 grit waterstones) and using essentially the same techniques to sharpen them as I do for plane irons.  They act like razors when taken to paper or my armhair, and they pare nicely translucent very thin slices even on douglas fir.  Maybe I need to sharpen them even more finely?

I mostly blame myself.  Just not enough experience yet.  I've cut 16 sample joints, and will not feel terrible about it until I've hit 30 or 40... However, I have reached a plateau of sorts and am out of ideas.

One of the main issues is that I can never get them to seat all the way, as can be seen by the red circles here:

It would seem there is some obstruction in the socket.  However, on some of these joints I can actually see light all the way through, indicating that they are "pinched" into levitation by the side walls.  Its probably a combination of all kinds of sloppiness adding up.

My tails (cut first) usually look pretty good.  I can cut next to the line fairly well, and leave a rather smooth surface after cutting out the waste.  I do all that I can to get the bottom of the socket plumb and smooth, without crossing the baseline.  In the cases where I do cross the baseline, its understandable to have a gap, but I generally do not make this mistake (anymore) and am still baffled.

Marking seems to go ok, though it is never easy.  Cutting the end grain is not easy, despite using a proper knife.  Its impossible to tell if an effective cut was made until the whole process is complete (the cuts are not easily visible while the boards are in place).  Making multiple passes on each cut introduces error so I try to do it right the first time.  In general, they look good and seem to match the socket shapes.

Cutting to this line must be one of the biggest problems I have.  Again, it looks fine after cutting.  I am not obviously wandering from the line or skewing the saw.  And again, the chisel work seems to go ok, but the end fit tells a different tale.  I have been easing the backsides of the tails to make assembly easy (though it took me a while to actually wrap my head around which parts will not be visible).

My errors tend to be gaps, but at times I also have too tight of a fit, creating a split, such as outlined in red here:

When test-fitting, I have a hard time identifying which part is causing the problems, and my solutions to pare a little here and there, as Thomas does, generally makes matters worse.

I am confident that more practice will help, and I am nowhere near giving up.  I am, however, temporarily out of ideas on what to consciously improve.  All there is to do is just keep adding more joints to the pile and keep at it.  I am actually only halfway through "dovetail month" and so was not expecting to be proficient yet.  It is just a frustrating plateau, after some leaps and bounds of improvement in understanding, if not execution, my last 3 joints have not improved significantly.

Here's a pile of some of them:

This post is not a solicitation for advice, although I would gladly accept it if my issues are indicative of something specific.  Its more just thinking out loud, logging my frustration, and an honest portrayal of the fact that woodworking is work.  Like a cooking show, none of it is as simple as it looks.  In fact, the more you know about it, the more you realize the difficulties.  I also realize that these skills must be learned by doing.  No amount of video-viewing and reading can transfer these skills beyond a shallow understanding.  And so I persevere...

In brighter news, check out these awesome mini-rules from Josh Clark.

I am especially fond of the tiny 3" one... it opens to 12" and has a very useful caliper.  I'll keep this one in my pocket for trips to the lumberyard for sure.

How to Make an Old Jointer Plane Act Newer

Its common knowledge that adding an improved iron and chipbreaker to an old Stanley plane will improve its performance.  In fact, a set from Ron Hock was among my very first premium handtool purchases.  However, the iron did not fit my plane, and I was afraid to tamper with it.  Until today.

There are no images because it is not a photogenic operation...  I just made a thin scribe with a square and put tape down to mark the mouth, clamped the plane in a vise (with wooden shims to pad the jaws), and went to work with a file.  I was nervous about opening it too far, so stopped, put the frog back into place and tested it 3 times before I had it open enough.  When it did fit, my mind was blown.  This jointer, an old #7, was already a joy to use.  Now its an amazing joy.  I can dial it almost as fine as a smoother, but the real magic is on the shooting board.  Before, I was getting an odd stripe on the end grain, although I could find no nick in the iron.  I was also getting slightly out-of-square ends, although this was remedied by flipping the board and taking a couple more cuts.  However, now the shooting is not only easier, but much more accurate.  Should have done this a long time ago!

One little benefit of this set-up is that now I can keep the frog snugged right up front, where it should be, so that the iron is supported at the very bottom by the plane body itself.  When the frog is retracted, there is a slight gap there.  It might only be a few millimeters, but every bit helps in the war on chatter.

I use a Hock iron and chipbreaker in my jack plane (a #5) and it is fantastic as well.  In that case, I had them grind a 10 degree camber on it for me since I was a little nervous about making such a drastic modification to the stock iron.  I would now not hesitate to do this myself, but if you are new to hand planes and are planning to buy an iron from Ron, it might be worth it to inquire about this service.

The desire for a Lie-Nielsen #7 is fading, as is the desire for a #51 Shooting Plane.  Wait, who am I kidding? I still want a #51.  While my jointer now shoots nicely, it is still murder on the hands to do for very long.  There is just not a comfortable spot to hold it which is also effective. Not sure its an issue worth $500 to fix, but I do dream of such things.

[review] Tiny Homes and a Tiny Tiny Homes Book

This is a mild departure from the normal topics here, but it is related so bear with me.

I've long been a fan of Lloyd Khan. From his early work with the Whole Earth team, to his Shelter books, and more recently, his books focusing on hand made houses and those in the Pacific Northwest, I have eagerly read and enjoyed everything he has put out - even his book about septic systems.  So it is no surprise that I recently jumped on the chance to preorder his latest masterpiece, Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter.  


The book is all you would expect from a Lloyd publication.  While the subject matter is tiny homes (he defines them as 500 sq ft or less), the book is not tiny.  However, he did include one that is!

Many pages of the original were reproduced in this matchbook-sized pocket version.  A gimmick to be sure, but it is a great one!

The book is fascinating, detailing not only homes but shops and studios as well.  Without any heavy-handed philosophy, it makes it clear that minimalism has merit and simplicity and beauty can and should be lifelong partners.  Lloyd admits that he himself does not currently live in a "tiny house" but he has spent his fair share of time bulding them and living in them, and he details some of his portable surfing rigs for travels in Baja.

Most of these structures have handmade components since this type of structure just isn't compatible with modern building materials and methods (for the most part... there are some prefab exceptions).  You'll therefore find inside gorgeous carvings, custom moldings, and homes built off-grid with hand tools, often from local natural materials.  Incredibly inspiring stuff for anyone with any interest in wood or building.

While not a how-to book, this book is an excellent addition to the hand tool enthusiast's library.

If this is too far off-topic for you, here is another dovetail joint.  They are getting better, but this one still has two flaws: baseline was crossed with the saw, and I accidentally rounded the corners of the tails while "easing" them into place.  Still, a structurally excellent joint that is rock-solid without glue.  A wholly acceptable joint is in sight!

Another Apprentice

In The Joiner and Cabinet Maker, Thomas is about 14 years old in rural England.  Today I discovered a slightly older apprentice right here in Oregon:

"My name is Kelton Goold and im a junior in highschool in Pendleton Oregon. One of my greatest passions is woodworking and using hand tools. Ive been woodworking for about a year and have mostly built projects for my shop, but also some cabinet work. Over this summer I built my first bench using the roubo style design, needing more counter space I also built a nicholson style bench"

Check out Kelton's work at his blog.  I wish I would have started out on my own journey at his age...

http://gooldworkshop.blogspot.com

Another Dovetail, Another Saw

There have not been many updates because all I have been doing is practicing dovetails.  I have placed an order for a gallon of glue, yes a gallon.  This is to build the new workbench.  That will start fairly soon, weather permitting.

In the meantime, I am still cutting a dovetail joint every time I have a chance.  I have lost track of how many there are so far, but probably around 10.  They are getting better in some ways but not always.  I am inventing new ways to make mistakes all the time, and I foolishly decided to try a different technique: cutting pins first instead of tails first.  I would like to work either way, but really should master tails first before switching.  The seemingly trivial change actually creates a wholly different workflow and set of methods required.  Thomas does it pins first, but Rob Cosman has produced the clearest videos, so I have been using his methods.  Eventually, I will try to synch of with Thomas, but I am still struggling with the basics such as cutting exactly to the line, proper chisel technique, and so on.

The most recent joint is probably the best yet, but still flawed.  I split the board on one tail, meaning it was too tight.  Yet there are gaps on some of the other tails. It seems as though I bumped the board while transferring the marks; the shapes of the cuts were correct, but the placement on some of them was off by a millimeter or two.  Transferring the marks continues to be my biggest problem.  I feel like I am cutting and chiseling to my marks ok, but the marks are not always in the right place.  I expect this will continue to improve.

Here's the result of the last one (you can see the split near the top):

Other than the split, this one is possibly "good enough" but not nearly perfect enough for me to continue with the schoolboxes.  Its possible that the 31 sugggested for "dovetail month" will suffice, but I might be slow.  Anyway, I won't give up, but I won't post every single one here, either, so the blog will be slow.  I will post some "worst of" soon, detailing the mistakes I have made and what I have done to improve them and the lessons learned.  I believe so far that no matter how much one reads and understands this process, its really a matter of hands-on practice.

In other news, I did obtain a new saw, completing my core collection.  This is a fine crosscut panel saw, created by Matt C who runs thesawblog.com and a great saw rehabilitation service.

In Matt's words, it is "a D-23 plate cut to match a #7 pattern and a custom tote in osage orange".   


Similar to a Lie-Nielson panel saw in size, its 10 points and cuts very nicely!  Its razor sharp - and I would encourage anyone needing work done on saws to give Matt's service a try.  His tote is as comfortable as can be and the saw cuts as nicely as any I have seen.  Look at the beautiful "lamb's tongue" detail, where the lower swoop of the handle connects to the part contacting the saw itself.  Thanks for sharing it with me, Matt!


It's shown here underneath a Wenzloff panel saw based on the Harvey Peace design.  Its pleasantly small, light, and wonderfully ergonomic.  I am really happy with this saw.

As always, thanks for following along and stay tuned for some more project-based updates (including the workbench build) coming soon!