Thanks and Giving

Two benevolent woodworkers recently sent me some fancy wood to play with. Thanks guys!

One woodworker is Ethan Sincox and the other wishes to remain anonymous.

The woods include spalted walnut, pearwood, satinwood (which smells exactly like coconut oil and pineapple—according to Ethan—and indeed it does!), rosewood, and bog oak.

One kindness begets another, so I'm giving away a table saw book, written by Paul Anthony, which was given to those of us who attended the Fine Woodworking Finishing Showdown.

Anyone can enter to win this book, even if you are from Siberia, Tasmania, or Nepal. Don't let your location stop you. If you win, I will gladly mail it to you.

To enter the drawing, just write your name in the comments section. 48 hours from the time this is posted, I'll ask my partner to pick a random number from the total number of entries. The corresponding number in the list of entrants wins the book.

I'm not having any more question-related giveaways—you guys are too clever!

Carved Stone Holder

I was crushing pretty badly on the carved oilstone holder I photographed at the Brown International Tool Auction and Dealer Show (at right), so I decided to make one.

I'm using my other current crush—Swiss Pear—for the carved section of the lid, and bacote for the box itself.

First, I carved a practice piece with pine and found that the carving doesn't need to be very deep—in fact, too deep doesn't look good—to achieve a 3-dimensional appearance.

I also discovered that it's best to sneak up on the final outline of each tool, otherwise you might chip out a section by mistake.

I used gouges that matched the curves and chisels for the straight lines to define the shapes of the tools.

Once I removed the waste from the background—only 3/32" deep—I cleaned up the cuts around each tool to create their precise shape.

Some edges of the tools were dinged up in the process, but they were to be beveled in final form, so no big deal.

Only three little tools are finished and some rough areas in the background need to be smoothed, but I can see why someone would want to carve the lid on an oilstone holder: It's fun!

VC's Top Ten Tips for Wives of Woodworkers

1. Sitting in the shop and staring at a pile of lumber counts as woodworking.

2. When your spouse says, "Don't buy that armoire—I can build one for you," just smile and say "Great!" Then go back to the store in a month and buy it. Because he's either forgotten all about it or has been feeling guilty for not having started the project, and you will be letting him off the hook.

3. Sometimes your husband will buy wood just because it's pretty and he has no idea what he plans to do with it.

4. Expect a Sammy Sadface when you hand him a Honey-Do list.

5. Yes, he does need 5 routers. And 6 marking gauges.

6. Heaping mounds of partially- or un-read woodworking magazines are a fact of life.

7. Never ever EVER remove anything from the shop unless under close supervision. No, not even a screwdriver.

8. It takes exactly 3 weeks to make a small trinket box.

9. Plan a shopping trip, go for a walk, meet friends for coffee—just get somewhere safe—if he's getting ready to glue up a project.

10. What might look like a junky old tool at a flea market is really a monumental find and source of joy for him. Harness that happiness. Now's a good time to ask him to take you to dinner.

A Visit to Fine Woodworking

Last week, Fine Woodworking presented a live stream competition between Asa Christiana (armed with a random orbit sander and sanding block) and Michael Pekovich (equipped with a #4 LN hand plane and block plane) to see which method prepares a finished surface the fastest.

I was invited to twitter and blog about the event, and even though I had to take a day off work (tragic), I decided to go.

I was welcomed with warm greetings, introductions to all the FWW staff, an opportunity to peruse the workshop, and a tour of the cubicle farm. Do most cubicle farms have a nice stash of wood in each person's work space?

Both Asa and Michael were given parts for a small cherry side table that had been milled with a jointer, planer and table saw. Complete with burn marks.

About 24 other woodworkers and I watched and asked questions while the men prepared finished surfaces.

Part of Michael's time included sharpening his plane blades on 1000, 4000, and 8000 grit waterstones. He used two jigs as bench stops (photos 1 and 2)—an offcut from a leg was used to support the angled part of the legs as he planed them—and took time to resharpen his blades before final passes.

Asa started with 100 grit sandpaper and worked his way up to 220 with the orbital sander. He doubled up the legs so he could use the power sander without rounding over the edges, and on small parts, he used a sanding block. A jig with a hacksaw blade (photo 3) handily sliced the sandpaper to the correct width.

Michael chamfered all the edges, even the bottoms of the table legs, with a block plane. Asa knocked off the corners with a sanding block.

One thing seemed obvious: it's easier to plane away burn marks than it is to sand them away, especially on end grain. However, Asa said that if you have difficult grain that doesn't plane well, sandpaper wins. Even Michael uses sandpaper (and scrapers) on areas that tear out no matter how sharp your plane iron.

Both men prefer not to put a final finished surface on the non-show sides of a piece, like underneath the table top; they like to see tool marks.

After the competition, they each put a coat of oil on the table tops and the audience voted on the best looking board. The planed surface (at left) won hands down, although not with a unanimous vote. The sanded surface did not have the same sheen as the planed surface and also appeared darker. However, both men said that if a surface is sanded to 600 grit, you cannot tell the difference between a sanded and handplaned surface.

They also agreed that sanding to 600 grit has a burnishing affect that acts as a blotch inhibitor on woods, like cherry, which can appear patchy when an oil finish is applied.

In this particular case—regarding the type of wood and project—a handplane won in speed and appearance. But the bottom line is that both handplanes and sandpaper serve a purpose in our shops.

Kick Back With a Good PDF

Have fun perusing this huge library of downloadable woodworking books (some very old) online.

Fine Woodworking: Finishing Smackdown

Fine Woodworking hosted an event with Asa Christiana and Michael Peckovich going sander to handplane to see which tool creates a finished surface the fastest. Anatole Burkin emceed the event and two dozen woodworkers from the local community were invited to watch. This video shows some highlights, plus a few of the beautiful pieces of furniture on display at the Taunton Press building, where Fine Woodworking is located.

So who won the event? Let's just say a collective galoot sigh of happiness was heard round the world.

*The video above is one that I made for fun. It just shows some images and footage to give you an idea of what the event looked like and a sense of the friendliness. To see the actual live streaming, please visit the Fine Woodworking site.

Duct Tape of the Magnet World

Rare earth magnet, is there no end to your usefulness?







This walnut mailbox with bloodwood flag has seen better days. But considering it's weathered the elements (though under a covered porch) for the last 9 years, it's not too shabby.

When I built it, I was going for a mission style—simple and sturdy—something nice to greet the mailman. And I came up with all kinds of elaborate ways to attach a flag that would tell him when we had outgoing mail.

Then it occurred to me that rare earth magnets might function as a pivoting mechanism. It worked, and still works perfectly. In fact it has just as strong a pull as ever.

The wooden flag cracked, the mailbox cracked. But the magnet is a real crackerjack.

There's Only One Norm

Nice try, Daisy, but no one can replace Norm Abram.
It's going to take more than a flannel shirt, dungarees, and fake beard to fill his workboots.

Chris Schwarz has declared today "International Dress Like Norm Day." And all across the world, woodworkers are honoring the man who, for 21 years, brought woodworking into our homes, nail guns into our hearts, and triggered an economic tsunami of demand for flannel.

Here's to you, Norm.

Thank you for teaching me how to use power tools.

---------------------

....and by the way, Daisy, you forgot your safety glasses.

Epic Norm-imitation FAIL!

Ladies' Day at Hearne Hardwoods

This past Saturday, four of us from the Harrisburg Women's Woodworking Club visited Hearne Hardwoods in Oxford, PA.

The new showroom that's currently under construction will be spectacular when complete. Let's put it this way—they're using ebony pegs for the mortise and tenon timber framing. I think that says it all.

The current showroom houses samples of exotic and domestic lumber, including some jaw-dropping flitches leaning against the wall.

Two amiable labs who like to pretend your legs are a bridge under which they should travel halfway and then stop, and a fluffy puffball masquerading as a cat greet you upon entry.

The people are friendly and helpful and let you wander throughout the warehouse at your leisure.



The women were choosing lumber for jewellry boxes they plan to build at our next meeting and I was looking for wood for handplanes and whatever else caught my eye.

We came away with Curly Cherry, European Plum, Bocote, and a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

WTO Tip: Implements of Torture

If you missed the Wood Talk Online show last night, check out episode #61 on Marc Spagnuolo's site or Matt Vanderlist's site. They discussed interesting, useful, and funny information that they found on the internet, fielded questions, and invited me back to offer another woodworking tip, which can be heard at the end of the show. Thanks guys!

Eye Candy

The Brown International Tool Auction and Dealer Show was held yesterday and today in Harrisburg, PA, and did not disappoint.

Despite the enormous selection of tempting goodies, I only bought a little caliper and a marking gauge that I had never seen before (photos at right). The dealer, Dan Ludwig, told me it was made by a company called Fulton from Washington, D.C., and was patented in 1888.

It has three marking knives, two of which can be advanced and retracted by unscrewing the knob and sliding the two halves of the body apart. The third knife is friction fit and can be adjusted by pushing or tapping on the iron. I bought it because it was cool and I'd like to make one.

DuCo Tools, from the Netherlands, had several 18th c. carved planes—one built in 1718—the styles of which I had only before seen in books.

Tony Murland had some fine pieces, as well: a carved Dutch plane from 1776 and a carved oilstone holder (both pictured last). The low relief carving of tools on the box's lid was especially eyecatching and has been added to my to-build list.

I also ran into some familiar faces: Lee Richmond, from The Best Things; Shannon Rogers, the Renaissance Woodworker; Jim Leamy, maker of gorgeous plow planes; Tom Graham, from Midwest Tool Collectors Association; and a number of other friends.

What a great way to spend a rainy day!

FWW: Hand vs. Power Tool Showdown

Mark your calendars for November 12 at 1:30 p.m. EST, when two Fine Woodworking staff members go sander to handplane to see who can prepare a finish-ready surface the fastest.

Asa Christiana vs. Michael Pekovich
Sand vs. Steel
Innovation vs. Tradition
Electricity vs. Wheaties

Watch it live on Fine Woodworking's site! Check Facebook and Twitter for my up-to-the-minute coverage! Cheer on your favorite technique!
Be there or be a 4-sided, equilateral, geometric shape!

Click here for more info on this historic event.

Medallion Toolworks

I had the opportunity to meet Ed Paik (pictured far right in the photo), owner of Medallion Toolworks, at the WIA conference earlier this month. Ed makes premium western style handsaws that are custom fit to the individual's needs. I picked up one of his saws, and for the first time found a saw that fit perfectly in my hand. Most saw handles feel too thin to me, but Ed's saw had a thicker handle that felt more comfortable than any saw I have ever held.

I asked Ed what makes his saws stand out from the competition--what things make his saws special. Here is his response.

"My personal thought is I really don't consider other sawmakers as competitors. I see all of us as complimentary to each other and representative of the skill and experience level of the woodworker that makes a saw purchase. Personally, I would try to steer a novice or someone just entering the woodworking community away from a premium custom saw. I would recommend that they try as many of the production saws out there because it is very possible they do not yet know what features they require and like in a saw. After investing in a custom saw is not the time to find out what your needs and preferences are.

A Lee Valley dovetail saw is a great example of a production made saw that performs very well and offers great value. If you find out after extended use it is not what you require then one would be in a better position to go to a custom maker with those thoughts and specifications without having invested a lot of money.

I like to think my saws are made for those that are familiar with other saws, have a certain level of skill and experience with woodworking and know what they would like a saw to do in their shop. Through discussion and working together, I try my best to realize those ideas in a custom saw that performs well in their shop. Every saw I ship is made specifically for that woodworker with as much hand work as possible. Technical specifics like the totes, the pitch, rake and fleam, canted sawplate are all features that are variable for that individual's needs. Aesthetic features like the style of tote and the wood choices to make it with also vary according to their preferences. I also unconditionally guarantee the work and will do everything I can to make sure they are happy with the order."

—Ed Paik, Medallion Toolworks

Mini Coffin Smoother, Part 3

Planes are just chunks of wood with a piece of metal captured inside. What's to get excited about?

And yet we do. Our hearts beat a little faster—almost as bad as first date excitement, but without the "please don't let him/her have a weird toenail fungus fetish" anxiety—when we see anything from the most basic, old, unusable bench plane to the most elegant, artistic planes available today.

And whether we see it as a tool that performs a service or we admire it as a piece of usable artwork, we can all agree that handplanes are objects of our desire.

16th c. Dutch planes with chip carved ornamentation, antique European planes that are carved as faces and figures, and reproductions made by toolmaker David Brookshaw make my palms sweaty.

I'm trying, with baby steps, to get to that level. So here's a baby plane with chip carving. I still need to tweak the blade and the fit to get it to work properly, but the outside is done.

Now for the hardest part: finishing. This is where I screw up most projects. I'd like for the plane to look old, so I'm open to suggestions.

Waiting for it to occur naturally in 300 years is not an option.

The Best Things Come in Small Packages

...that are packed with shavings!



A big Thank You to Dean Jansa, who sent me one of his handmade marking gauges that's based on one found in Benjamin Seaton's tool chest.

Dean wrote an article for Popular Woodworking on how to make this style gauge, which includes downloadable plans.

The coolest thing about this tool is you can release and tighten the wedge that locks the arm in place with just one hand. Because the wedge has a little hook on the small end, it can't fall out. It can only be removed if you slide the arm the entire way out of the head.

Plus, the gauge just feels good in your hand.

Why did Dean send me this lovely little tool? He claims that when a bunch of us were out to dinner at WIA he promised to make one for me. I don't remember this, but then, he was drinking and I was not. And who am I to question the saber-sharp memory that can only come from partaking of beer's frothy goodness?

(I just hope he doesn't remember that I promised to make him a Krenov-style jointer plane.)