Woodworking: The Perfect Hobby

At least it is for someone who loves variety. Woodworking is an inexhaustible source of learning. There is always another technique or talent you can acquire or challenging project you can build.
When I first started woodworking, I built rustic furniture. The wood was free (fallen limbs in the neighborhood), it required few tools, and it involved basic joinery. From there, I became interested in building New Mexican furniture because the carving looked like fun. Then, I migrated toward Mission furniture, then Shaker furniture, then learning how to handcut dovetails, then how to make handplanes, and now PA German furniture.

I’m crazy-interested in learning more handtool techniques.

Recently, I bought a video on marquetry from Jane Burke and a video on sharpening handsaws from Tom Law. A year ago I learned how to make string inlay, for a line and berry design, from Steve Latta.

But it doesn’t end there.

There are a multitude of other types of woodworking and ww techniques, including wood bending, veneering, carving in the round, chip carving, furniture design, making handtools, mastering complex joinery, finishing, building musical instruments, and woodturning, just to name a few.

And my list of “to-build” projects. Well...I will never reach the bottom of the list.

But that’s what I love about woodworking. It’s impossible to learn everything or build everything you'd like to, so it's constantly exciting and it's impossible to be bored.

Women's Woodworking Club

The club, which was started a year and a half ago, has grown to over 20 members. 8 to 10 usually show up for our monthly meetings, where we do as many hands-on projects as possible.

Most of these women are brand new to woodworking—some are retired, with grown children—and all are enthusiastic to learn. The enthusiasm can be gauged in the sheer volume of exhuberant chatter that goes on during our meetings.

Regarding woodworking (and probably most things), all that women seem to need is a little encouragement & patience, and they will dive right in. Tonight, we worked on part 2 of our current project—cutting boards—in the Woodcraft Store shop where we meet. During the course of the 3-part project, they are learning how to use the jointer, planer, and miter saw. Next time, we'll have a router workshop, when we'll round over all the cutting boards and test drive different types of routers and bits.

We decide at each meeting, as a group, what the next topic will be. There are no dues, no officers, no business to attend to. We sit at a table, facing one another. All of the women have ownership. It's very different from what I call the "boys' club"—the other woodworking club to which I belong. Up until last year, I was the only female member.

In the boys' club, the guys seem to prefer hierarchy and structured meetings. We have officers, dues, and an annual business meeting. There are too many guys in that club (and too small a space) to do much hands-on stuff, so we mainly have a demo or lecture. Members sit in rows of chairs and face the presenter. The volume of these meetings is also different. Pretty quiet, except for the speaker, and the occasional wisecrack. The guys chat with one another prior to and after the meeting, but not so much during.

The other very important difference in the two clubs: the women's club usually has snacks. This past year in the boys' club, when the Christmas party was discussed, the guys opted to not have one. Conversely, the women all but leapt out of their seats with a resounding "YES!" when I asked if we wanted to have a club Christmas dinner.

And you wouldn't believe what they brought. Crab cakes, homemade lasagna, homemade meatballs (made by one woman's husband, which cracked us up), salads, and desserts like you'd find at Wegman's.

It's great fun to be an observer in both clubs. Despite their differences, there is one common thread between the two clubs: they both consist of people who want to create something—something useful, something artistic, something challenging. Something that will leave a lasting mark.

Something's Different...

Now, I know I haven't built anything in my shop for over a month, but I'm pretty sure the last time I was in there, I didn't leave a plant, 2 dog toys, and a bird bath lying around.

Has this phenomenon happened to any of you?

Bevel-Edged Pencil

Marking layout lines with a pencil always leads to "Do I split the line or save the line?" Here's a way to narrow the line, but still be able to see it, and resolve the issue.

Use a piece of sandpaper to create a flat side on your sharpened pencil then ride the flat edge along your straightedge. The line you create will be the exact the location of your cut. I mark dovetails this way and transfer lines from pins to tails. It is surprisingly precise. It does not, however, allow you mark lines in tight quarters, as in transferring marks from tails to ultra-thin dovetails. For that, you need a thin-bladed marking knife. (Or, cut your pins first...but that's another post.)

Using a pencil with a bevel edge leaves a mark that is easier to see than a knife mark. Sometimes you need that, especially if you've reached that 40+ year old bifocal age (raising hand).

Osage Orange Plane

People have written me asking for more information about the little osage orange plane in the side bar, so here are some images and measurements in case you would like to make one yourself.

Body: 4.5" long • 2" high • 1.125" wide
Opening: .84375" wide (13.5/15")
Wedge: 2.625" long • .8125" (13/15") wide • 12 degree bevel to fit
Blade: 3.625" long • .8125" wide • .125" thick

Bed Angles:
45 degree bed • 57 degree shoulder (the portion of the sides that hold the wedge in place) • 52 degree front bed

The plane is one piece of wood, so the most difficult part is chiseling out the wood inside the opening and being careful to ensure that the bed is perfectly flat. Layout your angles on the outside of your workpiece and transfer the angles across the top, down the other side, and on the plane's sole. Then, just keep an eye on your progress to make sure you maintain those angles as you chisel out the opening.

Other woods that make good planes are applewood, maple, bloodwood, cocobolo, and many other dense hardwoods.

Growth ring orientation, according to David Finck, author of Making & Mastering Wood Planes, is unimportant.

Leather Strop

You don't need a grinder and felt wheel in order to keep your knives, gouges, and chisels sharp. Honing with a leather strop charged with a fine compound also keeps them razor sharp. Glue a piece of leather to a flat substrate, like mdf or plywood, and rub a fine grit compound over the surface of the leather. I glued my leather rough side up, but others glue theirs smooth side up.

Slide your knife away from you, with the cutting edge facing you, and keep the blade at the same angle as the bevel. Flip the blade over and pull it towards you, this time with the cutting edge facing away from you. This way you won't gouge the leather. Hone each side of the blade the same number of times.

The lettercarving chisels that I've used for about 12 years have never once touched a waterstone or grinder. I have only ever honed them on a strop and they cut just as well now as the day I bought them. To sharpen a straight chisel, maintain the bevel angle as you slide the chisel towards you, with the cutting edge facing away from you. To hone the back, make sure the chisel is perfectly flat and then follow the same procedure. Always hone each side of the blade the same number of times.

To hone a straight gouge, I use a Flexcut SlipStrop, which has pre-formed shapes that match many types of gouges. Charge this with compound and hone the inside of the blade in the same manner as above. Hone the back of a straight gouge, if the sweep is not too extreme, on the flat leather strop, and rock the blade to match the back of the bevel. I lean the blade to the left and slide it, then lean it in the middle and slide it, and then lean it to the right and slide it. All the same number of times as I hone the inside sweep.

For smaller gouges, I sometimes use a piece of leather that I just bend by hand into a curve that matches the inside curve of the gouge.

Sharpening (Honing) Knives

When I came across a quick way to sharpen (technically, hone) knives a few months ago, I said to my dad, "Dad, give me all your knives and I'll sharpen them for you."

Question: Why do old dudes have so many knives? 40 (that's FORTY) knives, which is what Dad gave me, seems a little excessive. I'm pretty sure I only gave him like three knives total for all his birthdays and Christmases.

Good thing this sharpening system is speedy. Using a 3/4" hard felt wheel, charged with a honing compound, and secured on a grinder*, will put a razor edge on your knife, provided the knife is not too dull. If your knife has a blunt edge, you'll need to spend a little time with sharpening stones first.

Remember that when using a felt wheel, the direction of rotation must be turning away from you—the opposite direction when using grinding wheels. You will have to turn your grinder around so the switch is on the opposite side. If you do not do it this way, the felt wheel will grab the knife out of your hand and you could easily be hurt. Also remember to wear a face mask whenever you use a grinder and make sure that both wheels on your grinder are the same weight, so it is properly balanced. On the other arbor of this particular grinder is another 3/4" felt wheel.

It doesn't take much to hone the blade this way and if you hold it too long on the wheel, it will get hot, so check your progress frequently. I sharpened each knife in 20-30 seconds.

During sharpening, the felt will turn black. That's steel, and it means you need to charge the wheel with more compound. After a while, the compound may become glazed over. To remove it, I hold a block of wood against the wheel as it's rotating. The wood effectively scrapes off the compound and you can charge it with new.

The last photo shows my entire collection of knives. I have a ways to go to reach a total of forty, but then, I have a few more birthdays and Christmases until I'm an old dudette.

*Note: if you do not have a grinder, you can also hone blades and chisels with a leather strop, charged with honing compound, and glued to a board. That's a future post...

Handcut Dentil Moulding

The PA German Hanging Cupboard in the sidebar is a reproduction of a cupboard housed at the Winterthur Museum. I learned how to make this cupboard in a class taught by Gene Landon at Olde Mill Cabinet Shoppe.

The most impressive part of the cupboard is the crown moulding and I think, specifically, the dentil moulding. When those of us taking Gene's class first saw his reproduction, we gasped. And I thought, "How the heck did he figure that out?"

Making the dentil moulding is surprisingly simple. At left are progress shots of the layout and the series of saw cuts. Each tooth is 3/8" square. The pointed part of the tooth is half the height and width of each square and is created by cutting a 45 degree angle from the top two corners of each tooth.

I used a 24 tpi Zona saw, but you can use a scroll saw or coping saw or whatever you like, just so it makes a fine cut. Touch up saw cuts with a small chisel, if necessary.

That's all there is to it! Some clever 18th c. carpenter figured that out and made one impressive kitchen cupboard.