Search
Navigation
Blogroll
Archive
|
 Tuesday, April 22, 2008
"Flexner on Finishing" Live
When the topic is finishing, Popular Woodworking magazine turns to Bob Flexner for answers. We believe he is the foremost expert when it comes to anything from alkyd-based varnish to using Xylene as a solvent and thinner. We might be biased because he writes our "Flexner on Finishing" columns found in nearly every issue for the past decade, but the fact that Bob writes for many other publications reaffirms our belief.
Bob also teaches classes throughout the country. A few weeks back he was at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking to teach a two-day seminar on finishing. Then, while so close to Cincinnati, Bob accepted an invitation to present a similar class to the Cincinnati Woodworking Club and that seminar was hosted at the Popular Woodworking office and shop. Luckily, I was on hand for the Sunday session and I quickly decided that I wish I'd been available for Saturday’s portion as well.
If I had attended both days, I expect I would have had the same look that many of the participants had when they left late in the afternoon on the second day. Due to his vast knowledge on finishing and his willingness to pass information on to others, he shares so much in his seminars that there's a lot of stuff to digest.
Facts such as how to properly clean a brush. Simple right? I thought I knew what to do, too. But, Bob quickly had me understanding I didn't know the secret. He had a few brushes that he passed around that, after many cleanings, were as soft and usable as they were when purchased quite a few years back. The secret, according to Bob, is to complete the cleanup with soap and water and repeat until you get a good suds. That’s the final step no matter what finish was applied with your brush. I have to admit, I’ve never washed my brush with soap and water. And, I cannot tell you the times I’ve returned to a brush weeks later and had to bend and twist the bristles to be able to use the brush a second time.
Another tidbit I scooped up about brush cleaning dealt with shellac. As you may know, I’m a fan of shellac. I like the quick drying time of shellac as well as the replication of what I consider a period-type finish. And while I spray most of my finishes, I do occasionally dip some bristles into shellac. For me, cleaning shellac from my brush was a matter of dredging the brush through a number of cups of fresh alcohol until I felt the shellac was removed. If you think about that process, I was (as Bob pointed out) simply thinning the shellac with each rinsing, hopefully reaching a point when the shellac was gone. I wouldn’t know if I needed to twist the bristles or not until the brush dried.
Bob’s solution is to wash the shellac brush with a 50/50 mixture of household ammonia and water. Ammonia breaks down the shellac. Then finish with soap and water (look for suds). There’s an idea I had never heard before, but I will undoubtedly try the next time I need to clean shellac from my brush.
These are but a few of the tips picked up during the seminar. Bob also spent time explaining French polish. I filmed a majority of his presentation on French polish and I hope to add that to our video pages in the next few weeks. If you have any interest in French polish, don’t miss it.
And if you have an opportunity to catch one of Bob's seminars, I highly suggest you do so. Go prepared to process a huge amount of finishing information, take great notes and stay sharp because I know you’ll gather in some tidbit that improves your finishing abilities. I sure did.
And if you cannot locate his seminar somewhere close to you, his book, "Understanding Wood Finishing" (Peachtree Woodworking) covers many of the topics and is invaluable as you begin finishing pieces with something more than wipe-on oil.
Got any tips to share or questions about finishing, post you comments or concerns and we’ll see if others can benefit from your shared knowledge or help get you answers. Or, I’ll thumb through Bob’s book – I’ll bet he has the topic covered within the pages. –Glen D. Huey
p.s. We also have a lot of Bob's Popular Woodworking articles available for free on our site's Finishing Page.
Read other entries by Glen D. Huey
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 3:34:01 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
|
|
Popular Woodworking Welcomes 'The Wood Whisperer'
Managing Editor Megan Fitzpatrick grabbed our magazine's digital camera and told Marc "The Wood Whisperer" Spagnuolo to hold still for a photograph.
"I need to take a headshot," she announced.
"So do I," replied Marc, as he lifted up his video camera and pointed it at Megan.
For a few short moments they stood there with their cameras pointed at one another. Then I told them to "take this outside." They did.
On Monday morning, Marc and his wife/business partner/camera operator, Nicole, visited the Popular Woodworking's editorial offices to shoot video footage of us working in the shop and plowing through more than a dozen doughnuts, which Senior Editor Glen Huey brought in.
Marc is the host of the very popular web site thewoodwhisperer.com, which offers scads of free instructional woodworking videos, shop tours, audio programs about woodworking and links to other like-minded woodworking sites.
He's also our newest contributor. Starting in the August 2008 issue, Marc will be writing a column in every issue on a woodworking technique, which we have cleverly titled "The Wood Whisperer." In addition to the written column, Marc will be posting a video on our site at popularwoodworking.com/video that will show that technique in action. 
During Marc and Nicole's visit, we forced them to sit through our Monday morning staff meeting (which is really a doughnut-eating contest in disguise), then we headed into the shop to shoot video. After a quick tour of the shop, they interviewed Bob about the project he's working on for the August issue, and they chatted with Glen about his woodworking. Both video pieces should appear on his site in the future (assuming they can get some of the profanity bleeped out).
Glen also shot some video of Marc and Nicole, then we went to my house and shop, where I gave them a tour of some of my personal work and my small workshop.
Most of all, the day was a great excuse to get to know more about Marc and Nicole, who represent the vanguard of where woodworking instruction is headed this century.
Marc, 31, is from Trenton, N.J., and studied biotech in college. After graduation, he headed out to San Diego for work and met Nicole when she answered an advertisement for a roommate to share an apartment. They've been together ever since.
When they moved out to Temecula, Calif., they bought their first house and it needed some work. One table saw and a flooring project later, Marc become hooked on the craft. Well, obsessed might be a better word – that's the word he uses.
His interest in the craft deepened when he encountered David Mark's cable program "Wood Works." Marc eventually studied with Marks in his Santa Rosa, Calif., studio and then opened his own custom woodworking shop in Phoenix, Ariz.
From there, it was short hop to take everything Marc learned – and his enthusiasm for teaching it – to the Internet, where he launched thewoodwhisperer.com.
If you don't know Marc yet, I encourage you to scoot over to his site and take a look at some of the excellent content there. Watch a few videos (they are well done and Marc's a funny guy) and listen to one of his broadcasts of Wood Talk Online with buddy Matt Vanderlist. Or just browse through his blog.
And watch this space for more on The Wood Whisperer. Once we get some of our video edited, we'll post that on our video player.
— Christopher Schwarz
Read other entries by Christopher Schwarz
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 10:06:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Friday, April 18, 2008
Tool Test: Mortise Pal
While surfing around the woodworking sites, I found mention of this jig for cutting mortises. It’s a Mortise Pal (mortisepal.com). If you have a plunge router (weighing less than 12 pounds), a 5/8" outside-diameter bushing and an upcut router bit, you can create mortises for mortise-and-tenon joints and loose-tenon joinery using a Mortise Pal.
To use a Mortise Pal you need a 6" base on your router. If you use a smaller base, due to the jig’s design, the base could slip off one side resulting in a bad mortise (the router rides on top of the side supports). Also, pay attention if your router’s base is something other than round. As for weight, 12 pounds pretty much restricts you to a 2-1/4 hp router or smaller, so don’t try to hoist up that 3+hp hog and cut mortises.
And of course, an upcut router bit is best because it pulls waste from the mortise and the cut will be easier to make, and cleaner when finished.
Any stock in which you want to cut a mortise in the end can be a minimum of 1" in width. Stock thickness can be from 2" to 3/4" (you can mortise thinner stock by arranging shims as shown in the manual, which you can download off the web site or below). The mortise length is determined by the mortising templates (four sizes are included in the kit) and the router bit size (a maximum 1/2" due to what fits through the bushing). Changing the templates is a snap and locking them into position is both secure and reliable with each change.
Layouts for mortises you cut with the Mortise Pal are different from the method most of us are accustomed to using. For this tool, find the center of your desired mortise along both length and width, then use the engraved line and small pointer on the jig to set up the cut. Once you’ve dialed into your lines, lock the brass thumbscrew, twist the lock knob to secure and you’re ready to work. (To watch a Mortise Pal in action, click here.)
I don’t cut mortises with a router most times; I have a mortise machine for that task. But, if you don’t have a dedicated mortise tool, a Mortise Pal is a good choice. (Hand-tool Neanderthals take a breath, please.) One area that always bothered me when building furniture was when I mitered a base frame on a chest of drawers or other case piece. I often chose to use a biscuit joiner for the connection. Because the Mortise Pal fits the workpiece, especially if the piece is mitered, I see using the Mortise Pal there for a simple loose tenon connection, resulting in a strong joint.
Bottom line: the Mortise Pal is well-machined tool that works. I think it’s a bit pricy at $189, but the Mortise Pal has CNC machined anodized aluminum parts along with stainless steel parts, and the templates are polycarbonate. In my opinion, there was no skimping on manufacturing. Also, if you buy a dedicated mortise machine, you’ll spend more and not have the mobility or range of uses you have with this tool. And, you’ll get the job completed quicker than if you hog out material at a drill press, then clean up the mortise with your chisel.
Here’s a tip for routing mortises. Plunge the mortise area first, then slide the router along the cut to clean out and remove any left-behind waste material. I plunge the ends of the mortise then move to the center before clearing the cut. This may be old news for you, but I picked up the process just a little while back – there is always something new to learn while woodworking.
– Glen D. Huey
Mortise Pal Manual.pdf (785.41 KB)
Read other entries by Glen D. Huey | Read other Tool Tests
Friday, April 18, 2008 1:23:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
My Take On Dovetail Angles
My take on dovetail angles might appear to be strange, but I have solid reasons for my choice – if I do say so myself. Here goes.
Dovetail angles are most notably described in degrees, but is often stated as a ratio, either 1:8 or 1:6. These ratios translate into a 7º or a 9º angle. These are the established angles; the angles we’re suppose to bow to upon pulling our marking gauges from the bench drawer as we prepare to cut the parts of the joint. One angle is suggested (a better word might be mandated) for softwoods (9º) and the other for hardwoods.
So, do you need two sets of marking or layout tools? One set for working dovetails in softwood and one for hardwoods? Why would you want to purchase tools that do the exact same task, only at a different angle? And, where is the dovetail joint used for the most part? That’s right, in drawer construction. Many woodworkers use a combination of hardwood drawer fronts with either hardwood sides (poplar) or softwood sides (pine). Yes there are other combinations, but I venture to say these are the most common in American antiques throughout the major furniture periods of Queen Anne, Chippendale and Federal.
I use Newport, R.I., as a demarcation line for typical woods used to build drawers and if you’re building reproduction furniture from Newport south (not Southern designs that use yellow pine as a secondary wood), you are probably using two hardwoods for your drawer parts; poplar as the sides, backs and bottoms with another primary hardwood as your drawer fronts. The two hardwoods traditionally dictate using a 7º slope.
But, what about us poor souls building drawers based on New England designs? Designs built north of Newport, R.I., where drawers use hardwood for the fronts and softwood, namely pine, as other drawer parts. What angle should we choose for our dovetails: 7º that matches the use of hardwood, or 9º used for softwoods? What a conundrum.
Additionally, we have the development of the dovetail jigs that suggest (there’s that word again) we use a 14º-dovetail router bit to make the tails and a straight bit to cut the pins. I can say I like the slope of these dovetails much better. Aesthetically, these are more pleasing to my eye. And that’s what I think should drive your dovetail angles – aesthetics.
Don’t accept the traditional ratios. I’ll bet a study of furniture and drawer construction from the 1700s through today would turn up many different dovetail angles. Of course, I’ve used the 7º, 9º and 14º angles during the period I used dovetail jigs to cut my joints. I’ll bet when I switched over to hand-cutting dovetails I used a few angles in between as well – as a beginner, it’s nearly impossible to stay on the layout lines. I know of no joint failures and not once have I seen the angles break or shear along the slope of the tail (something preached if the slope grows well beyond the traditional ratios).
The Angle I Use
So, where am I today with this dovetail angle question? I use a 12º angle. Why 12º, you may ask? Here’s my reasoning. I certainly wasn’t going to switch angles depending on the application (too much wasted time) and I wanted an angle that fit somewhere in the middle of the established slopes. And how many places does the number 12 show up in our world? We have 12 months in a year. Two sets of 12 hours in a day. Most people know that a dozen of anything is 12. And to bring it in line with woodworking, if you’re fitting a raised panel into a 1/4" groove and the panel needs to be the full width of the groove as it rests tight to the bottom of the groove (a snug fit so the panels don’t rattle), you need to set a 12º-angle cut for the panels.
And most important, I like the angle when I look at it.
Is it just me? Am I crazy? (That’s a question I’m sure I’ll get a few comments on. Remember the glove incident?) What degree slope do you use for your dovetails and why?
– Glen D. Huey
Read other entries by Glen D. Huey
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 2:09:45 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Tool Review: Veritas Dovetail Saw Guide
Lee Valley Tools sent out a new product release for a guide used for cutting dovetails. It’s not really a new guide, but a new angle for the guide. The reconfigured Veritas 14º Dovetail Guide (05T0205) has a 14º-angle cut instead of the 7º or 9º slope that's associated with the oft-quoted dovetail ratios of 1:8 and 1:6. (For more on my thoughts about dovetail angles, click here or at the bottom of this entry.)
I’ve had occasion to use a 1:6 ratio guide, and although it was for a limited amount of time, I was very impressed with the way the guide held the saw in the correct position for woodworkers. So, I was interested in getting the new design into the shop to evaluate after a lengthier period of use.
The guide is made with an anodized aluminum body and has a 3/4" rare earth magnet embedded at both ends of the jig. Those magnets grip your saw and hold it at the correct position, angled at 14º. Each end of the guide is covered with UHMW plastic to protect the jig, and your saw, as you make cuts. The guide and complete instructions come as one package, or you can purchase the guide, instructions and a saw as a second package.
Any saw without a back can be used with the guide and Lee Valley has the saw they recommend (click here to see the guide with that saw), but I had another idea. The Autumn 2007 Woodworking Magazine (issue #8) ran an article discussing flush-cut saws. In that article we listed Lee Valley’s kugihiki (60T06.20) as "highly recommended." I used this flush-cut saw with the guide and found it worked great. I recommend purchasing the kugihiki and making the saw work double duty as both your dovetail guide saw and your flush-cut saw.
This guide does not automatically produce a dovetail joint. You need an understanding of dovetails at the outset. You’ll need to know the difference between "tails" and "pins" as well as have a certain understanding of layout and what’s the waste side of your layout lines (information provided in the included instructions). With that information at hand, this guide helps improve the quality and accuracy of your cuts.
I’m a "pins first" dovetailer, so naturally I began cutting the pins. This is the only experience I had with the guide earlier and I knew the jig worked great here. I started with a half pin on both ends of my board, then positioned and cut two full pins in between. Once the guide is clamped at a layout line, the saw snapped to the magnet and was held perfectly vertical as I made the 14º cut. The cut came out perfectly straight. Next, I chopped out the waste to finish my pins and used the pin board as a layout tool for the tails.
A sharp pencil provides tight, accurate lines and that’s exactly what I needed to position the guide. The clamp portion of the guide can be removed and repositioned to cut the tails of the joint, too (see the photo at right). I set the guide so my pencil lines were just covered – that forces you to cut on the waste side of your lines – and made the cuts that define the tails. Clean out the pin waste and the tails portion of the joint is complete. Slide the pins into the tails and the dovetail joint is made. This guide can also be used to cut half-blind dovetails.
To read more about dovetail angles, click here.
– Glen D. Huey
Read other entries by Glen D. Huey | Read other Tool Tests
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 1:57:14 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Steel City Contest Winner
The winner of the Steel City Tool Works 10" Granite-topped Table Saw is (drumroll please): Ron Burris, Sr., a retired chief master sergeant with the United States Air Force.  "I can’t tell you enough how thrilled I am to be the lucky one that was chosen as the winner of such a wonderful table saw," wrote Burris. "This saw will help me continue to improve my skill level as a woodworker. When I retired from the Air Force I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with all my spare time. Over the past seven years, I have spent a lot of that time renovating an old house. It’s hard to believe but I really enjoyed learning how to DO-IT-YOURSELF and it really sparked my interest in working with wood. "I have been upgrading some of my power tools over the last year or so with plans for a new table saw and drill press this summer. Thanks to all of you at Popular Woodworking and the folks at Steel City Tool Works, now I can add a dust collection system to my fledgling work shop sooner than planned. This has been incredible, thanks to everyone ." Congratulations to Burris from everyone at Popular Woodworking and Steel City Tool Works. And thanks to all of you who entered the contest (and be on the lookout for a new contest in the very near future!). — Megan Fitzpatrick
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 2:57:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Bookcase Challenge Running Full Force
The LumberJocks/Popular Woodworking Bookcase Challenge is in full force. Since the full-fledged announcement in our March 26th newsletter, entries have been trickling in. We expect a plethora of entries as we approach the deadline due to woodworkers’ procrastination – my style of work – and because most of us want our designs to be a surprise. But whatever your excuse, I hope you’re working on your drawings and designs.  Just to give you a taste of the competition, if you haven’t been following the event at lumberjocks.com, I thought I would show a few of the early entrants. These woodworkers stepped up and delivered their designs right out of the gate. And, these few morsels should help to inspire your designs, but remember your design has to be original. The first entry is from Gwurst (not his real name). Gwurst says he was stymied while trying to make a traditional design stand out. So, he did what any woodworker worth his salt would do, he turned to curves. He also says he couldn’t build this design, but it appears he has an eye for design. Will he get a chance to build his bookcase? How does his piece stack up against the competition?  Here’s another reason to participate in the contest. Huck and his spouse teamed up for their entry. Huck explains that his wife designed the bookcase and he did the SketchUp work. The original concept was to build the unit from sustainable material. Good idea! Now he is sure that he’ll have to build the bookcase whether it’s the winning design or not. I plan to stay tuned to this entry to see if Huck follows through and completes the bookcase. That’s a very nice “honeydo” for the list. Next up is a look at Joey’s design. Joey decided to bypass Google SketchUp and put pencil to paper. (That’s in keeping with the rules; you don’t have to be a computer whiz or spend time learning a design program – although we think once you get a taste of SketchUp you’ll find many uses for the program while working wood.) Joey's inspiration for design came from a huntboard that captured his eye, so he submitted a bookcase with loads of storage, many curves and smartly used sections of inlay banding. I hope he decides to build this design. I would enjoy seeing this project completed.  There’s more eye candy to see. Take a look at submitted designs ( click here), then add your own. I wouldn’t wait until the last minute if I were you. The challenge ends on April 20th and there’s no sense taking chances. Besides, I think getting the comments from fellow LumberJocks and other woodworkers would be half the fun. What do you think? Do you see a design that has you stepping out to the shop to build? – Glen D. Huey
Read other entries by Glen D. Huey
Tuesday, April 08, 2008 8:48:09 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Glen-Drake Founder to Visit Popular Woodworking
Kevin Drake, the founder and owner of Glen-Drake Toolworks (glen-drake.com), is visiting the Cincinnati-based Popular Woodworking shop for a free seminar on May 8 from 6-9 p.m.
Kevin will be demonstrating and discussing some of his tools, including the Tite-Mark gauge (the favorite cutting gauge of four out of four Popular Woodworking editors surveyed), the "Wild-West" Joinery Saw (a two-handed dovetail saw), Plane-Adjusting Hammers, Chisel Hammers and more. Plus, all attendees will get a free copy of his "Tools and Techniques" DVD!
We have room for 60 visitors, and dinner is included. Slots are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please send me e-mail me if you'd like to attend this free event.
— Megan Fitzpatrick
(megan.fitzpatrick@fwpubs.com)
Read other entries by Megan Fitzpatrick
Wednesday, April 02, 2008 1:28:05 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
The Greatest Woodworking Show on Earth
A few years ago, I attended the Woodworkers Showcase show in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and I was amazed. It was the most perfect woodworking show I had ever attended. Why? Because of four things.
1. The free classes and seminars were extraordinary. That year I learned more about cold-bending from Jere Osgood and furniture design from Garrett Hack in a single day than I'd learned by reading (too many) books.
2. An amazing display of furniture, turnings and other objects (even a canoe!) that were built by the members of the club who put on the show, the Northeastern Woodworker's Association.
3. Hands-on displays and demonstrations of jigs, fixtures, carving and sash-making that were ongoing the entire weekend.
4. And, of course, booths and booths of vendors selling new equipment and vintage tools.
And amazingly, admission for all this was just $7 for adults.
This year, I was asked to demonstrate at the Woodworkers Showcase – a huge honor – on April 5 and 6. It's this coming weekend at the Saratoga Springs City Center. Click here for information on the event.
I'll be demonstrating the scraper sharpening technique I developed after plumbing the historical record, and I'll be showing off the three kinds of handsaw cuts that I discuss in the newest issue of Woodworking Magazine.
In addition to my demonstrations, you can also catch demos from chip-carver Wayne Barton, box-maker and instructor Doug Stowe (ask him about Sloyd if you see him) and Peter Korn, who runs the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship and is a talented woodworker. Plus, there will be demonstrations from members of the club on every topic imaginable, from marquetry to miniatures to turning to rustic furniture construction.
When I'm not teaching, I'll be in a booth selling a few books, magazines and DVDs. If you're at the show, do stop by and say hello.
If you live anywhere in the northeast, this is a show that shouldn't be missed. People drive from all over the eastern seaboard to attend the Woodworkers Showcase. It's worth it (heck I flew up from Cincinnati when I first attended).
Hope to see you there.
— Christopher Schwarz
Read other entries by Christopher Schwarz
Tuesday, April 01, 2008 1:56:11 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
Monday, March 31, 2008
Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill
The restored Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, has been on my list of places to visit for a long time. It is only a two-hour drive south of Cincinnati, and I can't count the number of times I've driven through the area and thought: "next time, we'll stop." This past weekend we made a special trip, and stayed overnight.
Pleasant Hill was one of the largest of the western Shaker communities, and the only one remaining that is open to the public in this part of the country. I had been to the Shaker Museum in Chatham, New York, and the Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts. Several of the pieces from Pleasant Hill have been featured in Popular Woodworking; most recently a firewood box was our "I Can Do That" project in our February 2008 issue. I saw three or four variations in different locations.
One of the unique aspects of Pleasant Hill is that a good portion of the property is an inn, with a wonderful restaurant and rooms available in the original buildings. I've been to a lot of museums and restorations, but I've never spent the night in one. It added immensely to the experience, giving us a much better feel for what life would have been like for the community members. (It also gave us some much needed peace and quiet.)
Our room was next to one of the most famous features of the village, the twin spiral staircase in the Trustee's Office. As a museum visitor, I would have gone up once or twice and taken a good look, but as a guest I enjoyed the stairs every time I left our room. It truly is an amazing piece of woodworking; there are actually two stairways on either side of a central hallway. Each side is two flights, twisting up to the third floor where a skylight provides both light and the feeling that these stairs lead to heaven.
Most monumental stairways are full of intricate details such as carved newel posts and turned balusters. The details in the stair are incredibly simple, yet the combination of shapes, and the subtle changes as the stairs turn and rise, make this an elegant statement of design and craftsmanship.
So if you're ever driving through Kentucky, make it a point to stop and enjoy as much time as you can spare. And don't leave without trying the lemon pie.
— Bob Lang
Read other entries by Robert W. Lang
Monday, March 31, 2008 11:47:52 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
|