Khalaf Oud Luthiery

I'm Not Dead

2012-01-05T16:00:00.000-06:00

About three years ago I finished my last oud. Six years of tedious "workmanship of risk" can get to you. I burned out. I also found that I neglected important work in that time. Like building basic furniture that I've always wanted to build for my family and myself.

The oud making was fun and rewarding. But that is the sort of activity you have to devote your whole life to in order for it to work. You can't really be a part-time luthier and expect great results. You have to live with wood, make tons of instruments from it, and only then can you start to get an inkling for what makes an instrument sing. That is a life long process, and any luthier worth their salt will tell you that no luthier ever completely understands the material or what makes a great instrument sound great. We get close, but wood being wood, there are always unquantifiable factors. I reached the point where I decided that in order to build the best ouds I could (and not just pear-shaped boxes with fancy inlay) I would have to make that my sole occupation.

In the meantime I've been trying to get the backlog of furniture projects whittled down. And I'm making progress. Step by step, as they say.

I initially set up this blog as a way to share oud making info and techniques, and its slowly morphed into something other than that. If I ever get back into making ouds, I will start posting here again. In the meantime check out the Benchcrafted Blog, and in particular the Personal Work category where I regularly post about what I'm currently working on.

How I Tried To Sample Genius

2011-03-20T16:47:00.002-05:00

Abdo Nahat was arguably the greatest oud maker to have ever lived. That's him above, still breathing life from the inside of one his creations. Nice mustache. Back when craftsman had class, and dressed like it. Oh, but we've progressed, I forgot. Abdo reminds me of my grandfather, who also had a fantastic mustache and also dressed with class.

Ibrahim Salim Khalaf (Abe Abraham)

We don't know a lot about the Nahats. They were a large family of oud makers that were active from the mid 19th century until about the late 1980's. As Christians living in Damascus, Syria during Ottoman times and later during the French Mandate of the early 20th century they may have had to deal with political and religious issues that forced them to relocate. The remaining craftsmen moved to Sao Paolo, Brazil in the mid-20th century.

Most of the Nahats (George, John, Anton, among others) made fine instruments. In fact, they also made fine furniture, as this was their primary occupation in their shops in Damascus. In Arabic, "Nahat" means wood worker, which would suggest a long history in the trade. Abdo's label (pictured above) was printed in Arabic and French and reads "Carpentry Shop" along with the shop's address and description of the shop's services offering oriental furniture at a discount price.

As is typical of Arab society, little value is placed on historical objects. Instruments of incredible delicacy and craftsmanship are often left to neglect. One of the ouds below was found under layers of dust in the back of a guitar shop in California, apparently traded in or simply sold for a few dollars when the person no longer wanted it. It is a tour-de-force of craftsmanship.

Inspired by the the work of Abdo Nahat, I began duplicating some of the designs that he featured on his instruments. I barely scratched the surface when I realized how skilled this man was.

After I attained some measure of success in duplicating these elements, I began incorporating them into my instruments. A couple years ago my work caught the eye of Christopher Schwarz, editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine, and over dinner one night Chris approached me about writing an article for the magazine. The current (April) issue of the magazine features the article. You can buy it at most newsstands, or directly online at this link.

I also developed a way of fabricating these inlays with the Bridge City Tools Jointmaker Pro saw. The technique warrants its own article, but in the meantime, here are some pictures showing some samples of the technique using the Jointmaker Pro. Yes, its an expensive machine. But its the only one capable of mass-producing these designs with precision.

The article is fairly limited in scope regarding designs. I basically make one design in it. If you don't feel particularly inspired to try this technique, I offer the following examples from Abdo Nahat himself. These three masterpieces were all made in the same year, 1917.

The first of these probably made its way to southern California when an immigrant family relocated in the first half of the last century. It was found by the late Hamza El Din, hanging in the back of McCabe's guitar shop in Santa Monica. Hamza obtained the oud in exchange for a live performance at the store, plus less than $100, if I remember correctly. Hamza died about 4 years ago, and I assume this instrument is still in the possession of his widow. Efforts by me to obtain further information about this instrument have met with little results. Pictures courtesy of Daniel O'Donnell.

The second example was owned by the Turkish oudist Serif Muhiddin Targan. It now resides in a museum in Konya, Turkey. It sits in a plain glass case along with an assortment of instruments as part of an exhibit of Turkish instruments. A real shame that such a fine piece should be relegated to such a place. In my opinion it should have its own case, or better yet, be played by an professional musician. I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures. Most of these were taken through the glass with a cell phone camera by a friend of Faruk Turunz.

The final 1917 Abdo Nahat example was sent to me just a few weeks ago. It is part of a private collection. Appreciate the work by zooming in. Many of these details are wrought in bone and ivory. This is fine work, and at almost 100 years old, is nearly as crisp and detailed as the day it was made.

The Allure of Old Iron Realized

2011-02-14T21:26:00.000-06:00

Last year (just scroll down, not like I've posted much lately) I mentioned a Powermatic 1200 drill press I was in the process of restoring. Last Friday I finished it. Here are some pics of the completed machine. Right now I feel the urge to write something patriotic, or reminisce about the heyday of manufacturing in America, but I don't have the skill to. I'll let this machine speak for me.

Daed Toolworks, and An Upcoming Article In Popular Woodworking Magazine

2011-02-10T18:10:00.000-06:00

I'm very pleased to announce that my good friend Raney Nelson has launched his website Daed Toolworks. Up until now Raney has been blogging about his work, but today he posted several pages about his tools, including construction details and prices. Browse through the tabs at the top of the page.

I've had the privilege of using and owning several of Raney's planes over the past three years and they just keep getting better and better. Raney's offerings at WIA this past autumn were simply incredible. The small boxwood miter plane pictured above is one of the finest planes I've ever used. There is some interesting physics that happen at the mouth of this bevel-up plane, but I'll let Raney explain that. See his page of miter planes for more.

Speaking of miter planes, I use a Dead Miter for shooting small geometric inlay patterns, also known as parquetry. And speaking of parquetry, about a year and a half ago Christopher Schwarz asked if I would be interested in writing an article for Popular Woodworking Magazine. I brought a bunch of parquetry examples to a Lie-Nielsen hand tool event and Chris gave me the go-ahead. I was just about to start a backgammon board for a friend of mine, so I thought I'd use this project to feature some of the geometric inlay. I know what you're thinking, "I don't see any inlay". Well, you'll just have to pick up a copy of the magazine, or wait for it to arrive to see inside. Suffice it to say, I'm a big fan of birdseye maple and cocobolo.

Ron Brese's New Blog

2010-12-20T16:17:00.000-06:00

My friend Ron Brese has launched his new blog today. I'm really pleased that he finally decided to start one. Ron is a wealth of info on tool making and furniture making.

Here is the url: www.breseplane.blogspot.com

The Allure Of Old Iron

2010-11-12T18:52:00.007-06:00

When I started this blog I wasn't quite sure where it would lead. I first thought I'd use it to announce new products and services for my oud-related ventures. A lazy way to update the website, if you will. It quickly morphed into a sort of "research" medium for exploring everything from music and vintage photography to planemaking and French workbench construction.

Since I began another blog over at Benchcrafted, this blog had suffered a bit. And I apologize. I'm doing some interesting things that I'd like to share, but the past few months have been a bit slow regarding new personal work. And frankly, some of what I'm doing is quite boring. A 10' Shaker dining table in cherry, another iteration of this carved piece, some more benches. I'm actually not a fan of blogs unless they have something useful to offer. So that may explain the gap in posting. Nobody wants to read about what I had for breakfast.

So onto the topic at hand. Old Woodworking Machines. They've always held a great appeal. Especially when machine manufacturers put some style into the castings. Back before the bottom line ruled the design process.

I recently picked up a Powermatic 1200, 20" drill press. This is one machine I've been searching for for quite some time. I'd needed a new drill press, a real drill press if you will, and after some research on new options, I decided to throw my hands up and just buy a Chinese Jet from the local Menards. I was never happy with it, and I figured it would fill the bill until something more substantial showed up.

The PM 1200 showed up on Craigslist, and I was the first one to call. I offered the man (who had bought the machine at auction, without realizing how huge it was) half of what he was asking, and after I came up a bit we shook hands and hoisted the press into the back of my pickup, all 500 pounds of it. I drove home with a glint in my eye and a feeling of great satisfaction. This machine is about 40 years old. Just a bit older than me.

It was all downhill from there.

I've never had so much fun getting greasy and dirty on a Sunday afternoon.

Right now I'm about midway through the restore. It's highly satisfying work. So far it's mostly been about stripping and painting. The press was brushed with at least three post-factory colors, and the meathead who applied it didn't seem to think that moving parts ever needed adjustment, just paint over everything. It was a mess. But slowly it's coming together.

There is a bittersweet aspect to this restore though. Powermatic is not the American company they once were. Indeed, almost none of the old guard machinery manufacturers produce machines on American soil. I don't know what the future holds for American manufacturing, but I do know that my efforts to bring this American machine back to hopefully better-than-new condition will be greatly rewarded by the thought of future generations enjoying a piece of American manufacturing history. As is often said, we are not owners of these tools, just custodians for a time. I hope the next owner gets as much enjoyment out of this machine as I do.

Nostalgia For The Work- Final Part

2010-08-30T18:28:00.001-05:00

Here's the last of the nostalgic photos. Enjoy!

Woodworking school for black young women

Vocational school for boys, New York

Furniture shop, late 19th c. Note that two leg vises have no sliding handles on the screw.

Woodcarver

Woodcarving, really crisp and fine work.

Boys' woodworking class

April, 1901

Boys' school. Nice chute board and plane on the bench in the foreground.

Prison woodshop. Note these leg vises are missing their handles too. Makes sense here...

Small furniture shop.

Tuskegee


The Stanley display at the World's Fair., early 20thc.

For those interested, I obtained most of these images from the following sites:

David Rumsey Visual Collections

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Reading Room

New York Public Library Digital Gallery

Hope you've enjoyed these vintage images. I had a great time assembling them.

For Sale: Leg vise from my Roubo bench

2010-08-25T11:04:00.000-05:00

Last year I installed a Glide Leg Vise on my Roubo bench. This replaced the original leg vise I built from a vise screw kit I purchased from Joe at Big Wood Vise.

Since then, the vise has sat in a rare empty spot in the corner of my shop. I actually have two of these vises, but the other one is part of my sliding leg vise, and I'll be keeping that one.

I'd feel a lot better if this excellent vise was being enjoyed by someone in their own bench.

The entire vise is made of Ash. The chop is 3-1/8" thick, 7-1/2" wide, and 26-7/8" long. The parallel guide is about 22" long, including the chop thickness, and is joined to the chop with three 3/8" drawbored pegs. The handle is not stock. I turned it from ash to match the vise. The original (which went AWOL some time ago) was too long for my tastes and wasn't made of ash.

The inside face of the chop is lined with thick leather. Also included are two polyethylene guide bushings. The loose one you'll have to mortise into the front of the bench's leg. This provides extra stability when operating the vise. It's not necessary though.

The two-piece ebony garter (which contrasts nicely with the screws's figured ash hub) fastens to the chop with stainless-steel cap screws. The vise has a couple coats of oil varnish and is in excellent condition. There are a couple "witness marks" here and there to add some character. This is a massive vise that would be perfect for any Roubo bench, and is ready to install. Price is $210 plus shipping (weight will be about 20 pounds). One other thing. Big Wood Vise isn't producing these screws at the moment, so if you'd like an ash vise screw (with an awesome vise attached), now's your chance. If you'd like the vise, drop me an email. First one gets it.

Nostalgia For The Work- Part 3 - Vocational Schools, Internment Camps and More

2010-08-18T21:37:00.000-05:00

Lady woodturner, California 1940's

Woodturning school outfitted with rows of Oliver lathes.

Foot-powered scrollsaw

Shot of workers outside a small shop

Young man from the same shop working on a machine.

Late 19th/early 20th. c. boys school. Nice benches and vices!

Boys school

Sighting....

Nice clothes. When even young boys dressed with class. No sagging pants in this room.

And even nice caps too.....

Tow Japanese boys selecting their tools from the tool shop at the Amanche relocation camp, Colorado.

Rebuilding San Francisco after the great 1906 earthquake.

Woodworking School for Blacks.

Shop class. Good thing they phased this out of schools....

Nostalgia For The Work- Part 2 - Woodworkers of the Near and Far East

2010-08-07T20:48:00.000-05:00

These images are all from the late 19th and early 20th century.

Woodturners in Damascus

Door shop, Damascus

Turning furniture legs. Damascus

More woodturners in Damascus

Woodworking Shop. Nazareth

Nazareth

Japan

Nostalgia For The Work--Vintage Photos and Daguerreotypes Part 1

2010-08-02T09:32:00.007-05:00

A Cooper. Mid 19th c.

I thought it would be interesting to share some of the nostalgic woodworking (and related) imagery that I've discovered over the past year in various places through the internet. Several public libraries around the US now host online digital image galleries, and there are thousands of images from the past century and a half that are free to view and download. I have a fair number of these images, so as to not overwhelm the viewer I'll be posting a few at a time. At the end of the series, I'll post links for my sources. This doesn't apply so much to the following images, but one thing I like to do is look closely at the backgrounds of the images--the stuff that's going on besides or behind the main subject. You can discover quite a bit about what's going on in the photos this way.

These dagguereotypes are from the 1840's and beyond.

Man with chisel and mallet.

Man with hammer, plane, saw and other tools.

Stone carver

Blacksmith

Moxon, Holzapffel and the Lathes of Araby

2010-07-07T17:54:00.016-05:00

John Downing, a fellow luthier from Canada, has been restoring an old lute over the past year or so and delving deeply into every detail of the process. John's skills are wide-ranging. He's an accomplished woodworker in various fields, a skilled tinsmith, and his technical drawings just make you want to get out in the shop and try something new.

John has been researching ancient practices for turning instrument pegs. I thought his research was quite interesting. Here it is, reproduced with his permission. Enjoy...

_________________

Making Pegs
by John Downing

My method of making pegs is to use two stage profile cutters set in a metal turning lathe - the lead screw and cross slide being hand operated during the cutting process. This set up allows me to quickly produce peg blanks of reasonably consistent size and shank diameter. Any additional fine detail required is done by hand - with the peg blank still in the lathe - using small turning chisels.

The image below shows some examples of the pegs made using this method. From left to right - a standard commercially available rosewood violin peg (for comparison purposes) - an ebony peg from a copy of an early 19th C guitar by Grobert, a boxwood lute peg cut down for a 4 course guitar, a boxwood vihuela peg, and two lute pegs - one in Brazilian rosewood, the other in stained boxwood. Below are examples of some of my profile cutters used to make these pegs - made from tool steel, hand filed to the required profile, hardened and tempered.

The images below show the cutting sequence to produce a peg blank. (I am not cutting pegs at present so am here using a finished lute peg blank to demonstrate).
The cutter is first moved from right to left to rough shape and reduce the diameter of the billet of wood from which the peg is to be turned. When the required shank diameter is close to that required, a small trial cut at the right side is made and the diameter measured with calipers (with the lathe switched off!!). If the diameter is correct, the cutter is traversed fully to the left taking a light final cut over the length of the peg shank. At the end of this traverse the cutter automatically forms the required profile of one half of the peg head. At this point the cutter is moved inwards slightly to form a relief groove on the peg shank just under the peghead. The cutter is then withdrawn, traversed further to the left and moved back into the work again to automatically form the other side of the peghead.
For this example of peg style the peg head was undercut by hand using a small turning chisel. If a collar is required on a peg shank this is produced by raising the cutter the required amount, continuing the traverse the required distance and then feeding the cutter back into the work.
I always turn the shanks parallel using a peg shaper to later produce the required taper.

I choose to make the cutters to operate in two stages because they are a bit easier to make than a single action cutter and also reduce the cutting forces necessary. The sharp pointed section of the cutter also does most of the cutting work. The cutting action is by scraping which is not ideal but by using hard close grained woods like boxwood, setting the cutter at the correct height and running the lathe at maximum speed satisfactory results can be achieved leaving only a small amount of hand finishing.
The cutters must, of course, be kept sharp by honing the upper face only on an oil stone.

Here is my lathe with a billet of boxwood mounted in a 4 jaw chuck ready for turning into a peg. I cut the billets to the same size rectangular cross section to facilitate centering in the chuck. Once a billet has been centered in the chuck it is then only necessary to release two of the chuck jaws when changing billets to maintain correct centering. Provided there is sufficient material allowance on the billets, precise centering is not crucial. Once held in the chuck, the other end of the billet is supported by a live centre mounted in the lathe tailstock for additional support. The centre is simply wound in to form its own indentation in the billet.

Peg blanks are finished by first forming the two faces of the peg head. I just cut them flat with a chisel used freehand and by eye as this is how most of the pegs on early instruments were made. The peg head is then carefully sanded to remove any machining marks and round off any sharp edges.

Needless to say, a lathe is required to make pegs this way.
Commercially available, mass produced violin pegs are often of high quality and relatively low cost. These are by far the best option if you do not have the necessary equipment or desire to make your own pegs. In fact once you figure in your time and material costs it is impossible to beat commercial violin pegs for price.

No question about it - hand carving of pegs is a perfectly viable option and can yield results impossible to achieve by any machining process. I also have made pegs this way when I had no other 'quick and easy' alternative'. I have also made pegs built up from individually cut components glued together with high strength epoxy glue.

Replica pegs that I made in this manner - copies of those shown on the lute in the 16th 'Ambassadors" painting by Hans Holbein were made this way. The balls were formed on a lathe (yes - with a profile cutter) and then glued to a separately turned peg shank. The pegs were made in rosewood and worked well without failure - although , no doubt, in the 16th C the pegs would have been carved individually from a solid piece of wood. I do not have any images of these pegs as I gave the instrument to a friend in the USA many years ago but the attached image of the Holbein lute shows how they looked.

The principle of the very simplest form of lathe - the bow or pole lathe - might be adapted for peg turning and can easily be made at very low cost. It would require a bit of practice to operate but as this type of lathe was once used by watchmakers as well as other craftsmen for accurately turning small work it is well adapted for peg making.
This type of lathe has no moving parts and does not require an electric motor drive. The wooden peg blank (roughly cut to a hexagonal cross section) is mounted between two fixed centres (pointed bolts or woodscrews mounted in a wooden frame) with a cord wrapped a couple of times around the work itself. The cord can be the string of a bow or connected at one end to a springy overhead pole (or a metal spring) and at the other to a foot operated treadle. In the bow operated lathe the action of the bow causes the work to rotate between centres - first in one direction and then the other. The turning chisel - held in the other hand supported on a fixed tool rest - can only cut when the work is rotating towards the operator. Clearly with the bow being operated with one hand and the other being used to hold the cutting tool it must take a bit of practice to get everything coordinated to produce consistent work. The foot operated pole arrangement is an improvement as it frees the operator's hands to control the cutting tool - although cuts can still only be made when the work is rotating towards the operator.
I have not tried it but I will and know that it will work. Isn't early, "primitive" technology wonderful!

Below are some rather quaint engravings from "Mechanick Exercises or the Doctrine of Handy-Works" by Joseph Moxon, 1703 but clearly show the principles involved.

As I have an interest in early technologies and was curious to find out if a simple, easy to make, small bow lathe could be used to make oud or lute pegs, I decided to do a bit of"hands on" research. Therefore, yesterday afternoon I created a small bow lathe. I didn't want to spend a lot of time so no drawings were made for the project - it was just made up by eye ("if it looks right it is right" design philosophy) from scrap materials lying about in my workshop.

The 'bedplate' was cut from a piece of 3/4" thick pine about 4 inches wide and 11 inches long. The end blocks holding the centres were made from 2 inch thick Elm wood (elm resists splitting so is good for this application but most hardwoods would do). The head blocks were drilled together to maintain good alignment of the centre holes (but this is not critical in this type of lathe). The tool rest was made from a piece of maple bolted to a pine "cross slide" so that it could be set at any position relative to the work piece. The height of the tool rest is currently fixed at about 3/16 inch below the centres - but this might require adjustment later. A cutout was made in the front of the 'bed plate' (an afterthought!) to allow the cross slide assembly full access for positioning the tool rest.

A 3 inch square by 1 inch thick block of pine was fitted below the 'bed plate' so that the lathe could be conveniently and firmly mounted in a bench vise. Alternatively the lathe could simply be screwed to a workbench.

The fixed centres were made from 3/8 inch screwed bar - each about 3 1/2 inches long. The points of about 60 degree angle were made by mounting the screwed bar in a drill chuck and by holding the rotating piece at the required angle against a grind stone. A slot was cut in the opposite end with a hacksaw so that each centre could be adjusted with a screwdriver.
I used a machinist tap to cut a thread for the centres in each head block to give a more positive mounting and adjustment for the centres but this is not absolutely necessary - a close clearance hole would do just as well. Each centre is locked in place with a nut and washer on each side of each head block.

This particular design gives a distance between centres of about 5 inches which should cover most peg requirements.

The 'motive power' provided for the lathe - the bow - was made a bit like a violin (or rather double bass!) bow from a piece of ash wood (but most woods could be used for this) around 34 inches long by about 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/4 inch wide tapering to about 5/8 inch at the tip. The tip end was curved by hot bending and a pine block about 3 inches deep was fitted at the 'handle ' end. A simple 'archers' bow design would likely do just as well.
A saw cut was made in the underside of the block so that the bow string could be easily released and the string tension adjusted according to the size of the workpiece diameter with knots tied along the string length. The operating string length is about 24 inches.
Now for some trials .......................... !!

Can a simple bow lathe be used for turning oud pegs?

In volume 4 of the five volume 19th C monumental work on the lathe by John Jacob Holzapffel, the author describes such a lathe as used by "the Arabian and Moslem group of turners in the numerous turners shops in Cairo" (1873). Holzapffel writes " The Arab turner works nearly as much in public as the Indian, his workshop being a small square room, the front entirely open to the street, with the floor upon which he sits about three feet above the level of the road. He, also, will carry his lathe to his work, and it is his daily practice, when the sun shines too powerfully, to quit his workshop, and carrying his lathe over to the opposite and shady side of the street, to establish himself on the ground in front of the shop of one of his neighbours ......... The lathe, although of so rough a description, has been most effectively employed for centuries, for the production of a peculiar and very beautiful ornamental wood work, for the interior decoration of Mosques and houses, for screens, seats and other objects, and for the Arabian lattice windows called "Meshrebeeyeh". These oriel windows, have all those portions which are usually of glass, entirely filled by open, turned, wooden latticework, formed of an infinite number of small turned pieces ..... The skilful handicraft displayed in these constructions, especially when viewed in connection with the simple tools employed, is so remarkable, as to merit a short notice"
The engraving shows the Arabic bow lathe, a 'steady' used to prevent flexing of long cylindrical work pieces when being turned and a variation of the bow - the cord being first wrapped around a hinged handle which is then folded back to produce the required tension.

I found some time this afternoon to run some turning trials with the bow lathe. My material for the test was boxwood - close grained, bone dry and very hard - cut into a billet 3/4 inch square with the corners dressed off with a plane to form a hexagonal section. This is how I would usually prepare a turning blank for use in a conventional wood or metal turning lathe.
An indentation was made in the centre of each end with an pointed scriber and the billet mounted between the lathe centres so that it would rotate freely but without any 'end play'.
The centres were locked up with the lock nuts on either side so that they could not rotate or work loose.

The bow string was wrapped once around the work at one end so that when the bow was pulled the work rotated towards the tool rest. I found it best to stand behind the lathe (mounted in a bench vise) pulling the bow towards me (the power stroke) leaning over the lathe to manipulate the cutting tool on the tool rest. Pushing the bow for a power stroke tends to flex the bow tip causing the string to slacken and slip so this motion should only be used for the return stroke. As the bow string tends to wander off the work it is best to cut a groove for the string at one end of the work - the work then becoming a high speed pulley - and to operate the bow at an angle to the work to prevent this problem which can occur even when there is a groove. The larger the diameter of the work the higher the torque and more 'powerful' the cutting force but with fewer rotations of the work per bow stroke. The speed of rotation depends also upon how quickly the bow is moved so can be finely controlled by the operator.

Each power stroke should be made deliberately after the tool has been correctly positioned - do not work the bow quickly back and forth as if sawing a piece of wood.

First attempts to turn this rough billet were not completely successful as the tool tended to catch on the corners and jam the work. Once a section had been rounded off, however, it was possible to progress.

For the second trial I decided to first read what Joseph Moxon had to say in 1703. No point in re-inventing the wheel ....... !!

This is what Moxon had to say about turning hard woods on a bow lathe:

" If the wood be very hard, as Ebony, Lignum Vitae; or if it be Ivory, Bone, or Horn they are to turn; they neither use the same tools they do for soft wood; because their edge is too tender: nor do they use their other tools as they do soft wood. For the tools made for hard wood are made with a stronger point, edge, etc than they are for soft .... and they use them differently. For hard wood, they raise the tool rest near the horizontal plane of the axis of the work, setting it as close as conveniently they can to their work, and lay the tool flat and steady upon the tool rest which being hard held in this position, does by the coming about of the work, cut or tear off all the extuberances the tool touches in the sweep of the work".

Moxon earlier in his text lists common "softwoods" for turning as Maple, Alder, Birch, Beech, Elm, Oak, Fir etc. for which cutting gouges etc are used. For turning "hard" woods he describes above the use of scraping action lathe tools. He states that the work must first be prepared for turning by rounding it off close to the required finished diameter by hewing or with a wood rasp.

Then:

"But having fitted the work into the lathe, they begin to work with the sharp-pointed grooving tool, or else with the triangular grooving tool, and with the point of either of these tools break the grain of the wood, by laying small grooves upon its surface, till they have pretty well wrought away extuberances, and brought the work tolerably near an intended shape, by straightening, hollowing, and leaving risings in their several proper places. Afterwards with edged grooving tools of a proper breadth, they cut down and smoothen away the extuberances left by the sharp pointed grooving tool and bring the work into perfect shape. Which done, they smoothen the work with the (bevelled) edge of a piece of a blade of a broken knife ... for then its sharp edge scrapes or shaves off the little roughnesses the grosser tools left upon the work."

For trial #2, I filed the billet, while still mounted in the lathe for convenience, to round section and rough profile - using a wood rasp. I reground a small wood working chisel to a sharp tip and curved profile on one side - sharpened on the top face - as an all purpose scraping tool for testing purposes. Grooves were cut in the work using the pointed tip - as described by Moxon - and then smoothed away with the curved section of the tool. This worked quite well and efficiently producing some nice fine shavings.

These images show rough shaping a peg head and shank with the scraping tool. The shank section is being smoothed off with a straight wood chisel. As this has been just a quick trial with makeshift cutting tools and as I did not want to spend more than an hour experimenting today, I just went far enough to establish that this method could be used for making pegs. I imagine that a peg could be made using this lathe technique - with the appropriate tools and some practice - from start to finish in, say, 1/2 hour per peg?

Fine sandpaper can also be used (preferably a strip glued to a narrow piece of wood) to produce the final shape and finish.

Tools can be ground from low cost High Speed Steel lathe tool blanks available from import machine tool suppliers or from old chisels or knife blades or even broken drill bits.

Now I can do it a lot faster and easier on a metal turning lathe powered by a 1 HP electric motor - once I have everything set up for a long production run - but I think that this simpler, low cost, quieter more peaceful approach could have many merits - especially when oil (and hence electricity) becomes a prohibitively expensive commodity - or if you just want to make ouds in a peaceful, remote location away from all of that!

The next obvious development of the simple fixed centre bow lathe is to substitute a hand cranked wheel instead of a bow to directly drive the work. This has the disadvantage of increasing the complexity of the tool but has the advantage of providing continuous rotation of the work, greater torque and higher speeds.

Holzapffel gives us an engraving of a watchmaker's "turns". This is even more sophisticated in that it is made of metal and dispenses with one of the fixed centres - replaced with a chuck rotating on a fixed bearing. This additional sophistication would not be necessary, however, for a fixed centre lathe dedicated to peg turning. Also the hand cranked wheel and its support could be easily and satisfactorily made from wood rather than metal.

For a post script - as I was putting together this article, I suddenly remembered that many years ago I had picked up a broken piece of old farm equipment from the local dump because it looked as though it could be useful some day (yes I have a bad habit of collecting 'junk' for eventual 'recycling!). This odd looking tool is a cast iron hand cranked grinder for sharpening the cutting blades of an agricultural sickle bar mower (a sickle bar mower cuts hay rather like a gigantic barber's hair clippers or sheep shears). This has been sitting in my "scrap" pile for about 15 years or so and it occurred to me that - with the addition of a 12 inch diameter wooden pulley bolted to the wheel - it would make a perfect hand cranked drive for my experimental bow lathe! So, I removed the broken unwanted parts and painted the wheel and support ready for the next stage which I shall accomplish some time in the future as the motivation takes me - so don't hold your breath!

This image of an Egyptian wood turner using a bow lathe may be of interest. It is an engraving from the magnificent and historically important book "Description de l'Egypte" published in 1802 on order of Napoleon Bonaparte containing hundreds of superb detailed engravings of Egyptian architecture, life, flora and fauna in the 18th C made during Bonaparte's failed military campaign in Egypt.

Note the large rasp hanging on the wall - for preliminary rough shaping of the work and the ingenious adjustable, foot controlled tool rest - pivoted at one end with a roller at the other end.
A complete modern reprint in paperback - introductory text in French, English and German - is available from Taschen
ISBN 3-8228-8964-4

- John Downing. July, 2010

Rebuilding a Library

2010-05-24T13:21:00.004-05:00

Two summers ago our downtown completely flooded. It was on the news all over the world. I got emails from France. It was a surreal week. The most memorable part was putting all our furniture up on conference tables and packing essentials for a stay at a friend's house. Just as we were locking up the Iowa National Guard pulled up in a Humvee and told us to get out. We were spared, but our public library wasn't. The entire adult collection was lost (the kid's books were on a second story).

I felt like I had lost personal property. See, I spent years reading all the woodworking books at our library, so I felt like they belonged to me in a way. Not as a personal possession, but more like a connection that one feels with a favorite teacher. My woodworking teacher, I'll call him Mr. Taunton, was gone. I had cut my woodworking teeth on old back issues of Fine Woodworking, hardbound in 9 volumes and dubbed the "Techniques" series. I couldn't check those out again. They were covered in muddy foetid sludge, mildew ridden, soggy. They were literally garbage.

As our city plans to rebuild and replenish the Library, I felt a bit information-starved, even though I don't check books out too often anymore. Don't get me wrong, the Internet can be a wonderful place for information, but wading through the muck and sludge to get to good information can sometimes take a lot out of a person. Much like trudging through a flooded library in search of a spared volume. After helping some friends clean up after the flood, I can say that its not much fun.

So it was with particular interest one day earlier this spring that I found a local Craig's List ad for a complete set of Fine Woodworking back issues, all the way through to April 2010. The owner said he was only missing perhaps 10 issues. Asking price? $100.

I jumped on the phone. And here's how the conversation went:

Ring.....

Hello?

"Good morning, I saw your ad on Craig's List and was wondering if you still have the magazines"
(it was about 4pm, so I figured someone had already snagged them)

"Well, I just placed the ad this morning, you're the first person to call"

"Oh, really? Great! Where can I see them?"

"I'm cleaning out some old things in my office right now and have the magazines out, stop by now if you'd like"

"Okay, I just off work, I'll head over now. What's the address?"
(at this point I could have sworn I recognized the man's voice)

--He gives me the address--

"Say, what's your name?"

"Jim"

"Smith?"

"Yeah"

"Jim! It's Jameel."

And we both had a good laugh. It turns out that Jim mows the neighbor's lawn and Jim has snuck a peek into my shop over the years. Finally, last year he stopped by with one of these:

It's a Shepherd smoothing plane kit that Jim had built at a Galootapalooza event a few years ago. We had a fun afternoon talking tools and getting the kit finished. Jim had never prepared the iron.

So I headed over to Jim's straightway and picked up the magazines. And here's the touching part. Jim has subscribed to Fine Woodworking since issue 1. So I feel especially honored to be "inheriting" this collection from Jim.

So until our library gets rebuilt (they have already begun), my own personal library will be more than adequate to suffice.

Oh, one more bonus came with Jim's collection. Several years of American Woodworker (the good ones when Ellis Walentine, Andy Rae, Ian Kirby and others were in charge) and several recent years (and a few older ones--anybody need plans for an "Alien On A Swing"?)of Popular Woodworking magazine, which is now chock full of great content (my back issues are stacked right alongside my FWW issues). Some may lament the recent loss of Popular Woodworking's ad-free spin-off Woodworking Magazine, but when there are no ads, you miss out on great content like this way back from the pre-Internet days:

Tour of the Aquila Strings Factory

2010-03-21T12:37:00.007-05:00

My best selling oud strings are Aquila, made my Mimmo Peruffo and company at Aquila Corde Armoniche in Vicenza in Northern Italy. The Italians know a thing or two about making strings for musical instruments. As you'll hear in the video, most of the strings you buy, whether they be LaBella, D'Adarrio, Pirastro, originated in the same town in Italy. Also note the historical string engravings and plates from past centuries. Neat!

Mimmo also makes gut strings. I do not sell these, since they are quite expensive. But they are, without question, the best-sounding strings I've ever used. If you've never tried gut strings before, I suggest you try out a set.

In this video Mimmo shows the process for making Nylgut, the synthetic gut strings that Aquila is famous for.

Here Mimmo shows the beginning steps of how real gut strings are made.

Oh, You Speak French? Oui.

2010-03-14T20:29:00.004-05:00

Well, actually I don't speak French. But I really like French woodworking. I work on a couple French workbenches almost daily. I stumbled on these videos today. These videos remind me of the great period of 18th c. woodworking in France. Andres Roubo, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin. I bet things have changed very little with some of these techniques since these folks were tooling around Paris.

Note: Blogger doesn't scale the videos properly. Double click them to see the entire frame.

Marquetry and Veneer work.

Straw Marquetry

Gunstock work

Wood clogs. This man's family has been making them continuously since 1734.

More here: http://www.vanishingtrades.eu/

A collaborative effort--Shaker Bench

2010-02-28T16:10:00.001-06:00

Last year I got a call from Ron Brese of Brese Plane. He wanted to discuss a new bench for his woodworking shop, and incorporate Benchcrafted vises into it. Over the past few months Ron designed his new Shaker-style bench and built the red painted cabinet base pictured above. At Ron's generous invitation, I went down to Thomaston, GA for the last phase of construction; building the top and installing the vises.

After almost a week of long nights, Ron and I got the bench about 90% finished. As I mentioned in an earlier post a couple weeks ago, watching Ron at work was a real pleasure. It's not often you get to see an accomplished tool maker use his own tools to construct a piece of furniture.

Christopher Schwarz says in his excellent book Workbenches... that the Shaker bench has an "indescribable appeal". The legacy of the Shaker craftsmen seem to be expressed in this bench design more than any other bench style. Continental benches (trestle base, overhanging top) are too ubiquitous to carry such an aura. English benches are rather plain and never gained the widespread popularity of the Continental style. How many modern-day bench makers offer an English-style bench? Maybe it's because so few Shaker benches still exist, or ever existed (due to the short span of that community) that this feeling has developed. Perhaps its also that Shaker benches are maybe the only truly American style bench.

In The Workbench Book (Taunton) author Scott Landis writes about the distinctive feature of the massive Shaker bench at Hancock Village:

"The order and cleanliness provided by the enclosed base cabinet had many practical dividends for the workbench. The problems of racking and sliding, which are inherent in an open-frame base, are automatically resolved by the rigidity of the casework and the sheer weight of its structure. Loaded with tools, as it presumably was, the cabinet anchored the whole bench to the floor and to move it would have taken a small army."

The cabinet on Ron's bench is as rigid as any Roubo base I've seen, including the several I've built.

Ron comments:

"My former bench included an enclosed case for the base and this works well in my limited space. For me this is sort of the ultimate version of that style bench. Seeing the famous workbench that resides at the Hancock Shaker Village in person verified to me that this was the bench that I wanted to build. The advantage to this style construction is that it really simplifies the build of the top and I like the look of the top made of 3 wider boards as compared to a lamination of several 8/4 thicknesses. Having a stout cabinet to support the 2" thick top really makes this possible. Besides the wonderful work holding capability of this bench I visually enjoy the contrast of the red base to the natural color of the maple top. I was quite lucky in that the maple that I purchased for this project possessed a nice honey to medium brown color. This bench is the first thing I see when I walk in my shop everyday, standing at the ready to assist me with my work."

A recent J-style smoothing plane perched on top of Ron's new bench.

There are some aspects to the Shaker bench that prevent options for every workholding situation. The most significant is the ability to use holdfasts in the top, since the cabinet below would interfere with the shaft. There are ways around this. See the Lee Valley Hold Down with short shaft. Ron's top overhangs the base by several inches all around, and provides ample clamping opportunities. Ease of construction is also a plus of this bench design. The top is 2" throughout, with a front section at 4-1/4" containing the dog holes and vises. The cabinet base, with its several solid, vertical dividers provides lots of support for the top. The back of cabinet is finished with lapped solid pine boards.

An interesting note about Ron's Glide Leg Vise. He opted to install the roller brackets on the inside of the cabinet's end, making the vise hardware completely invisible from the outside. A handy access panel at the end of the base cabinet allows ready access to the guts of the vise. Ron reports his innovative arrangement works as smooth as silk.

I'll never give up my Roubo, but as a second bench I am seriously considering building a Brese-Shaker style bench. I enjoy the open base of my Roubo for storing bench appliances, but the cabinet base of Ron's bench offers oodles of storage, and that's something that any shop can use more of. Plus, I'll readily admit it (I take pride in being a practical woodworker, perhaps falsely so), who would not be inspired by having a bench like Ron's greet you whenever you head to the shop.

Ron and I shot some video during the build. This is an HD video. To get the full experience, click on the "full screen" icon in the bottom right, then make sure "HD ON" is selected (bottom right) once the window fills the screen.

Brese Plane Shaker-Style Bench Video, Part One

Brese Plane Shaker-Style Bench Video, Part Two

Traditional Woodowork in the Balkans

2010-01-12T08:47:00.001-06:00

In Northern Greece there is a large peninsula that has served as the home to spiritual aspirants for over a millennium. Life on Mt. Athos (named for the peak at the eastern end of the peninsula) has remained largely unchanged since its founding in the 10th century. Greek Orthodox monks live a life of prayer and fasting, and when not engaged in prayer or worship, occupy themselves with everything from incense-making and sewing, to carving and turning wood. These items are sold in order to buy the necessities of life that can't be produced by the monks themselves. Since many of us woodworkers tend to spend large amounts of time in solitude in our shops, I'm reminded of the disciplined life of these monks whenever I'm alone in the shop. Their accomplishments go largely unnoticed though (and rightly so), as their works are left unsigned and thus anonymous. When works are signed, they are prefaced with the phrase "by the hand of..." thus showing that the work is accomplished by the grace of God, through the hand of the worker.

The following video which shows one such shop on Athos. Much like many of the pre-electric European and American shops, this is one is powered by a water wheel and leather belting. Later in the video we see a monk who specialized in miniature carving. Some of these ornate crosses take years to finish. We also see a human-powered olive oil mill.

Although not a monastic setting, the ethnographic museum "Etar" in Gabrovo, Bulgaria shares some similarities with the small shops of Athos. I visited this working museum in 2000. It's much like Colonial Williamsburg. The entire village runs off water power, harnessing that resource to drive lathes, mills and various other machines, as well as provide places for washing clothes. The shops along the main street of the village offer everything from carved spoons and boxes to fine metalware, glassware and jewelry, all executed using 18th-century methods. The artisans are not simply reenacting life two hundred years ago, they are actual craftsman producing quality work that you can purchase.

Brese Panel, Bench discoveries

2009-12-09T22:04:00.006-06:00

I've been building a trio of small Shaker end tables with my niece and nephew over the past few months. Sadly, they don't have an industrial arts or woodworking program at their school, so I though it would be a good idea to give them some shop time and get their feet wet in some old-school woodworking, the kind that I was exposed to growing up. It's hard to compete with Call of Duty and Ipods, but I think these sessions will plant a seed and hopefully blossom at a later time when the lures of youth start to fade. During the past couple sessions (I'm building a table too to walk them through the process) I've found myself reaching for a plane that I've been babysitting since early October.

Ron Brese's latest creation is a stainless steel panel-size plane with an atypical infill. It doesn't really have an infill at all. I first saw this type of arrangement while browsing through some old plane patents, and later when I read an article about the Sindelar Tool Museum which featured joined-body planes with lever-caps and separate totes and knobs. Ron's plane echoes the classic lines of the old Norris planes, with its sidewall profile and traditional lever cap. The panel plane always interested me, mostly because I didn't know what it was used for. Is it a smoother? a Jack? Well, it's basically telling me what it is in using it the past couple months. I'm finding myself using it to remove jointer and planer marks on smaller workpieces where I can flatten and smooth without changing tools. I just take a couple more strokes (my shavings are about 2 thou).

The ergonomics of the tool are great. I think the sidewalls are a tad too high (this is a prototype after all), but Ron's tote's always fit my hand perfectly. I also greatly prefer the front knob to a the square bun arrangement typical of infills. There's one feature I discovered right away that I really like. See the curve in the top of the steel frog where it transitions from the inside of the side wall to the side of the tote?

This area is perfectly for my index finger. It's almost like the plane was made for my hand. I feel like I'm in total control when I place my finger here. It's great. More info later as I continue to have fun with my "loaner".

Last month I took a Sunday afternoon and made a bench dog for every hole in the top. Why didn't I do this before? I don't have to search for a single dog anymore, plus something very nice happened. New workholding opportunities are presenting themselves. I was planing some narrow boards using Chris Schwarz's leg-vise planing stop (I love using this accessory) and I needed some lateral support. Bingo, pop up two dogs and I have restricted movement in two planes almost instantly. Love it! I can even reposition the stop so the first dog lands right at the beginning of the board, preventing any kick-out at the beginning of the stroke. Here's where I could see a real advantage to having a row of dog holes a bit farther back from the front edge for working wider boards. That's a trade-off though too. No bench is ever perfect.

Roubo Bench Mystery

2009-11-16T08:09:00.005-06:00

I was looking at some hi-res scans of L'Art du menuisier and found an interesting element just below the top to the right of the left leg. I've never noticed this before, and am curious as to its function. If anyone has any idea what this thing is, please comment below.

Follow up: I found another instance of this object hanging on the left wall with other layout tools and gauges. This one clearly has a round hole in it and is hanging on a nail on the wall. I'm wondering now if it might be a pattern. See the item to the right, it looks like pattern for an ogee shape. This wouldn't be a layout tool, since its shape and size specific. Hmmm...

This Blog Is Daed

2009-11-03T19:15:00.005-06:00

Daed Toolworks Smoothing Plane

A couple of years ago I became interested in infill planes. I've been interested in hand planes for many years, but I'd always written off infill planes as exotic, too expensive, and generally out of reach. It wasn't until I laid my hands a small smoothing plane made by Wayne Anderson (someone was kind enough to bring one to a Lie-Nielsen event for me to try out) that I realized what I had been missing all those years. Don't get me wrong. I still think infill planes are exotic, expensive (relatively speaking), but not so out of reach after all. Shortly after I tried the Anderson plane I was approached by Ron Brese who offered me an infill kit to build at a significant discount, if I agreed to complete the kit in a certain time frame and give him feedback about my experience. The result was incredible, and that particular plane is one of my favorites today. So once the infill seed was firmly planted, I began to research these tools and familiarize myself with their characteristics.

About this same time I started corresponding with Raney Nelson. I first met Raney at Woodworking in America in Berea Kentucky, but Raney and I had shared numerous emails before that event. We both share a great interest in doing fine woodworking, and in particular, handplanes. Raney answered a bunch of questions about planes in general, and opened my eyes to the workings of Japanese hand planes, which I had previously known little about. Raney sent me one of his own Japanese planes (that he built) and I tried my hand at pulling a plane instead of pushing it. I got some shavings from that plane that still amaze me. It's a stretch to even call them shavings, since they resembled spider webs more than wood. And the surface it left was simply phenomenal. Now I understand why so much Japanese furniture is left unfinished. I still prefer the western style planes, but I credit Raney with introducing me to the world of the Kanna.

So when Raney pulled out some of his hand-made infill planes at Woodworking in America last fall, I was quite excited to see his work. So much so that I asked Raney to build a special plane for doing some of the geometric inlay work that I incorporate into ouds. It's a very small miter plane meant to be used with small shooting boards. The plane is steel and ebony and in its diminutive size (just about 5" long) does its job well.

I've always been fascinated by how traditional infill planes are made. Lucky for me, Raney has decided to start a blog about the process. Someday I'm hoping to to tackle a traditional dovetailed-side infill plane. In the meantime I'll be watching the Daedworks Blog for inspiration.

Peg Fitting Tutorial

2009-11-01T20:08:00.004-06:00

I posted this video and instructions to Mike's Oud Forums a few years ago. I've gotten lots of emails lately on how to fit pegs, so here's the text and video from that post. I also added the video link to the list of videos at the right side of the blog. I've since refined my technique a bit from this process, but this will get you there just the same.

Step 1: Score the peg shaft.

In order to have a clean line when shaping the peg it's a good idea to slightly score the peg shaft right under the bead where it meets the shaft.

Step 2: Shape the peg shaft.

This is a Herdim peg shaper. They cost about $100, but it's a great tool and well worth the money if you're ever going to refit at least one set of pegs. I find it easier to clamp the peg head in a vise and turn the shaper instead of turning the peg, it also yields a smoother cut, in my experience. This particular shaper has 4 sizes, all very slighly different. I usually use one of the middle two. I've found that a larger peg shaft turns smoother, but a smaller peg shaft provides easier tuning since it has to be turned more to raise or lower the pitch. To set the taper of the blade on the shaper, put the reamer in the tapered hole (smooth side up) and slide the shaper's blade over to the smooth reamer shaft and tighten it down. Now the shaper cuts the exact same taper as the reamer. Remove the reamer by turning it counter-clockwise so the cutting edges aren't damaged. Slow down and be very careful when approaching the beads, it's easy to cut them off! Aim for a consistent pressure while rotating the shaper. The blades are very sharp and cut very smoothly. Let the tool do the work

Step 3: Ream the hole.

--Note-- If your peg box holes are too large, you'll need to ream the holes and plug them (glue them in) with special tapered plugs, or make your own with dowel rod and the shaper. If the old pegs are decent wood, you can even glue these in, just make sure they fit well. Then drill new holes and proceed.

Start reaming the hole and check the fit often so you don't ream too much. Take your time-don't force the reamer-clean the shavings from the grooves regularly, it will work better. You can also check the diameter of the large end of the peg and find the same spot on the reamer and mark it so you don't over ream.

Step 4: Check the fit and ream more if necesary.

Step 5: Burnish to check fit.

When you get to the spot you like (since the pegbox is usually tapered, the pegs toward the tip will need to go further in so all the pegs protrude from the pegbox the same amount--for a nice look) spin the peg a few times to burnish the contact area. Also feel if the peg has the same amount of resistance for the entire revolution. If it gets easy then stiff, easy then stiff, the peg is not round or the hole is not round. (If you shaped and reamed well, this won't happen). Inspect the shaft. If there are two equally shiny bands that go completely around the shaft your peg is fit. If not, you need to maybe readjust your shaper blade's taper.

Step 6: Add a little peg compound.

Rub a little peg compound (you can get this at any violin or music shop) on the shiny bands and test the fit again. This well tell you to a greater degree the accuracy of the job.

Step 7: Chek the fit some more.

You can see that the shiny bands are more pronouced and go completely around the shaft. This is what you are looking for.

Step 8: Polish the peg

I sand the peg shaft a little with 600 grit (this fine grit won't change it's shape, unless you go hog wild and spend the whole afternoon on it!) and apply a little paste wax and buff it so the shaft has a nice look to it. Not like raw wood.

Step 9: Apply beeswax

At this point the peg fits so well that it might grip too much and when turned you can hear it squeak as it turns in minute "grippy jerks". This is no good for fine tuning. We need to apply some type of lubricant for smooth turning, but not some thing that will cause slippage. Nature's perfect solution: beeswax. Put a little 100% beeswax (get from a honey producer or from a craft store, or a 100% beeswax candle--it has to be 100% beeswax, no paraffin) on the shiny bands and work it in with your finger a little. Put the peg back. Smooth, firm turning with no chatter or slippage.

Sunday Afternoon

2009-10-26T15:19:00.009-05:00

I often find myself drawn to the shop on quiet Sunday afternoons. I feel the need to build something or make progress on the latest project, but oftentimes I end up cleaning or rearranging things instead. I rather enjoy making my workspace more efficient. It makes the real work happen quicker and easier.

This summer I added a couple tools to my kit. I don't collect woodworking tools, although I've felt the lure on many occasions. I just don't see the point in having tools I don't use. Subsequently, I often hesitate to buy new tools, convincing myself that if I didn't need it until now, why should I ever need it? Once I convince myself to make the purchase, if I don't use the tool, I'll get rid of it. I've haven't had to do that much, so my system must work okay. It also forces me to get as much as possible out of the tools I do have. Consequently, I've developed ways of accomplishing some tasks that would likely be easier or faster with the "perfect" tool.

The new tools however have begun to pile up, since my previous tool rack was created to store a relatively fixed number of tools.

The top picture shows my shelf and tool wall just after the previous renovation. See how neat the plane shelf was? That didn't last long.

My plane shelf has been doing double duty as general storage after picking up some Glen-Drake chisel hammers and some new old stock rulers, among other things. I like to keep my plane shelf for planes only. They are my favorite tools, and I like them to have plenty of elbow room.

Here's the detritus that is fouling my plane shelf. What a mess. I don't own a ton of planes. Just a few in fact. I know woodworkers who own dozens of planes, in all varieties and brands. I own maybe a dozen total, and no repeats. Again, I'm not a collector.

In the interest of getting organized I decided to make a new tool rack to get some of these tools off the shelf.

I always like the slot idea for storing tools. It's quick to make, simple, and versatile.

I have in the shop at the moment the latest tool from Brese Plane. It's a stainless steel panel-size plane with a 2 -1/4" iron bedded at 50 degrees. This is a unique plane. It's not stuffed with wood, unlike Brese's typical fare. But it has all the mass and solid feel of a traditional infill plane, with the ergonomics of the more common man's Bedrock-style plane. This is the first project I've had the chance to use this plane on, and so far I like it very much. I like to be able to pinch the toe with my left hand when planing edges. I also like this size of plane for small projects like this. The heft of the plane (just under 8 pounds), combined with the longer sole (it's about the size of a 5 1/2 bench plane) means I can clean up my power planer and jointer surfaces without having to switch from a longer jointer plane to a smoothing plane. Yes, I have to take a couple more strokes since I have the plane set for a fine cut (finer than I have my jointer set), but then I'm done. To read more about this plane, see my friend Al Navas' blog.

I also picked up a few files and rasps this summer from Slav Jelisejevich, famous file monger. Thanks to a couple Benchcrafted Mag-Bloks, I have all my files and rasps effectively stored and displayed for quick access. They are top center right under the big wood jointer. I also moved my carving tools (also stored on Mag-Bloks) up to make room for more frequently used tools.

I also added a couple 12" Mag-Bloks to face of the new tool rack for holding miscellaneous smaller tools. A quick slotted board, fastened vertically and kerfed on the bandsaw holds my most frequently used rulers. Some mini Shaker pegs get my Glen-Drake Tite Hammers off the shelf.

I'm not sure where the next improvement will lead. My tool wall is between two windows and is already pushing its limits. Hopefully my tool kit will expand very slowly.

Philadelphia Oct. 2-4

2009-09-28T08:59:00.002-05:00

I'll be attending the Woodworking In America Hand Tool Conference next weekend in Valley Forge, PA. If you're in the area I invite you to stop by the Benchcrafted booth to see the Roubo bench that I documented here last year. This blog has focused more on woodworking than luthiery in the past year, but for those interested, I may have an oud with me at the show. Please stop by and say hello.

Directions to the event can be found here:

http://www.vfconventioncenter.com/directions.htm

The Lie-Nielsen Time Machine

2009-09-25T08:28:00.006-05:00

It's funny what happens when you can't sleep. I have a netbook on my nightstand, and when I can't sleep I check a couple woodworking forums, e-mail. When I'm bored with that (and I haven't fallen back asleep watching old episodes of The Woodwright's Shop) I grab a magazine from the lower shelf and read it again for the umpteenth time. Last night it was a Fine Woodworking from 1997. One forum thread was discussing a sale on Lie-Nielsen tools at a local Woodcraft. The topic turned to the price of Lie-Nielsen tools and how they've gone up drastically in the last year. So when I saw the above ad in the 1997 magazine I thought I'd do a little research and see just how much they've gone up in the past 12 years. The #4 in the above ad is priced at $225. Accounting for inflation (I used this calculator), this plane should fetch about $302 in 2009 dollars. The plane, in iron, is in fact less than this today. It sells for an even $300. But I was really shocked when I saw a similar ad (from 1998) for the L-N adjustable mouth block plane. Price was $150. With inflation, today's price should be $198. The plane sells today for $165. I like a good deal as much as the next guy, and using these two of L-N's most popular planes, a good deal they are indeed, since both planes have gone down in price over the years.

And it isn't just Lie-Nielsen. On the next page was an ad for (now defunct) Bridgewood Machinery. I bought a PBS-440W in 2006 (brand new, from Wilke, before the Bridgewood name was discontinued) for the exact same price as listed in this 1997 ad. No inflation calculator needed for that one.

I also did a comparison with a Grizzly shaper. The shaper (same model number G1026) from a 1991 magazine ad was $850. Today's price is $925.

Roubo Bench - One Year Later

2009-09-06T11:52:00.013-05:00

It's been a little over a year since I finished building my workbench based on the Roubo design. In that time I've had the opportunity to build a number of projects with the bench, so I'd like to share some thoughts about how the bench has performed in the last year.

One of the first projects the bench saw was a cherry bathroom cabinet with a rather large single door. The sliding leg vise, which I built specifically for holding this type of work, did a fantastic job of holding the door for working on its edges and ends. The sliding leg vise is a beast of a vise when coupled with the stationary leg vise. It's huge capacity and raw holding power have convinced me that it was a wise decision to build this vise. The wood screws from Big Wood Vise have also proven their worth over the past year. They hold extremely well, turn very smoothly, and move very rapidly. I'm really satisfied with them.

The one thing I don't like about the wood screws on the sliding vise is the length of the hub. When planing the edges of boards held between both leg vises, it's a nuisance to step around the hub of the vise during the planing stroke.

The sliding leg vise is a trade-off. It's perfect when needed, but otherwise I want it out of the way completely. Most of the time I keep it stored on the shelf of the bench. I'm glad I made it easily removable-it can be dismounted in about 10 seconds.

I also made the back side of the bench so it can receive the sliding leg vise. This has come quite handy. I can slide the vise all the way to the left and in effect I'm left with a double-sided bench with leg vises at opposite corners. I keep my bench in the middle of my shop, so I can access both sides at all times.

What can I say about the wagon vise? I love it. I have yet to find a time where I've used it and been frustrated, impatient, or found it lacking in any way. It's met and exceeded my every expectation. I've only had to make one or two adjustments over the entire year. This summer I had to remove the dog block and take a couple shavings from one side to let slide freely. That's it. Wood moves as shop conditions change, and I'm quite amazed how the vise has handled the four seasons. The capabilities of the vise are quite basic. Clamp between dogs, or clamp between jaws. But its ease of use make it the best tail vise I've ever used.

This wagon vise (like any wagon vise) does not allow open-front clamping like a traditional "moving block" tail vise. I was a bit apprehensive about losing this capability. But in the past year, I've only moved to my old bench (which has a traditional tail vise) for its open jaw maybe half a dozen times. I was a bit surprised how little I actually used this feature, since I had imagined I'd used it much more frequently. I'd say that 90% of my work can be handled by a wagon vise. Nevertheless, I'll still keep a bench with a traditional tail vise for those other occasions.

Another project that put the bench through its paces was this large console cabinet. The project presented a lot of workholding challenges, and the Roubo came through with each of them. Removing the leg vise entirely makes for an uninterrupted surface at the front of the bench and allows an unencumbered work area for assembling this massive frame member. The stiffness of the top combined with the length of the top made joining this assembly rather enjoyable. My previous bench would have been a real source of frustration with this project. To get a better sense of scale of this project, here's the finished piece on my two saw benches.

The framework of the bench is built using drawbored mortise and tenon joints. After a year of use and 4 seasonal changes, all are as tight as the day they were assembled. The flush surfaces have moved slightly, but not enough to affect performance.

The open grain of the Ash was always a concern for the top of the bench. I've said a few times that I had wished I'd used hard maple for the top because of its closed grain. Yeah, I've had to pick out some stray metal particles from the Ash top, but I've only once run into a metal bit that caused me a slight problem. Nothing serious. In all, I'm really satisfied with the Ash. It's rigid as heck and very resilient. The latter point is a matter of debate, since it makes sense that a benchtop would ideally be softer than the project wood, thus allowing the bench to take the brunt of dings and scratches. Nevertheless, I'm satisfied with the Ash as a bench wood.

Even with the level of satisfaction I achieved with the bench in the past year, I've made a couple changes recently that have transformed the bench into an even better tool.

With the development of the Glide Leg Vise I've retrofitted the bench with this hardware. I was totally satisfied with the hardware from Big Wood Vise (and I still use it on my sliding leg vise), but the Glide has proven to be a real pleasure to use. It's fast, requires little effort to use, and has oodles of holding power.

Some people think that the hand wheels look out of place on such a traditional bench, since shiny metal hand wheels are more common to power machinery. First off, the wheel is a pretty old idea. Secondly, a hand wheel is a manual control device that lends itself to the movement of advancing and retracting the jaws of a woodworking vise (just like advancing and retracting a part of a machine like a table-saw trunnion or planer bed). Tommy bars are not very ergonomic, quick or pleasant to use, but they do offer a huge mechanical advantage by means of a long lever. If the need for a long lever is eliminated--by better engineering of the vise's holding capabilities--then the replacement of the less-ergonomic control device becomes possible, in this case with a better device-the hand wheel. I think the Glide looks fantastic on the Roubo bench.

By the way, using a hand wheel on a woodworking vise is not a new idea.

This is H.O. Studley's bench. He's more famous for his tool cabinet.

Getting back to the sliding leg vise. Most the time I don't need it. But occasionally I do need some support for long boards or wide panels when I don't want to mount up the sliding leg vise. So earlier this week I built a deadman.

The great thing about the deadman is that is stays flush with the front of the bench until you need to plug in a holdfast or clamp to secure the work. I built mine from 12/4 stock so it ended up extra thick-about 2-1/2". It doesn't need to be so thick, but I didn't see the point in planing away all that wood, or resawing. The extra mass provides lots of stability and weight, so the deadman slides easily.

The deadman engages the same slot in the underside of the bench as the sliding leg vise, which has a thicker rear section. I attached two cleats behind the deadman to engage the slot using some cap screws threaded and tapped into the deadman from behind.

I built deadman so it doesn't interfere with my benchdogs. So I can slide the deadman freely along the bench at any time and with the dogs in any configuration, up or down. I don't like things interrupting the flow of my work. The sliding leg vise has this problem, and I decided to fix it when I built the deadman.

The bench as it exists now is hands down my favorite tool in the shop. I love hand planes, but those only perform to satisfaction with a fine bench below them. If you're reading this, and considering building a new work bench for fine furniture making, I can't recommend this bench design enough. It has given me a renewed sense of enthusiasm for woodworking and furniture making, and I get pleasure and satisfaction from working on it every time I'm in the shop.

Inlaying Pearl In Brass

2009-08-20T21:21:00.013-05:00

Inlaying pearl is a challenge. The stuff is hard and brittle, and thus unforgiving. I'm not a huge fan of it for instrument work. I prefer more subtle materials like wood or ivory. Nevertheless, the shimmering iridescence of mother of pearl can be a nice touch when used sparingly, for my taste. So I chose this material to inlay into a Veritas Brass Insert Knob for a curly cherry side table I recently finished.

Working with the pearl requires some special considerations since the material cannot be cut using typical woodworking techniques.

I find it easiest to buy pearl in random sizes, but of a consistent thickness. The best place I know of to buy pearl is Depaule Supply. I pay around $10-$20 for an ounce of random pieces of white MOP.

Cutting the pearl is not difficult, but it does require a steady hand. I use a jeweler's saw with a 2/0 blade. I like Pike brand. A bird's mouth fixture is the best for cutting out small pieces.

This particular knob takes a 3/4" dia. inlay. I draw the circle on the blank, roughly cut it with the jeweler's saw, then take it close to my layout line on the belt sander. It's important not to breathe the pearl dust. I have a dust collector port next to my belt sander.

I sand up to the line.

I chuck a piece of scrap wood in the lathe and turn down the end to around 3/4" dia. This happens to be a piece of cocobolo. I don't typically use this as scrap wood, this is a reject knob from a Benchcrafted Tail Vise.

I glue the pearl disc to the end of the sacrificial piece with some CA glue, and take a measurement of the inside diameter of the knob. It's a tad smaller than 3/4". This is just for reference, I don't use the caliper to fit the inlay.

I turn down the pearl using a file...

...or sometimes a piece of course sandpaper wrapped around the file. Note my dust collection hood right behind the work.

I stop frequently and test the fit with the knob. I want it just snug, so there is no visible joint between the pearl and the brass.

Once it fits (ignore the shorter sacrificial blank, this is from another knob sequence) I apply some CA glue to the inside of the knob, press the knob onto the pearl inlay, then tap the knob with a small hammer to make sure it seats well.

I take the blank from the chuck and cut off the knob on the bandsaw.

I then mount the knob onto a special mandrel that Lee Valley also sells.

I place the mandrel in a drill chuck mounted to the headstock and begin to turn the remaining wood from the end of the pearl.

I don't use the tool to cut the pearl, but only to part off the wood.

Once the wood is gone I begin to work the pearl with sandpaper.

I slightly dome the end of the pearl and make sure is transitions smoothly into the brass knob. I work up through 1000 grit, using water once I get to 400 grit.

Finally I use a little Brasso polish to bring a nice sheen to the brass. The pearl takes on a nice translucent quality with depth and chatoyance.

The finished knob is lustrous and beautiful, like a piece of jewelery.

It adds a nice touch to this piece of furniture. The cool pearl contrasting nicely with the warmth of the curly cherry.

Woodworking In America

2009-08-12T18:04:00.002-05:00

See my post at the Benchcrafted Blog about this upcoming weekend.

If you're in the Chicago area, please stop by and say hello.

Another Roubo Bench

2009-07-24T11:16:00.002-05:00

It's been about a year since I finished my first Roubo bench project. I didn't think I'd do it again in my lifetime. But here I am a year later and I've just completed a third massive Roubo-style bench. I'm using this bench to display Benchcrafted vises at the Woodworking In America Conference in St. Charles, IL next month.

This bench will be used lightly over the course of the weekend, and Sunday afternoon when the conference ends, the bench will be available for pick up.

The top sections, base and shelf are of soft maple. The top measures 7' 3" long x 24" wide and is 4" thick. The height is 35". The top joins to the base on 1" tenons at the top of each leg, plus 4 Spaz

The bench is outfitted with both the Glide Leg Vise and Benchcrafted Tail Vise.

The Glide features a hard maple chop that is over 2-1/2" thick. The vise chop is 9" wide and opens to a maximum capacity of 9".

The Benchcrafted Tail Vise is installed for maximum capacity of 11-1/4" between the jaws. Maximum holding capacity between dogs is 75". All vise jaws and dog faces are lined with perforated suede leather for fantastic grip.

The 3-1/2" x 5-1/2" base legs are drawbored mortise and tenon to the short stretchers and complete the base with two long rails through knockdown fasteners: 1/2" bolts and 1"dia. custom steel barrel nuts.

The shelf in the base is 21" x 49" ship lapped curly maple.

The sliding deadman/board jack is hard maple and is outfitted with a Veritas Surface Clamp. The right leg and tops are drilled for Gramercy holdfasts (two included) or other accessories that fit 3/4" holes.

The bench weighs 285 lbs.

The gap between the tops is wide enough to accommodate a K-Body clamp. The bench features an accessory strip that fits between the tops that can serve multiple functions. In it's flush position (below) it seals the gap and prevents all but small tools from falling through. The slot in the strip can be used for storing tools (see below).

Flip the strip over and it protrudes above the bench about 1/2", serving as a planing stop or sawing stop when slid to one end of the bench. The strip simply rests on the top rails of the base in both configurations and can be removed instantly if desired.

If you're interested in purchasing this bench at the WIA show in Chicago, please drop me a line. The price is $3195.

More Awesome Workbenches From Great Britain

2009-06-19T19:10:00.004-05:00

Richard Maguire's Modern Workhorse Bench

Richard Maguire emailed me recently with some pictures of his latest workbench which he calls The Modern Workhorse. For those unaware of Richard's work, he makes incredibly beefy traditional workbenches in the finest British tradition. When I say "finest British tradition" I don't necessarily mean traditional English-style benches, but rather benches that reflect the fine tradition of British woodcraft. Although I haven't seen one of Richard's benches in person, I think they look totally awesome.

Richard is now offering 3 distinct styles of bench. The Dominy and the Roubo in English Beech, and now a bench of his own design called the Modern Workhorse, built of English Ash. I'm also happy to announce Richard is now offering his Roubo bench outfitted with the Benchcrafted Tail Vise.

The Modern Workhorse bench (above, and at the top) shares some similartities with Chris Schwarz's version of Charles Holtzapfel's bench, but includes several improvements of Richard's own design, including a clever arragement incorporating a wooden parallel guide into the iron face vise used in the tail vise position, and dog holes offset from the vise screw which improves access to the dogs.

The tool tray (Richard calls it a tool well, which sounds much more sophisticated than "tray" which reminds me of a school cafeteria) positioned at the left end of the bench is also an interesting idea. I'm not a big fan of tool trays though, so I'd have to try one out for a while to be convinced.

Richard's website is http://www.rm-workbenches.co.uk/default.htm

Woodworking Fantasy Camp

2009-06-11T13:08:00.005-05:00

What am I doing for summer vacation? Well, so far it looks like I'll be working. But that doesn't mean I won't be enjoying myself.

The weekend of August 14-16 I'll be in St. Charles, IL for the Woodworking in America Furniture Construction and Design Conference.

The Benchcrafted booth will be set up with our bench (and maybe two!) outfitted with all three vises we sell, a Mag-Blok display, plus we're hoping to unveil a new hand tool at this event. No, it's not an acme-screw and handwheel outfitted paring chisel, but we think it's a unique and useful tool will find lots of use in many woodworker's shops. The exciting part is it will cost about as much as a dinner for two at a decent restaurant. Around these parts that usually means Arby's or McDonald's, so you'll have to compensate for your particular locale. You get the drift.

Okay, back to fantasy camp. WIA (Woodworking in America) is a unique event. It combines three days of lectures and classes from among the country's best furniture makers and designers with three days of hands-on tool demos from the best manufacturers in America. And it's not just demos. At the marketplace (the room where the manufacturers are set up) there will be numerous benches set up at each of the vendor's booths so you can test drive the tools at your leisure. The best part is, the designer and manufacturer of the tools is usually at the booth as well, and they are more than happy to show how the tool works, and in most cases you can even get personal instructions on various woodworking techniques just by asking. A small crowd usually gathers around, and you end up with a very personal and intimate "mini-class". You could spend an entire day in just the marketplace and learn more than you can imagine. At the last WIA I got a personal one-on-one hand-dovetailing lesson from Kevin Glen-Drake of Glen-Drake Toolworks. Now, I'm not sure if that possibility will exist in August, but you never know.

And here's what makes WIA in August so great. The combination of a marketplace full of the best hand tools and hand tool experts, and three days of lectures from some of the best furniture makers and designers in the country.

I think the event in August is going be a ton of fun. Just rubbing elbows with fellow enthusiasts and the camaraderie that one gleans from such events is worth it to me. I not only came home from last year's WIA event with a renewed enthusiasm and inspiration for fine woodworking, but also with several new friends as well.

If you're wondering about the picture above, that's a desk I built for my father in 2006. One of my interests is designing and building simplified Federal style furniture with modern, clean lines. This was the second experimental piece I've attempted. I won't torture you with the first trial. In hopes of furthering this style, I'm hoping to catch some design classes at this year's WIA if I can squeeze them in. I can't wait!

Sam, Sam, Sam, and Sam

2009-05-25T16:46:00.017-05:00

A very well-known and successful woodworker passed away last week. His name was Sam Maloof. Regrettably, I never got the chance to meet him or visit his shop, although I came close once. A friend in Southern California, who was rather close to Sam, invited me to meet Maloof one weekend. Unfortunately it didn't work out, and I flew home a bit disappointed. Maloof reached the point in his woodworking that a lot of woodworkers only dream about. And he was a great inspiration to woodworkers everywhere. Rest in Peace, Sam Maloof.

Maloof was the son of Lebanese immigrants, as was my paternal grandfather, so meeting Maloof held some special significance for me. Both of my grandfathers were casual woodworkers. My paternal grandfather's middle name was Sam. That's him above, sitting below a carved and gilded frame he made (this is probably from the late 50's) to hold an icon of the Virgin Mary. A large portion of my grandfather's work had a religious theme and he built many pieces specifically for his church, free of charge in most cases. His father was also named Sam (that's him and my great-grandmother in the first photo--a stylish fellow if I do say so myself!)

My maternal grandfather was also named Sam. And he was the son of German immigrants. Sam fought in WWII in the Battle of the Bulge, and spent several months in a German POW camp. Although he returned home safely from the War, I'm thinking about his service this Memorial Day. And since he was also an avid woodworker, I thought I'd share some nice woodworking related items about Sam. That's grandpa above, sitting on his tractor. He farmed and raised cattle after the War.

A few years ago I came into possession of Sam's war memorabilia. Like many veterans and POW's, grandpa didn't talk about the war. I didn't know much about his service until after he passed away. Among the items that I received were Sam's medals, including two purple hearts and several medals for service in the European theatre, his recognition as a POW, a Western Union telegram announcing his liberation, his dog tag and POW identification badge marked "Stalag IVB". But the most interesting were the personal items that he brought back from his time as a POW in Nazi Germany. A small, aluminum cigarette case held some fascinating items. Aside from the case itself, which Sam engraved with the names of his close fellow soliders (which he dubbed "The Mighty Hungry Seven"--Sam weighed about 90 pounds when his POW camp was liberated by Russian soliders), his itinerary from Iowa to German captivity (including a train Sam was being transported in that was bombed by Allied forces) and an image of a dove with an olive branch in its mouth, the case contained German postcards with lists of sandwiches and recipes, and cigarette paper inscribed with names of dozens of ice cream Sundaes and other treats. It's quite obvious what was on Sam's mind during his months in German captivity.

A couple years ago I decided to build a small wall cabinet to display these items. I had the top rail laser engraved with Sam's rank and name. The walnut case is outfitted with Brusso hinges. It was a very enjoyable project to build.

A German post card with Sam's sandwich list. The peanut butter and bacon sounds interesting.

Recipes written on a cigarette paper wrapper.

Sam's progress from the States to POW camp, written in pencil on cigarette paper.

Around the same time I received these items, my uncle (Sam's son) gave me grandpa's old jack plane. Not grandpa Sam's, but great-great-grandpa Peter's jack plane. Peter came to America in
1870 on the steamer ship Hammonia.

Peter was a stone mason and in the 16 years he spent in northern Iowa (he died of cancer at the age of 40) managed to raise a family of seven, and build a stone church which unfortunately stands in ruins some 120 years later. I'm not sure how much woodworking Peter did, but I bet he purchased this Sandusky Tool Co. jack plane brand new. Perhaps he used it to build forms of some sort for his masonry work, or to do some of the trim work once the church was finished? Needless to say, its a piece of family history that I'll always treasure.

My grandmother wrote down the names of the last 4 generations on the sole, just behind the mouth. I suppose I'll add my name at some point.

New Lie-Nielsen Tail Vise Hardware

2009-05-14T11:19:00.004-05:00

Rob Giovannetti has just posted a video on his new blog The Tattooed Woodworker showcasing the new Lie-Nielsen tail vise hardware.

My own frustration with typical tail vise hardware led me last year to reevaluate the traditional moving-block tail vise. It was during this quest that I decided to a try a wagon vise. The result was the Benchcrafted Tail Vise.

But my old bench was built with a traditional tail vise. And it desperately needs new "moving block" tail vise hardware (the old hardware is worn, sagging, and a major nag), and I've been patiently waiting several months for Lie-Nielsen to begin offering this hardware. Needless to say, the vise is incredibly beefy and offers some fantastic features that should make it run smoothly for quite some time. I can't wait to get my hands on one.

Check The Videos

2009-05-14T08:55:00.001-05:00

I've added a list of videos (to the right) to make them easily accessible. These are videos that I've posted here in the past, and from the Khalaf Oud Luthiery website.

The New Czeck Edge/Benchcrafted Chisel

2009-05-07T20:57:00.003-05:00

I'm proud to announce the final version of the new chisel designed for fine work from Czeck Edge Hand Tool. This tool is a design collaboration between Robert Zajicek and myself. I was looking for a small, well-balanced tool for fine work like dovetails and inlay. This tool fills the bill.

But don't be alarmed by the diminutive size of this chisel. It's a burly brute in a petite package. Bob's aerospace engineering background enabled him to pack some punch into this sweet little cutting tool. I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say it's nearly indestructible. In fact, this past weekend the very chisel pictured above was tested for durability by driving it almost completely through a 3/4" thick walnut board. The tool's handle (which is made from acrylic-impregnated curly maple) not only showed no signs of damage, it showed no signs of any contact at all. And the mallet that did the driving was also an acrylic-impregnated wood. It showed no signs of wear either.

Czeck Edge will have the first batch of chisels (in various widths) at the upcoming Lie-Nielsen show in Cincinnati, OH, the weekend of May 16-17. See this link for more details.

British Traditional Benches

2009-04-28T22:50:00.004-05:00

The history of British woodworking is quite interesting to me. I haven't read much about it, admittedly, but the appeal factor alone is enough to conjure up nostalgia for things such as afternoon fox hunts, great paneled rooms of finely joined walnut, being served lunch in a country gazebo after the hunt and other things I've never experienced outside of movies like Gosford Park and The Remains of the Day. Okay, so I know next to nothing about historical British woodworking. Yes, I've read Joseph Moxon. But that's pretty-much it. I still have a nostalgia for British woodworking though, and I always feel like British woodworkers really seem to know what they are doing. Almost like it's in their blood.

I got that same feeling when I received an email recently from Richard Maguire, an English woodworker and bench-builder. Richard builds massive benches out of English Steamed Beech (that has appeal in and of itself) in the style of Andres Roubo and the Dominy family of cabinetmakers. Since I built my Roubo bench a year ago, I've come to greatly appreciate the pleasure of working on a massive bench. It's elevated my work, no doubt.

So it's nice to see this trend continuing. I think the age of the wimpy bench is perhaps behind us, thanks in no small part to Christopher Schwarz's recent contributions. And I can't think of a better time to usher in a new age of massive, serious benches to go along with all the fantastic new hand tools being produced by meticulous artists such as Thomas Lie-Nielsen, Chris Vesper, Ron Brese, Wenzloff and Sons, Dave Jeske, Ed Paik, Czeck Edge, just to name a few.

Please check out Richard's website.

Latest bench project. And a new vise from Benchcrafted

2009-04-23T21:17:00.002-05:00

Over at my other blog, I just announced Benchcrafted's latest product, the Benchcrafted Glide leg vise. Pictured above is the prototype of the vise, on the travel bench I just finished for some upcoming woodworking shows Benchcrafted is participating in next month:

Benchcrafted at Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event in Chicago May 1-2

Benchcrafted at Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event at Popular Woodworking Magazine, Cincinnati May 16-17

Take a look at the Benchcrafted blog for more info.

Making Rope From Wood--Carving Rope Columns by Hand

2009-04-12T19:46:00.000-05:00

I hate turning.

Bowls, spindles, boxes, pens, definitely not pens, doesn't matter. I just never had the desire to turn for interest or fun. And I still am not crazy about it. I've watched videos of Richard Raffan make it look easy. I've spent hours trying to work a skew chisel with skill only to have it catch on the last cut. Nevertheless, I have to do it for certain projects.

Recently I got a commission for a piece of carved furniture that included some carved rope twist columns in basswood. Here's a quick step-by-step on how I do it. Nothing revolutionary here. I had the camera in the shop and thought I'd snap a few shots.

These half columns start out as split turnings. Before gluing the two halves together I lay a single layer of newspaper in the joint. This is an well-known technique and it works great. The center points need to be dead on center and each half must be precisely dimensioned for the finished columns to match. Here I've turned down the major diameters so I can bandsaw a curve in the capital and still have a flat reference surface for cutting on the bandsaw.

I cut the curve into all four sides.

Then I remount the column in the lathe.

Roughing out the shaft of the column.

The shaft completed.

The base of the capital is transitioned into the bead at the top of the shaft.

Here I'm getting ready to turn the large bead at the base of the shaft. I hate this part, since it's really easy to catch the corner of the square base, especially in this basswood.

The shaft and beads complete after a little sanding.

To lay out the spiral I begin by drawing a grid on the shaft. The less squares, the wider the bines (these are the individual "ropes") will be. I shoot for a chunky bine at about 45 degree pitch that will catch the light nicely.

To draw the spiral lines I use some cardstock or other heavy paper and connect the corners of the squares.

The spiral layout line.

I begin carving the bines with a 90 degree V-tool, about 12mm wide. I don't go too deep, because on one side of the bine I'm cutting with the grain, the other side is against the grain. I don't want to tear out the grain to extent that I can't get below it later.

Here I've done almost all the bine valleys. Notice that I terminate the valley in a nice point short of the beads.

If I didn't carve deep enough the first time around, I'll make another pass and deepen the valley slightly.

I switch to a #3 sweep fishtail gouge (again, about 12mm) and knock the top corners from the bines, making them as round as possible with the carving tool. Since I'm now only working one side of each bine (with the grain) I can only do half the bines before switching to the other side of the lathe and doing the opposite half with the grain. It's easier to carve clockwise spirals than counterclockwise for me since I'm right handed.

This is what the spirals look like after the #3 gouge work.

Next I take some 120 grit paper on a convex sanding block and refine the bines.

I've sanded about half of them.

After sanding all the bines to shape, I go back with 180 and 220 (this goes quickly) to further smooth the carving.

To give some crisp definition to each bine I go back with a 60 degree V tool and make a light pass in each valley.

Once the carving is complete, I split the turning. I drive a chisel right into the end grain of the glue joint.

Once it starts to give way, I'm careful so I don't crack the narrow section below the bead.

Pop!

Works like a charm.

It's fun to see 3 columns multiply into 6!

Here's a pic after carving the capitals.

And here's a couple pics of the finished piece.

A little plug

2009-03-26T08:57:00.006-05:00

This morning I went shopping for a long straight router bit specifically for cutting the cavity for Benchcrafted Tail Vises. This long bit should allow the cavity to be excavated entirely from the back of the bench (with the bench top lying flat, upside down) without any fences or jigs, just an edge guide. I've been getting emails lately from several woodworking suppliers offering special discounts and free shipping. So I checked into Woodcraft since I know they carry my favorite Whiteside router bits. The bit that fits the bill is #1073. It's a 1/2" dia straight bit with a 2-1/2" cutting length and a 4-3/8" overall length. It should reach to the bottom of the 2-7/8"" cavity easily. Woodcraft's price wasn't ideal though. At $45.99 I thought I could do better. So I browsed over to a place where I've been buying a few router bits lately, Woodworkers' World. Their price? $26.70, with a whopping $2 for shipping (first class USPS). It you order more than $29, shipping is free and it goes out the same day. Great prices, a simple website. And brand loyalty has it's advantages. I download the Whiteside catalog, find the bit I want (it's quicker and easier than wading through a big fancy website) and plug in the part number at Woodworker's World. Check out and I'm done.

Czeck Edge Kit Class Link

2009-03-23T21:50:00.002-05:00

The online class for the Czeck Edge Pattern Pilot is taking place here.

Just wanted to add that to the previous post about Bob's new kit.

Cool New Marking Knife Kits

2009-03-19T21:37:00.005-05:00

I got a call earlier tonight from Bob Zajicek of Czeck Edge Hand Tool (that's Bob enjoying a beer after work). Bob and I talk tools now and then, among other things. Tonight the "other things" was how I've been paying three bucks a six-pack for beer for the past couple years. And I'm not talking Schlitz here (I can't even buy Schlitz for $3 a six-pack!) I'm talking real beer. Micro-brews and imports mostly. Paulaner, Goose Island, Fat Tire and even beers from as far away as Australia (Baron's Black Wattle Seed Ale to be specific). It's a sweet situation, and completely legal I might add. In fact, it's quite readily available from a local grocery. For obvious reasons though, I can't reveal my source. Needless to say, Bob was a bit jealous. But Bob is also an engineer at Lockheed Martin, so by the time we ended our conversation we'd both crunched the numbers to see if shipping cheap beer to Georgia was doable. Of course it's proabably illegal, so we gave up and both agreed to each have a beer to ease our pain. Of course my 50 cent micro-brew tasted better than his $1.25 Bud Light.

We evetually got back to talking tools after Bob dried his tears. Bob cued me into his newest offering: The Pattern Pilot knife in kit form. Kits are nothing new for Bob. I've bought a few of Bob's fine tools over the past year, but when I first found out about his wares, I was too cheap to spring for a complete tool. I've done a marking knife kit and an awl kit. Both were easy and fun, and when I was done I had a great tool. I've since realized that Bob is a way better turner than I'll ever be. But there is something about doing tool kits that is quite addicting. And Bob has made it easier than ever. He's offering fully machined handle blanks-to go along with the new blade kit-in some fantastic woods for a great price.

The most important parts are already done, the ferrule tenon and shoulder, and tang hole are ready to go. All that needs to be done is the fun part: finish turning the handle and finishing. You wouldn't even need a lathe to finish the project. In fact, one of these knives would look pretty fantastic with some shallow decorative carving along the handle. And you're guaranteed a good piece of dry, sound wood. I'll put in a little plug here for the Pattern Pilot. I've been using it as my primary marking knife for a couple months now. It's not too large, and not too delicate for less-than-attentive use. It's a sweet tool. Bob's a friend, so take that how you will. But it's the truth nonetheless.

If you'd like to buy a kit, Bob's website link is over to the right...

Cheers!

UPDATE: Bob is hosting an online class for the new kit at the Woodworker's Zone forum. Check this link for more info.

Travel Bench

2009-03-19T09:38:00.002-05:00

I'll be documenting the construction of a travel bench over at the Benchcrafted blog.

This bench will feature both right and left-handed Benchcrafted Tail Vises, as well as a prototype vise we're developing.

We're planning to have this bench ready for the Lie-Nielsen Event at Jeff Miller's shop in Chicago May 1 and 2, which we are participating in.

Making a Prototype at Brese Plane

2009-03-12T07:36:00.003-05:00

Earlier this year I had to opportunity to travel to Thomaston, Georgia and spend some time in the shop of Ron Brese of Brese Plane.

About a year ago I received an email from Ron Brese asking if I'd participate in testing his first plane kit offering: a small smoothing plane made of brass. I was flattered by the proposition and eagerly agreed. I was a bit presumptuous with my kit though. I overstuffed the infill and made some rather large cuts into the sidewalls of the plane. It was completely different than the plane Ron had designed. To Ron's credit, and probably to my detriment, he didn't chew me out for changing his design. In fact, Ron was pleased with the result. And so were his customers. Those changes are now standard fare on Ron's "J model" small smoothing plane. I don't get any royalties from Ron either. I'm just happy that my small ideas can be enjoyed alongside the excellence of Ron's craftsmanship.

A couple months after I finished the plane kit I approached Ron about building a miter plane, or more accurately, a shooting board plane. I have always wanted a dedicated plane for shooting. So I built a mock-up of what I had in mind with a spare 2" Krenov-style iron that I purchased from David Finck. It wasn't ideal for the mock-up, but it worked.

One idea I had was to replace a typical "hot dog" handle that is common to planes of this type with a more ergonomic version. I mocked up a crude handle and started playing with shapes, removing material here and there until I arrived at something that felt and functioned the way I wanted. After a few versions, I wasn't satisfied with the hot dog idea. I didn't like having to grip the handle and push forward at the same time. My hand was cramping up. I came to realize, through the failed hot-dog mock-up, that I wanted to concentrate all my effort on pushing the plane forward in a controlled, predictable manner that only required minimal effort from my hand muscles. I wanted something that would engage the web between my thumb and forefinger, since that part of my hand was falling directly on top of the plane in use. I'd only have to lay my hand on the plane, engage the handle in web of my hand, and push. The answer was a knob. Knobs on miter planes are nothing new, I know. But I usually see knobs placed forward of the cutting edge, and this can cause the plane to swing out when shooting, at least it has for me.

So I turned a couple knob profiles and experimented with different positions until I found one that worked well. I even tried a knob from an old Stanley plane, but it was too large, both physically, and visually.

I also experimented with a rather short, stubby knob, but it felt (and looked!) awful.

After I felt I had exhausted the options, I settled on this shape, size and position for the knob.

In the meantime, Ron got busy, I got busy and the miter plane collected dust.

Fast forward a few months. When the opportunity arose to visit Ron, he calls me up and says "bring that miter plane mock-up with you and we'll build a real one while you're here". Needless to say, I was excited about my idea becoming a working tool. I tossed the mock-up in my luggage after I scribbled "miter plane prototype, 2008" on the side.

As I arrived in rural Georgia and pulled into Ron's driveway, I knew that I was in the presence of an accomplished craftsman. Ron's understated and refined taste in evident throughout his entire property and home, most of which he built with his own hands. His home is a New England-style Cape designed and built by the man himself, as is his shop (at left, in the small grove of pines) and garden house (to the right, just behind the house). Ron used modern, economical materials to replicate the look and feel of an historic New-England home, such as Masonite sheets cut in clever ways to replicate wide-plank paneling on the ceilings and walls. The floors in Ron's home are 1x8 pine construction lumber, (that he got on the cheap) fastened meticulously to the sub-floor with hand-cut nails. It looks as if it had been there for decades. The furniture throughout the house, as well as all the interior trim, doors and kitchen cabinets, is also crafted by Ron in several, but similar classical American styles. I was particularly struck by a Shaker tall clock placed elegantly between two windows in Ron's living room. All of Ron's furniture is beautifully finished, with surfaces that are a joy to touch.

This picture doesn't do justice to Ron's work. I felt as if I were inside a magazine layout in Ron's home.

All of the interior doors in Ron's home look as if they were made from wide plank boards and battens. In fact, they are stable, inexpensive mdf. They are dead flat, beautifully uniform, and have just enough heft that when closed the high-quality hardware sounds out a satisfying and precise click.

Ron's ingenuity and high level of craftsmanship allow him to produce such beautiful, functional, and practical work, and it shows not only in his carpentry and furniture making skills, but also in the wonderful tools he produces.

The first day of work on the shooting board plane had me looking around Ron's shop as he prepared steel for the project. I spied a rather humble looking log in the corner behind the bandsaw. In fact, Ron's entire shop seemed pretty humble to me. I was expecting a laboratory-like atmosphere, with neatly arranged blanks of ebony and rosewood, chunks of steel, brass and bronze waiting to be made into planes. What I found was a typical woodworking shop with all the familiar tools, and even a few that I thought I'd see, but didn't. There is a certain humility that Ron's shop expresses, an unpretentious feeling that one might not expect, given the museum-quality tools that Ron produces. I think it makes a statement that although the planes that come out of this shop are built with precision and beauty, they are first and foremost tools. Ron's shop is a tool in itself, and judging from the work that emerges from this shop, a finely-tuned tool.

The first day at work during my visit I watched Ron cut steel to length, mill the parts to precise dimension and begin the assembly process. I was only able to visit Ron for a couple days, not nearly long enough to make an entire plane. Nevertheless, I was able to observe how Ron works, and see some of the more technical aspects of what it takes to create one of his planes. It was great fun, to say the least. I felt like the young apprentice on his first day at the master's knee. Ron even let me handle some of the more technically demanding tasks, like lapping the plane sides and preparing the iron. (okay, more like grunt work!) I even got to run the shop vac and clean up metal shavings from the mill area. And in those two days I got good at it. I still wonder if Ron's shop is as clean as the day I left.

Seriously, Ron did let me handle some interesting tasks, like peening rivets. This was pretty tricky actually. One missed whack and the peening tool would make a nice deep dent in the plane side. And that puppy wanted to slide off the rivet any chance it got. I managed to do an entire side without incident. (thanks Ron!)

The best part of my visit was watching Ron work. The worst part that Ron only has one stool in the shop. And there is no beer fridge. Well, that's probably a good thing, actually. But other than that I was pretty content. One other thing I really liked. Ron has a barbeque setup just outside the shop door. Nothing better than pork tenderloin smoking gently while making infill planes a few steps away. Yeah, Ron has pretty sweet setup.

Unfortunately, I didn't get the to see plane finished before I had to return home. The body was assembled and the infill blank fit. The last time I saw the plane it looked like it did in the picture above. That's my wood mock-up (and knob) alongside the infill prototype. The next time I saw the plane, it looked like this:

The prototype was built with walnut infill. Using a valuable piece of ebony or rosewood would have been foolish, since this was after all, a prototype.

But prototypes aren't just about testing function. Especially with an infill plane. Ron also wanted to see how the plane would look in steel and ebony. So Ron ebonized the walnut.

And the plane took on a entirely different character. A sleek beauty emerged.

My visit to Brese Plane was a blast. Ron and Julie's hospitality was overwhelmingly southern. They treated me like a king, and I thank them for it. I'm already brainstorming my next infill plane adventure, just so I have an excuse to return to rural Georgia for some apple pie, pork tenderloin, steel and rosewood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some pictures of the finished shooting board plane. The plane is 10" long, with a 2" wide 0-1 iron, bedded at 38 degrees. The plane body is precision ground 1018 steel, with brass lever cap and ebonized walnut infill. The plane weighs 7 pounds. Ron now offers this model as part of his standard lineup, here.

Please also enjoy the following video of my trip to Brese Plane.

VIDEO: Shooting Board Plane (hi resolution, 69 megabytes)

VIDEO: Shooting Board Plane (lower resolution, 24 megabytes)

Poor Little Roubo Bench

2009-03-04T18:12:00.009-06:00

After finishing my Roubo bench last year I stood back and wondered if I'd ever build a piece that would challenge the capacities of this bench. This week I came close.

I'm building a large carved cabinet of basswood, and instead of building up the carcase from flat panels, I'm opting to form the structure with frame and panel construction. This speeds up the construction for me, and also allows for a very robust framework. I like to work with solid wood and try to avoid slinging 4x8 sheets around the shop as much as possible. I'm using massive frame elements of 1-7/8" thick basswood. The cabinet is 30" high, 24" deep and 93" long.

The piece is so large it makes the Roubo look like a wimpy, spindly table. But it was the perfect bench for laying out and assembling the frame. Yep, I think Roubo can handle any pretty-much any project.

Brese 875 Smoother--It's Done

2009-02-25T21:57:00.016-06:00

After a couple months of work, the Brese 875-W50 is complete. Here's an explanation of the model number.

875 stand for 8-3/4", the length of the plane's sole.

W stands for "wide", a reference to the 2-1/4" wide iron.

And finally 50 stands for the bedding angle. Since this is a bevel down plane, it also refers to the cutting angle.

After a week of finishing the ebony and another week of curing time, I rubbed out the finish (padding lacquer, followed by a few thin coats of Tru-Oil) and applied a couple coats of Renaissance Wax, honed the iron, and set plane to wood. I have a particular piece of cherry that I like to test planes with. It had some curl to it, but not too much. It strikes a good balance between "difficult" and "cooperative". It also looks beautiful when planed.

This kit was extremely satisfying to build. With careful work, diligence, and some coaching from Brese, I now own a world-class infill plane capable of taking incredibly fine shavings, well under one thousandth of an inch. But more importantly, the surface of the wood left in this plane's wake is stunning. Absolutely smooth, lustrous, silky, chatoyant, with great depth and character. It just begs to be touched.

Thanks to Ron Brese for providing a way, with some skilled work of course, for more people to enjoy the pleasure of high-performance planes at a more reasonable cost. I can't recommend enough a plane kit from Brese Plane.

One can only describe the performance of this tool to an extent. It really has to be experienced. So I'll let these photos do the rest of the talking. Make sure you also take a look at the following video, it should give a better idea of the performance of the tool. Warning: In order to preserve the high quality video, this is a large file, about 28 megabytes.

Video: Brese 875-W50

If you're interested in obtaining a plane kit from Ron, he can be reached at ronbrese@breseplane.com

Brese 875 Smoother--Inlaying the Diamonds

2009-02-15T12:55:00.008-06:00

Ron sent me some gold mother pearl diamonds from DePaule Supply for inlaying the front bun and top of the tote. It's a bit daring I suppose to inlay these after pinning the infills, since ruining the infills at this point would be a big loss. I wasn't worried though. These little diamonds are pretty easy to inlay.

I glued each diamond to the ebony with a tiny dot of CA glue.

Before I tacked the one for the tote, I lap sanded the underside of it to match the curve of the horn.

Then I scribed around the diamonds with my new favorite straight scribing tool, my Kerf Kadet marking knife.

I routed out the majority of the mortise with a 3/32" upcut spiral bit.

Then I routed as close as I dare to the scribe line with a 1/32" upcut end mill.

I used the scribe line to register my chisel, a prototype model from Czeck Edge, and pared the remaining waste away.

The OptiVisor makes close work a breeze.

I like to burnish the edges of the mortise to guarantee a tight fit.

Epoxy mixed with fine ebony dust for the glue.

One thing I don't read much about in plane making or plane fettling is flattening the bevel side of the iron. In a bevel up plane, this is the part of the iron that rests against the bed, and should be dead flat. Ron's irons are precision ground, so the lapping process is fairly easy. I spent less than ten minutes getting the iron flat. I haven't confirmed with Ron how far back to flatten, but preliminary tests with this iron and the plane (yes, it's done as I write this!) are yielding incredible results.

I won't write about fitting the lever cap in this plane, since the process is that same as the small smoother I did last year. Info on that can be found here.

Here's a little sneak peek of how this plane is performing. Better pics to follow...

Brese 875 Smoother--Pinning the Infills

2009-02-12T17:25:00.006-06:00

The infills on the Brese plane are pinned to the body using two methods. The first requires a 3/8" aluminum dowel to be placed through both infills in the area close to the mouth. The pin is then installed into this dowel. The other pins are simply wood screws like on the Brese small smoother I did last year. Here I'm drilling the front infill for the 3/8" dowel.

To keep the dowel from rotating when drilling and tapping into the end, a small dowel is installed through the bottom of the infill.

The pin extends about half way into the 3/8" dowel.

The rear infill gets the same treatment...

...except drilling into the bottom of the wedge-shaped piece presents some challenges. I came up with a quick and dirty jig for holding the infill.

It did the trick.

Once the dowels were placed it was time to drill through the sides and into the infill (or dowels). Here I've mounted the plane in a drill press vise. I used shims to raise the plane off the metal surface for protection. The wood piece on the right is also shimmed above the plane side so it presses on the top edge of the rear infill when the vise is tightened, pressing the infill tight to the plane sole for the pinning operation.

Drilling the pilot hole for the 8-32 machine screws.

The holes for the pins are countersunk for peining over. I turned the countersink manually while in the chuck for a smooth and precise chamfer. I didn't want any chattering.

The c-clamp ensures the rear section of the rear infill stays tight to the sole for drilling the rear holes for the wood screws.

Tapping the aluminum dowels through the sides of the plane while still clamped in the vise.

The chamfer is sized so the screw seats before the slot reaches the plane side.

I was a bit "file" lazy, and decided that I could grind down the heads of the pins with my 1" belt grinder. I could see exactly what was happening, and the results were predictable and controlled.

I ground down to about the bottom of the slot.

I was able to get real close without touching the plane body at all.

The I peined the heads into the chamfers.

Then back to the grinder to remove most of the steel. Amazingly, I was able to get within a few thousandths on the belt grinder. I took the rest down with a file until I was within a couple thou of the sides.

Then straight to the surface plate for lapping the sides. I started with 180 grit and worked through 400. Anything beyond this I think is too shiny. I like the surface that the 400 gives.

Brese 875 Smoother--Making Progress

2009-02-05T22:43:00.005-06:00

After some time off I'm back to working on the Ron Brese 875 smoother kit. A spare moment here or there is all I can snatch lately.

Last I was struggling with what to do with the front bun, after a string of cold weather had caused excessive dryness in the shop and caused a small check to develop. After forcing some flexible thin CA glue into the check with pneumatic pressure (a straw and some lung power right over the check) and subsequent lapping, and repeat, the check is now "in check". I think after the bun is finished the problem should be gone forever, barring another string of super cold and dry shop conditions. I also fit the bun a little on the dry side (loose) so shrinkage will be kept to a minimum. Putting this plane together is just as finicky as getting the action right on an oud. It all depends on shop humidity, or rather consistency in the shop environment. I'm also not so finicky as to let a little check in the front bun bother me. I'm not building this plane to sell, and a potential cosmetic issue isn't going to affect performance. It's the rear infill that matters, and it's very stable.

I made a quick and dirty "bird's mouth" fixture for planing the sides of the rear infill. The perfect tool for fitting straight-sided infills is, ironically, an infill plane. And I had just the tool for the job.

A few deft strokes with my Brese small smoother and the rear infill was the perfect size, to the thousandths of an inch.

It slid in like a piston.

After getting the front bun close, within about 5 thou, I started shaping the profile. No hot-dogging here, I'm following Ron's design since it looks great and is comfortable in use. I wasted most of material with a core box bit and a round over bit. I'll further refine it with chisels, rasps and scraping/sanding after it's pinned to the body. I also went ahead and cut the escapement ramp and applied a coat of french polish to the ramp and the bed of the rear infill.

It's a good idea to finish these areas now, since it would be difficult once they are pinned in to the body.

This plane is shaping up...

Next step is to drill and install the aluminum dowels.

A Visit to Czeck Edge Hand Tool and the New Czech Edge Chisel

2009-01-29T22:20:00.019-06:00

Cocobolo-handled marking knives from Czeck Edge Hand Tool

Earlier this month I had the opportunity, thanks to some airline mileage that was about to expire, to visit the headquarters of Czeck Edge Hand Tool, a small toolmaking company established by Bob Zajicek. Czeck Edge is located in Marietta, Georgia.

Czeck Edge specializes in marking tools, most recently the Kerf Kadet, which is getting rave reviews from Woodworking Magazine and Canadian Woodworking Magazine. Czeck Edge also just introduced a mid-sized marking knife called the Pattern Pilot. All three sizes of marking knives are pictured above, and below in rosewood.

Bob's attention to detail is quite evident in his tools. The handles, each individually turned by hand, are shaped with comfort and utility in mind, with a heavy nod towards the tool's aesthetic.

The closed-end bronze ferrules are not only beautiful, but also functional--keeping the blade rigid, and providing good engagement with your fingertips.

It's no surprise that these tools are so exquisite in looks and function. Bob is also an engineer with Lockheed Martin Aeronautic's F-22 fighter jet program.

But it's not Bob's exquisite marking knives that have me excited lately. The day I visited Bob is also the day he finished up the first production model prototype of a chisel that I designed last year.

I havn't cut many dovetails completely by hand over the years. Instead, I've used a combination of hand and power methods to accomplish the task. After making a Gramercy Tools Dovetail Saw Kit last year, I decided it was time to refine my method using that saw. The problem arose when it came time to chop the waste between tails. I like to hold the chisel near the cutting edge so I can register that edge in the scribed baseline with one hand, freeing up the other hand for the mallet. It's much quicker than using both hands to position the chisel, and less fatiguing as well. I also like to sit at the bench when chopping this waste out. This gets my eyes closer to the work, and it's easier on my back as well.

The problem with typical bench chisels in this application is their unwieldy length. Chopping dovetails typically doesn't require more than 3/8" depth penetration if you chop from both sides of a 3/4" thick case side. Even less if you're chopping drawer sides, which are typically 1/2" or under. So why use a tool designed for paring, with long blades and long handles? Holding a bench chisel like a pencil in this application means you have to balance a lot of steel and wood on a narrow edge, and use the strength of your fingers to keep all that top-heaviness in check while trying to keep a square or slightly undercut shoulder. Not a pleasant task to me.

So I set out to design a chisel that would combine the elements of a fine dovetailing chisel, with fine side grinding that terminates at the face (back) for getting into the corners of pin sockets without damaging the tails, a shorter than normal blade, and a stubby handle than wasn't too small to hold in close, one-handed paring operations--a task commonly encountered when cleaning the little stray bits from dovetail sockets--but also not so large as to become top-heavy when held near the edge.

After tossing around some dimensions and ideas on paper (my first sketch is below) Bob was able to refine some of my ideas with his toolmaking expertise.

We did away with the hooped handle, compensating with special handle materials and construction methods. We also lengthened the blade a bit to allow more purchase for holding the chisel.

I went right from this original drawing to a wood mock-up to check the ergonomics (as far as possible with wood) and aesthetics of the design. This tool also needs to look good, after all!

After nailing down some hard dimensions, a few test blades were produced. These were on display at the Woodworking in America conference last November, albeit without handles. Still, there was quite a bit of curiosity surrounding what appeared to be very fine butt chisel blades. And I hesitate to use that term, since typical butt chisels are about as far removed from our design as you can get.

Finally, after several months of development, Bob made the first working prototype, just a few hours before I arrive in Marietta.

When I first picked up the tool, I knew we were on to something.

Not only was the chisel a treat to look at, with it's steel blade, bronze closed-end ferrule, and polished, stabilized-wood handle (it's impregnated with resin for durability and stability), but it met all my expectations, visually at least, and most likely functionally as well. I have yet to test the chisel, and I will be updating the blog with my results in the near future. The chisel will be available in several widths, and most likely in a different wood than the one used for the prototype. The first production chisels are expected some time in March.

For more information on Czeck Edge Hand Tool, or the new chisel, email Bob at bobzajicek1@gmail.com

Visit toCzeck Edge Hand Tool and Brese Plane

2009-01-27T06:22:00.004-06:00

This past weekend I ventured to Georgia to pay a visit to the folks at Czeck Edge Hand Tool and Brese Plane. At the moment, I'm watching Ron Brese build a prototype plane. It's a design that he and I have been working on since last summer. I'm due out in Ron's shop (I'm typing this from Ron's guest bedroom, in a traditional New England style home that Ron built himself, but more on that later) in a few minutes, so this will be a short post. Stay tuned for some upcoming posts about this visit, including some new tool teasers. I'm off to work!

Brese 875 Smoother--"Check" this out

2009-01-16T16:58:00.004-06:00

I don't have a sink in my shop. Which means I can't easily fill a humidifier. The temperature for the past few days has hovered around -10 for the high, and last night we hit an all-time record low of -29. The furnace is running frequently, and that's just to keep the shop between 50 and 60. So things in the shop are very dry. I knew better, and instead of keeping my ebony infill blanks in a more humid environment (a box with a wet rag inside would do, how simple, and how stupid of me!) I left them out this past week. My front bun blank has a bit of a check in it, and the glue lines on the wings of the tote have opened up at the corners. Lesson learned. Now to get on with it. I put the tote and bun blank into a plastic bag with a dampened towel. I have some hope for the tote, but I'm not so confident about the bun. From now on I'm keeping the infills in a more humid locale between shop sessions. One thing I also don't want to do is fit the infills in a very dry state. When summertime rolls around, they will swell and cause more problems. Infill planes and musical instruments really do share some of the same challenges.

Brese 875 Smoother--Front Bun

2009-01-15T17:32:00.003-06:00

Getting some spare time to work on the Brese plane has been challenging lately. But this week I've snatched a few moments during work to process the ebony for the front bun. This chunk was small enough that machine preparation was out. It's been a while since I've had to four-square a workipece completely by hand. Good tools make this job quick, easy, and predictable. I used my Bailey 5-1/2 (outfitted with Lie-Nielsen blade and chipbreaker) to get it real close, then my Brese small smoother to perfect it. After taking the blank within a few thousandth of final width, I laid out the escapement angle and the profile. Next step is to mill the profile in the bun and cut the escapement ramp.

Brese 875 Smoother--Tote Refining

2009-01-05T06:50:00.004-06:00

After rasping to final shape I refine the surface and shape with some 180 cloth strips.

I then remove the scratch pattern with a small scraper. This leaves some fine facets, but those will sand out with 220.

Before final sanding I marked the boundary of the wings so I wouldn't sand this area.

I sanded the tote thoroughly, then rubbed with 0000 steel wool. I didn't sand or rub the areas where the wings will be glued, to keep them flat.

I fit the wings to the body and the tote to within about .008" of final dimension. This leaves very little work after the wings are glued to the tote. I used a surface plate to register the parts for gluing. The sides are a suction fit since they were lapped on the same plate. I applied glue to the inside of the wing only, to keep the glue cleanup to a minimum. I pressed the wings to the tote in final position, and held them there for about a minute until the glue grabbed.

I transferred the infill, wings firmly set, to my leg vise for curing. I double checked the alignment of the wings to the tote. One of them is off by about 3 thou. But that should lap out in a couple strokes after the infill cures.

Brese 875 Smoother--Wing Fitting

2009-01-03T08:17:00.003-06:00

After fitting the bottom and inside face of the wings I positioned the tote in place and traced the bed angle directly onto the wing. I cut it close with the miter saw and tweaked the angle with a low-angle plane.

With a wing in the body in final position, I traced the outline of the side onto each wing.

And cut close to the line, leaving a bit of extra material for final trimming.

With the wings free of the tote and body, I took the opportunity to sand the curve very close to the body so there is minimal work to do once the infill permanently installed.

Here I'm filing off some bandsaw marks. I bought this file, among several others, from Slav Jelesijevich at the Woodworking in America conference last year. What a great purchase these files were. They are without a doubt the finest files I've ever used. I bought way too many from Slav, but now I'm glad I did. These are sweet tools.

Brese 875 Smoother--Getting Started

2009-01-01T19:31:00.003-06:00

The tote is close to final shape, and is a uniform thickness. I didn't document the process of shaping the tote. It's fairly straightforward bandsaw and rasp work, much like the Gramercy Carcase saw I completed last month. The hard part is coming up with a comfortable shape. Actually, that was the easy part, since Ron provided me with a full-size template of his tote shape. I already knew this shape fit my hand perfectly after using one of Ron's 875 smoothers earlier this year. Here I'm planing the ebony for the side wings of the rear infill. After bandsawing this piece, I took it to within a few hundredths of final thickness with my Bailey 5-1/2.

I cut both wings from the workpiece to rough shape.

I then trued up the bottom edge of each wing (the edge that rests on the sole) so it was dead flat and square. I used my Brese small smoother for the task. Set to take an extremely fine shaving, I tweaked the edge until it was spot on.

I then lapped the side of the wing that will be glued to tote on a granite surface plate so it was dead flat. This makes a perfect joint with the tote.

This is going to be a sweet tool!

A New Year and a New Plane

2008-12-31T20:26:00.006-06:00

I've never been much of a celebrator of the New Year. When I was in junior high school I spent New Year's Eve at a friend's and we both ate a mouthful of Pringles potato chips at the stroke of midnight. That's my most memorable New Year's. Most the the time I fall asleep before the ball drops.

But this year is different. I just received another infill plane kit from Ron Brese of Brese Plane. So tonight I'm celebrating.

This kit is based on Brese's 875 series full-size smoothing plane. The bed angle is 50 degrees (York pitch), a good compromise between ease of planing and higher pitch for less tearout. The plane uses a 2-1/4" wide iron. This is a smoothing plane, roughly akin to a #4-1/2 size bench plane. The big difference is in the sole length. The Brese plane is 8-3/4" long, almost 2" shorter than typical smoothing planes of this width. That makes sense to me, especially for a smoothing plane, where a longer sole can be a hindrance.

Ron's construction method for joining the sole to the sides makes for a plane body with very clean lines, and a straighforward, utilitarian look. I'm not much for added fanciness when it comes to hand tools, and Ron's aesthetic falls right in line with that idea.

Norris A13

Ron styled the body to mimic the Norris A13 plane. Ron did a great job of translating the style to a shorter body plane, making for an overall beefier look, while maintaining the elegant curves of the A13. I don't plan on customizing this plane, like I did with the Brese small smoother. I like Ron's design very much, so I'll be following his plans directly.

I'm hoping to take some pictures along the way, and document the process as well, since this plane poses some unique challenges that the small smoother didn't. I'm hoping the results will be the same, since that plane is simply outstanding.

Update on the BenchcraftedTail Vise

2008-12-22T08:10:00.007-06:00

I don't like to post about commercial stuff here, but it's gotta happen now and then. I posted an update about the Benchcrafted Tail Vise over at the Benchcrafted Blog, and I thought I'd give a quick heads up, especially for those who are anxious to get their vise. Needless to say, we've been hustling to get vises out. More over at Benchcrafted...

Happy New Year!

Basswood and Buttocks

2008-12-19T21:17:00.004-06:00

I recently began work on a rather large commission. Not huge by any means, but big enough that I'm planning the build to postpone final assembly as long as possible. This piece will we be as big as my Roubo bench when I'm finished, and that takes up a lot of room in my small shop.

The good thing about this piece is that it's going to include lots of carving. Why is that good? It means I get to use basswood. Basswood can spoil the hand tool woodworker. Carver's love basswood for it's easy working characteristics. And that's why I love to plane basswood. There are seven carved panels on this piece.

After milling them with power machinery, I finished up the show side with my #4 smoothing plane. What sheer planing joy! Basswood planes like a dream, and I can go for ages without touching up my plane iron. Heck, I've built entire pieces of basswood and only honed my planes once, maybe twice. Like I said, it will spoil the handtool woodworker.

Shavings from one panel.

And now to the second topic of this post. This is my new favorite bench stool. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

I picked this up at a garage sale this summer and have been using it almost every time I'm in the shop. Okay, it was my own garage sale, but so what? This little stool is actually a shower seat, thus the holes. (In case you're wondering, it's actually brand new, and never used in a shower with bare buttocks). It's the place that I prefer to rest my back side when doing any shop task that requires sitting. I often see fine, craftsman-made shop stools in woodworker's shops, but I never had the time to make one. And this seat is so comfortable that I doubt I ever will.

The tubular aluminum legs are height adjustable with small spring-loaded bullet-shaped pins, and work nicely. The rubber tipped legs provide enough grip to keep the seat from sliding around.

One of my favorite places to use the seat is at the right end of the bench when I'm doing close, repetitive work with the tail vise, such as in the posed shot where I'm chopping dovetails that have already been chopped. I also use the seat when I'm using the jointer for the long periods. It allows better control, and saves my back at the same time. Of course it's also a great seat for doing any detail work at my 36" high Roubo bench.

Here are some "Christmas" shavings. White (basswood), Red (Padauk), and (almost) Green (Poplar). Merry Christmas!

New Strings at Khalaf Oud

2008-12-18T07:27:00.002-06:00

I'm happy to reintroduce these fine strings for Turkish oud.

This set is designed and manufactured to the specifications of oud virtuoso Necati Celik. These are the strings that Necati uses on his own ouds. It's designed around his own tuning, but the two lower courses can be variably tuned. These are top quality strings, on par with the best like Pyramid and Kurschner lute strings, only with a much more attractive price.

The other set, designed around a more common tuning, uses the same strings as the Necati set, only with slightly different gauges. As with any Turkish oud strings, these can also be used for Arabic ouds with a longer scale (61cm+) and Arabic tuning (a whole step lower).

Any time I'm able to offer excellent strings at a good price, I'm going to jump on it! And these definitely fit the bill.

Take a look at the new strings here: MusiCaravan Strings

The Latest

2008-12-12T20:32:00.013-06:00

A couple weeks ago I shipped off my latest oud. This is a rather simple one. I'm actually leaning more towards these simple designs, not only because of their understated elegance, but because they are quicker to make. Nevertheless, the owner of this instrument waited over a year and a half to get this one. I got to play it for a couple weeks before shipping it out. Click here for a sound file. Criticisms welcome!

Gramercy Carcase Saw Kit

2008-12-02T22:42:00.005-06:00

The Gramercy Tools Carcase Saw Kit

Last month I tried the new Gramercy Tools Carcase Saw (crosscut) at the Woodworking in America Conference. I've been using Japanese-style saws for a number of years, and only recently have I started moving back towards Western-style saws since so many fine sawmakers have begun offering their wares. Earlier this year I purchased the Gramercy Dovetail Saw kit and was extremely pleased with the ergonomics of the saw and the cut quality. So naturally I was eager to try the new Gramercy crosscut saw. I was hooked. Literally. After trying some crosscuts on the bench hook at the Tools For Working Wood booth I was all set to leave the show with a new saw. I left the booth empty handed though, planning to return and pick up the saw later that day. But before I had a chance to return, I was approached by Gramercy owner Joel Moskowitz. He asked if I wanted a carcase saw kit. I wasn't crazy about doing another saw handle, but I thought since the guy behind the saw was asking if I wanted to do a kit, I figured I ought to oblige. So I walked away from the show with a kit. And here is the result. My saw-handle making skills aren't what they should be, but this one does the job. And I can report that the saw cuts perfectly. Straight, quick, and very very smooth. I won't be picking up my Dozuki any time soon.

Thanksgiving Deals at Khalaf Oud Luthiery

2008-11-27T09:25:00.005-06:00

I try to keep this blog leaning heavily towards informational exchange rather than product promotion. But once in a while I'll sneak one in.

Today and tomorrow is big sale day at Khalaf Oud. The profit margin on my soft cases isn't exactly great, since the cases are manufactured right here in the US. But in the interest of getting this case into the hands of as many oudists as I can (the case really is quite nice) I'm offering a huge discount for these two days only. Plus, a free set of Pyramid strings will be included with every case.

The case is great for travelling by air with your oud (as a carry-on), hopping a bus, riding your bike, or even striking a pose in your backyard, as I often do.

To make this as effortless as possible, here's a direct link to the home page in case you are reading this after Thanksgiving dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Black Friday at Benchcrafted

2008-11-25T18:52:00.006-06:00

Shameless plug time.

Late Thursday (right about the time I'm making a turkey sandwich) the price of the Benchcrafted Tail Vise will drop. But only for a day. If you've been considering picking up one of these, this would be the time. The price will be, well, check the Benchcrafted website Thursday around 10pm to find out. There will also be special pricing on Mag-Bloks. Merry Christmas!

Getting to Know Roubo - for real

2008-11-19T20:59:00.005-06:00

Rosewood and ivory plow plane by Jim Leamy

After a weekend sampling fine tools and visiting with the world's top hand tool makers at the Woodworking in America conference, I returned to the shop with a renewed sense of enthusiasm for woodworking. I met so many interesting people and exchanged some great stories and woodworking knowledge. I also learned something about hand tool enthusiasts in general. They are a fine group of people. It was an honor to join toolmakers Ron Brese and Bob Zajicek in their booth. Hats off to both these gentleman for allowing me to lend a hand.

In the shop, a nearly completed cherry cabinet lay atop my Roubo German cabinetmaker's bench. The door still needed to be built, so I got to work milling the stock. This is the first furniture project since completing the Roubo bench, and it's been a great opportunity to learn how the bench performs under real working conditions. This wall cabinet, built for a small bathroom, features hand-cut dovetails (I use a Gramercy Tools dovetail saw), a frame and panel door and a cove moulding made on the table saw. It presents a number of workholding scenarios that brought out the best in the bench's capabilities.

Two aspects of the bench stand out as noteworthy.

First, the tail vise in an actual work setting is very quick and intuitive to use. It's a lot faster than a typical T-handle vise when clamping between dogs. I just grab the knob or rim of the handwheel and nudge it loose, repostion the board, and nudge the vise clockwise. That's it. I do this dozens of times during the project, and I never find myself fumbling for a handle or finding it to be the in the way (my tail vise handle on my old bench sometimes stops so the wood handle is sticking directly out the front of the bench). I grab the handwheel without even thinking about it and the vise responds perfectly. In other words, the function of the vise doesn't interrupt my work, but flows with it. That's how I like my tools to work. Maybe I'm biased, but this vise is performing for me exactly in tune with the way I work.

Secondly, the sliding leg vise. I knew this one would be useful, but in the context of a real project, this thing is, well, awesome. After ten years of using a Record iron vise as a face vise on my previous bench, I'm now able to work on large panel edges quickly and easily, and absolutely rock-solidly. Twin-screw vises are useful for this sort of work, but they have the capacity limitations, usually somewhere around 24". Working on this door's top edge (I'm planing the stile ends flush with rail edges) the vises are positioned with about 28" between the screws. And the door does not move. At all. It feels as if I'm actually working on the bench itself, it's that solid. That means smoother planing, and no mental energy spent on compensating for poor workholding.

With about 36" between screws I can work on the long edge of the door's stile. I can locate the sliding vise to a maximum capacity upwards of 5 feet between screws. That's some serious workholding, and probably more than I'll ever need for typical furniture making.

Roubo in Action

2008-11-05T21:48:00.003-06:00

I thought it'd be fun to put together a little video showing some of the capabilities of my version of the Andres Roubo German Cabinetmaker's bench. In the video I use the different vises, including the Benchcrafted Tail Vise, for some basic operations including face planing, edge planing, and sawing and chopping dovetails. I got a little over eager with the planing footage. Sometimes it's fun just to make shavings when my planes are singing. There isn't any commentary, and just a few subtitles. The video kind of speaks for itself, I think. I couldn't resist adding a little background music towards the end to toast not only the German heritage of this bench, but also my own German heritage.

Roubo Bench Video

Getting To Know Roubo -- Leg Vise Tweak

2008-10-18T16:39:00.009-05:00

When I made my Roubo bench I used a roughly 5" section of 3/8" steel rod as a pivot pin for the parrallel guides on both leg vises. I don't move the pin often, but when I do it's a bit of a pain to grab that little pin, especially when the vise is almost closed.

I'm pretty sure I got this idea from a picture of Lie-Nielsen's new Roubo bench, posted on Woodworking Magazine's weblog. The area of the picture was a little blurry, but it planted the seed, and I went with it. So credit to Lie-Nielsen Toolworks for this idea.

So I lengthened the pins, then inserted them into a turned handle. The pins are now much easier and quicker to grab and reposition.

The pin for the sliding vise is a bit longer since the rear chop on the slider is wider.

After using the handled pin a few times I realized that some thought and effort was required to avoid over-inserting the pin in the parallel guide's hole. Pushing the pin in too far places the handle between the jaws and prevents the pin from seating flatly against the leg. If part of the handle goes past the edge of the leg, the parallel guide would mash that part of the handle into the leg when clamping.

The solution was to stop the pin at a fixed location without interfering with the function of the pin. Anything larger than the pin's diameter would't work. My solution was to drill through each pin and drive in a 1/8" roll pin.

This makes changing holes truly brainless. It's impossible to over-insert the pin.

Changing pins in the parallel guide is quicker and easier than ever.

Tradition meets technology

2008-10-14T21:05:00.009-05:00

A few years ago John Herin invented a new type of geared tuner for stringed instruments that he calls the "Peghed". It's unlike any other geared tuning peg. It actually looks and works just like a real wood peg, without all the real wood peg problems. The device uses a system of planetary gears housed inside the peg's aluminum shaft. With the 4:1 gear reduction that these provide, fine tuning is effortless. And the pegs stay put without all the idiosyncratic movement required with wood pegs. When I first saw these pegs in a local music shop I was really impressed by the function of the pegs, but not so much by the looks. The shaft looked fine, but the head was a rather crudely fabricated black plastic material (pictured above) that didn't look or feel like ebony, let alone any lesser wood. It reminded me more of phony leather than wood. So I wrote them off, thinking that I would wait until another option came along. I should clarify that the pegs I saw in the local shop are actually Perfection Pegs, which use Herin's mechanism, but marketed under a different name. I recently became aware of a major change in Herin's product through my friend and fellow oud enthusiast Mike Malek. During a recent visit with Mike, he showed me an entire box of these new tuners headed to a luthier in Egypt. I was really impressed. Here's the difference. The heads of these pegs are actual wood. Ebony, in this case. When a recent customer asked if I could install these new pegs on his instrument, I jumped at the chance. I sent a set of my rosewood Nahat-style pegs to Herin, and he worked his magic.

Herin separates the head of the peg from the shaft, and uses a CNC lathe and mill to excavate a complex mortise in the end of each peg head.

Then part of the mechanism, which matches the shape of the mortise, is glued into the head.

And here's the interesting part. The shaft of the peg which is visible outside the pegbox walls, is fabricated from anodized aluminum to mimic the color of the rosewood heads. The Pegheds are also quite light for a geared tuner. 12 of the rosewood Pegheds weigh 108 grams in their raw state (the extra long black section of the shafts will be trimmed shorter when installed), while 12 rosewood pegs weigh 91 grams. That's about 1.5 grams difference, per peg. In other words, 12 Pegheds are about equivalent to 14 rosewood pegs. Not a huge issue. Up close, the pegs won't fool the discerning eye. But these Pegheds are a far cry from the plastic-banana pegs that I saw in the music shop.