It’s back to school time and the gloom that has settled over my wife in the last few days has made that blatantly known. After finally accepting the inevitable, she tells me that we need to visit her classroom on Sunday to do some organizing in the classroom. I also needed to deliver the Hepplewhite book case to it’s place of honor. Heather told me that I needed to build some shelves for an existing book case to store sheet music. Basically she needed 3 more shelves and to replace 2 of them that had bowed beyond belief. (I’m not sure who decided un-laminated particleboard over a 40″ span was a good idea for shelves that would hold books) The good news is that there is already some shelving material on campus that we could use and that I would just need to cut it down to size. I was dubious at this last statement since no further details were given. She assured me that they didn’t need to be pretty, just fit in the space and hold up to boxes of sheet music.

Here is the case after I pulled everything off the shelves.

I took a quick measurement of the sheet music boxes (the black boxes to the right in the above picture) and spaced out the shelves to be somewhat consistent from top to bottom. I then went in search of the aforementioned shelving material. I found it upstairs in the stage scene shop and was happy to see it was a good quality plywood with maple veneer and what looked like a few coats of poly on the surface. The edges had been banded with maple as well. Things were looking up, but I still had to deal with the size. The smallest piece was 24″ wide and 72″ long. My shelves needed to be just under 12″ wide and 40″ long. I knew going into this excursion that I would need to be sawing and I thought it would be great justification for the nice collection of Mark Harrell of Bad Axe Toolworks refurbished hand saws. Since I was traveling I thought I would take my “toolbox” saws AKA panel saws because they are 19 and 20″ long and make for easy travel. They are sharpened for a cleaner cut as I normally use them at the bench for final dimensions of panels and such. I also took along a few clamps, a square, and a block plane.

Woodworking on the road is not so much about having the tools, but having adequate work holding. This is where my clamps came into play. Using the chairs in the classroom I set up a sawing bench of sorts and clamped my pieces down. I was able to use an existing shelf as a template and went to work cross cutting the boards to the right length. My little panel saw performed admirably and soon enough I had the boards to length (and perfectly square, if I do say so myself)

Now comes the fun part. It was time to rip these boards in half to make 12″ wide shelves. Ripping scares a lot of people because you have so much real estate to cover and keeping a straight edge only gets harder over that long distance. Ripping over a 6 foot distance is not only intimidating, it sounds a whole lot like work. To these naysayers, I say, maybe you need to tune up your saw! A bit of positioning with the chairs, enter the clamps, and off to sawing.

After a few careful strokes with the saw at a low angle I determined the path of my saw. I tipped it up to close to 60 degrees and started to work in earnest constantly puffing to clear the sawdust from my line and ensure I am tracking correctly.

I have not had that much time with this little Spears & Jackson saw since Mark sent it to me. The cuts I have done have been great but on a much smaller scale. If I were in my shop I would be using my 26″ saw for a cut this long so you can imagine how shocked I was that this little 9 tpi, 19″ saw was racing through the board. In about a minute I had 2 boards from one.

A little block plane work to clean off the saw marks and a tiny chamfer to kill the sharp edges…

…and I have 3 new shelves installed and ready to be loaded.

This “project” was hardly fine woodworking and with no fit and finish that I would expect from my normal furniture projects, but something about it was thrilling. Leaving my shop to build things rarely happens and to know that I can take just a few tools on the road and complete a job without making a lot of noise, mess, or needing an extension cord is a truly exciting prospect.

Road weary tools back home in their shop

The Winning Desk Organizer from TSDC 30 Day Build Challenge Spring 2009

This was a great project because it is not something I would have normally done. By signing up and participating I was held to the rules of the challenge which was “build a desk organizer”. The design exercise that resulted was a new and exciting experience for me and one that I highly recommend you take advantage of.

There are lots of build challenges and group builds floating around the Internet now, but I believe this is the only one where your design is the focus and you get honest and constructive feedback. Plus it doesn’t hurt that you get the chance to win some great prizes and the adoration of woodworkers everywhere. I can’t tell you how weird it was for me after I won a prize in the inaugural build to walk down the street and have random people come up to me and say, “hey, why are you carrying that desk organizer around with you?”

In all seriousness, this challenge is something you should consider. This time Rick and Neil have recruited Adam King to help them with the judging and they are asking contestants to build something that suspends a surface up to 32″ off the ground. No more guidance than that (actually there are more rules but you have to go to Rick’s site to learn about that)

This lack of guidance is what is so exciting. You are free to let your imagination run wild. Based on the judges and their work and tastes, I think you had better feed your imagination some peyote because these guys can be pretty out there.

So my recommendation as a past contestant is to jump into this with both feet. The contest starts today and you have until the end of October to finish the piece and submit it. I must admit I’m still a little on the fence because I have so much already on my schedule both in and out of the shop. Woodworking in America is a month away and that usually is a podcasting festival for me so I may lurk a little and see what my brain comes up with before jumping into this. But don’t let my weakness stop you! You can still register even though the contest is underway.

Go on, get going, nothing more to see here!

Fine Edges make for nice dovetailin' but painful carving

The problem with those beveled edges is if you ever choke up on the blade you can slice up your fingers pretty easily. I am working on ball & claw feet for my Dunlap Chest of Drawers and I am rounding over the ball using a 1/2″ bench chisel. The straight chisel is really efficient for quickly shaping the ball and needs very little touch up afterward.

I am a white knuckle carver for sure and I grip my chisels tightly and choke up really high on the blade for the best control. I know I could stand to relax, but that will have to come with time and practice. I still have to remind myself to breathe every now and then too.

Well several hours into my carving session I realized that my fingers were starting to hurt and then I noticed a drop of blood on the front claw of the foot I was working on. A quick look at my hand and I had about 12 of what looked just like paper cuts on the inside of my first two fingers. It was then that I realized maybe I was gripping a bit too much.

This is several days later after the cuts had time to heal a bit

If you look at my carving gouges they have nice rounded edges for comfort as I assume most woodworkers choke up for control while carving too. Needless to say I will not be grinding down the edge of my Lie Nielsens because they excel at what they do with joinery. I might just need to re-purpose one of my flat sided firmer chisels or go get a #1 sweep carving chisel.

Now I’m going to go gross out my wife with my lacerated fingers…

Enjoy the episode and like Brian, let me know if something is on your mind that you want to learn more about. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll make up something witty and add music!

Meanwhile in the deep, dark underbelly of the woodworking world nestled in the dusty shops of crusty professionals who have been making furniture since before the Internet and personal computers dominated our existence, wizened professionals are making beautiful pieces using techniques that might make the information age neophyte cringe. Yet these professionals can count to ten using only their two hands.

“Don’t y’all do this” is something I have heard Charles Neil utter more than a few times as he engages in a somewhat risky cut on the table saw or a climb cut with a hand held router. “This is not the safest thing in the world, but it works” is another Neil gem. Professional advice born out of 30+ years of woodworking experience.

I have attended classes in professional’s shops and been enlightened by simple techniques for beautiful joinery only to be accompanied by the disclaimer, “don’t tell anyone I told you this because it might be viewed as unsafe”. Yet the technique yielded an incredible chip free tenon shoulder right off the table saw. Any of you who have been in one of these professional’s shop will know of what I speak.

So here is where I get in trouble: how can we get these nuggets of wisdom on the open market for all to enjoy? At what point do we recognize that woodworking is working with sharp things that can cause bodily harm and it is up to us, the woodworker, to be responsible and smart enough not to injure ourselves. If I get hurt, it is my own dumb fault and no one is to blame.

It is stunning to me that when I truly uncover a new method of doing something, it is usually just a slightly less safe way that creates better results than the tactics I am using currently. For instance, have you ever cut the last 32nd of an inch off your tenon shoulder by climb cutting on the table saw? It does a great job and leaves an immaculate shoulder. If done properly it really isn’t all that dangerous, but let’s face it climb cutting with a table saw is not the best idea when trying to make a through cut or remove more than a tiny amount of wood. I won’t divulge who taught me this (you know who you are) because the woodworking safety police might lock you up.

So fess up folks, what are you doing behind closed doors in your shop that yields great results and you are afraid to write or talk about for fear of condemnation. In my mind, everything in woodworking has an element of risk and it is up to the individual to determine how comfortable they are doing it. So what do you think, am I nuts to open this can of worms? I just feel there is a lot of wisdom out there going untapped because it might be unsafe.

Check out Tico Vogt’s site and if so inclined pick up one of these beauties. If you are going to Woodworking in America (and if not, why not???) stop by and say hello to Tico and try out the Super Chute there.

It is still amazing just how much a little tiny cut can bleed. At least the sharpness of your tools allows for nice clean cuts that heal very quickly.

You may remember during safety week a few years ago I did a video about how to clean the piles of shavings off your bench and what not to do. Well, I never said I listened to my own advice and swept the shavings off with my hand only to find that chisel I had been looking for…buried beneath the shavings. I am personally not a fan of band-aids because I lose the tactile feel in my fingers that I rely upon when doing hand work. I often get little cuts in places that are just impractical to bandage. You know what I mean I’m sure, like those tiny cuts right on the tip of your finger? I have been told that CA glue can solve these problems but I discovered a first aid product years ago that does the trick for me.

Skin Shield will seal up those little cuts and provide some protection to allow them to heal. It also keeps the blood off your beautifully planed Walnut. It’s a great little product to keep around in your shop.

What world do these people live in? I’m pretty happy with my joinery and milling skills but regardless of the effort I put in, it always seems that my case work needs just a little encouragement towards the magic 90 degree mark. Maybe Karma is trying to tell me to design crazy asymmetrical and curving pieces where 90 degrees doesn’t exist.

Until I start to channel Maloof or Esherick I need a little help. I find the easiest way to correct a case is to insert a known right angle into the inside corners and use clamping pressure to easy the case into alignment. These angles I bought at Rockler years ago have saved my butt more than once but really any shop made angle that is sturdy or even some corner brackets from the home center will do it as long as they scribe a 90 degree angle.

So until your world lines up perfectly and all your joints fits the first time without any adjusting, this tip might make things a little easier.

I glued the entire pediment together with a straight piece across the back and the half laps make for a sturdy piece. Once I have added further glue blocks and attached it to the case it will be very strong. So here is the first look of the simple case set upon the feet assembly.

It is really startling what adding these feet does to a simple square case piece and I am really happy with the look. Here is a closer shot with the bead detail along the bottom shelf.

I am really almost done with the piece as I only have to flatten the top and I’ll be routing a classical pattern around the top edge. I thought about doing it by hand, but that would involve stopping to sharpen some molding planes and my wife is already tapping her foot about me getting this done.

I have begun testing various colors for this project and it has been a fun experiment in creating colors by mixing various dyes. Honestly with so many great quality premixed stains and dyes out on the market this doesn’t have to be done. However, my stocks are a little low right now and I don’t really have time to order anything new so I’m mixing to create colors I don’t have. These two samples are an attempt for a vintage Cherry. I think with a few more coats I could get there, but the purple tint to the darker sample got me thinking.

So I used some General Finishes Danish Teak oil based stain straight onto the pre treated Pine (using Charles Neil’s Blotch Control) to get a feel for that color as a base.

I wasn’t happy with the quantity of brown in this so I started over and went directly to Shellac. By combining Transtint concentrated dyes into a 1 pound cut of super blond Shellac I came up with this interesting color.

It is 3 parts Honey Amber with 1 part Cordovan and with the Shellac carrier it dries very fast and continues the sealing that the Blotch Control started. It is a little intense for vintage Cherry, but the hint of Mahogany feel is nice and knowing that this piece is going to live in a fluorescent lighted space I wanted the colors to be intense since those light really wash and cool a color. The sample shown is actually two coats so it is a little darker and I think I will keep to that schedule and top it off with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal since the piece will probably take a beating in the classroom. If all goes well, I will get some shop time this weekend and be able to finish it off.

I’ll leave you for now with this fluffy shaving shot while I was smooth planing the trim pieces. It seems like a zen like way to end.

Now it is time to focus on the bead detail that runs on the inside edges of the case. I want to inlay a small strip of banding that sites 1/8″ proud of the case surface. I will round over that exposed edge and each strip will be mitered into the corners. To start I need to cut a 1/8″ by 1/2″ rabbet on all those edges.

The two case sides need to have a stopped rabbet where the sides meet the upper rails and bottom, so I marked out the termination and used a chisel to hollow the area and thus give my rabbet plane clearance in front of the blade to make the rest of the cut.

Now I ran some thin strips of material to make the beading over at my table saw and then cut them to length at the bench hook and then used the shooting board to get them square and to the exact length.

I set these bead strips ever so slightly longer than the rabbet so the center of the strip bows up and away from the case. When you press the center flat it drives the ends into place to ensure a tight fit.

I rounded over the edge of the bead strips using my scratch stock cutter. This is the same process I used to cut the faux cockbead into the drawer front of my Queen Anne Side Table. I have not mitered the corners yet as I need to wait until the case is assembled and glued to be the most accurate fit. Leaving those bead strips a little long also ensures that I have some room to play with when mitering the corners too. I’m looking forward to putting my new Donkey Ear appliance to work that I got from Tico Vogt. Here you can see his Super Chute in action as I square up the ends of the lower trim.

While the glue on the case cures, I turn my attention back to the feet and the trim pieces. You may remember at the beginning of this series I started out by making a template for the curves on the front and side trim. I used those templates to lay out my pieces then cut a half lap joint of sorts that would lock into the back side of the feet and give a strong bond to hold together the lower assembly. The addition of more glue blocks not only strengthen but provide attachment points to the bottom of the case. Here you can see the half lap joint at the feet.

Here is a look at the rough cut curves on the front and side trim. I still need to refine the shape with my spokeshave and a files.

Once the feet and trim are attached to the case I will cover the transition with an applied molding. The details are coming together. I’m also experimenting with some coloring options and I believe I have decided upon a nice color. That however is a topic for another post. Stay tuned!

So here is my case, dry fit and clamped. Before starting the feet I had routed the sliding dovetail pin groove. With the case assembled I can now get an accurate measure of how long the shelf needs to be. Let’s talk about the process and then I can explain where I was having problems. My router table hangs off my table saw. I like this arrangement because I can use the table saw fence from time to time as a fence for the router. This works great for case work because you can set the fence far away from the bit to make grooves in the center of a side like in this case. My groove runs 14.5″ up from the bottom of the side so using the table saw fence makes this job easy. So first you need to run the dovetail grooves. Make sure you do NOT touch the bit height setting that that when you cut the tails you can ensure a good fit. Then you set up a sacrificial fence and bury the bit into it exposing only the tiniest piece of the bit. You then need to run your shelf board across the bit vertically so it helps if your fence is tall to provide extra support. I always take a piece of scrap and sneak up on the fit making minuscule adjustments until I have a sound fit. With sliding dovetails you want the fit a little looser or you will kill yourself trying to get them seated properly especially once the glue has swollen the joint.

So I started on my test piece sneaking up on the fit when I realized that my tail was about 1/8″ longer than the pin groove and I would have a gap at the shoulder.

I knew I had not touched the bit setting so something else must be wrong. My first thought was that the router table wasn’t flat and maybe the top had sagged. Using a straight edge and feeler gauges I determined that the top is flat to within .002 so that is not the problem. I double checked the bit height against my groove and then is when I realized that my case board was just the slightest bit bowed (curved along the length) and must have risen up as I made the cross cutting rout. The bow was so slight that I could flatten the board with very little downward pressure and the way the case is constructed would pull everything in line so I wasn’t worried about that. That slight variation however had essentially shortened the depth of the pin groove in a few places. I had to set up again for the cross cut and making sure of solid downward pressure was able to fix the depth of the groove in that one board. Of course the way a dovetail bit cuts means that that particular groove would be slightly wider on that edge. That is not a problem because it is the back edge of the case and I usually slightly taper my tails to ease the fit. In this case I had the opposite with an every so slightly flared groove. If you do have a board that isn’t exactly flat you can either make sure it is flat or route the groove using a hand held router that will track the curves like a shorter hand plane would.

So now it was back to cutting the tails on the shelf. Using a 12″ wide board makes for plenty of registration against the fence, but you must make sure that this board is flat or risk ending up with a similar problem that I had with the groove. So I double checked the flatness and ran the tails.

As I said above, I like to slightly taper my tails to ease the fit into the case so using a shoulder plane set for a very light cut, I trimmed a 128th or so off each side of the back half of the tails. I am aiming for a fit that I can press into place without a mallet but one that is very tight right at the front to seal up any gaps on that show face. Here you can see the back of the shelf as it enters the front of the case and the slight gap created by tapering the tail.

So I set the shelf a little more than halfway in to make sure I have a good fit that will still work once glue is has swollen the joint and I stop there. Working with a soft wood like Pine means that you don’t want to spend too much time dry fitting a joint like this or it won’t be so tight anymore. One great thing about this joint is that although it takes the highest precision to fit well, it really helps to correct a lot of errors in the base by pulling all the side together and flattening out any cup or bow and this is common with cheap home center pine like this. It will be flat one moment and potato chip the next. The other thing is that properly fit, you only need glue the very front edge and the rest of the joint will allow the case side to expand and contract while keeping the all important show face nice and flush.

By the way, here are the glue blocks in place on the inside of the feet as well. This will really strengthen that miter joint nicely.

Next I will take everything apart again and start cutting rabbets for the applied integral case beading. Time to put away the power tools and pull out the rabbet plane. Now I’m going to turn up the music, turn off the dust collector and galoot out for a bit.

A few of these feet had some dried glue built up in the inside corner so I needed to clean that out so it would fit cleanly on the cutting guide. I need that to fit a glue block later anyway.

Now back to the bandsaw to begin the cutting. Like most compound forms, when you cut one face you remove the pattern marks on the opposing face and you must tape the fall off back on so you can follow the line.

With a mitered foot like this, you don’t need to worry about that and can use the grain and glue line to guide your second cut. Take a look at this picture and you can see what I mean.

The end grain stands out clearly from the face grain and makes a perfect pattern. Also notice how our extra time to orient the pattern with the grain has worked out. The grain lines flow perfectly with the curve of the foot.

So with the second face cut, it is time to shape and smooth them. I turned to a curved bottom spokeshave and a Japanese rasp for this work. The same cutting block that held the blank steady at the band saw is invaluable here as well.

It turns out I didn’t even use the rasp as the curve was gentle enough for the shave to do all the work. Once again that miter line we used as a guide to saw the second face is handy here to make sure you have a consistent curve on both faces. Continue to shape the face until you can no longer see the glue line. In the picture below you can see that I still have to take a little meat off the center of the curve.

Finally after the shaping is done I have 4 beautiful French Feet. I just need to add glue blocks to reinforce the miter and provide an attachment point to the bottom of the case.

Now I’ll use my square to strike a line to define the front edge of the foot.

I want this front edge square for now and I will bandsaw the curve later after the glue up when I have a bracket foot. So it’s over to the table saw to cut the 45 degree miter.

Cut the bulk of the waste then creep up on the final fit

These cuts are best done by hacking off the bulk of the waste then trimming the last 1/16 or so with a light pass for a good glue surface. Or if you like, take the piece to your shooting board and clean it up there for a tight fit.

I’m about ready to glue these into bracket feet, but first I have to cut the inside profile of the foot because I won’t be able to get to it easily after the glue up.

Make sure to cut the inside profile before gluing

Now to glue them together. I bind the mitered edge with packing tape, slather on the glue, then clamp the assembly together with these great industrial strength rubber bands that I got from Rockler several years ago. They have become probably the most valuable clamp I have in the shop due to their flexibility (rim shot) with odd shapes.

Glued and Cooking

Next time I will cut the outer profile to complete the feet.

To my loyal podcast subscribers, as you can see I am getting into the shop but really no more than 20 minutes or so at a time so I have decided to blog this build rather than film it to prevent a long lag of no content at all. I hope you enjoy it and I will get the camera rolling again shortly.

Set the pattern so that the grain follows the curve of the foot

I took my bevel gauge and set the angle needed to crosscut the individual feet blanks from the larger board.

Use a bevel gauge to match the angle

Then I used that bevel setting to position my miter gauge on the table saw.

Use the miter gauge to cut out French foot blanks

Finally I have a blank cut to the exact height of the foot but allows the grain to flow along with the curve. From here I am free to miter the 45 degree corner referencing off this fresh edge. The inside edge will be cut on the bandsaw.

Now the grain will add strength to the feet

I think I figured it out. Go back up to the top of this page and read the header title by my spokeshave logo:

“The Renaissance Woodworker; So Many Projects…So Little Time, Welcome to Woodworking A-D-D”

I adopted this tag line more than 2 years ago when I started this blog because I was fascinated by all styles and methods of construction. I would like to think that my tastes have become more focused lately and there is no doubt that I have a special place in my heart for period styles of the 18th century. However, I still love Arts & Crafts, Asian, Mid Century Modern, Danish, etc, etc. I have gravitated to a hand tool approach but I still get as excited as the next guy by a roaring planer and precision table saw cut. This is my cross to bear: woodworking attention deficit disorder.

This is why I am so slow. Too many balls in the air and projects in the shop.

This rather lengthy prelude is a way of leading into the introduction of yet another project in my shop. Right now I have my Queen Anne Side Table sitting patiently off in a corner waiting for me to spray on some Shellac. I am building a checkerboard style banding to inlay into a Walnut 2 drawer hall table as well as preparing stringing for the drawer fronts. Once that is done I will apply Shellac at the same time at the side table. I have 2 Adirondack chairs built and awaiting finish that I salvaged from my picnic table that collapsed under the February snows and a patio table under construction from that same Redwood. On the lumber rack I have close to 100 board feet of Pennsylvania Cherry and curly Cherry acclimating for The Wood Whisperer Guild summer chest of drawers build. Related to that project I have milled up 3″ square blocks of Poplar to practice ball & claw foot carving and have 6 of those blanks laying about in various stages of completion. All of this within the confines of my 340 square foot shop.

So I think I should add another project to that don’t you? My wife has a need for a small book shelf for her voice studio at work. This is where she teaches her private voice lessons and rather than running back and forth to her office every time she needs a piece of music she wants a place to store them right in the small studio. It cannot be anymore than 34″ high so it can fit under a windowtherefore I am making it with 1:1 proportions. Knowing that I have many other projects underway, she insisted that it need not be complex but still be pretty. I know that the kids who filter through her studio are parented by some of the wealthy elite in Baltimore and those parents often make appearances. Also this book shelf will be clearly visible to all who pass by on the way to the main theater. In other words I am building something that will essentially be sitting in a gallery frequented by people who can afford custom furniture. This is a great opportunity to build something small and simple thus giving me a lot of opportunity to embellish it with some fine points and lines so as to impress the passersby.

I will go into more detail on this build in future posts but I’ll tease you now with the template I have formed for the bottom feet and lower apron trim.

French Foot and front apron will be trimmed with a 1/4\

This French foot sweeps nicely into the trim where the change in radius of the curve punctuates the transition and sweeps elegantly across the whole piece in an elliptical shape. This is derived from Hepplewhite’s design book and some of his chests of drawers therein. It will be fun to see it come together using some modern techniques, time saving measures, and cost saving lumber.

So, the upshot of all of this is I will do my best to keep the cameras rolling and will report to all of my fragrant and beautiful readers. However, I really think I need to move some of this stuff to the completed column or I won’t have any place to step in the shop. Stay tuned to this Bat channel for more on what I am calling my Hepplewhite Low Bookcase.

Feet rough cut and ready to carve

A case could be made for each as to which is the best tool for the job. Without a deadline and a yearning to understand how it used to be done you could say the turning saw is the best tool for the job. If you are on the clock then the band saw method is definitely the best tool. Ultimately I think you need to figure out what you personally enjoy about your woodworking and decide from there. I enjoy working with old tools to see how they work but I’m not a big fan of drudgery. Cutting one of these feet was enough for me to get my fix and continuing to do so with the turning saw would have become tedious. What I am really looking forward to is the carving aspect of these feet and I am anxious to get there quickly so in this case I think the band saw was really the best tool for the job.

What’s my point? Woodworking is subjective and we each derive our joy from it in different ways. The best tool for the job is the tool that makes you smile the most. ’nuff said!

Now who can guess which foot was cut by hand?

In my non-stop effort to be difficult, I am ratcheting things up a notch and building a 4 drawer chest based on the designs of Major John Dunlap and Lieutenant Samuel Dunlap of New Hampshire. The Dunlaps are part of a legacy of immigration that took lowland Scots who emigrated to the Ulster area of Northern Ireland and then eventually on to New Hampshire and Maine in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. This nomadic existence was mostly driven by religious persecution since these people were mostly Presbyterian living among predominantly Catholic societies. In fact, once settled in New Hampshire primarily, some of this persecution continued as it was assumed these Scots-Irish were Catholic based upon their nationalistic origins. It seems that the Scots-Irish spent more time declaring what they were not than defining who they were. This checkered past yields the name Scots-Irish and the designs from this group are endearing, whimsical, idiosyncratic, and just plain weird. It is interesting because the towns of Antrim, and Londonderry are not so far from the major style hub of Boston that dictated most of the furniture details in New England. The Dunlaps worked primarily during the Rococo or Chippendale period so being in New England we would expect detailed, asymmetric carvings, massive structures with lower centers of gravity and powerful ambiance like this Highboy built in Boston around 1750. I took this pictures at the Winterthur Museum by the way.

In contrast the Dunlap cabinetry style adds an element of whimsy with unique and elaborate carvings unlike anything we see coming out of New England at the time. In some ways the ornamentation hearkens back to a Baroque style. Basket woven galleries and almost Celtic derived scrollwork adorn the tops and bottoms of the cases. A signature flowered ogee molding is seen as a punctuation mark between elements and upon closer examination seems to be a minimalist version of architectural egg and dart moldings. Deep lower cases are prevalent that seem to embrace the Chippendale massiveness but take it one step further. With the deeper lower cases came more elaborate scrollwork as well. This piece is somewhat iconic of this style and includes much of what I just mentioned.

Here is another example taken from Paul Rulli’s website. Notice the somewhat disproportionate upper and lower cases.

A Paul Rulli Dunlap reproduction

Here is a close look at the iconic basket weave and Peacock fan typically seen on Dunlap pieces. You will also see the flower ogee molding above and below the top gallery.

Paul Rulli's fine carving work on the Dunlap reproduction

I will be curious to hear some of your thoughts on this piece. It is certainly different and in my opinion somewhat ugly. I think the offensive nature of it is what really attracted me and stirred me into further research. In many ways this style has grown on me and I believe when taken in moderation it can yield some amazing pieces. I think some of the most constructive design exercises can be done when you force yourself to play in areas that you don’t like. So if we take away some of the disproportions of the above piece, mellow down the carvings a little, and apply the chest of drawer form to it we end up with this piece which will be the subject of my next Guild build.

This chest was mostly likely built by Lt. Samual Dunlap around 1795 and you will see that the proportions are more pleasing but the stubby feet keep that extreme low center of gravity to the piece. The distinctive flowered ogee molding is present as well. I think some of the reasons for this overall mellowing of the style is that period in which this was constructed. The idiosyncratic Dunlap style was really one for the American Revolution generations and as we move into the 19th century, this began to lessen.

So I see many challenges ahead during this build. For one the integral bead detail on the case and drawer blades will be a test since each joint will have to be mitered to keep a continuous flowing line throughout. This will be my first attempt at ball and claw feet as well and I am already gearing up for that by doing some practice pieces in Poplar. The chest will be done in Cherry and if possible curly Cherry for the drawer fronts. So stay tuned for updates here as I start out on my next project.

By the way, I highly recommend the book “The Dunlap Cabinetmakers” for a much more detailed look into this style of furniture.

I few years ago, I ponied up the dough for a Festool sander and dust extractor hoping this would take the coughing out of the equation. This system does it’s job admirably and I can even work without a respirator most of the times and just turn on my ambient air cleaner. The problem is that the hose and cord really get in the way and wear you out as the weight of the cord always wants to pull the sander out of your hand. Festool makes a nifty boom arm for their extractors to loft the hose and power cord up out of the way and takes the weight off the sander, but my 7 foot shop ceilings just won’t accommodate it.

So when faced with sanding the Redwood parts for 2 Adirondack chairs and a table, I finally went in search of a solution. It was in my garden shed of all places. I used to hang my mountain bike up in the garage and I have one of those heavy duty rubber coated hooks still laying about. Find a stud in the ceiling near my bench, screw in the hook and problem solved.

Now with the weight of the hose and cord taken off the sander, it just floats over the work piece and does its job like it should. No more sore wrists trying to hold the sander on the benchtop. Surprisingly, this big sanding job just went by without incident.

Of course it was helped along by a Best of Wil Ferrell SNL DVD in the player.

This solution was so simple that I almost hesitated to post it, but I began thinking about all the tiny little creature comforts and time saving tips/devices that we woodworkers implement into our own shops and thought I would share in case anyone else out there is having this problem.

What tiny additions make your woodworking better? Leave a comment and share it with us.

I am creating some templates for ball & claw feet as well as some trim molding for the chest of drawers I will be building next as part of The Wood Whisperer Guild summer build. I thought I would bring you all along with this process since I haven’t really found much published on it and I believe this is a skill all woodworkers should have.

Let me first say that you need not have a set of plans with a grid overlaid although that is helpful and pretty commonly available. If you only have a photograph you can add your own grid and calculate your dimensions using some known quantities. This is probably a topic for it’s own post but I just wanted to put it out there as a possibility.

In this specific case I knew I was dealing with a 1/2″ grid so I laid out a 1/2″ grid on a piece of stiff cardboard. I normally would use something like hardboard or thin ply but this is what I had on hand and it is really heavy cardboard.

Now I begin looking at the drawing and marking dots on my grid where the drawing intersect the grid. You don’t need to get hyper accurate here and I tend break each grid square down into quarters and mark the dot at the quarter or halfway point. Pay particular attention to your place on the grid and make sure you follow the drawing. By the end of this exercise you have something like this.

All that is left to do is connect the dots. I did this with a Sharpie marker so it would show up on camera better but I sketched in the lines with pencil first and shaped the curves to my liking. This is the point where you can add your own character to the design or focus on getting the reproduction just right.

Now I just need to cut out the pattern, refine it to the curve and I’m set to start shaping my blanks.

I had a lot of fun building this piece entirely by hand and it was very satisfying to put my skills to the test this way. Now for the next project, I think I am ready to plug my thickness planer back in and probably my bandsaw too!

Enjoy!

You can reach us by email at woodtalkonline@gmail.com or you can pick up the phone and leave us a message on our voice mail at 623-242-2450. Or you can find us on Twitter as @MBWPodcast, @WoodWhisperer, and @RenaissanceWW and also on Facebook too.

Topics:
Eye Safety: Shannon had a close call and learned a little about eye injuries and treatment
Our “Just for Fun” Projects
Popular Woodworking – its been a few months with the new format. Are they living up to promise?
Fine Woodworking’s Call for Bloggers
Which woodworking styles you think everyone should master
And drum sanders.

Events:
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Around the Web:
Tico Vogt enters the shooting board market with the Super Chute
New Bad Axe saws: 12 & 14″ saws
Sketchucation.com
Popular Woodworking’s writeup about Treefrog’s Maloof-inspired chair
TreeFrog’s Finale
Forum Thread: The Woodworking Funk
LumberJocks Summer Awards

Voicemails:
Jim – Drum sander advice

Sweet Deals:
Lee Valley – Free Shipping until July 11th http://www.leevalley.com/us/home/page.aspx?p=60912
Craftsmanplans.com “Woodworker’s Guide to Sketchup” by Bob Lang, $30 & no shipping til July 1 http://craftsmanplans.com/sketchup.htm
July 1. Czeck Edge Tool 5th anniversay sale. Free shipping on orders over $30 http://czeckedge.com/

PeachTree Woodworking 4th of July Sale- 25% off Everything Ends July 4th. Use code July 1.
Penn State Industries – buy 3 pens of same style, get 1 free until 7/1; hurry
Woodcraft – free shipping on orders $25 or greater until 7/6

Carter Products – $30 off Quick Release or Jet/Delta 14″ guide set use code MUSA10
From David White: $32.50 Diamond Sharpening Stone
Eagle America – $4 shipping orders under $99/ Free Shipping over $99 till July 5th use code E2100623

Tip Clips:
Tom’s Tip – Use the lube!!
See more from Tom at TomsWorkbench.com

I think you get my point. The explosion of woodworkers today is driven by the armies of office workers penned up in their cubicles by day yearning to make something that you can touch, and possibly break a sweat along the way. As I will illustrate, this is not a new idea.

Article A

This little beauty is a hobby saw from the Victorian period. We have more of these than I can count at the Steppingstone Museum. The industrial revolution brought many advances including mass produced tools. Along with this, we saw the addition of free time to the average Joe. It wasn’t necessarily the dawn to dusk grind to survive anymore so people found themselves yearning for a creative outlet to use up that time. This saw is treadle driven, but lightweight and very compact. The tiny table and throat of the saw doesn’t make it practical for anything but knick-knacks but you can see how someone could have a good time in the parlor making tiny fretwork to adorn their home.

Article B

This little lathe is of the same ilk as the above scroll saw. The treadle pedal (that’s fun to say) is missing and the belt needs repairing, but you can see the diminutive size would not make it very useful for major project work. However, I can see a candlestick or two being turned for enjoyment. This particular model may also have been a salesman’s model. It is the mini-me version of a larger lathe we have in the collection and this leads us to think a salesman may have carted this around door to door to demonstrate the latest “wonder of technology” Regardless, I can also see someone sitting by the fire on a cold night making that perfect Christmas gift for a loved one.

Working around all these treadle powered tools does make me appreciate the simplicity of hard work and the enjoyment that comes from building something yourself using your own power. So respect your table saw and be thankful for the work it does for you, but maybe you might want to pick up a handtool and build some muscle too. Just imagine that when all our natural resources are used up and we need to go back to treadle power just to turn on our lights how well prepared you will be.

If you haven’t read it yet, The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi is an interesting take on a post energy crash world where the treadle computer is an everyday occurrence.

Enjoy the show!

I am hard at work trying to decipher this little conundrum and I thank you for your patience. A special thanks to Rob Bois and Christopher Schwarz for emailing me directly to bring this problem to my attention. I hope to have this problem fixed soon.

ALERT FOR SHAMELESS PLUG: if you know anyone looking for online marketing help give me a call or drop me a line.

Anyway, I have been slowing getting my feet under me at the museum and getting acquainted with all the tools as well as doing some restoration and tuning to get everything into working order. I came across this odd little coping saw hanging high on the wall above our treadle lathe and took it down to put it through it’s paces. The saw has a chain mechanism attached to an axle at the top that allows you to steer the blade without fear of breaking it because you introduce too much twist. With the axle at the top, both sides of the blade turn in unison really smoothly. Now with this flexibility comes a disadvantage because the frame of the saw turns freely about the handle and you cannot lock it in place.

Interesting Steering Mechanism for your Coping saw

This freedom of movement means that you really need both hands to cut with the saw. In use though it turns on a dime and with it’s larger through capacity and blade length (about 12×8) you can really use it much like a smaller frame saw. I like to call this saw a Steampunk Coping saw!

Stay tuned for more oddities from the Steppingstone Museum tool vault!

or the video

You can reach us by email at woodtalkonline@gmail.com or you can pick up the phone and leave us a message on our voice mail at 623-242-2450. Or you can find us on Twitter as @MBWPodcast or @WoodWhisperer or @RenaissanceWW and also on Facebook too.

Topics:
Pore-Filling
Glen Drake dovetail saw
Project Bucket List

Around the Web:
The Woodshop Widget
iPod/iPhone/iPad App
Alison Heath’s Workbench Marketing

Voicemails:
Bart – Wood vs metal planes. Opinions on Power planes.
Dyami- Tablesaw adjustment mechanism.

Sweet Deals:
Noden Inlay Razor Kit: Normally priced at $249.00, the Noden Inlay Razor is available for special introductory pricing of $199.00.
Woodcraft – spend $75 or more, get a free knife code 62610
Highland Woodworking – 192900 Earlex HV2900 HVLP Sprayer w/ a free copy of Jeff Jewitt’s Spray Finishing Made Simple Book & DVD $149.99

Tip Clips:
Tom’s Tip – Get a Wedgie!
See more from Tom at TomsWorkbench.com
Kari’s tip – Carpet Tape
Enjoy more of Kari’s work at Villagecarpenter.blogspot.com

After regaling him with my own stories from the shop I was given a provisional Journeyman title. The provision being that I had to prove my skills throughout the day. We then took a tour of the workshop and it’s tools as well as our adjoining barns displays of Farming and Coopering tools. Wade told me that since I was there not only to volunteer but learn that I would not be expected to interact with the guests and I could just keep working as the guests are just as interested in watching the work as they are in asking questions. I immediately shuffled that off and told him that I was most looking forward to speaking with the guests and telling woodworking stories. I was after all a performance major in college. I seem to always be looking for a stage.

During the shop tour I learned a lot about the tool collection. It turns out The Steppingstone Museum has over 40,000 tools in it’s collection so we have to keep most of them in controlled storage and occasionally rotate new ones in. The overriding principle though is that all the tools in the shop be in working condition and ready to be taken down off the wall and put to work. Certainly some of the tools in the collection are rare enough and beat up enough that they stay in storage so as to protect them. It does seem a shame that so many tools don’t see the light of day or taste the wood and sweat of woodwork, but I imagine this dilemma is at the heart of most museum curation. You want to share what you have with the public, but to do so degrades and jeopardizes the artifact. With our shop being open to the elements (we have a roof but only three walls and no AC) the level of protection we can offer is quite small. I did discover a great new “tool” called Ballistal that is used to protect everything. It was invented by a German prior to World War II for German soldiers to protect their gear from the elements. The idea was to have one product that would care for metal, leather, and wood. This stuff is still being made today and is sold as Sportsman’s oil. It applies much like Boeshield T9 but you can also buy it in liquid form. The museum applies this to their tools once a year and that keeps them rust free! Here I am oiling and waxing my planes constantly! I’m thinking a switch may be in order.

Before long we had guests wandering through the barns and I hung back a little to let Wade take up the narration about the farm and it’s history hoping to soak up as much history as I could. We had a family down from Pennsylvania who was particularly interested in the Cooper display and while Wade was taking them through that process, I peeked next store into the main shop to see if anyone else had come by. Sure enough we had several more people pop in so I wandered in to see if I could answer any questions.

Fast forward 3 hours later and you will find me seated at the bicycle style treadle lathe turning beads and demonstrating infinite speed variability and forward and reverse capabilities for smoothing a cut. In the back of the shop are a couple of ripped and crosscut boards, and several boards in various stages of flattening. As my surge of guests moved on and I caught my breath I realized Wade had been watching me from across the shop.

“Yep, you’re officially a Journeyman now.” he said with a smile.

Not a bad first day and I think I hold the record for shortest completed apprenticeship in history now.

Wade Whitlock, the master joiner on the premise introduced me to their treadle saw and I was surprised that it is not operator driven but rather required the assistance of two others to drive the “pedals” on the outfeed side of the saw. Wade explained that oftentimes, local vagrants would be hired for the day to drive the saw and were paid just enough for them to go out and get drunk that night thereby giving this saw the term “alcohol powered”. As one person pushes down on a pedal the other pedal directly across from it rises and then that person pushes down. It was quite difficult to get started and Wade explained that there was close to 600 lbs of iron underneath the table that we were toiling to get rolling. Once it got started though, you didn’t want to get in the way of those pedals if you fell off. A fellow onlooker and I tried it out while Wade went about crosscutting some Beech using a crude miter gauge. My wife took a video of it, but really all you can see is my backside as I jump up and down on an oak pedal. Really not the most flattering angle so I am choosing to leave it to your imagination…for now…

And here is where lies the exciting news oh dear readers. Posted on the wall of the shop was a call for woodworkers to volunteer with the museum. I quickly inquired with Wade and he explained that he is looking for someone to help them out as there are only two woodworkers currently working at the museum. In exchange for my time, Wade and the other master, John Weifenbach, would take me on as an apprentice and train me in the traditional woodworking ways. I could advance as fast as my skills would permit so Wade acknowledged that I might quickly advanced through the basics since I already had some hand tool experience. Regardless of what he thinks, I’m looking forward to learning the basics all over again from a 19th century perspective. So after applying formerly to the museum and some organizational emails, it is official! I will be the newest Joiner at the Steppingstone museum starting this Saturday, June 5th. Wade said he is going to start me on sharpening and see how quickly I advance from there. I guess I had better leave my Veritas MKII honing guide at home.

So if you are anywhere near the Mid Atlantic region, look up the Steppingstone museum near Havre de Grace, Maryland right at the head of the Chesapeake Bay and pay me a visit. I’ll be working weekends from 1-4 and I’m sure you will find me jumping up and down on the pedals of a treadle table saw. If you bring the beer (nod to Chris Schwarz) you can help power the beast too. In the coming weeks we will be hosting a Celtic Festival on June 12th and 13th and then a Blues Festival on June 26th and 27th. Come by for some beautiful scenery (and I don’t mean the tool collection although that helps), good food, and great music. I can’t promise I’ll be wearing a kilt so don’t get your hopes up!

Finally, I have had a few conversations with the museum staff about starting up a blog for them and I am hoping to get this started shortly where I can regale you with tales from the shop and the museum’s other trades and events. Stay tuned for more news on that soon. In the meantime check out this video posted by my local county board of tourism.