A Learning Adventure in the Workshop

Workbench like a ship-in-a-bottle

Building my new workbench with a 8' laminated top in my tight, low-ceiling basement is a bit like building a ship-in-a-bottle.

Cutting, jointing and planing the 10' rough boards for the workbench's top within the low ceiling and vertical steel support posts ends up being a real dance (similar to my post about long clamps).

Funny how building this new bench that will allow me to use more hand-tool techniques has required more power tools than any project that I have done lately.  LOTS of ripping and planing.

I can't say that this project is a lot of fun (although it is not difficult or complex), but I look forward to the end result.

Disston No. 2 Saw Vise

A few weeks ago I purchased an old Disston No. 2 hand saw sharpening vise on eBay (circa 1890-ish, I think).   It was in reasonably good shape, but was rusted and had not been used in a long, long time.

I sanded and filed off the rust, repainted the vise and oiled the moving parts.  The photos below are the result.  Unfortunately I forgot to take any "before" photos.

 

I have never actually sharpened a hand saw yet...that is a skill that I intend to learn later this year.  In the meantime, the vise is now ready.

Shop Made Drawbore Pins

The laminated wood top for my new woodworking bench is coming along well (but slowly). 

In preparation for eventually joining the legs of the workbench to the top,  I made myself a set of drawboring pins this weekend.  I intend to experiment with drawboring these joints for maximum strength and durability.

My drawbore pins are based on Chris Schwarz's "Drawboring Resurrected" article on the WKFinetools website here:  http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/cSchwarz/z_art/drawBoring/drawBoring4.asp

As Chris recommended,  I bought a cheap set of  "alignment tools"  from Sears.  Sears sells an eight-piece set of punches and alignment tools under its "Companion” brand ($6 total).  Two of the eight tools are alignment pins that can be modified into drawbore pines.  The model number of the set was #30130.

I followed the directions in the article, and using some scrap mahogany from the desk project, I came up with these:

One small and one large.  Slight tapered and hex handles to make it easier to "torque" the tools when using them.

I'll try them out on the workbench in a week or two.

 

A thought on clamps

When I first started buying "real" woodworking clamps a few years ago (like my Bessey clamps),  I went with the theory that since I was spending so much money on clamps, I should buy the longest ones that I could.  After all, you can clamp a small object with a 40" clamp, but you can't clamp a 36" piece with a small clamp.  Seemed to make sense.

So, I bought mostly long 40" Bessey clamps for a couple of years. 

The thing is, those clamps are REALLY long (and heavy).   Clamping a small object with a big clamp in a workshop with a low ceiling tends to be quite an effort.   After I poke the ceiling, knock stuff of the bench and drop everything on the floor, the long clamp works very well...

I now find that my small number of 24" and 30" clamps are my favorites. 

Another lesson learned.  Good clamps are expensive, but if you are like me, you will end up wanting both long and short clamps.

As a wise man once said, "you can never have enough clamps."   I will change that quote slightly.  You can never have enough GOOD clamps.

"Workbenches" by Christopher Schwarz

Chris Schwarz has done it again...inspired me to build a new workbench that is better suited to the "blended" style of  hand tool and power tool woodworking that I do these days.

My original bench has served me well, and will be passed on to my son, who needs to graduate from the very small bench that we made him when he was about 4 (he is 8 now).  My son's very small bench will be passed on to my daughter (now 4), who also loves to spend time in the shop. 

My slave labor woodworking gang is growing.  Plus,  its more justification for me to build myself an honest-to-goodness woodworking bench.

This project started when I bought Chris Schwarz's new book:

Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use

Click here to buy it from Lost Art Press (Chris' own store) and Chris will send a signed copy of the book and a CD containing an electronic copy.

Don't buy this book  if you don't want to build a new bench!!!! I guarantee that buying this book will force you to build a new bench, whether you want to or not.  It is that well researched and written, but that is what I have come to expect from Chris.

Right now, I am looking to build a blend of the French Roubo bench and the Dominy bench  at Winterthur.    I am still  working on my design.   

I am likely to go with some sort of twin-screw front vise and a metal tail vice.  I'm shooting for at least a 3.5" thick top.    I also want a sliding deadman.  Likely, I will not include a tool tray in the top, although I have been tempted to add one.

Idea for Planer Manufacturers

Quick idea for bench-top planer manufacturers...

Put a power switch on BOTH sides of the planer (or on the side).  In my one-man shop, I am always starting the board through my planer on one side and then walking around the planer to get it on the  other.  Then I want to shut off the machine, but the power switch is back on the front. 

Small thing, but annoying.

Newly turned woodcarver's mallet and pepper grinder

I've managed to spend a little time in the shop over the past two weeks and "turned" out a couple of small projects (pun intended).

First is a woodcarver's mallet.  I needed a traditional round faced woodcarver's mallet for an upcoming hand-cut dovetail class that I will be taking at Ernie Conover's wood shop in Ohio.  He recommends this style of mallet (rather than a square faced carpenter's mallet)  in his tool list for the class, and I just couldn't see buying a mallet when I could make one.  Besides, I wanted a tradition lignum vitae wood head, and you can't buy those easily now-a-days.  Hard maple seems to be norm for purchased mallets these days unless you get one with a man-made material wrapped head.  Ernie does not recommend those due to "bounce."

I turned this one with a hard maple handle attached to the head with a  wedged through tenon.  The head is made from Argentinian lignum vitae wood that I got from the local Rockler.  I was surprised to find a large enough block of the lignum for this project.

The wedge is a scrap of ebony, and then I buffed on a carnauba wax coating.

The mallet is about 10" long with a 3" radius at its widest point.  It weighs 20 ounces overall.

Turning the lignum was easier than I expected given its incredible density.   BUT....don't try and saw through it  with your delicate Japanese hand saw.  The teeth of the  saw with lose the battle with the wood.  Don't ask me how I know.

Below is my first attempt at a pepper grinder.  I turned it from Kingwood and then buffed on a carnauba wax coating.  I used a "crush grind" ceramic mechanism for the internals.  This type of mechanism allows for you to adjust the grind from the bottom of the mill, so that you do not have to have an adjustment know sticking through the cap.  I found the mechanism to be first-rate.

I enjoyed doing the mill, and will likely do more of these.  They are fast , fun and useful.

 

Worksharp 3000 - Repeatable Sharpening

I received a WorkSharp 3000 for Christmas, and so far I am very impressed.  Since the Worksharp has been reviewed to death in woodworking magazines, this will be a short post.

I've tried a number of sharpening methods and most recently converted from water stones to the "Scary Sharp" method.  I have been very happy with the Scary Sharp method (as well as the water stones before them), but both method methods required setup time and labor.

The Worksharp seems to be a good way to implement a Scary-Sharp-like method as a faster "power sharpening" method.  Because of its integral jig, it has a totally repeatable sharpening angle.  This makes it very, very fast.   You can quickly sharpen a chisel without setup, etc. 

I don't think that the Worksharp makes my tools quite as sharp as water stones, but they are very sharp, and more than sharp enough for general woodwork.

My only real complaint is that the Worksharp can only sharpen plane blades up to 2", so my larger plane blades will not fit in the jig.

For around $199, I think that this is a good machine at a good price.

Galootaclaus 2007 sighting in Sewickley, Pa

Galootaclaus (who is apparently from Armadillo Works in Texas), dropped a package off on my porch again this year....As I said last year,  if you don't know what/who Galootaclaus is, I recommend that you join the OldTools email list and find out.

When I opened the package, I found a plethora of galootish tools!  A very nicely made reproduction Stanley Odd-Job (gold thing with the ruler), a patented old-tool that looks like some sort of unusual screw driver made to look like Mickey Mouse (I will look up the patent to see the purpose), "The Handplane Book" by Garrett Hack (not shown) and a beautiful galoot-made router plane.  What a haul!

See below:

Thanks Galootaclaus!
Matt

PS...after further research....

Apparently, the unknown tool above is not a "Mickey Mouse" tool as I called it, but it is known as a "Snoopy Tool" or DZUS Tool and it is used to remove panels from aircraft.  This one appears to be fairly old.

Cool!

Pilliod Machinist's Tool Chest

I recently had the VERY good fortune to have an acquaintance "give" me a machinist's tool chest and tools that were his grandfather's.  He says that his grandfather was a machinist in Detroit, but that is all he knows.

The chest is marked "Pilliod Company, Swanton, Ohio" in gold lettering on the front of the bottom drawer. The chest is oak.  The finish appears to be original and is in very good condition. It had a leather handle on top that is almost completely worn away.  The chest has 5 drawers of varying sizes with green felt liners, and the entire chest has a removable wooden front with a lock.  The lock and key still work.  It also sits on a base, but I do not think that the base is original.  It appears to be poplar and pine and not oak.   A couple of the drawers have some separation/cracking at the joints, but I can fix those fairly easily.

The chest is "full" of L.S. Starrett tools.   The tools are in very good condition, but have obviously been well used and taken care of for many years.

My acquaintance says that he was told that the chest dates about 1915, but has no way of knowing.

Does anyone know anything about Pilliod?  I looked in the archive for the OldTools mailing list, and an email to the OldTools list in 1998 from Chris Berger had the following information about Pilliod:

"The letterhead contained the following:

Established 1896
THE PILLIOD CABINET COMPANY
Furniture Manufacturers
Swantown, Ohio  43558
Telephone 419-826-3540
(I tried this phone # for the heck of it and it is no longer in service)

The envelope also was stamped:

THE PILLIOD CABINET COMPANY
Pilliod of Alabama, Inc.
Pilliod of Carolina, Inc.
105 - 117 Woodland Ave.
Swantown, Ohio"

Not much else about this company seems to have been discussed on OldTools.

If anyone has any other information, please let me know.  I will post whatever I find about this company to the blog for others that may be looking for this company in the future.

Thanks for the help!

Above photo is the chest with the front cover open.

Cover closed (lock still works)

Logo on front of bottom drawer

Tools contained in drawer #3

#2

#1

#4

#5