small projects

The Easy Way Out

A corollary to “Why build it when you can overbuild it?” is “Why do it the easy way when you can do it the hard way?” The latter seems to be the theme of my latest project, a sitting bench and occasional Roman workbench.

Cherry, plus Boiled Linseed Oil, plus Sunlight = Beauty

I could have easily glued and nailed a gusset onto each set of legs and called it a day. That would have been the easy way out. But I had to go make it all complicated and mortise in a stretcher that’s flush to the underside of the benchtop. Sure, it looks nicer and will theoretically be stronger, but it’s at least twice as much work.

This entire article is just a clip show, apparently.

I should note that there are two failure points in this setup.

The first is cross-grain movement. I assembled the bench in my downstairs, non-HVAC workshop on a humid day. But the finished piece will live in the HVAC upstairs living area so it should shrink a smidge. Nonetheless, the quarter inch drawbore pegs are likely not strong enough to resist heavy seasonal movement, even if they had been rived from solid stock instead of storebought dowels. I have a nagging suspicion that 3/8 would have been more appropriate.

Clamp pressure was a must, even with the drawbores.

Second, the 10 degree rake on the legs seems a bit aggressive. There is the slightest bit of flex in the legs when I sit on the bench, although it might just be the slickness of the hardwood floor. I can imagine that heavy mortising over the legs might loosen the lap joints over time. We’ll just have to see.

I added Veritas bench pups to one end.

I used the bench for some basic hand planing last night and have some plans for a special shooting board/bench hook that braces against the bench dogs pictured above.

Once that shooting board is functional, I’ll move onto a Palm that fits over the bench dogs, and maybe a removable crochet/shoulder vise that does the same. Or maybe just drop the illusion of this being furniture add a whipple hook?

Is it obvious that I’m between major projects right now?

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Nearing Completion

The second mirror for the upstairs bathroom is complete and I’m as pleased as I can be with the result. Everything seems balanced out now.

Color match is what it is.

In making the second mirror, I took no chances and went straight to a rabbeting bit in the trim router. There is something to be said for ultra-repeatablility and ease.

Color match is what it is.

There are a great many power tools I’ve given up since I first started woodworking, but I would rather die than be without my rabbeting bit and flush trim bit (both of which have a place in a hand tool-focused shop).

Or, whatever.

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Working it Out

Once upon a time, I bought a twelve foot long board of 6/4 cherry that was supposed to be the top of the reclaimed cherry console table. But as fate would have it, there was just enough of the original table to make the full reclaimed version, so this board sat in my workshop for night on a year. I couldn’t sleep last night, so this board’s time came at about 3am.

The basic bench takes shape.

The entire bench is made from that one board. The top consists of two edge-jointed boards and is about 10 3/8″ x 1 1/2″ x 49″. The legs are 2 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ and angled at 10 degrees. The overall bench is 19 1/4″ high, which is my preferred height for sitting benches (and saw benches, at that).

The legs are beyond friction fit in their lap joints with the benchtop. I went through two pine beater blocks with lump hammer persuasion just to get them to seat in a dry fit. A small part of me wants to make this a knock down bench, but it is compact enough to be portable even when glued together.

As I was making the bench, I had the Saalburg workbench in my mind’s eye. But looking at it now, I don’t think one could ever mistake the two. In any event, this bench is more for sitting than for woodworking. I’m not saying I won’t bore some peg holes. I just don’t plan do much more than home handiwork on it.

I have some sweet square head lag screws left over from a prior project that would be perfect for reinforcing the glue joint connecting the legs to the bench top. But I still think there should be some gussets. I wonder if it’s worth doing drawbored mortise and tenons or just simple lap joints with glue and screws.

I remembered this time to leave enough extra to make the cutoff easy.

I’ll take some more pictures when I decide what to do. Until then, I plan to get back to dimensioning the white oak for the lower shelf on the bathroom vanity.

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Gusset (noun)

noun

noun: gusset; plural noun: gussets

A piece of material sewn into a garment to strengthen or enlarge a part of it, such as the collar of a shirt or the crotch of an undergarment. A bracket strengthening an angle of a structure.

This is a gusset.

Joining two or more pieces together is an interesting endeavor. Some joints, like dovetails or mortise and tenon joinery, have tremendous mechanical strength (especially when force would largely be applied in the direction of that mechanical strength). Other joints, like rabbets and dadoes, offer greater strength than a simple butt joint, but nonetheless require some fasteners to achieve a durable connection.

But what about butt joints? In theory, a face grain to face grain glue-up using a modern PVA glue with upwards of 3,000 psi in glue strength should do fine on its own. Prudence dictates adding a metal fastener or two perpendicular to the mating surface to prevent the joint from sliding over time under normal force. Forces are not uni-directional all the time, however. And specific woods are not ideal for every application.

With a 4 sq. inch mating surface, the glue theoretically asserts 12,000 lbs of force at the glue line.

Take, for instance, the above-pictured “saw bench”. Although patterned somewhat on the Schwarz design (plans are here), it is assuredly not a piece of shop equipment. Made from Eastern White Pine, it’s instead a portable sitting bench for a buddy who is about have a child. I like the design, as it’s easy to knock together in a leisurely day. Plus, it’s so damned comfortable.

A proper Schwarz saw bench in the background.

Under no circumstances can this bench collapse with a baby in the picture. So I added some gussets to stabilize the legs laterally. I might not have done so in another, harder material. In fact, had this been oak or ash, I might have instead just screwed twice into the face of the joint and put a third screw in from the bottom. But pine splits with too many fasteners per square inch (even when pre-drilled).

So next time you need to stabilize a joint from forces in a direction other than the mechanical strength of the joint, consider adding a gusset. It might just save a baby’s life.

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Upon Further Reflection

It’s easy to take for granted certain luxuries. Electricity, clean water, indoor plumbing, HVAC, etc. But there are certain modern amenities that you don’t realize you miss until they’re gone. Like a bathroom mirror.

The frame matches the vanity!

I’ve never made a picture frame before. And I’m 100% certain this is not the way to frame a picture. That’s what miters are for. But mirrors are heavier than pictures and the frame needed to be stronger than a simple miter. I guess I could have splined the mitres, but that is power tool claptrap. So I went with lap joints, reinforced with pegs to match the vanity drawbores.

New phone, new camera.

White Oak is difficult enough to work with hand tools when it’s kiln dried. But imagine cutting 8 linear feet of rabbets with a moving fillister plane and a mild hangover. It’s a freaking nightmare. But with perseverance, you can turn this:

Mildly case-hardened, but all in all not too bad.

Into this:

Simple enough glue-up.

Attaching the mirror was a bit of a head-scratcher. My solution was to use caulk that dries clear and just schmoo the thing in place. Clear-drying caulk is a veritable miracle, btw. But it requires a small bit of faith because it goes on white.

Cork pads are probably in the wrong place, but they cover the pegs on the back side.

That’s just one of two mirrors needed. So, learning from the process, I’ll cut the corner joinery first and the rabbet second. I think.

Or maybe I’ll just buy a table saw with a dado stack.

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Sorting Things Out

It’s been approximately six years since I started woodworking. Once and for all, I’ve grown out of the nylon tool tote I bought from Rings End all those years ago. So it’s time for a DIY toolbox.

I’m actually not here to talk about dovetails in reclaimed mahogany (for once).

It goes without saying, but any tool storage container should be sized to fit the tools it’s meant to hold. Specifically, the interior length should allow the longest tool to easily enter and exit (phrasing?) and the interior height should accommodate the tallest tool and any racks or tills. The interior width, however, is determined based on all the tools to be held.

In this case, the interior dimensions of 21.5″ x 9″ x 9″ accommodate a half-back saw that is about 21″ long and the combined height of a No. 5 jack plane and chisel tray. The width is based the till for that half back saw, plus that No. 5 jack plane, plus a large router plane (with 1/4″ spaces for French fitting in between to keep everything snug).

I went back and forth on how to do the floor of the tool box. I briefly considered 1/2″ plywood captured in a rabbet or groove, but I was impatient and assembled the case before plowing the groove. So tongue and groove pine nailed to the carcass it was. It doesn’t match the case, but this is a utilitarian piece.

I find the most joy in the repetitive tasks of hand tool woodworking. Sawing, chopping and shaping are great, but planing is where my heart truly lies. And none is more enjoyable than the process of planing tongues and grooves with the specialty tongue and groove plane. It has an opposable fence and cuts both parts of the joint.

In prior projects with tongue and groove floors, I typically work with the boards that I have and then trim off any extra. Which is fine when there is a skirt to hide the unevenness. But there is no skirt here, so I matched the width on the outer boards, and then matched the width on the next two boards, and I’ll size the middle board to fit. It will be rather narrow, but symmetrical nonetheless. You know, for my neuroses.

I’ll send pics when it’s further along.

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Fits and Starts

When the spirit moves me, my woodworking progresses quickly. In the space of a day or so, I went from dimensional 1×12 pine to a dovetailed, rabbeted, glued and nailed carcass for what was supposed to be an under-workbench cabinet.

The whole point of this cabinet was to add some heft to the new workbench without compromising the spirit of “no stretchers”. The new workbench had a tendency to scoot around while under heavy planing use. But, it turns out, all I needed to do was add some treads to the bench and it stays perfectly still.

They may not be good for the knees, but the cheapo home center anti-fatigue mats are quite effective non-skid surfaces for workbenches. I should have known. Back in my old apartment, my dining table workbench sat on top of one of these mats. And it never moved an inch, whether or not the bottom shelf was loaded up.

So my new plan is to re-purpose this cabinet as a media console. I will either buy some metal hairpin legs or make a staked-leg base to sit it on top.

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Not Just About Wood

I made a thing that isn’t made of wood or metal. It’s an insulating hatch for the attic stairs, and it’s made of rigid foam paneling, hot glue and duct tape. So long as a hot glue gun counts as a hand-tool, it was made with only hand tools (mostly a marking knife and a rip cut panel saw). The project came out pretty great, if I do say so myself, even if it’s not super pretty. It took about 2 hours total to knock together. Had I a table saw, it would have likely been about 20 minutes.

I even managed to use the existing rabbets to great effect.

I’ve spent the last couple of days figuring out how to describe the process. How the skills of hand tool woodworking translate to more than just furniture making. But it’s just a foam box to keep the heat in, that needed to be a certain size from a limited amount of materials. So really any maker skills would apply. With a little thought, though, I was able to use only two panels with very little remaining scrap when finished. Three panels would have been easier, though resulting in much more waste.

And it fits.

This is another one of those fixgasm projects: little effort for out-sized effect. It’s markedly warmer in my house now that the hatch is in place. So there’s that.

It’s that time of year in New England that’s great for around the house projects (like the inverse of spring cleaning). My plan for the next couple of weeks is to hang closets, organize things, rearrange my workshop, that kind of stuff.

Will keep everyone posted.

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Sincerity in Imitation

Thoroughly ripping off Mr. McConnell, I’ve been making a small workbench to clear out some spare Douglas Fir 4×4’s from the home center. I don’t know about you guys, but whenever I see a rift-sawn, clear-ish 4×4 at the local Lowes or Home Depot, I buy it. For US$8 or so each, it’s hard to pass up such useful dimensional lumber. I’m sitting on ten or or so of them right now, so why not make a little workbench for a buddy who is moving into a new place?

It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough for any workbench.

My friend is about 6’1″, so a 36″ high workbench should be perfect. He does metalworking (not woodworking), so I’ll skip the crochet and assume he’ll bolt a metalworker’s vise to the top. Speaking of which, a 48″ x 18″ top (i.e., about 6 lengths of Douglas Fir 4×4) should be plenty of real estate. With the splay on the back legs, it will probably be 20″ from the wall (and I’ll make a backsplash that he can screw on to keep things from falling down the back).

The front legs will pierce the top with through tenons (like a Roubo bench but without the sliding dovetail). The mortises will be formed in advance by shaping the front piece of the lamination (to keep things simple). The back legs will also be through-mortised, but on an angle in much the same way as a joined saw bench. The back lamination, like the front, will be shaped in advance to create the mortise for those angled joints.

Short rails will connect each front and back leg with lap joints. But there will be no long rails between the legs. Instead, a scrap of 3/4″ plywood, reinforced with a couple of Douglas Fir strips, will fit neatly across the short rails. I don’t expect the workbench to receive much lateral stress (like occurs when planing by hand), so I’d rather leave the area under flexible for storage.

Beautiful, beautiful lap joints.

In the spirit of adventure, I’m using only a very small number of edge tools to build the bench. To date, the only handtools to touch the work have been a Stanley No. 5 bench plane, a 3/4″ chisel and a large router plane. All pieces go through the thickness planer once a reference face and edge are tried and trued. And F-style clamps are used for glue-ups (with Titebond I).

This vintage Stanley No. 5 has quickly become my favorite bench plane.

I’ve purposely selected the more twisted boards for this project because they aren’t good for much else. As a result, each length of 4×4 ends up at about 3.25″ square. These boards have been in the corner of the shop for over a year at this point, so once the twist is removed and they are laminated, I’m willing to bet they’ll behave (more or less) for the rest of the bench’s working life.

This is all just a distraction from finishing up the Dri-core in the basement. It’s amazing how much gets done when you’re procrastinating.

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Made with Love

It’s good to have goals. Not just deadlines, but true motivation for doing something right and well. In my woodworking life, my greatest motivation tends to come from projects that will become gifts. In this case, the Japanese tool box for my buddy, Brady.

I think I’ll leave it unfinished, so it ages naturally.

I am glad to have embarked on this project. The joinery (rabbets and nails, with a little bit of glue) was a lovely break from my usual dovetail routine. It would be a good project for someone just starting out in woodworking. And by careful wood selection, I barely dented my pile of reclaimed mahogany (the entire box used only two 36″ boards, plus some scraps I had lying around).

The lid is friction fit (both in the case and under the end battens), so no need for locks or wedges.

It had been a while since I “dovetailed” nails. I don’t know if I hit exactly 7º, but it was close enough. The bottom should stay put for a very long time under ordinary use.

There are always a few french marks that don’t steam out. Glad these are where only the bugs will see them.

There is nothing I would do differently on this project, which is refreshing. Except, maybe, making the box a little bit shallower. With 7.75″ of clearance inside (when the lid is in place), this is probably more of a picnic basket than a proper tool box. I thought about adding a removable till, but that seemed like overkill. These things are meant to be stuffed.

Nice and open are always preferable, in my view.

My favorite design detail on this is the recessed ends, which allowed me to add wooden handles (from softer Eastern White Pine, for comfort). Because what’s a portable storage container for if it hurts to hold?

A little contrast is good.

Conceivably, these recesses could also permit someone to clamp this to a table. If I made a stouter lid (perhaps replacing the battens with a rabbet around a much thicker slab lid), this might even be sturdy enough to be a little workbench in a pinch.

But I think something dovetailed would be better suited for that. Oh well. Back to the bench, I guess.

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The Apartment Woodworker

Hand-tool Woodworking for the Urban Apartment-dweller

small projects

The Easy Way Out

Nearing Completion

Working it Out

Gusset (noun)

Upon Further Reflection

Sorting Things Out

Fits and Starts

Not Just About Wood

Sincerity in Imitation

Made with Love

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