Big Weekend

Tomorrow is a pretty big day. Other than being perfect weather, 5:00 p.m. CST will mark the beginning of a project weekend. Full blown projects. I am very excited. I had big plans for the work bench. But, for whatever reason, I think Fri. night and Sat. will involve a lot of welding. Regardless, I plan to finally have some updates soon.

Ash

I have a book entitled Red Oaks & Black Birches: The Science and Lore of Trees by Rebecca Rupp. It is full of all kinds of information about various trees. Some of it it useful, some of it is trivial, some of it apocryphal, but all of it is interesting. And, since all the base and most of the top of my bench will be made of ash, I thought I would pass along some of the more interesting tidbits about it:

- Hank Aaron hit his 755th home run with an ash bat
- Beowulf and King Arthur toted ash spears
- A cord of white ash delivers about 20 million BTUs of heat; or the equivalent of 204 gallons of no. 2 fuel oil
- Ash is a member of the Olive family, Oleaceae, which includes the olive, privet, jasmine, forsythia, and lilac
- The original ash in Norse legend was Yggdrasil, the Tree of the World; Odin the one-eyed king of the gods created the first man from an ash tree and named his "Ask" (the first woman was made from an alder which is a birch)
- In Works and Days, Hesiod describes how Zeus created the third generation of men from a collection of ash spears
- The Algonquian Indians believed that humankind began when the Creator shot an arrow into the heart of an ash tree. Human beings, both male and female, then emerged
- Black ash, or hoop ash, splints were used to make barrel hoops, chair bottoms, woven mats, eel traps, fishing creels, baskets, and animal muzzles.

Heavy milling

As a refresher, these are the original two slabs I posted back before Christmas.


This is a long view of one of them. Each was 12' long.


I broke them down into approximately 79"/65" lengths


Here is the Woodmizer. You can see the stack of wood on the ground near the loader.


This is one of the bench top slabs being readied for cutting.

The slab again. Also, on the loader, you can see what will become the legs. It is white oak. This is some pretty rough looking stuff. It already served one full life as a clamp pad for rolling and emptying railroad cars. Then, it spend some time on the ground and has some real rot on one end.

This is the finished product. It has been roughed out with the Woodmizer, jointed, and planed to thickness. It took pretty much a full 12 hour day to get to this. (Including pulling out and setting up equipment, putting equipment back up, etc.) From left to right:
Board 1 - Base, contains 2 feet
Board 2 - Base, contains 2 top pieces
Board 3 - Top, Center slab 1
Board 4 - Top, Center slab 2
Board 5 - Base, Contains 2 risers
Board 6 - Base, Contains 2 risers
Board 7 & 8 (stacked on top of each other) - Stretchers

Bench Plan Outline

Christmas vacation was very nice. In addition to spending some time on a lathe and explaining to a TSA representative that my mallets were for striking chisels and not airline personnel, I got to experiment with some benches. I will post more later regarding what I learned and how it changed how I am going to build my bench.

I spent a lot of time in the airport figuring out how this thing is going to go together. None of the bench components are original ideas. And, I will give background information/credit where it is most appropriate. For now, I just want to get my outline up so that I will have something to go by.

The majority of the wood for both the base and the top of the bench is going to come out of the two 12/4 ash boards I posted photos of the other day. The remainder will come from some oak, cherry or black walnut. I am not sure yet how it is going to shake out.

I hope to get the drawings done for the bench this week and posted by the end of the weekend.

This is the outline for what all I can tell has to go into the bench at this time. (Sorry, the post did not appear in the outline form I had intended. It makes it a little difficult to follow).

I. CUTTING/MILLING
A. Chainsaw
1. Separate Slab 1 & Slab 2 from main slabs
B. Woodmizer
1. Take ears off of Slabs 1 & 2
2. Cut feet/leg tops/uprights length-wise
3. Cut stretchers in half length-wise
C. Chopsaw/Bandsaw
1. Cut wood to rough length
2. Cut wedges to be used in base
D. Jointer
1. Joint edges of all stock
2. Joint one face of all cut components but slab 1 & 2
E. Planer
1. Plane all stock (except slab 1 & 2) to thickness
2. Plane slab 1 & 2 to flatten (on sled if necessary)

II. BASE
A. Feet
1. Cut arches w/ either band saw or coping saw
2. Clean up with file and scraper
B. Mortise & Tenon (See: Hoadley to insure proper M&T orientation)
1. Cut tenons on risers (tenon saw, 8 total)
2. Cut mortises in feet (Drill press and chisel clean, 4 total)
3. Cut mortises in leg tops (Drill press and chisel clean, 4 total)
4. Glue up and wedge tenons
C. Stretchers
1. Cut recess in stretcher ends (Bore out and connect with coping saw)
2. Cut nut recess (Drill press and chisel)
D. Assemble base
E. Base hardware, etc.
1. Stainless machine bolts, nuts, washers, all spray painted O.D. green
2. Bullets for top out of 1" dowels
3. Cups/live rubber for under feet

III. TOP
A. Slabs
1. Biscuit jointer slots for big biscuits
2. Glue up slabs - need plenty of clamps
B. Dog Hole Strip
1. Cut dog holes (back saw and chop relief with chisel)
2. Cut tail notch
3. Cut dovetail pin
4. Biscuit joint and glue dog hole strip to top
5. Glue on dog hole strip cover
6. Glue 1" x 1" strip along backside of dog hole on bottom of bench

IV. END CAPS
A. Left End Cap
1. Cut pin
2. Groove for spline - do NOT cut full length or will show in tool till
3. Cut half-blind pins on other end
B. Right End Cap
* Needs more study in conjunction with mounting tail vise

V. TOOL TILL
A. Apron
1. Clamp apron on back of bench and mark dovetails
2. Cut dovetails and fit into end caps
3. Cut grove along bottom of apron to accept till bottom
* Till floor needs to be even with bottom of bench
B. Tool Till Floor
1. Dry fit
2. Attach to bottom of bench with screws
* screw through slots perpendicular to bench to allow for seasonal changes
C. Ramps
1. Determine and cut correct miter
2. Glue into place

VI. BOTTOM SPACERS
A. Attach with screws only (slots too)
*Note: vises need to be laid out to insure spacers do not interfere with movement

VII. FRONT VISE (Ref. Woodcraft product sheet)
A. Front Spacer Block
1. Note and bore clearance holes for dogs
2. Attach spacer to bottom of bench with glue and screws
B. Front Vise Face Block
1. Laminate vise face block
2. Bore holes for screw and guides
3. Cut rounded edge (use whatever technique worked well for feet)
C. Bench Top Prep. for Accepting Vise
1. Bore rod and screw holes (clamp face to bench for pattern)
* Holes slightly larger than guide and screw holes (approx. 1/4")
* Make sure holes are perfectly perpendicular
2. Plane flat bench and vise face
D. Attach Vise:
1. Attach vise to face block
2. Present guide rods and screw through bench face
3. From back side, slide carriage onto rods and pull flush with back of dog hole strip
4. Tighten vise screw
5. Once face block is positioned, attach carriage to bench

VIII. END VISE
* Needs more study

IX. FLATTEN TOP
A. Use smoothing and jointer plane

X. FINISH
A. Oil and wax
1. Galoot wax formula
a. 1 part beeswax
b. 1 part turpentine
c. 1 part boiled linseed oil
2. Application
a. 2x daily for 2 weeks
b. 2x weekly for 2 months
c. 2x monthly for 2 years
d. As needed for life

Vises

Santa Claus and Woodcraft Clearance rack was good to me. This is my shoulder vise. The screw is 1-1/4".


This is the tail vise.


Both have Acme threads:

BenchTop

The chief lumber inspector is having a quick look at this ash for suitability as a bench top.


It is some nice 12/4 stuff.


There is some nice figuring in the wood.


I have considered two 10 or so inch slabs.


Although each piece is cracked on the end, I should be able to get some nice legs out of here...


...and here.


This is some of the old 4/4 black walnut I want to try and incorporate somewhere on the bench - maybe the caps of the tail vise.

Change (,) of course

I recently received an e-mail forward from my father-in-law. It read "one of the greatest secrets of life is to have both wisdom and patience". At the bottom of the e-mail was a photo of a bird dog watching a skunk eat out of its bowl. In a rare feat, I have managed to bring wisdom and patience together in my shop. I am postponing the building of the Chestnut Prospector.

I purchased a 1:12 scale model of the Prospector back in October. As of the middle of December, I had managed to build the strong back. To scale, it would have taken me 18 months to get the strong back built for my real canoe. After some reflection, I realized that now may not be the best time in my life to try and build a canoe in my only work space.

This, of course, creates a project vacuum. To fill this vacuum, I am going to build a workbench. It is going to be a traditional workbench, more or less Ulmia style. Thanks to Woodraft's current deep discounts and free shipping, Santa Claus should be dropping a side and tail vise down the chimney real soon.

I hope to pick out the wood for the bench top this weekend. I'm gonna have a look around in the lumber stash, but according to Big John, there is some ash that is a prime candidate for the job. White oak is a possibility, but I do not think it is dry yet. Also, the ash came off of Uncle Hiram's place. We sawed it in August of 2003, so it should be nice and dry. I am not sure what kind of wood will be used for the trestle base. I may use some black walnut for accent on the tail vise and end caps. I am just not sure right now.

Regardless, the canoe model and book has been shelved for the time being. The workbench is the big project.

Wet Weekend

Thanksgiving break was very wet. Did not get to do much until Sunday afternoon.

Saturday, I did make some racks for the kayaks. The front rack is a little wide, but it makes sliding the kayak toward the back a lot easier. Once I pick Sally's kayak up from White Sands, I will either add the second rack on top, or I may see if it will fit on the same rack.

In the past few weeks, my shop had turned into train wreck.

This is the top of the laundry room shelf we had in our apartment. We did not really need it in our house. It has been taking up room in the shop since it got there.

So, I decided to cut it in half.


Now, I have two semi-decent wall shelves.


All afternoon, Old Man Winter was announcing his arrival.


French food and wine are good - French cleats are great.

This is my shop buddy. I haven't confirmed this 100%, but I've got a feeling he only really comes around when I put out a can of sardines.

My Dad had picked up a Stanley/Bailey #6 some time back. Since it looks like flattening my #7 jointer is going to take more than a couple of hours, he loaned his #6 to me. It feels good. It makes some nice curls.

I got my shop somewhat organized. While it looks really out-of-sorts here, there are actually aisles of racks. I'm not sure how long this arrangement will last.

I've got plenty of room around the bench now.

Plane duty

This is a #7 Jointer plane I bought from a fellow when I ran the ad in the Market Bulletin about old planes. He had bought a lot of them at a school that was selling their old shop equipment. It is pretty rough looking, but it did not have much rust, and appeared not to have any pitting.

I bought this bench plane from him also. I am going to make a convex blade for it and make it a scrub plane. In theory, I could just swap a convex blade in and out of my bench plane when needed, but I have the feeling that I am going to have to open up the throat on it a little with a file to take the bigger shavings.

This is the bottom of the jointer. You can see waves in the sole perpendicular to the sides.

After lapping it on some 100 grit on a piece of float glass, you can really see the waves. I am not sure where these came from. They are pretty evenly spaced, so they must be milling marks left over from the original manufacture. If so, I can understand why people may have hated shop class.

I have lapped a number of blades and other things on my only sheet of wet/dry 100 grit. I'll need to pick up more. But, until then, I used a coarse DMT stone.

After quite some time, the sole is starting to look like this. There are a number of scratches in the sole. Additionally, a pit popped up right on the front of the throat. Also, on the leading side of the throat, there is a little dip. It it triangular shaped and can be seen in the picture. I am not sure how that got worn down. But there are few scratches in the sole too, so I figure this little fellow had a pretty rough life.

This photo was taken too close. But, this is the sole of the Stanley #4 I got off the clearance rack at the Woodcraft in Virginia. The sole came pretty flat. The photo was taken after I had done a bit of lapping on it. You can see how the corners and edges, especially on the leading edge, are starting to mill down. The darker gray are the milling marks leftover from the manufacturing process. These are quite deep.

Lots and lots of this will eventually produce a mirror finish sole.

Chicken & Brisket - Smokin Saturday

No, chicken & brisket isn't a Nabisco cracker. What it is is, is a good Saturday diversion.

Take a 4 lb brisket and score the fat cap in a cross-hatch pattern


Brine in a salt and sugar solution for a couple of hours


Rub down with a dry rub - with sugar, of course


Putting the coal to Ole 382


Mr. Brisket gets a lean-to


Meanwhile...back in the lab...Mrs. Leghorn is getting a chimichurri rub.


"Hello, Mr. Brisket."
"Why, hello, Mrs. Leghorn..."

A morning and most of an afternoon later. Note the pink "smoke ring". The smoke doesn't actually turn the meat pink. The ring is the result of the meat being cooked at a low temp in a closed environment. The fire emits gasses that dissolve in the moisture on the surface of the meat. New compounds are created which are similar to the nitrates that are added to deli meat to keep them pink.

White meat and clear juice - but notice the charred exteriors. According to one website, a two hour BBQ can release as many dioxins into your food as 220,000 cigarettes. Okay. So, according to this information, there are about 660,000 cigarettes worth of dioxins in this food. But, it was still cheaper than sending the pair to the Flora-Bama for the weekend.

Eddie Carl

For the most part, I try to consciously appreciate and protect my five major senses. I wear ear protection when running the planer or shooting repetitively. I am an advocate of yellow safety glasses at all times. One need only to try and find my belt buckle to know that I keep my tongue on a strict exercise regimen. I am getting better about wearing gloves.

The nose is what has thrown me for a loop this week. Most people smell bacon frying and get hungry. While blatant and a little trite, that is what the Entorhinal Cortex does. I’ll call it Eddie Carl. Eddie Carl links memories with smells. Your nose alone is capable of ruining what may have been an otherwise pleasant airplane flight. But, it is Eddie Carl that lets you know your car is overheating. Or,Eddie Carl will pass by a vase and make you think you are in a funeral home.

Well, Eddie Carl and the rest of the brain talk, and they know what is what.

Earlier this week, I was going to have a late afternoon piece of fruit. So, I went back to the kitchen and grabbed a couple paper towels and a cup of water and washed my hands. I noticed the soap dispenser was different, but that was about it. I went back to my office and had my fruit. It was an orange, so I needed to wash my hands again. This time, I noticed that the soap dispenser had a bee on it.

Eddie Carl went to work. Before I knew it, I had lost interest in whatever it was I had been working on. I began looking at the Fine Woodworking archives. I ran across Thomas Jefferson’s lap desk. Instead of being totally intimidated by it, which is my usual response, I was invigorated by the thought of working on it. Intoxicated by the thought of this project, I drunk dialed Shep Miers for pointers and ordered a cheap copy of Declaration of Independence Desk: Relic of Revolution from abebooks.

On the way home from work, as I ran the back of my hand across my nose, it dawned on me. The new soap at work smelled just like Liberon paste wax. I was doomed the second I washed my hands in the kitchen. Once ole Eddie Carl made the connection, he started talking to other parts of my brain, and before I knew it, I was neck deep in planning to make a Thomas Jefferson lap desk.

I reckon the moral of the story is this - don't trust Eddie Carl.

The Gun Rack

I have been planning to build a portable/field gun rack for some time. (Google Images - "Admiral Baker Gun Rack"). I have been collecting hardware for a while. I built a MDF mock-up a few months ago. The original plan was that the entire rack would break down into long narrow components which would be lashed together with a couple strips of leather. I was going to attach each piece with low-profile flush mounts. Good intentions pave the road, etc. Suffice it to say that a sho'nuff field model that would completely break down is going to need some additional engineering.

The wood is South American/bastard mahogany that came from Pickens Hardwood in Clinton, Miss. I don't remember how many board feet I bought, but most of it was 4/4 in 6" - 8" widths about 6' long. I bought one piece of 8/4 for the legs. The lumber was edged at the mill and planed at Pickens. I also ran it through the planer in Brookhaven and broke is down into approximately 3' lengths. Technically, I never flattened any of the boards, but they were in pretty good shape.

I had previously resigned myself to the fact that I would not get around to building the gun rack before the L.E.G. Quail Hunt this year. But, last night, I took the plunge and started making sawdust.

I started ripping the lumber with a hand saw. I quickly realized that I needed to invite a motor to the party.

Since my table saw is really only good for cutting MDF or plywood, I used a straight edge and Skilsaw to rip the boards.



My first vehicle was a Jeep Cherokee. Today, at the bench, I realized why I loved to drive that truck so much, and why I think I am going to like using planes. It took a helluva lot of work to get/keep it in the condition so it was able to do what it was supposed to do. But, when it did, it was a ton of fun.


I am going to find out if it is possible to wear out a card scraper.



I got ready to cut the boards to final length. I did a trial run on my chop saw and got some awful tearout. The blade is in decent shape, so I figured it was due to the fact that the base/fence opening was too large. Now, most people would have viewed such necessity as a prime opportunity to build an auxiliary fence/base with a zero clearance slot. I tooke the lazy approach. I reached for the handsaw.

But, I thought I may still have a problem with tearout/damage, and since all sides of the board would be exposed, I wanted to mitigate any damage as much as possible. I recently read an article on sawing in Woodworking Magazine by Christopher Schwarz. He had an interesting approach to sawcuts that he attributed to Robert Wearing.

Schwarz divides saw cuts into Third, Second, and First Class cuts. Third Class cuts are for breaking down stock or other cuts that will later be refined. Second and First Class cuts both wind up in joinery, but a Second Class cut is one that is hidden, e.g. the cheeks of a tenon. First Class cuts are those that wind up visible in the final product, e.g. the shoulders of a tenon.

Schwarz's solution for making a crisp First Class cut is as follows:


After marking a line with a marking knife, place a chisel in the mark (bevel out). Give the chisel a light tap.


Next, pare away a wedge of wood from the waste side of the cut. Your cut is made. All that remains is to use the saw to finish the cut. So, by starting with the chisels, you eliminate the chance of the saw gnawing up the face of your work.


Another very handy tip I got from Schwarz's sawing article is illustrated below. Although keeing the Z axis under control in sawing is pretty natural, keeping the X and Y axis with the program can be a little more challenging. The solution is keeping your saw shiny. As a result, a properly aligned saw with let you know if you're square. As you can see in the picture below, the reflection of the board in the saw is aligned perfectly with the board itself.