More Ipsum

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DE FINIBUS BONORUM ET MALORUM

written by Cicero in 45 BC

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.

Consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Keeping Square

As a novice woodworker I’ve slowly started to amass a small collection of tools, but the ones I use most frequently, at every stage, are my six inch ruler, and my square. Without these two items I would truly be lost. I think the greatest key to successful woodworking is carrying with you at all times the knowledge that you are going to screw something up… if you don’t then hey, good for you. For the rest of us, planning for this inevitability is crucial to your success.

Keeping an obsessive eye on the details and assuring that everything is square, and then doing it another 3-4 times throughout your project will give you a head start. Small mistakes can be repaired along the way or covered up without compromising your finished piece, but if things aren’t truly square you’re going to notice right away, and it’s something you’re going to notice right away every time you look upon your work; until the day you throw it in the fire.

Reclaiming Forgotten Steal

Conan The Barbarian

Recently, I revisited the motion picture Conan the Barbarian on Netflix. There’s a scene where he finds himself in the throne room of a forgotten and long deceased king, and being unarmed takes from the corpse a rusty sword. Knocking the rust from the blade, young Schwarzenegger admires the shiny steal beneath and smiles. This is how it feels to resurrect a forgotten blade.

As previously mentioned, there is a tedious, zen like process to honing a blade to a proper cutting edge. The neat thing about this is that most people tend to view rusty metal as junk to be disposed of. A few weeks ago, while on vacation, I purchased and old roughing plane from a flea market for $4.00. The plane was covered in rust, but armed with the knowledge of how to restore it, I will soon find myself in procession of a working tool worth considerably more than four dollars. I’m hoping when I’m finished with it, I’ll carry the same sense of satisfaction as Conan.

Investing in hand tools

The best woodworking tool is the one that’s sharp, but not all tools are created equal.

Several cheap options are available to the beginning woodworker, but they often fail to retain their sharpness ultimately leading to more work and discouragement on the part of the poor soul attempting to carve a work of art with what equates to a dull butter knife. Hope is not to be lost however, a renewed interest in woodworking has sparked a renaissance within the industry and several tool makers have stepped up to fill the demand. Lee Valley, Lie Nielsen and japanwoodworker.com offer high quality tools that require little preparation to use, and Stanley has resurrected its sweetheart line to attract those with tighter budgets.

Of course, I did previously use the word “renaissance”, and it’s not a word I use lightly. The truth is tool makers once made beautifully handcrafted tools. It’s a practice that failed to remain profitable in the mid-twentieth century and so many companies stopped to focus on general contractors needs or went out of business entirely. While it’s nice to buy a shiny toy, it’s worth remembering that one can always resurrect the old jack plane collecting rust in grandpa’s shed, so long as it was manufactured before Eisenhower was elected.

Happy Hunting!

As sharp as the devil himself, honing your Zen

If you think working with hand tools is difficult, then it’s probably time to sharpen them.

Depending on your frame of mind, sharpening your blades by hand can be a tedious or Zen-like process. It takes several hours to hone a blade into good working condition the first time, but unless you drop it, subsequent sharpening can be done in minutes. Lie Nielson Toolworks offers several helpful tutorials on their new YouTube channel, but they generally advocate applying a micro bevel edge to plane irons, which can be slightly trickier. Here’s a link showing how they do it. Micro Bevel Sharpening Tutorial

Hand tools versus power tools

I recently learned the proprietor of my favorite pub constructed his bar and tables by hand, and he raised an interesting point; hand tools are quicker. This seems counter-intuitive, but when I think of all the preparation involved in properly setting up a table saw or router, it starts to ring true. Woodworking has enjoyed a renaissance over the last 20 years and new companies are stepping up to meet the demand for quality hand tools. The risk for personal injury is significantly lower, and if you’re going to screw up your project it’s best to do it slowly.

Keeping crooks at bay, storing your wood.

As mentioned in the previous blog, milled lumber wants to follow the path it was on before some jerk cut it down. Account for this movement when milling your boards to their final dimensions, leaving it a little thicker than it needs to be. Once milled, your boards will be stacked with shims, called stickers, between them so air can circulate all the way around the wood. If it bows, crooks, or warps then you’ll want to know before gluing your piece together, so it’s generally good practice to let the boards sit for a week or so.

The art of woodworking; A struggle against nature itself.

I’ve recently taken up woodworking; it’s one of those things people do when life becomes too easy, like trying to play guitar. On the surface this may sound like a rewarding hobby, but for the perfectionist it is a cruel and unforgiving mistress. To begin, you must understand that this inanimate chunk of wood you wish to transform was once a living tree. The growth pattern of that tree is evident in the grain before you, and the direction of that grain should dictate how you proceed. Long after your project is complete, the wood it’s constructed with will continue to follow the course it was on when it was still a noble tree. The secret to woodworking is accounting for this movement and manipulating the very forces of nature to your will.