Hey Folks,

Today I finished up the white oak staked leg table.  And by finish, I mean with a soupy mixture of pure white soap flakes in hot water.  I’d heard of a soap finish from my grandmother and have often wanted to try it.  She was a homestead girl, and literally grew up in a log cabin.  Their family table had a soap finish.

I have also heard it called a Scandinavian soap finish, probably because they are the only people who still use it.  I got this recipe from Christopher Schwarz’, Anarchist Design Book.

It’s applied with a rag, and it’s about the consistency of mayonnaise.  It soaks in a bit, then starts to harden up.  After it hardened, I buffed it off with a dry rag.

The next day, I sanded it with 320 grit, and applied some more soap.  This time it was a bit stiffer, having hardened up overnight.  After about an hour, I buffed it off with a dry rag, and it left a nice soft luster, sort of like a soft wax.

I like this finish, and I think that I’ll use it on another table some day.  It has a very practical and simple feel to it.  It’s easily renewable, and in fact, it needs to be maintained with a buffing of new soap now and then.  So the table comes with a package of soap flakes and some instructions for the buyer.

I’ve put it in the shop window, but I don’t have a picture yet.  Maybe tomorrow.

Cheers,
Tom

Hey Folks,

A couple of days ago, I glued up the top for the second of two staked leg tables.  Unlike the first, which was made of white oak, this one is of African makore.  The makore is very similar to mahogany, in color, texture, and weight.

This particular board was nine feet long and 15″ wide.  What is most remarkable though is the chatoyance of waterfall figure.  There was some hint of it once it was rough planed.  But after I cut it out and sanded it to 100 grit, I poured some mineral spirits on it and that’s when the magic happened.

It just keeps getting better. 🙂

Cheers,
Tom

Hey Folks,

So, the commission that I recently completed was a presentation gift box made to specifications provided by my client.  The box was made of some african bubbinga that I had saved in the shop.  The bubbinga has a wonderful chatoyance, and takes a finish well.

I constructed the box as I do nearly all small boxes, as a mitered box with a telescopic lid.  I used some gabon ebony splines and a glued in, dimensionally stable plywood bottom, to strengthen the corners.

Since the client specified a stopped hinge lid, some additional adjustments were needed to the dust seal lip on the box.  The finish was six coats of wipe on polyurethane.

To make a mitered box, I cut the parts to length and width and miter the ends with a 45º router bit on the router table.  The top and bottom of each side piece is rabbeted with the router as well.

The trick to making an airtight telescoping lid is to make an extra side piece as an index.  A dado for the lid joint is made on the inside surface of each piece, and the index.  When it comes time to separate the top from the box, the index locates the dado hidden on the inside.  A similar dado on the outside, offset to just intersect the corner of the inside dado, releases the lid and forms the telescopic joint.  Some shims keep the lid in place once the ends are cut free.

It’s all much easier than it sounds, and makes an impressive  juncture between box and lid.  This project has reminded me of how much I enjoy making small boxes, so you might see a few more here before Christmas rolls around. 😉

Cheers,
Tom

 

Hey Folks,

Although I’m still finishing up my latest commission, I have started on my next project, a pair of staked-leg tables from Christopher Schwarz’s, Anarchist’s Design Book.  I’m making the first one out of white oak, and the second out of African makore.

Although Chris likes to use a bandsaw to cut his round table tops out, I prefer a router on a trammel.  Here is the first top being cut out.

This first table will be finished with a Scandinavian soap finish, which will be a first for me.  Wish me luck.

More later,
Tom

Hey Folks,

I’ve been diligently working on my latest commission, and while using a technique borrowed from my younger days as a model aircraft enthusiast, it occurred to me that many of you might like to know of it.

Most anyone who needs a small spring clamp knows that an ordinary clothes pin will work in most cases.  But there are even more times when a clothes pin won’t reach into a narrow space or up to a fine edge.  This is where a clothes pin morphed into a “close pin” will do the job.

A closer look shows how a clothes pin differs from a close pin.

Aircraft modelers are not the only folks who routinely use close pins.  Luthiers also use them to clamp the kerf strips that join the bodies of their instrumental creations.

Remember, you can never have too many clamps. 😉

Cheers,
Tom

 

 

 

Hey Folks,

Sorry for the radio silence of late, I am currently working on a commissioned project so you’ll just have to wait until it’s completed.  I promise a bunch of photos and some how-to insights as well.  As they say on TV,

“Your patience will be rewarded.”

Cheers,
Tom

Hey Folks,

I’ve always been a fan of workbench designs, any, and all of them.  They offer great insight into other methods of work; methods for doing essentially the same tasks in different ways.

One of the more intriguing benches is the Nicholson design, originating in 17th century England.  This bench is designed for use with traditional western hand tools, and holdfasts instead of a  vise.  Christopher Schwarz, of Popular Woodworking Magazine, modified a relatively recent version of the bench and made it an easily knocked down bench that can be moved and assembled by one person without assistance.  The remarkable feature of the bench is that in addition to all the above, it is one stout puppy.  In fact, it’s damned near immovable once assembled, rock solid, period.

Chris made his bench with locally available construction lumber, which for him is southern yellow pine.  Out here in the Great Pacific Northwest, it’s Douglas fir.  The bench fits perfectly in the south window of my shop’s front room, and will make a good demonstration station, …until it’s sold of course. 🙂

Cheers,
Tom

Ps. If something looks a little backwards to you, it’s because the bench is set up for a left handed woodworker (me).  It can easily be set up either way.

Than a satisfied customer.  I really enjoy it when someone gets excited about my work. I sold the two Roorkhee chairs yesterday to this charming young lady, her dad, and her very large, and very friendly great dane.  Peggy Tzu sought refuge from the playful pouncing of the great dane where she could, and our young friend enjoyed having a lap dog for a while.

These chairs have been the source of a number interesting visitors, including a lady with a generations old Roorkhee chair of her mother’s that needed repair, and a gentleman who’s father worked for Kaare Klint and has a couple of his “Safari” chairs in the basement.

I purchased leather for more chairs today.  Who knows what story might come through the door for them?

Cheers,
Tom

And that would be Edensaw Hardwoods in Port Townsend, Washington.  Port Townsend is about an hour and a half drive and ferry ride to the Olympic Peninsula, northwest of Seattle.  It’s a picturesque part of the state, and a pleasant enough trip so Kris and Peggy Tzu decided to join me.

The variety and selection of domestic and exotic hardwood there is truly staggering.  Because Port Townsend is an entry port about 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean, the selection of exotic species is usually better than that of domestic woods, and the prices are usually comparable, if not better.  Today, we bought wood for two identical tables from Christopher Schwarz’ latest book, The Anarchist’s Design Book.  I decided to make one from quarter sawn white oak, and the other from African makore.  Makore is similar in color and texture to mahogany, and Edensaw has a selection with beautiful waterfall figure.

The lumber gets delivered on Monday, but I have another couple of projects that I need to complete first, so I’ll cut it all to rough dimensions and let its moisture content equilibrate to that of my shop for a week or so before I get started.

Stay tuned,
Tom

Ps.  The forklift drivers in their warehouse have to be the most skilled of any I have ever met.  This guy danced this load of well over a ton of wood, valued at thousands of dollars, around the floor with less than an inch to spare on either end, and more than twelve feet up in the air.  I stopped breathing there, for a just a moment or two.

Hey Folks,

Occasionally, I like to do a project for the shop, instead of from the shop.  This one is for the shop.

If you’ve followed this blog, you know that I heat the front room of the shop with a wood burning stove.  All that firewood is trucked into the shop via cardboard boxes and a hand truck .  I’ve never liked the cardboard boxes, they’re shabby, and not befitting a wood shop.

So, I decided to make some wooden boxes to carry firewood, and catch offcuts.  In the process, I thought of something else that the boxes could replace… the ubiquitous five gallon plastic bucket.  Everyone has, at sometime,  used an up turned five gallon bucket as an erstwhile step stool.  The trouble is, they’re not that stable, and often not tall enough.  I designed the boxes to socket together using a pair of bottom cleats.  That way, the boxes could be stacked and safely moved or stepped upon.

I decided on finger holes instead of handles, so that the boxes could be turned on end.  They are sized just right to be used as saw benches, or shop stools.  The finish is just milk paint and orange shellac.

Cheers,
Tom