Chris should be done with the chair above by the time you’re reading this. As I write and schedule this post, he’s doing the “make pretty” on the arms, legs and seat, and the backrest will be installed by lunchtime. Then he’ll spray a coat or two of shellac and rub on a coat of black wax…then decide he’s unhappy with that look, strip the wax and do a few tests to find a paint that will cover it. If that’s successful, he’ll spray the paint, and hopefully get two coats applied before it’s time to head to the bar. It’s Friday; on Fridays, we go to Crafts & Vines.
If the spray approach doesn’t work, I’ll be wear painting togs Saturday, with my brush in hand.
All that to say Chris, and possibly I, will be available to answer your woodworking-related questions. Please leave them in the comments below. And please know that if the question – or your response to our answers – is longer than the preamble to the Constitution, we will glaze over and be mildly annoyed. And we will roll our eyes in your general direction. “Brevity is the soul of wit,” said Polonius. And while in his mouth those words are ironic, he’s not wrong.
– Fitz
p.s. The chair will be posted for sale on the blog just as soon as we get the blog fixed (assuming Chris is happy with the finish by then). No one is getting the RSS feed or notifications right now. It is vexing.
FIG. 1. SCREWDRIVER TYPES A. is the large London pattern. B The cabinet type. C. Ratchet screwdriver. D. Electrician’s pattern. E. Plane iron screwdriver.
The following is excerpted from Vol. II of “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Techniques.” This book is chock-full of invaluable hand-tool technique instruction and tool knowledge…including finer points about screwdrivers. I didn’t know until I started working with nice hardware that the screwdriver mattered – it absolutely does.
– Fitz
There are many varieties of screwdrivers, some made for special jobs and others for general work, but from the woodworker’s point of view and disregarding for the moment such luxury tools as the spiral or the ratchet, there are two main patterns known as the London and the cabinet types respectively.
Actually there is little to choose between them. Screws can be put in equally well with either, so that it is largely a matter of personal preference. Actually the London is the more robust of the two so that it is a good plan, assuming that one is going to have two screwdrivers, to choose the London pattern for the large one and the cabinet for the other. The two types are shown at A and B, Fig. 1.
What are the best types and sizes of screwdrivers for the man who makes furniture? Well, he should have an absolute minimum of two, preferably three, and, better still, four. It is not just a matter of convenience. Remember that too big a tool only results in the slot of the screw becoming burred over; too small a one will probably result in the screwdriver being spoilt, and it will most likely prove impossible to drive in the screw. That is why so many are advisable.
The largest will have to deal with really heavy screws such as are required for main carcase work—12s, 14s, and 16s. A small one is useless for such work, and it must be long enough to enable both hands to be used with pressure and power. A blade length of 10 or 12 in. is advisable (see A, Fig. 1). This illustration shows the typical screwdriver handle, flat and wide, this enabling the hands to obtain a good grip and ample leverage.
For medium size screws such as might be used for larger cabinet backs and moderately heavy fixings—say, round about No. 8 gauge—the screwdriver at B is needed. The larger one at A would probably not fit the slot and would be too cumbersome in any case, and anything smaller would not give enough power. It has a blade length of 4 ins. The handle of this is of oval shape, but is machine turned instead of being plain circular turned with the sides flattened as at A. These cabinet screwdrivers invariably have handles of boxwood.
Cabinet hinges require screws of gauges varying from about 4 to 6. The majority are round about No. 5, and a screwdriver for this size is imperative. That at B is too large. We strongly advise the ratchet type shown at C. It is not always possible to have an assistant to hold a door whilst the screws are put in, and this means having to hold it with one hand. Thus only one hand is available for the screwdriver, and it is awkward to have to shift the position of the hand on the tool as each turn is made. Using the ratchet it is merely a matter of rocking the hand back and forth, the blade of the screwdriver remaining in the slot. The finger grip, too, is invaluable since the first few turns can be made with the finger and thumb, the hand remaining still. The overall length of C is 8 in.
Some fittings require screws for which this ratchet is too big. Small locks and hinges often need screws of 2 gauge. A common practice is to use a bradawl, but this is not very satisfactory. It takes the edge off the tool, and in any case is too soft for the job. Often enough it results in the slot being burred over. The electricians screwdriver (D) is just the thing. A fairly long spindle is desirable as it is sometimes necessary to reach into awkward places. The stout stubby screwdriver shown at E is not a necessity, but is shown here because it is a tool made exclusively for woodworkers. It is a plane iron screwdriver and is intended for the worker to keep handy for unscrewing the back iron of his planes when sharpening.
FIG. 2. GOOD AND BAD SHAPES
When you buy a screwdriver it may easily happen that the end is too thick for the work it has to do. This is a mistake because, although too thin a blade is a bad fault, a thick end will not allow it to enter the screw slot to the full extent. It should bed right down to the bottom because otherwise it is liable to ride out of the slot and so burr over the edges. An experienced man can tell by looking at the edge whether it is right, but a test is to try it in the smallest screw it is supposed to tackle.
You can generally use a fine file to thin down the end because the temper of a screwdriver is such that a file will just touch it. If made any harder it would be too brittle for its work. You can, however, always use the oilstone—in fact, it is a good idea to finish off with this to take out the deep marks left by the file. Don’t make the mistake of filing at too much of an angle. The slope should be as gradual as is consistent with strength (see A, Fig. 2). If it is bevelled too much as at B it will be liable to ride out of the screw slot.
Many screwdrivers have the fault of being too wide at the end. This means that the corners project from the sides of the screw and, in the case of a counter-sunk screw, are liable to dig into the wood and leave unsightly marks.
Wally and I are busy today helping students turn the sticks shown above into sawbenches. But Chris is back this week, eagerly awaiting your Open Wire questions.
So, please post your (succinct) woodworking questions in the comments below, and Chris will answer. You can also ask him about the massive wave of relief you might have felt emanating from Northern Kentucky and Central Indiana (where John lives) late yesterday. That was engendered by our finally having all the LAP/Crucible books, tools, clothing and sundries under one (now non-leaking) roof in our warehouse!
Randy Ogle weaving in a seagrass seat on a walnut dining chair, from “Backwoods Chairmakers,” by Andy Glenn.
Tickets are on sale now for the June 2 “Backwoods Chairmakers” Event in beautiful Berea, Ky.
The all-day event (9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. EDT) will feature 13 Appalachian chairmakers from Andy Glenn’s book. We’ve asked each demonstrator to bring some of their chairs so you can see the work in person. All the chairs will be assembled in a gallery for you to enjoy. We’ll also have four other “stages” going all day for you to visit:
• The Storytime Stage: Where chairmakers will share their tales of how they got into the craft and manage to keep their business afloat in a world filled with mass-manufactured goods. • The Turning Stage: Several of the turners use lathes in their work and will demonstrate how they make parts using this machine • The Shaping & Assembly Stage: Chairmakers will demonstrate the techniques they use to shape posts & rungs and assemble the chairs. • The Greenwood Stage: Splitting, hewing and hickory bark demonstrations will take place in this outdoor area. • Plus Andy will be there to sign books (we’ll have some books available, but if you already own a copy, bring it along!).
Please note that this is not a money-making venture. Berea College has donated the space for the event, and the organizers are donating their time and effort. Your ticket price covers only the honorariums for the chairmakers. If you would like to add a small amount to help cover incidental costs, we’d appreciate it!
Fig. 1.32 It’s a subtle curve, but here you see how the “corners” are lifted up. This keeps the hatchet from digging in as you hew with it.
The following is excerpted from Peter Follansbee’s “Joiner’s Work.”
Forget what you think about 17th-century New England furniture. It’s neither dark nor boring. Instead, it’s a riot of geometric carvings and bright colors – all built upon simple constructions that use rabbets, nails and mortise-and-tenon joints.
Peter Follansbee has spent his adult life researching this beguiling time period to understand the simple tools and straightforward processes used to build the historical pieces featured in this book. “Joiner’s Work” represents the culmination of decades of serious research and shop experimentation. But it’s no dry treatise. Follansbee’s wit – honed by 20 years of demonstrating at Plimoth Plantation – suffuses every page. It’s a fascinating trip to the early days of joinery on the North American continent that’s filled with lessons for woodworkers of all persuasions.
Don’t be put off by the scarcity of single-bevel hewing hatchets; you can perform this work with double-bevel hatchets, too. Larger hatchets take some getting used to, but in the end they are quite efficient at stock removal. I keep a large Swedish hatchet around for times when there’s a lot of stock to remove, then I switch to a finer hatchet for more accurate hewing. My largest hatchet has a double-bevel and weighs more than 4 lbs. Its cutting edge is more than 7″ long. Regardless of the head size, I use fairly short handles on my hatchets, about 14″.
While you can make either a single-bevel or double-bevel hatchet work in dressing stock for joinery, the single-bevel hatchet is ideally suited for hewing stock prior to planing it. Moxon’s “Mechanick Exercises” describes its use and shape to some degree:
“Its use is to Hew the Irregularities off such pieces of Stuff which maybe sooner Hewn than Sawn. When the Edge is downwards, and the Handle towards you, the right side of its Edge must be Ground to a Bevil…”
If you’re scouring old tools or want a smith to make one, here’s some of what I recommend you look for. My favorite hatchet is a single-bevel hewing hatchet made in Germany in the early 1930s by a firm called J. F. R. Fuchs. It weighs about 3-1/2 lbs., and has a cutting edge around 6-1/2″ long. In describing these hatchets, it’s easy to think of them as having a flat back, but that’s not exactly the case. The bevel is on the right-hand face for a right-handed joiner, as Moxon describes. But the “back” is not truly flat; it has a very shallow sweep to its cutting edge.
Fig. 1.33 A slight curve in this direction as well is another subtle detail found in the best hewing hatchets.
Think of it as a very large and shallow, incannel gouge. The benefit of this shape is readily apparent when you try to use one that is not shaped like this. A hatchet with a flat back digs into the wood; a proper one scoops the chips out. Additionally, there is a slight sweep from the eye socket toward the cutting edge. Some of this is the shape of the tool, some is exacerbated by honing.
I have another hatchet by the same maker, with an excellent refinement of its shape. The eye is cranked over, to keep your knuckles safe when hewing. This leans the handle away from the plane of action without having to make a bent handle. I use this hatchet particularly when hewing wide panels. These German hatchets are not readily found. One type of hatchet you will, however, find regularly in the U.K. and U.S. is the so-called Kent pattern hatchets.
Fig. 1.34 Here the back of the hatchet is sitting flat on the board, and the canted eye results in the handle being tilted upward.
There are several nice things about the Kent hatchets. Not only are they fairly common, they aren’t expensive. They can work, and – unlike many other hewing hatchets – they are reversible for lefties. Their symmetrically shaped head means you can knock the handle out and put one in from the other end. But often, the cutting edge is straight; I prefer a curve to the cutting edge. The shape of the back should be the same as those shown above.
Fig. 1.35 Some careful hunting around can often turn up a Kent-pattern hatchet in good condition.
