Lost Art Press

Author: fitz

Woodworker, writer, editor, teacher, ailurophile, Shakespearean. Will write for air-dried walnut.

Simple Handscrews from ‘The Solution at Hand’

Posted on by fitz

The following is excerpted from Chapter 4 of “The Solution at Hand: Jigs & Fixtures to Make Benchwork Easier” by Robert Wearing. The book covers a wide swath of useful material, from building workbench appliances for planing, to making handscrews (and many other ingenious clamps), some simple tools that you cannot buy anywhere else, to marking devices that make complex tasks easier.

There can be few readers who enjoy buying cramps. Unlike some other tools they do not make anything. Nevertheless, they are essential. Generally they are bought and used as four of a size. The major disadvan­tage is that good iron G cramps are very expensive for what they do, and because four are required, that cost is multiplied four-fold. Apart from the cost, iron G cramps have another disadvantage. They can easily damage the work; consequently wood blocks must be used to prevent this. Juggling these while the glue sets can be a problem for the single-handed worker. The G cramp with its swivelling foot cannot give that light nip at the very tip as can many of the cramps illustrated later. Though obviously G cramps have very great strength, it should be remembered that good joints require only to be pulled, not crushed together.

Simple Handscrew

These tools are much less common than they were a gener­ation ago. Nevertheless they have several advantages over the much more numerous G cramps. They are lighter in weight, they do not damage the work and, of course, they can be made. Jaw length can vary bet­ween 12″ (300 mm) and 4″ (100 mm). They are usually square in section and are made from any close-grained hardwood. The screws can be of wood, if a wood screw box is available, or can be of bought metal screwed rod. The latter would be of a smaller size. The metal screws can be screwed, glued and even pinned into chisel-type handles and wood screws can be similarly fitted if it is required to cut out some of the woodturning. 

It must be stressed that both the threaded holes are in the same jaw, in this illustration the lower one. In use the through screw makes the preliminary grip then the second shorter one screws into a cavity in the upper jaw, thus increasing the pressure. 

Another Simple Handscrew

This derives directly from the traditional wooden handscrew, and from the metalworkers’ “Tool­makers’ clamp.” In addition to the advantages already stated, the handscrew can grip in a depression or confined space, particularly useful in repair work. A variety of sizes is possible using threads of 5/16″ (8 mm) or 3/8″ (10 mm). The positions of the screw holes in relation to the sizes of block is shown in Fig. 2. 

Prepare a piece of dense hardwood for the jaws. This should be just over twice the jaw length and planed to the finished width and thickness. Saw to produce the two jaws and square one end of each by shooting board or disc sander. Cramp them together and mark the centre lines for the holes. Separate and square the lines onto all four faces. On one jaw gauge the centres for the cylindrical nuts. Note the positions of these centres. They are not central in the jaws. Drill these holes using a sawtooth, dowel or lip and spur bit. The engineers’ twist drill will not start accurately enough. If this is the only tool available, put through a small pilot drill first. If working entirely by hand, bore from both sides to ensure squareness and avoid later twist when the tool is assembled. 

The holes for the screws are marked centrally on the other (top) face then drilled. Note that one hole does not go through. Saw and plane the tapered jaws and round off the back corner slightly. The wood jaws, now complete, can be treated with linseed oil or given several coats of shellac or polyurethane varnish. 

Fig. 2. Simple handscrew suggested sizes. These may be increased using larger diameter screwed rod.

Turn or file up two cylindrical nuts slightly shorter than the jaw thickness. Drill centrally then tap for the selected thread. Cut the screws to length and clean up the ends. Clear any burr here by running on an ordinary nut. Make a small metal pellet and drive this into the blind hole. 

The handles may be turned or benchmade to a hexagonal form. They are best drilled in the lathe. Grip the handles in the vice and cut the internal thread using the taper tap only. Force in the screwed rod, using two locked nuts. Turned handles can now have two flats planed on them. Assembly is quite straightforward. Finally, close the jaws and trim off any projecting end. 

In use try to keep the jaws parallel. First tighten the centre or clamping screw. Then apply pressure with the outer or pressure screw. With a little experience, the operation is quite quick. Grip the centre handle with the left hand and the outer one with the right. Now clockwise rotation of the right hand tightens the jaws.

Two Easy Cramps 

The following two cramps, the “Handscrew” and “An Adjustable Cramp,” are both easy and cheap to make yet are really useful cramps to have about the workshop. Furthermore, they need neither special equipment nor skill in metalworking. All the require­ments can be bought from a good hardware or DIY store. The reader is recommended to make these cramps four at a time. 

The materials to be purchased for these cramps are lengths of screwed rod, 3/8″ BSW or M10, hexagon nuts and washers to suit and 4″ file handles. 

Handscrew 

Fig. 3 closely follows “Another Simple Handscrew.” Produce the jaws, accurately square and to size. Having cramped them together, mark the hole centres. First complete the top jaw of the drawing. Preferably using a sawtooth bit or a flatbit, bore the two holes for the nuts. These are 5/8″ (16 mm) which is the size across the flats of the nut. The depth is slightly more than the nut thickness. On the same centre, drill through with a 3/8″ wood drill. Enlarge these through-holes to give a loose fit either with a large twist drill or with a round file. Using a piece of the screwed rod, a hexagon nut and a large-diameter washer, force a nut into each hole. 

The lower jaw has one oversized through-hole and one blind hole – the hole into which a 3/8″ steel pellet is forced. 

The file handles are best bored in the lathe. Tap them 3/8″ (M10) to a depth of 1-1/2″ (40 mm). A tap suitable for a limited use in wood can be made by filing four tapered flats on a piece of screwed rod and then fitting two lock-nuts, very firmly tightened. With two lock-nuts temporarily on each screwed rod, two handles can be forced on. Assembly is straightforward. Remember that the scrap screw needs a washer under the ferrule.

It is unlikely that the nuts will work loose. If this does happen, thoroughly de-grease and return with a dab of epoxy resin glue. In use, aim to keep the jaws parallel for the most effective grip. 

‘Mechanick Exercises’ Errata

Posted on by fitz

In our reprint of Joseph Moxon’s “Mechanick Exercises,” we missed page 169 when scanning the original. We’ve updated the file and will correct it at the next press run. Click below to download a PDF of the page to print and insert into the first edition. Our apologies for the error.

Page 169, “Mechanick Exercises”

– Fitz

Working Through Grooves : The Woodworker

Posted on by fitz
USING THE STANLEY UNIVERSAL PLANE. For cutters wider than 1/4 in. the sliding section is used to support the cutter at the near side. Since the sliding section is adjustable in height, it is important to see that the cutter has the same projection at both sides.

The following is excerpted from Volume III of “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years.” First published in 1950, the book is beautifully illustrated by Hayward and contains the kind of spare prose that made him the best woodworking author of the 20th century. Like a good woodworking joint, Hayward’s text contains nothing superfluous and lacks nothing important to the task at hand.

This can be one of the simplest operations; it can also be one of the most awkward. To an extent it depends upon the tools available, but it is chiefly a matter of whether the groove has to be stopped, is straight or curved, the direction of the grain, and its position near to or away from the edge. We deal here with straightforward grooving, and shall follow next month with stopped grooves.

Perhaps the simplest examples of grooving are the parts of a door with grooved-in panels. It is merely a matter of setting the grooving plane to the required distance from the edge, adjusting the depth stop, and taking the plane right through. You can use either the wooden plough, or one of the special metal grooving planes. Let us consider first the setting of the plane, dealing first with the wooden plough.

Setting the Wood Plough. Select the cutter of the required width (there are generally eight), sharpen it square, and insert it so that the groove on its under-surface rests upon the metal edge of the sole piece (see Fig. 2). Set it so that the cutting edge has the required projection, and tap in the wedge. A fairly heavy shaving can be taken in softwood and when the grain is straight, but hardwoods and awkward grain require a fine cut.

Release the wedges holding the arms, and slide the fence until it is the required distance from the cutter. Press in one wedge thumb-tight, test with a rule to see that the fence is parallel with the metal sole, and push in the remaining wedge. Test once again to make sure, and tap home both wedges, tapping each lightly in turn. The depth gauge is generally controlled by a thumbscrew at the top, and this can be turned to give the groove depth.

Using the Plough. Start at the far end of the wood, and remove a shaving a few inches long. Then at each subsequent stroke bring the plough a little farther back as in Fig. 3. The advantage of this is that the tool is less likely to drift from the edge, since it runs into the groove it has already worked. Be careful always to press well against the side of the wood for the same reason, and work with the fence against the face side in every case. Otherwise, if the groove is not set to the exact centre, the parts will not go together flush.

It is essential that the plane is held upright, because, not only is the groove untrue otherwise, but there will be some curious results. At A, Fig. 4, the plough leans towards the user, and it is clear that the cutter will begin to operate at a different position from that intended. It will be nearer the face side. Then, as it sinks into the wood, it will either begin to bind and cease to cut, or the plough will be forced upright, when it will continue its groove in the wrong position. At B the groove will simply lean across at an angle.

Metal Plough. The setting of this depends upon the type. In the case of the small Record No. 040 and 043 planes the cutter is set in the stock about flush with the sole, and the lever cap screw lightly tightened. The cutter is then lightly tapped forward to give the required cut, and the screw finally tightened. Never strike the body of the plane to bring the cutter in; loosen the screw and withdraw it. The fence is slid on to the arm, tightened in the required position, and the depth gauge set.

In the case of the 050 A plane, a sliding section is provided to support the cutter at the near side, and it is the screwing up of this that clamps the cutter. When setting, therefore, the screw should be lightly turned only. This enables the final setting of the cutter to be made with the adjustment screw, after which the fixing screw is finally tightened. A small screw to the rear of the cutter is provided to help in keeping the sliding section parallel with the main stock. Fence and depth gauge are set as before.

The larger Record Multi-plane (405) and the Stanley 45 have their cutters tightened by means of a tapered bolt. The cutter is thus secured to the main stock only, independently of the sliding section. The latter is slid on afterwards so that it is level with the near edge of the cutter, or stands in a trifle. On no account let the cutter stand in from the sliding section, because this will cause binding. The fence has two sets of holes so that it can be fixed in a high or low position, whichever is the more convenient. A fine screw adjustment is provided on the depth gauge, and, after setting, the lock nut is tightened.

Setting for the Stanley Universal plane, No. 55, is similar, but, since the sliding section is adjustable in height, it is necessary to set this so that the cutter has the same projection on both sides. Slacken the lock nuts before turning the adjusting screw. Another point about this plane is that, since the fence can be set at an angle, it is important to see that it is upright before setting the plane for normal square grooving. Fig. 1 shows the Universal plane in use.

Some metal ploughs are provided with spurs which fit in recesses in the sides of both the main stock and sliding section. Their purpose is to cut the sides of the groove when working across the grain. They are unnecessary when grooving with the grain, and should be set in the neutral position. When they are in use, the plane should be drawn backwards for a couple of strokes to make sure that the groove sides are cut. Otherwise the grain is liable to tear out.

Using the Metal Plough. The use of the metal plough is similar to that of the wood type, but lubrication is more essential. A pad of cotton wool soaked in linseed oil is handy, or a wax candle can be drawn along the bearing parts.

As a guide to holding the plane square it is a help to press the fence against the side of the wood with the left hand as a preliminary step. You can soon tell when it is bearing on the wood, and this is the best guide as to when the plane is upright. You will soon get the feel of it. For a start, try the plane on a spare piece of wood, and examine the end of the latter as you progress to see whether your work is at all out.
Clearly, the cutter must be sharpened perfectly square. This is partly because the bottom of the groove will otherwise be out of truth, but chiefly because a cutting edge which is not square may cause bad cutting or may make the plane fail to cut altogether. Take A, Fig. 5. At the main stock (left) the cutter has the required projection, but at the sliding section it has none at all. This will prevent the plane from cutting, and, to make it cut, the cutter will have to be set forward as at B. The result of this is to make the plane tend to grab at the side having the greater projection, and this will probably throw the groove out of truth.

When the grain is straight and parallel with the wood the shavings curl away sweetly and the work is clean. A difficulty occurs when the grain either runs at an angle or is curly. Consider Fig. 6, which shows a door frame. Since the plough has always to be worked from the face side to ensure the grooves being level throughout, it will work in the direction of the arrows shown at A, and will be working against the grain owing to the slope of the latter. By reversing the parts as at B before marking out, the plough can be made to work with the grain in every case.

In Fig. 7 the grain runs across the edge at a decided angle, and the probable result would be that the groove would tear out at one edge as shown. To overcome this the groove position should be cut in first with the cutting gauge as shown inset. This will ensure the surface being clean. If it tears out down below it will not matter.

Many metal grooving planes are fitted with small spurs or cutters, the purpose of which is to cut the fibres when working across the grain. If not used the grain would be liable to tear out. They are not needed when working with the grain and they should be reversed into the neutral position. Small set screws hold them in position. One will be found on the main stock at the off side, and the other on the sliding section at the near side. Both are just in front of the cutter.

Michael Cooper’s Strange Planet

Posted on by fitz
SELF PORTRAIT (1980). Steel, wood, aluminum, found objects. 60″ x 32″ x 82″. Michael says this piece reflects the experience of building his own house while living on the land. He had to defer making art to making the house, and he says there were a lot of difficulties in the building process.

The following is excerpted from “The Difference Makers” by Marc Adams. Since 1993, Adams has invited hundreds of the best craftspeople to teach at his woodworking school in Franklin, Ind., which has grown to become the country’s (if not the world’s) largest. Every year, Adams has expanded the school and brought in a different mix of new instructors and veteran ones. As a result, he has figured out who is the best. He’s seen their work. He’s seen them at work. This excerpt features Michael Cooper – craftsman, sculptor, and inventor of impossible things.

Michael Cooper has been fooling around with wood and metalworking since he was a kid and has never stopped. He has a degree in commercial art from San Jose State College (now San Jose State University) and an M.F.A. in sculpture from the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught drawing, 3D design, furniture design and sculpture at several California colleges for 34 years. He is a superb teacher who is revered by students and colleagues alike, but in 2005 he decided to shift from teaching to totally focusing on his artwork.

He has won numerous awards and grants throughout the years, including a Fellowship in Sculpture awarded by the American Academy in Rome (Italy), and a Craftsmen’s Fellowship Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1993, he was presented with the President’s Award for Outstanding Service at De Anza College. His work is on display at several museums and public displays, including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the Oakland Museum of California, Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery, and the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts. His work has been featured in books, magazines and newspapers around the world.

Recently the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco did a retrospective on Michael’s work titled “A Sculptural Odyssey, 1968-2011.” This led to a book written about his life as a teacher, artist and sculptor. Michael is a master at bending wood and adding odd bits and pieces together to make unique sculptures that are collected by patrons around the world. 

On the Professional Side

Michael’s biggest initial career transition was deciding to leave the commercial art profession and switch to making sculptures in the late 1960s. He wasn’t sure what direction his new vocation would take, but he was excited about the prospects.

He returned to San Jose State College and began working on his Master of Fine Arts. There Michael met instructor Sam Richardson, who encouraged him to start checking out gallery shows in the San Francisco area. These shows featured all kinds of art, including sculpture. Although Michael knew little about contemporary sculpture, the more shows he attended the more he developed a passion for creating three-dimensional objects.

San Jose State College had a large art department in the mid-1960s, and new materials and processes were being explored, including fiberglass, polyfoam and lacquer. During that time, John Battenberg and Fletcher Benton, both commercially successful artists, joined the faculty. Fletcher eventually became a mentor to Michael and gave him the encouragement to continue to pursue his sculptural work. But the real awakening came when a friend paid Michael’s way to the Los Angeles milestone exhibition “American Sculpture of the Sixties,” a national survey of the best contemporary sculpture at that time. This exhibition opened Michael’s eyes to what was possible in contemporary sculpture and encouraged him to explore areas that were unknown.

“I am, for the most part, self-taught,” he says. “I had always been good with exploring new techniques but needed direction in the area of theme. I found what I needed in kinetic sculpture.” 

His early works used a variety of materials including wood, aluminum, steel, motors, magnets, gearing and electrical components. In 1969, Michael finished his Master of Fine Arts degree at U.C. Berkeley and immediately began teaching art classes at Foothill College while continuing to make and show his own works, which were mostly kinetic sculptures. 

UNTITLED (1970). Steel, wood, gas motors, rubber. 156″ x 60″ x 28″. Michael calls this, “an important early piece in so many ways.” It features his first metal lathe and Bridgeport milling work.
Photo by Michael Chase

In 1975, Michael shifted gears from kinetic sculpture to working exclusively with wood using bent lamination techniques as a form of sculpture. That year he made three pieces: “Captain’s Chair,” “Soapbox Racer” and “Music Stand.” His work was well received, which inspired Michael to continue to explore wood laminations with organic forms.

In 1976, he started the “Gun Series,” and in 1977 was subsequently given a Society for the Encouragement of the Contemporary Arts (SECA) Award, which included a one-person show at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. One of the best things to happen during that hectic year of preparing for the San Francisco show was that he met his soon-to-be wife, Gayle Stetter.

The late 1970s were exciting times for Michael. After the SECA award, he received a monetary grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1979, he was awarded a fellowship from the Crafts Council of Australia. This grant was titled “Craftsman in Industry” and led to Michael creating sculpture in two furniture factories, as well as lecturing at various colleges, crafts and industry groups. 

Following the Australian grant, Michael traveled to Rome on a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. Here he was given a year to explore his work among other fellows and the historic art of Italy.

SOAPBOX RACER (1975). Red oak, polyester fabric. 156″ x 52″ x 28″. This was built for the SFMOMA First Artists’ Soapbox Derby. To operate, you lay on your back inside the chassis and steer with your feet using cables attached to the rear wheel.
Photo by Michael Chase

Though Michael was a big part of the San Francisco Bay area art scene, his sales were always sporadic. Fortunately, that is where teaching became handy to help support his work. In 1977, he left Foothill College for De Anza College in Cupertino, Calif. There he taught sculpture, drawing, 3D design and furniture design. Teaching became a rewarding career, and for 35 years he enjoyed his connection with his students. In 1981, he married Gayle, and the two moved to Sebastopol, Calif. 

In 1986, Michael and Gayle bought an 81⁄2-acre slice of heaven with meadows, trees and a seasonal creek, with the thought of someday building and living on that property. The first building was Michael’s new studio. For the next 21⁄2 years they camped on the property while they designed and built the house. At first there was no water, electricity or sealed roof. In time they ran water lines and electrical, and sealed the roof. 

Before they moved into their new house, Michael began exploring sculpture that included the human figure. “This was a huge departure for me and was spurred on by my time at the American Academy in Rome and the historic art on location,” he says. This new type of sculpture led Michael to build a room-sized 3D replicator. Although this huge machine didn’t achieve the final perfect finish, it did remove a lot of the excess material before the final finesse could take place in his work.

In 1993, Michael’s father died of a heart attack, which devastated him. This eventually led to a huge diversion in his work. “I stopped making art after my father’s death and bought a rough 1933 Ford pickup. I had been interested in hot rods since I was very young. I started modifying the basic body, and what had seemed a simple project soon became another art project.” He called the rebuilt pickup truck “Tubester.” The hot rod endeavor was just what he needed. Michael considers that project to be an epiphany in the overall artistic direction of his work by incorporating metal fabrication and machining, and a return to drawing and designing on paper.

The making of Tubester also involved the magazine Street Rodder, which documented the project through 20 construction articles. It took 81⁄2 years to complete the project, and since 2001 the Tubester has been shown extensively. This was the project that led to more commissions that continue to help fund his ongoing work.

In 2008, Michael received a Windgate Fellowship Grant through the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco. The project Michael pursued was a survey of his sculpture during a 40-year period. Select pieces from his body of work have traveled to the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, Wash., the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Mass., and the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco for the final showing. 

In 2016, Michael was selected to be an American Craft Council Master Fellow, which is an artist’s dream award. Michael continues to build and design in Sebastopol, Calif. 

On the Personal Side

I have seen a real live planetary transport machine, I’m sure of it. Because it’s the only way Michael Cooper can get back and forth to whatever planet he comes from. He is way too talented, innovative, creative, skillful, original, crazy, witty and flat-out ingenious to come from anywhere on earth – except California. Oh guess what, he’s from the middle of that state. 

When you consider his vast body of work, it becomes easy to forget that he had a real job of teaching and his sculptural work was a side line. From 1969 to 2004, he taught full time at the college level. He is a superb teacher, admired by students, respected by his colleagues and one of the crowning jewels for MASW. His first workshop was the summer of 2008, when he co-taught a class on bending wood. He arrived a few days early to unload about 50 pounds of air grinding tools along with several examples of his work. It was also the first time I had ever met someone from another planet; surprisingly he looked like any other earthling. 

RIDE (2008). Steel, aluminum, wood, gas engines, pneumatic air system. 67″ x 77″ x 82″. More or less a hopping helicopter chair.
Photo by Michael Chase

Afraid he might vaporize students, I decided to be on hand for his first day of lecturing, just in case I needed to contact the Men in Black. His first demo was to take hundreds of veneer strips, put glue between each layer, and then twist them into some alien shape. The next day when he removed the clamps every piece fell on the floor – the glue failed. Turns out the glue we had purchased had an inaccurate date label, which made for a great teachable moment. This also proved that he really is human.

Since then, Michael has taught several workshops at MASW and no matter what other workshops are taking place, he always steals the show. Not because he has the kind of personality that sucks the wind out of the building, but because his method of work is so mesmerizing it just begs an audience. I once asked him about how he prepares for a lecture and he told me that he first tries to calm his stomach. It turns out he gets nervous when he lectures. Imagine that a man of his talent, who has made his living as a teacher, still finds intimidation in standing in front of a group – proof again that he is human. 

John Lavine, former editor of Woodwork Magazine, once wrote “surveying a roomful of Michael Cooper’s sculpture, a viewer can easily be overwhelmed by the riotous profusion of materials and shapes. But after your eyes have settled on any of the myriad of details in this work, the question that inevitably follows is: How did he do that?” The answer is simple: He’s a master of any material he touches. Metals, plastics, woods and any variety of found objects are like clay in his hands, capable of any shape he desires.

Yes, he is a genius “maker” with skill unlimited. His work is deeply complex and sometimes dysfunctional. Often it seeks to make a social statement; other times it reflects the life of growing up in the California hot-rod culture. His work involves impeccable craftsmanship, both technically and conceptually, and woodworkers everywhere are in awe of his skill. Both Michael Hosaluk and Michael Fortune have posters of Michael Cooper’s work hanging in their shops. That says something.

I’ve had the pleasure to get to know Michael on a personal basis. He is a soft-spoken pacifist who loves to make things that cause us to think. Michael says, “For adults, I would like them to look at a piece and enjoy trying to figure it out: OK, what does this do?” And: “Oh, I see. This does that.” When looking at his work, which spans nearly 50 years, it’s easy to see how he continues to push himself both through his skill and his designs. It’s like he is in competition with himself, always trying to outperform his last work. That drive keeps him young at heart and always on the move (from one planet to the next).

– Marc Adams