The full-zip hoodie features the “Never Despair: Nothing Without Labour” artwork on the back. On the front is a friendly bee – a long-time symbol of woodworkers and other trades.
Oil-impregnated “Super Woobies” (we have multiples) get used many times each day in our shop to wipe down tools before we put them away. That not only keeps rust at bay, it helps to keep pitch and dust from accumulating on tools.
The woodworking pencils are robust, leave a good dark mark and sharpen easily.
The “Nicholson” bench – a popular style in the 19th century.
At our upcoming open house – 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, March 26 – you’re invited to help us build a workbench – or simply watch us work and ask questions.
We’ve been working with the Cincinnati Museum Center for a new permanent exhibit, Made in Cincinnati, that will include in the “made by hand section” an educational display about the very important 19th-century Cincinnati craftsman (and ahead-of-his-time ersatz epidemiologist) Henry Boyd. On exhibit will be one of his “swelled railed bedsteads” and a re-creation of his shop space, which is where this Nicholson-style workbench will end up.
We have been working on a book on Boyd for the last couple years – more on this exciting topic in the next week or so.
Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to find extant pictures or drawings of Boyd’s shop – but given the prevalence in his lifetime (1802-1886) of this sturdy and inexpensive bench style, it’s a logical inference that his bench was similar to the one featured in “Mechanic’s Companion.”
Join us in this build, and help us and the Museum Center celebrate the legacy of craft in our city and to share Boyd’s amazing story.
Made by Hand is scheduled to open July 1 at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Some elements will change over time, says Stacey Kutish, senior director of exhibition development, but she expects Boyd’s bed and shop exhibit to remain on display.
Photo 13 . Chopping the mortice. The true mortice chisel is shown and the workpiece is cramped to a morticing block which is held in a bench vice.
The following is excerpted from “The Essential Woodworker,” by Robert Wearing. In our opinion, “The Essential Woodworker” is one of the best books on hand-tool usage written in the post-Charles Hayward era. Wearing was classically trained in England as a woodworker and embraced both power and hand tools in his shop and in his teaching.
The mortices should be cut before sawing the tenons, as the latter are more liable to suffer accidental damage before assembly. It is not good practice to grip the work in the vice because then it cannot be tested for verticality, and if it is driven down in the vice during the process, it can become scored. Instead, cramp the work to a morticing block (Fig 106a) with G-cramps or handscrews. The block can be gripped in the vice (Fig 106b) or bolted to the bench (Fig 106c). This method is particularly useful when the bench has a front apron which prevents cramping. The morticing block is useful when the workpiece is small and thin.
Fig 107a shows how a shallow trench can be cut before beginning the mortice proper. Simply lean on the chisel until there is a crunch, then wipe the chisel across (Fig 107b) removing the small chips. The chisel can now be positioned without effort. Before starting to chop, put a depth mark on the chisel (a piece of masking tape will do). If two mortices are to be cut (Fig 108), two depth marks are required (Fig 109). Do not cut the first mortice to full depth or the second will be chopped over a hole and the inside corner may break away (Fig 110). The first mortice should be chopped to a reduced depth (Fig 111) then the second to full depth, thus avoiding this risk.
Having cramped the work securely to the block, drive in the chisel near one end of the mortice, bevel towards the centre (Fig 112). Check that it is vertical by placing a small straightedge against the true face (Fig 113); a longer rule will foul the handle. Withdraw the chisel, turn it round and drive in again with the bevel towards the hole. Push forward to break off the chip, then lever it out. Continue the sequence of drive in (Fig 114), break off the chip (Fig 115) then lever out (Fig 116). Continue almost to the end of the mortice, leaving a small piece of waste on which to lever. Frequently check that the chisel is vertical. Reverse the chisel and proceed to the other end. Continue the method, backwards and forwards until full depth has been reached (Fig 117). Finally chop down the ends at the knife marks, break off and remove the chip without bruising the ends.
Accuracy of depth can be tested by using an adjustable depth gauge or an improvized wooden one (Fig 118). If there is a haunch socket, this is chopped in the same way, right to the end of the component as in Fig 108. The mortice cannot be narrower than the width of the chisel, so it follows that any whittling of the sides of the mortice to neaten it will make it oversize. Keep the chisel vertical and do not permit it to twist as this will also result in an oversize mortice. The practice of first drilling a row of holes and then opening them up neither saves time nor produces a more accurate mortice.
Roy Underhill in his office, recording the audiobook of “The Joiner and Cabient Maker.”
“The Joiner and Cabinet Maker” is a short book written by an anonymous tradesman; it was first published in 1839. It tells the fictional tale of Thomas, a lad of 13 or 14 who is apprenticed to a rural shop, that builds everything from built-ins to more elaborate veneered casework. The book was written to guide young people who might be considering a life in the joinery or cabinetmaking trades, and every page is filled with surprises.
Unlike other woodworking books of the time, “The Joiner and Cabinet Maker” focuses on how apprentices can obtain the basic skills needed to work in a hand-tool shop. It begins with Thomas tending the fire to keep the hide glue warm, and it details how he learns stock preparation, many forms of joinery and casework construction. It ends with Thomas building a veneered mahogany chest of drawers that is French polished. However, this is not a book for children. It is a book for anyone exploring hand-tool woodworking.
Even more delightful is that Thomas builds three projects during the course of his journey in the book, and there is enough detail in the text and illustrations to re-create these three projects just as they were built in 1839.
When Lost Art Press published the expanded edition* of “The Joiner and Cabinet Maker” in 2011, a teacher of autistic students approached LAP about an audiobook of the original 1839 text to help teach craft history. Their students weren’t able to read the book, but they could listen to it. So we asked the inimitable Roy Underhill to help us out. He brought not only his hand-tool knowledge but his excellent thespian training to the project.
Why don’t we offer audiobooks of more of our books? Well, they are the posters of our aural world…which is to say this one made no money. Was it worthwhile? Absolutely – it helped an underserved audience of students. But it took a lot of investment of various resources, and we do have lots of cats to keep in kibble.
But because the audiobook made almost no money, we’ve decided to now offer it free to blog readers. You can download the 22 zipped mp3 files below for 125 minutes of listening pleasure. When you click the button below, the file will likely go directly to you “downloads” folder. (Yes, we are sure the link works; we have checked it a dozen times.)
*The expanded edition of “The Joiner and Cabinet Maker” includes not only the original text, but a historical snapshot of England in the early 19th century by Joel Moskowitz, and chapters on building the three projects (a Packing Box, a dovetailed Schoolbox and a Chest of Drawers), plus complete plans, from Christopher Schwarz.
As the Industrial Revolution mechanized the jobs of the joiner – building doors and windows by hand – one anonymous joiner watched the traditional skills disappear and decided to do something about it. That joiner wrote two short illustrated booklets that explained how to build doors and windows by hand. And what was most unusual about the booklets is that they focused on the basics of construction, from layout to joinery to construction – for both doors and windows.
Plenty of books exist on building windows and doors, but most of them assume you have had a seven-year apprenticeship and don’t need to know the basic skills of the house joiner. Or the doors and windows these books describe are impossibly complex or ornamental.
“Doormaking and Window-Making” starts you off at the beginning, with simple tools and simple assemblies; then it moves you step-by-step into the more complex doors and windows.
Every step in the layout and construction process is shown with handmade line drawings and clear text. The booklets are written from a voice of authority – someone who has clearly done this for a long time.
During the last 100 years, most of these booklets disappeared. Booklets don’t survive as well as books. And so we were thrilled when we were approached by joiner Richard Arnold in England, who presented us with a copy of each booklet to scan and reproduce for a book.
VENETIAN, or, as they are sometimes called, marginal light, windows are very fashionable at the present time, having in a great measure replaced the bay window, although the same style is sometimes adapted to the bay, instead of the usual upside-down sliding sashes. These windows are, as may be gathered from the drawings, of the casement variety, and the sashes should be made to open outwards if possible, this being the better way to keep out the wet.
In Fig. 108 we show one of these windows fitted with four lights or casements, the two outside ones being hinged to the jambs, and the two middle ones, which fold together, being hinged in like manner to the mullions. The casements in this frame run from sill to head, the upper part being divided into small squares as shown, which is the simplest way of forming an artistic window.
Another method of filling in these window frames is shown in Fig. 110, which shows the filling between the mullions. Here the casements are in two heights, the bottom pair being hinged in the ordinary way to the mullions ; the other, which is wide enough to fill the whole space, is hinged at the top, and opens outwards, the bottom rail of this fitting to the others either as section, Figs. 111 or 112. The former is the simplest way and least liable to get out of order, but the latter is best as regards the stopping out of wind and water; but when the window has been repainted a few times it is apt to work badly.
Windows made in this way are very convenient, as it is possible to have the top only open, or the whole, as required. The folding casements in either style of window come together with a rebated joint, as Fig. 113.
Suitable sections for head and sill for these frames are shown in Fig. 114, the grooves in the latter being to form a cement key under, and to take the window board. It will also be noticed that the bevel of the sill finishes with a hollow, forming an undercut rebate ; this should not be omitted, owing to its use as a water trap.
