Lost Art Press

Author: meghanlostartpress

Door Construction: Five-Panelled Door

Posted on by meghanlostartpress
door1
FIG. 1. ELEVATION WITH SCALE The same construction could be used for other panelled doors

This is an excerpt from “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Volume II” published by Lost Art Press.

Although the five-panelled door described in this article may interest only a small section of our readers, the construction is applicable to most other panelled doors. With small doors, such as are used in cabinets and cupboards, stub tenons would be employed, that is to say the tenons would not be taken right through the stiles

Before commencing work on a door such as that shown in Fig. 1, the careful worker will prepare a “rod,” (Fig. 2). This comprises a clean, unwarped board on which are set out vertical and cross sections of the door in full size. A rod is very useful since the work can be laid on it and the various dimensions quickly marked off.

Stiles. In preparing the stuff for the stiles, it is imperative that the edges should be square and the faces out of winding. If only one stile or rail is slightly twisted it will cause the whole door to wind—a defect that cannot be easily rectified. Assuming that the stuff has been trued up and the face sides and face edges marked, lay one of the stiles face downwards on the rod and strike up the sight lines for the rails on the face edge, the lines being made with a pencil. The stile is then rested with its face edge upwards and the mortises marked with pencil lines, allowing 1∕2 in. where necessary for the plough grooves.

door2
FIG. 2. ROD WITH DOOR SET OUT IN FULL SIZE

These lines are now squared over to the back edge where further lines are squared across on either side of the mortises for the wedges. For hardwood, 1∕4 in. wedges will suffice, but for a softwood the wedges should be 3∕8 in. It is as well to arrange that the face-edge marks of the members of the frame should be towards the inside of the frame since this will enable the frame to be put together without having to mark the various joints. Having set out one stile, pair the other with it, placing the face edge marks upwards and the face side marks to the outside. It is as well to clamp the stiles together with G clamps while they are being marked out so that they will not shift. The lines marked on the first stile can be squared across the second stile and the setting out completed.

At this stage, lay each muntin in turn on a stile and mark the shoulders, the marking being done with the knife. The shoulder lines should be made a little full so that when the door is put together the shoulders will be hard up against the rails.

Rails. The middle rail is laid on the width rod and the sight lines of the stiles and muntins are marked and squared across, the shoulder lines for the tenons being knifed. This done, the mortises are set out, allowing 1∕2 in. for the plough grooves. The proportions of the tenons are indicated in Fig. 3. The other three rails are clamped together with the lock rail and the lines squared across, the shoulder lines being squared all round. In setting out the top and bottom rails, it should be arranged that the face edge marks will be towards the inside of the frame when assembled. A mortise gauge is now set to a chisel having a width approximating 1∕3 the thickness of the stuff, and the mortises and tenons gauged.

door3
FIG. 3. VIEW SHOWING JOINTS

Care should be taken not to allow the gauge lines to go beyond the sight lines, otherwise they will show when the door is put together. The widths of the tenons should be gauged and the haunches marked with the knife.

Cutting the Tenons. It would seem that the work can be made easier by cutting out the haunches before sawing the tenons, since by so doing the saw cuts are made through a smaller width than otherwise would be the case. It will be apparent that if the haunches of the top and bottom rails are cut first, the side gauge lines will be cut away. This is of no great consequence to a skilled worker who will be able to cut the tenons having the end gauge lines and those on one edge to guide him, but the inexperienced worker will find it necessary to start sawing the tenons by making oblique cuts on either side and finally finishing each cut by sawing level. He will therefore need the gauge lines on both edges.

For one who is not accustomed to cutting tenons, it is as well to saw down for the tenons before cutting away for the haunches. The whole success of the job is dependent on cutting the tenons parallel with the face sides. If one is out, it is almost sure to put the frame in winding. As the mortises will be chopped out from both edges, in the case of the stiles, there should be little chance of their being out of parallel.

door4
FIG. 4. TESTING FOR LEVELNESS


Testing the Joints. When the joints have been made, individual joints should be tested for levelness with a straightedge as shown in Fig. 4. It will also be found if any of the shoulders require easing. The frame can then be knocked together in the following order. First the muntins are fitted in the rails and these are stood on end and a stile is knocked on. The frame is then inverted and the other stile fitted. A test for winding can now be made and any faults corrected.

Fitting the Panels. Some workers prefer to cut the panels 1∕8 in. narrow in their length and breadth, but it is only necessary to make this allowance in the widths.

In gluing up, the muntins should be first clamped to the rails commencing with the lock rail. The stiles are then knocked on and clamps applied as shown in Fig. 5, the clamps being positioned as close to the tenons as possible. The wedges should be cut so that they pinch harder on the inside.

door5
FIG. 5. DOOR BEING ASSEMBLED

By so doing, the stiles will tend to move from the outside towards the shoulders when they shrink. The wedges of the frieze and bottom rail tenons should be driven in harder on one side than the other so that the muntins pinch the rails.

door6
FIG. 6. SECTION SHOWING BOLECTION AND PLAN MOULDINGS


Mouldings. Typical door mouldings are shown in Fig. 6. The lower “planted in” moulding is fixed by bradding to the frame. If the mouldings are attached to the panels they will tend to draw away from the frame when the panels shrink. In order that the mouldings should make a good fit against the panels and frames, it is a good plan to clean up the square faces of the mouldings so that the corner angle is a shade greater than a right angle. This will ensure the mouldings coming hard up against the panels and frame.

— MB

Characteristics of Timber

Posted on by meghanlostartpress
13.1
Figure 13.1. Straight grain illustration.

This is an excerpt from “Cut & Dried” by Richard Jones.

The word grain brings to mind several characteristics of wood. It is an indistinct word requiring context. If someone says, “That wood is beautiful,” what do they mean? They might be referring to the patterns, colours, striking illusory figuring or the lustre. Alternatively, the comment may be in response to touching the polished wood, and it is a reaction to its smoothness or roughness.

I think every person, whether they be a woodworker or lay person, has an instinctive concept in almost any circumstance of what they think the nebulous word “grain” means. In truth, it is really necessary for the sake of accuracy and the ability to communicate effectively to provide some context when discussing the subject. Perhaps most commonly inferred or understood amongst woodworkers when we say grain is a reference to its orientation within the longitudinal axis of the trunk or limb, e.g., long grain, with the grain, across the grain or cross-grain. This really summarises the primary characteristic of grain – its direction. The word grain holds fuzzier meanings for laypeople. They recognise the wood displays patterns and shapes visible on the surface along with concepts such as lustre and colour. They generally have an indistinct concept of such characteristics as strength as it relates to grain direction or the importance of allowing for expansion and contraction.

13.2
Figure 13.2. This ash veneer sample is straight grained, uneven pored and is ring porous.

A parallel exists when I deal with inexperienced woodworkers. Their inexperience sometimes leads them to make elementary construction errors. They sometimes inadvertently make two sides and a top of a solid-wood box where the long grain runs conventionally up and down the sides and left to right on the top. Then they add a bottom where the long grain runs front to back. In the same vein, new woodworkers will mistakenly fix a solid-wood table or cabinet top down to a framework. Both these examples of construction errors are likely to lead to failure because neither allows the wood to expand and contract across the grain.

Grain
Terms used to describe grain putting the subject into context are “end grain,” which is a transverse crosscut surface, e.g., the view of the end of a board; “side grain,” which is a tangential cut parallel with the growth rings, and “flat grain,” a plank cut out of a log at right angles to the growth ring, i.e., radially cut.

Further definitions adding specificity to grain descriptions in the log or trunk of a tree are as follows:

13.3
Figure 13.3. Straight-grained red pine. Red pine in British timber trade terminology refers to Scots pine.

Straight grain. The fibres run parallel to the long axis of the tree. An example of a correctly sawn tangentially cut board shows centred-arching grain patterns in which the legs of the arches are of roughly equal length as is their angle from the centre line of the board (figures 13.1, 13.2 and figure 13.3).

13.4
Figure 13.4. Diagonal grain illustration.

Oblique grain, cross grain or diagonal grain. The fibres show as anything from a slight deviation to a severe deviation from straight grain. The least deviation is usually described as oblique grain; the most severe, diagonal grain. However, many sawmill operators, wood sellers and woodworkers themselves make no distinction between the names and describe all deviations as cross-grain, oblique grain or diagonal grain depending on their preferred nomenclature and local custom. In a cut board, this may be caused by tangentially sawing a spiral-grain log, or through a poor choice of cut made by the sawmill operator. Boards cut from crooked logs and logs with significant sweep frequently show cross-grain defects. Another cause of cross-grain is because of the sawmill operators choice of cut when milling heavily tapered logs, i.e., a log that has a small diameter at one end and a much larger diameter at the other. Cutting parallel to the pith results in cross-grain boards, many of which are tapered in their width. To win straight-grained boards the solution is to “taper cut,” wherein the log is cut parallel with the bark. This too results in some planks tapered in their width, particularly as the cuts approach the pith. However, this form of cutting does result in more clear, straight-grained boards because the greatest majority of the knots in a log are clustered around the pith, the tree’s original stem. A mature tree in a forest with a trunk of sizeable girth puts out relatively few side branches compared to a young sapling.

— Meghan B.

Moxon on the Square

Posted on by meghanlostartpress
Art-of-Joinery
Moxon’s square. This square – more stylish than modern ones – is made from wood and is designed to be trued on occasion. Its decorative ends are similar to what Roubo will show about 100 years later in France.

This is an excerpt from “The Art of Joinery” by Joseph Moxon with commentary by Christopher Schwarz. 

Joseph Moxon’s text is in italics. 

Of the square and it’s use.
The square, marked D, is two adjunct sides of a geometrical square. a The handle. b The tongue. c The outer square. d The inner square. For [a] joiner’s use, it is made of two pieces of wood, the one about an inch thick, and the other about a quarter of an inch thick. These two pieces are severally shot exactly straight and have each of their sides parallel to each of their own sides. The thick piece {called the handle} has a mortise in it as long {within a quarter of an inch} as the thin piece {called the tongue} is broad, and so wide, as to contain the thickness of the tongue. The tongue is fastened into the mortise of the handle with glue and wooden pins so [that] the two outer sides {and then consequently the two inner sides} may stand at right angles with one another.

The reason why the handle is so much thicker than the tongue is because the handle should on either side become a fence to the tongue. And the reason why the tongue has not its whole breadth let into the end of the handle is because they may with less care strike a line by the side of a thin than a thick piece: For if instead of holding the hand upright when they strike a line, they should hold it never so little inwards, [then] the shank of a pricker [an awl-like marking tool] falling against the top edge of the handle would throw the point of a pricker farther out than a thin piece would. To avoid this inconvenience, the tongue is left about half an inch out of the end of the handle.

Another reason is that if with often striking the pricker against the tongue it becomes ragged or uneven, they can with less trouble plane it again when the stuff is all the way of an equal strength [that is, same grain direction] than they can if crossgrained shoulders be added to any part of it.

Art-of-Joinery2
The pricker I presume? This tool is missing a call-out, but it is shown with the dividers and a rule, so it could be surmised this is the pricker that Moxon discusses. It does seem to be a marking tool.


Its use is for the striking of lines square – either to other lines or to straight sides, and to try the squareness of their work by. To strike a line square to a side they have already shot, they apply the inside of the handle close to the side shot and lay the tongue flat upon the work. Then [on] the outside of the tongue they draw with a pricker a straight line. This is called striking, or drawing of a square. To try the squareness of a piece of stuff shot on two adjoining sides, they apply the insides of the handle and tongue to the outsides of the stuff. And if the outsides of the stuff do all the way agree in line with the insides of the square, it is true[ly] square. To try the inward squareness of work, they apply the two outsides of the square to the insides of the work.

Analysis
Moxon’s explanation of the try square’s anatomy is fairly straightforward, though the description of the square’s tongue is a bit awkward, despite efforts to unscramble it. What Moxon is saying is that it’s easier to scribe a line against a thin tongue than a thick tongue. Why? You are less likely to miss your mark when you tip your awl (or knife or pricker) and place it against the tongue. If the tongue is thick, your error can be greater.

Moxon’s other two explanations for why the tongue is thinner are better: The handle can then be used as a fence against the work, and the tongue is easier to plane back to square after it becomes ragged.

I think Moxon also has made a small error here: He first implies the tongue should extend out of the handle 1∕4″. Then he says later it is 1∕ 2″ (which is the distance used by Roubo in his later work). It’s impossible to tell which is correct from the illustration.”

Art-of-Joinery-3
We also learn a bit about the pricker here, though it is not called out in the plates. (Could it be the bulbous tool shown beneath the dividers on plate 5? This tool is not on F.libien’s plates to my knowledge.) One guess is that the pricker is like a striking awl: A rod of steel sharpened to a point at one end that is used for striking lines for joinery.

The description of using the square is revealing: It implies that the inside and outside angles of the square should both be square. Some writers have suggested that only one or the other is important. Here Moxon is clear: The try square is square on both the outside and inside of its tongue and is used for both striking lines and confirming that your work is square, inside and out.

— Meghan B.

 

Slöjd Butter Knife

Posted on by meghanlostartpress

ButterKnife


This is an excerpt from “Slöjd in Wood” by Jögge Sundqvist.

Carving a butter knife is a good beginner project. It may seem to be an easy object to make, but the design requirements require some reflection. A tapered handle with a thin blade is important to work well.

Tools required Axe, knife, drawknife (optional).

Material Juniper (Juniperus) is moisture resistant, dense and durable. Rowan (Sorbus) and maple (Acer) are excellent alternatives, as well as ring porous woods such as oak (Quercus) or ash (Fraxinus). My preference is to use birch (Betula) because it is convenient to make butter knives and spatulas from straight-grained leftovers from splitting green logs. It is also possible to split out blanks from naturally crooked blanks, if you wish.

BK1-1
Carving direction for a butter knife.


Make the Butter Knife Select a straight-grain, knot-free piece of wood approximately 25cm to 30cm (9-1/2″ to 11-3/4″) long by 10 or more centimeters (3-15/16″) in diameter. Split it right through the pith of the wood. From one half, use your axe to rough out a piece 5cm (2″) wide by 2cm (3/4″) thick. Hew carefully along the wood grain, working down the grain so you don’t split the piece apart.

BK2-1
Rough-finished and rough-carved blanks.
It is important the handle fits the hand well
and the blade is thin and flexible.

If you need to remove a lot of material, use the axe to hew relief or scoring cuts nearly to your line. Start at the bottom and work your way up the blank. Then come down with the axe to chop this waste away. Taper the handle gradually toward the blade. If you have access to a shaving horse, it is a good idea to use a drawknife to quickly shape the form and create even bevels, or you can use a knife. Taper the blade’s thickness from 6mm (1/4″) along the back to 3mm (1/8″) toward the edge. Feel the thickness with your fingers. A butter knife must be flexible or it will be too stiff to use. Cut or saw off the excess handle material and carve the bevels. The handle should be 16mm to 22mm (5/8″ to 7/8″) thick and have a total length of 170mm to 180mm (6-3/4″ to 7-1/16″).

CARVING AWAY FROM YOURSELF
Apart from the common elbow grip, there are some powerful and safe grips known as the power grip and the scissor grip.

Note that safety is important. The grips must be safe in your hand to give you the confidence to use the knife with the strength that is needed to cut through the wood. There are several tricks to get strength and controlled cuts, depending on the object you are making and the carving challenges.

BK4
Power grip.


Power grip Hold the knife close to the blade. Drive the knife powerfully with a straight arm, without bending your elbow. Use the muscles in your shoulder and back. Lift your shoulder and carve downward with a smooth and firm movement. Tilt the tip of the blade upwards and skew the knife as you slice. The slicing action is from the handle toward the tip. Be sure that the bevel is riding on the wood. The concave bevel is supporting the cutting edge. This is one of the most common grips.

BK5
Scissor grip.


Scissor grip This is a grip providing good strength and, above all, control. Hold the knife in your hand with your palm facing upward and with the edge facing outward. Be sure that your thumb is on top of the handle. Take the material in one hand and the knife in the other, forming a pair of scissors in front of your chest. Curl your shoulders in a little and press your hands to your chest. Start the cut from the base toward the tip while you pull both the blank and the knife.

Slide your forearms along your body and feel how your shoulder blades and your shoulders pull back. This action helps your forearms to lever the cut, using large muscles. Press your knuckles onto your body. It is a combination of pulling the blank and slicing with the knife that makes the cut. If you want to make short stops, for example in the transition between the bowl and stem, press your knife hand firmly to your body, adding friction to stop. This is a strong grip.

BK6
Pull grip.


CARVING TOWARD YOURSELF
Pull grip Hold the far end of the blank with your off hand and support it against your chest. The thumb of the knife hand rests on top of the handle and the tip of the knife is tilted away from the body. This way the base of the thumb hits the body before the knife releases from the wood. To provide safety, tuck your forearms against your ribs. Pull the knife toward your body and let the edge run from base to tip. While pressing and sliding with the forearm of the carving hand toward your chest, your wrist remains stiff. Press the bevel into the wood while you carve. This provides good support and a nice surface.

FINISH
Decorate and paint the handle with linseed oil paint, but don’t paint the blade or you will paint your food! Once the paint is dry, place the spatula blade in linseed oil and soak for a couple hours. The linseed oil must be foodgrade – raw, cold-pressed and sun-thickened. (In the U.S., food-grade linseed oil is usually labeled as flaxseed oil.) Wipe off the excess oil with a rag or paper towel. Dispose of oily rags properly.

— Meghan B.

Compensating for Movement

Posted on by meghanlostartpress

With-the-Grain-2


This is an excerpt from “With the Grain” by Christian Becksvoort. 

With a background in forestry, wood technology, furniture construction and restoration and many decades of joinery, I’ve developed a system of case construction that fully allows solid-wood panels to move throughout the seasons. None of it is entirely original, most is borrowed from antique builders, some is common sense and a minute portion (expansion washers, for example) is my solution to age-old problems. No case I’ve ever restored utilized all of the described techniques, so this is more or less a compilation of the best joinery I’ve had the privilege to restore and learn from.

Once the panels are glued, sanded and cut to size, construction can begin. Edges need to be cut parallel and ends perfectly square. The best sides should be oriented toward the outside and so marked. Then rabbets are cut on the inner back edges to accept the case back. The joints to attach the top to the sides can be a screwed butt joint, single or double rabbet joint, through- or half-blind dovetails, or even a splined miter. If the case is to sit on an applied bracket base, the same joinery can be used for the bottom.

Before gluing the top to the sides, a bit of planning is in order. This is the time to cut matching dados and grooves for any interior dividers, shelves, or web frames to support drawers. If the case side runs all the way to the floor, the bottom is usually dadoed or secured with sliding dovetails 4″-6″ (10-15 cm) from the floor. In either instance, glue or screw blocks (shown below) should be used underneath to strengthen the joint. Once all the interior joinery is cut, the four sides of the case can be glued and assembled.

With-the-Grain1

A web frame (shown at top) consists of four or five narrow pieces dovetailed and mortised and tenoned together to support drawers. Although extra work, they do save both material and considerable weight. The preferred method of building web frames to give maximum support to the drawers, yet allow the cabinet sides to fully expand and contract, is as follows:

The horizontal side-to-side frame members have dovetails on both ends and mortises on the inside edges, right next to the dovetails. The front-to-back drawer runners are tenoned on both ends. The shoulder-to-shoulder dimension of the runners should be slightly less than the distance between the front and back frame members. On the case interior, there should be four short dovetail slots (two per side, to accept the side-to-side frame members), connected by a shallow dado, roughly 1/8″ deep (.32 cm).

To assemble: The front side–to-side piece is glued first. When the dovetails bottom out, the front of the case and the just-installed member should be flush. Next, glue is spread into the front mortises. Then the drawer runners are inserted into the side dados and the front tenon is slid into the front mortise, both left and right runners. Lastly, the back side-to-side frame member is glued into the dovetail slots. The back mortise and tenon are not glued. This allows the joint to telescope in and out, as the case sides expand and contract. The gap between the runners and the back frame member could be as much as 1/8″ to 1/4″ (.32 to .64 cm) if the panels are close to 14 percent MC, and will most likely shrink; smaller if the side panels are closer to 6 percent MC and expansion is anticipated.

A final word about case bottoms: If a solid wood bottom is used, glue blocks should be installed. If, however, a web frame is preferred to save weight, then a dust panel should be incorporated to seal the bottom. Grooves should be cut on the inner portion of the web frame, and a panel fitted during assembly to seal out dust and dirt. Generally speaking, dust panels are not required on other interior web frames.

At each step of construction the case should be checked for squareness. Small errors tend to accumulate if not rectified from the start. Before fitting the back, the case should be carefully checked to be sure it is square. Assuming that both sides are identical in length, and the top and bottom widths are the same, then simple diagonal measurements will point out any errors. Measure from the top left corner of the case to the bottom right, then from the top right to the bottom-left corner. If the two measurements do not match, a clamp between the two longer corners should pull it into position. Re-check the measurements before proceeding to build and install the back of the case.

— Meghan B.