Good morning! I hope you all had a good weekend and are ready for the week to get rolling. I know I’m not (I’m blaming it on allergies) but here’s hoping better things for you. It’s a big week with Woodworking in America taking place so take time to read the forum now before you start trying to keep up with all that is going on in Cincinnati. Remember, if you have a question about our products, procedures in our books or anything related to Lost Art Press, the fastest way to get an answer is our forum. Check it out here.
Plow Plane: Avoiding Tear-out Adrian is making frame-and-panel doors with quartersawn wood that has some wild grain on the edges. The question is, are there any tricks for avoiding tear-out on the edges of the groove? Weigh in here.
Barrister Book Shelf Russell has some antique and collectible books that he would like to protect and he is considering building a barrister book shelf to do so. He is wondering if anyone out there has built one before. Perhaps you have some pointers for him?
Shellac and Milk Paint Has anyone used shellac over milk paint? And if so, how did it turn out? A few readers have given there opinions and one caught my eye. George coated his milk paint with General Finishes Enduro and I loved the result (picture at top). What is your solution?
Roy’s Spring Pole Lathe Completed I have seen a lot of people excited to try building this project shown in Popular Woodworking Magazine. This is the first image I have seen of someone’s completed project. Congrats Markus, and it sounds like you are having a lot of fun with it!
Fig. 4.1. Learn to chop mortises accurately and efficiently and you’ll be able to build most anything. Joint stools will give you lots of practice – there are 16 joints in each one.
Now we can return to the framing parts, starting with the stiles. The first step is to layout the mortises. We’ll outline these steps one at a time because it can get confusing. We will call the mortises for the front and rear rails “straight” mortises, those for the canted ends of the stool we will call “angled” mortises.
Stack the four stiles together, with their beveled inside corners touching, and with radial faces up.
These radial faces become the “front” and “back” faces of the stool. Take one stile, and work on its radial face.
Fig. 4.2. This story stick is another example of something for which we lack period evidence; but its effectiveness can’t be beat. In addition to serving as the principal layout reference, it functions as a wooden notebook of sorts. If you make a number of different stool patterns, mark them with the date.
To lay out the stiles’ square blocks and the straight mortises, it’s easier to use what a carpenter now calls a “story stick” that is marked with the stiles’ details, rather than working from paper drawings or patterns. This shop-made stick records the markings that are then transferred to the stile. We have made these sticks to record different stools. The locations and heights of the squared blocks, turning details and positions of mortises can all be taken from the stick to the stile. It is best to mark ONE stile from the stick, then the other three stiles from that first stile.
Make sure the foot of the stile is trimmed square. Line up the foot of the story stick and the feet of the stile. With an awl, mark the limits of the square blocks and scribe these marks across all four faces of the stile, with one exception – the top of the stile is marked only on the radial face and the corresponding inside tangential face (where the straight apron mortise is located).
Fig. 4.3. Prick the points with the awl, then scribe them with the square and awl. Sharpen the awl with a file from time to time. Careful, it can draw blood when it’s sharp.
Now line the stick up on the inside face and mark the locations of the mortises on this tangential face.
One thing to keep in mind is that the top of the apron mortise is not at the same height as the top of the stile. This mortise drops down about 3/4″ from the stile’s top end. Eyeball the top of the apron mortise and scribe it with the awl and square.
Fig. 4.4. This is a technique that if we heard it somewhere, we have forgotten where. It works very well. No ruler, no fiddling with the gauge up against the chisel’s sharp edge. Mark the timber with the chisel, then put the chisel down. Very safe, and simple.
Fig. 4.5. Now move the chisel over one chisel-width. And lean on it. Now your setting is marked on the timber, and you just need to set the mortise gauge according to the chisel marks.
The next step is to mark the mortises with the mortise gauge. To set the gauge, make a mark with your chisel’s edge perpendicular to, but right against the stile’s arris. Next, move over one chisel width and bear down hard enough to make a mark in the wood. Then set the pins of your mortise gauge according to the location of this second chisel mark. The result is a mortise that is set in from the face of the stock the thickness of the chisel. Our mortises are usually 5/16″, set in from the face 5/16″. This spacing is based on studies of period work; 5/16″ is almost a standard from what we have seen.
Fig. 4.6. Using both hands on a marking or mortise gauge might seem like overkill, but the oak is very fibrous, and when it’s green it can catch the gauge’s pins. The result can be irregular and it’s hard to re-mark a line once it goes astray. Extend the marking lines beyond the top and bottom of the mortise, this way you can check the spacing of the joint if you find you need to reset your gauge – if, for instance, it falls on the floor.Fig. 4.7. Here is an adjustable bevel, and the modified one Alexander turned into a fixed bevel. If you are using one flare angle regularly, this is the way to go. It’s easy enough to come up with an extra adjustable bevel.
The Angled Mortises To find the location for the angled side mortises, use an adjustable bevel set to the desired flare angle. A slope of 1:6 is what we have used on several stools. Our studies of 17th-century stools show flare angles right around that figure, some less, none more. To set the bevel, set a straightedge on a framing square, positioning it at 1″ on one leg, and 6″ on the other. Then adjust the bevel to this angle and lock its nut to secure the setting. You can then scribe this angle on a piece of wood, or even scribe it on the wall. Like the adjustable gauges, the bevel can lose its setting if bumped. Having the angle scribed somewhere makes it easy to reset it. Alexander turned an adjustable bevel into a fixed one by threading a bolt through its stock and blade.
To lay out the side mortises, you must carry the line that designates the top of the stool from the front radial face across the side tangential face. Set the bevel with its handle on the front face of the stile. Line it up with the marked top of the stool, with its angled blade pointing upwards on the other outside face of that stile. Scribe this line with the awl.
Then use a square to carry this line across the other inside face. So the sequence is square, bevel, square. Remember that it’s best to carry the lines across the outside faces; the inside faces are unreliable. This layout is both simple and complicated at the same time. Sometimes it helps to stand the stile up and tilt it as it will be in the finished stool. Then you can easily visualize where the angled mortises are and how they rise up higher than the straight mortises.
You can repeat this process for the top edge of the stretchers’ mortises. Or you can mark this from the story stick, this time lining up the top of the stool with the scribed line that designates the top of the side apron.
Now mark the mortises’ height and width on these faces of the stile. After you mark out two stiles, lay them side by side and check that they agree. A front or rear pair should have their radial faces matching, with the straight mortises aiming at each other, and the side, angled mortises rising up toward the top of the stool.
I hope that Labor Day means free time around your house and not “try to catch up day” like it it is here. I’m not complaining though. When catching up consists of picking up after a fun weekend and reading through a bunch of Lost Art Press folks sharing ideas and builds then life is good. Hopefully you are doing the same. Remember, if you have a question about our products, procedures in our books or anything related to Lost Art Press, the fastest way to get an answer is our forum. Check it out here.
Rehandling a Hammer Jacob has a ball peen hammer that he loves using, but it has a crack in the handle right near the head that makes him a little nervous. (picture at right) He is looking for advice from anyone who has tried re-handling a hammer. Help him out here. And learn about a tool that can fix the problem.
Kitchen/dining Table Finish Have any suggestions on a durable finish for a beech kitchen table? Martin wants the table to maintain its natural look but still be able to stand up to his family’s nightly dinners. Let him know what you think would work best.
Softwood Chop Jason is building a knockdown Nicholson bench and is getting to the point where he needs to figure out his plan for the chop on the leg vise. He is thinking he will laminate 2×12 Douglas fir boards but hasn’t decided on the final method yet. Vote for one of his two proposed plans here.
Left-Handed Workbench Are you a lefty? Are you a lefty who has a preference on whether your bench is built for a lefty or not? Perfect. Marvin wants to know what you think. He is building his own bench and can’t decide which route to take.
Repair My Ash – Kerf on the Wrong Place Nathan originally posted looking for help on how to repair a few dings to his bench build. As it turns out, the LAP community pretty much all suggested he leave them and and let the bench have the early battle scars that it has earned. I think it was the right move and the final product looks sweet (picture above). It gets my vote for best build of the week. See the story here.
A table saw has a fence, a powered jointer has a table, your bench has dogs or a stop. Like any other task in our craft, bracing a piece while working is necessary. The solution is not always obvious. A sticking board is the appliance you will make to hold your work as you create profiles using your planes.
A sticking board in its simplest form is a base, a backer board and a stop. I use 1/2″-thick MDF (medium-density fiberboard) with screws set in a few inches from the end for the stops.
I add screws on both ends of the sticking board for the times when I need to plane in the opposite direction so the board’s grain runs in my favor. I make the sticking board wide enough so that it can be pinched between the dogs on my workbench and puts the work near the front edge of my bench.
Most of the force you exert upon the piece with these planes will not simply be downward against your bench. The piece you are working is often angled, so the planes are held at an angle, too. Simply clamping a piece between two bench dogs is not ideal for several reasons. This is one of those reasons.
A sticking board gives you a backboard to press against and resists this lateral pressure. The sticking board can be clamped in your bench between dogs and/or held down with holdfasts, screws or numerous other solutions. A firmly held sticking board prevents the workpiece from snapping out of the dogs and you from doing a belly flop across your bench and damaging the plane, iron and the moulding being stuck on your bench.
The sticking board will also prevent the clamping pressure of the two dogs from distorting a thin moulding.
Sticking Board Dimensions
Because the piece being worked upon is not usually pinned in the sticking board, gauging your progress does not require you to bend down and look for gauge lines, leftover rabbets or at spots in less-than-ideal light. Simply pick the piece up, rotate it and examine it.
As a moulding becomes more intricate, so does the sticking board. The rabbet for a picture in a frame is cut first, making it more difficult to work from that point. Attaching a perfectly dimensioned piece to the board can make a non-square piece sit square again.
Sticking Board Options
Attaching an angled plate to the sticking board allows the user to attach a crown moulding to the board.
The options for specialized sticking board design are too many to list. Change the board to fit the piece.
Finally, a sticking board, if rigid enough, can turn a typical 7′-long workbench into something more than 8′ long. I even have a game plan for the time when I need something even longer.
Good evening and welcome to Monday. After you order your copy of the “Stanley Catalogue No. 34” it is time to read the forum. Remember, if you have a question about our products, procedures in our books or anything related to Lost Art Press, the fastest way to get an answer is our forum. Check it out here.
Dealing with a Water Stain How does one remove a water stain from untreated European oak? Or can you? If this is an area you have expertise in, here is the place to leave some advise.
Bookcase Finishing Kevin is trying to figure out in what order he wants to paint, glue and nail his bookshelf. He asked if anyone had pictures of their projects showing these steps done in different orders. A few people have responded and this bookshelf by Michael gets my vote! (above) You can give your feedback here.
Project Ideas for k5-2nd Grade Mark is going to be teaching kiddos a little something about woodworking and is looking for project ideas. They will be using cedar, leather, and copper tacks, nails or rivets. If you have ideas for him, let him know here.
Moravian Workbench: Does it Stand up to Hand Planing? This question is pretty straightforward. Robert just wants to know if this bench can handle dimensioning boards cross grain with a scrub plane. Help him out here.
Panel Saw for Bench Work Shannon is in the market for a panel saw and is looking for recommendations. Right now she is looking at the BT&C Hardware Store saw and curious to know if anyone has feedback on it. If you do, or have another panel saw you would like to vote for, here is the place to comment.
Dutch Tool Chest with Leather Hinges I have seen many people on the forum looking for cheaper alternatives for hinges that still give personality to their projects. I like Mark’s solution for his dutch tool chest. The leather hinges added turned out to be a great addition. More pictures here.
