One of the odd things about the face vise I’m building into this Holy Roman Empire Bench is the twin-screw face vise. Unlike every other face vise I’ve seen in the wild, this one is inset into the benchtop instead of proud of it.
Why? On its surface this plan seems less than ideal. Because the jaw of the vise will be sitting in a notch in the benchtop, it won’t be useful for edge-jointing long boards. If the jaw were proud of the benchtop, it would be ideal for edge-jointing.
I’ve been scratching my head about this for months (maybe longer). The best explanation I can come up with at this point is that this assembly allows you to save a little wood. You can cut the jaw away from the benchtop and then use the off-fall as the vise’s jaw.
So that’s exactly what I am doing today.
The jaw is 1-3/4” thick x 26” long. I laid out my cuts and then used my circular saw to kerf the benchtop, giving me a nice guide for my rip saw. After ripping the jaw with a handsaw, I clamped the jaw and benchtop together so I could crosscut the jaw free from the benchtop without it falling or splintering away from the work.
The resulting surface from this operation is pretty clean, though it is a little in wind (less than 1/16”), which I’ll address after the bench dries a bit more (did I mention the top was at 60 percent moisture content?).
Next up I’ll dress the jaw cautiously so I don’t lose too much thickness. Then I’ll turn the threaded screws and nuts for the vise and line the jaw with adhesive cork.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. I think I’ll scratch my head bald about the end vise. More on that in the coming week.
I’m finishing up the editing on “To Make as Perfectly as Possible: Roubo on Furniture.” On Wednesday it goes back tot he translation team to review our edits. Then to the printer. We are shooting for a November 2016 release of the standard edition. (Details on a deluxe edition to come.)
All of the pieces in this book were designed using dirt-simple techniques that rely on photos of old furniture, a pencil, scraps of wood and wire clothes hangers.
The method allows you to stand on the shoulders of successful designs and alter them to fit a particular space in your home, to remove ornament or to even change the purpose of the piece (you can turn a stool into a desk).
It begins with finding a piece of furniture with an attractive form or, as I like to say, “good bones.” It doesn’t matter in what style or period the piece was built. What matters is that the piece’s proportions and lines hit you in the gut.
The chair and backstool in this book both began with a piece from Victor Chinnery’s classic “Oak Furniture: Fine British Tradition.” I liked the rake of the legs, the four evenly spaced spindles and the smallish crest rail.
But there’s a problem when starting with a photograph. As a photographer friend says, “Photos are lying bitches.” Well-designed furniture looks good from almost every angle, and a photo shows only one view-point. The solution is to make a quick digital model or small mock-up.
To do this, you need some dimensions. I use a pair of dividers and a ruler to work these out. For example, I knew that the seat of the back-stool in Chinnery was about 14″ from the floor. That allowed me to figure out the width of the seat and the other relevant dimensions. Some dimensions, such as the depth of the seat, I guessed at using ranges from “Human Dimension & Interior Space.”
If I’m building a case piece, I then make a quick 3D model in a computer-aided design (CAD) program. No joinery. No details. Just boxes that reflect the mass and major components of the piece. Then I rotate the piece and look at it from all angles to see if the photo was lying.
‘Modeling’ Projects in ‘Wireframe’ Modeling chairs or any staked piece in CAD, however, is stupid. OK, “stupid” is a strong word. It’s much faster to make a half-scale model using scraps and wire.
Nice backside. When I began designing the chair in this book, I started with rear legs that were angled 30° off the sightline. This angle gave the chair a wide stance that looked great from the rear.
Bambi? Is that you? But when I viewed the model from the front, the chair began to resemble a newborn fawn that was struggling to stand.
Fix you. Just like in nature, the answer was to help the model stand up a little more straight. In a chair, I usually make changes in 3° increments or so. But because this chair looked splayed like a squashed spider, I changed the angle by 5°.
I epoxy the wire legs into the plank seat and bend them into position with pliers. As you’ll see in the next section on staked furniture, this modeling process will also solve the geometry problems for you when building the piece.
Then I put the model on a table and walk all around it. I bend and snip the wire legs until the piece hits me in the gut the same way the original photograph did.
At this point I’ll do one of two things: If I have the time, I build a quick full-size prototype from junk wood. This allows me to work out some of the joinery and construction problems that I might not have anticipated.
If I’m in a hurry, I take a picture of my wire model, print it out and draw on the printout. I might add bulk to the legs, scalpel bulk from the seat, add spindles and other details.
Then I head to the shop and build what I pretty much know is something that will work.
Run Forrest. The 5° alteration changed the stance significantly. Viewed from the rear and the front, the chair looks more like a bird dog in the field.
If this process sounds arduous, you might not be ready to design your own pieces of furniture. Stick to plans – there’s no shame in that.
Design, like anything in woodwork, takes a little effort. I’ve never met anyone who can design a piece using pure inspiration and nail it on the first try. The process outlined above, however, is the shortest distance I’ve found between desire and satisfaction.
It is not an early morning forum update like it usually is, but it is written from the most scenic viewpoint so far. Instead of my office I am sitting in beautiful Turkey Run State Park in Indiana. After an exhausting morning of hiking it feels great to sit back, relax and write the update. (Especially when it is quiet because your husband has the toddler.) A lot is going on in the forum these days, this update is just the tip of the iceberg. So don’t rely on me; make sure to check it for yourself throughout the week. 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.
Worktable and Bookcase Adam is looking to put a version of the bookshelf from “The Anarchist’s Design Book” on top of the worktable from the book. He has a sketch drawn up but thinks it looks a bit top heavy. See the rendering here and give your thoughts.
Steaming Boards Flat Anybody have experience trying to steam boards flat? Another Adam has finally found the Brazilian mahogany boards that he has been looking for but they are a bit wavy. If you have any tips to give him, here is the link.
Strong Trunk: How to Accommodate Wood Movement with Brass Straps Inspired by “Campaign Furniture,” William is about to start on a trunk. However, he is concerned about the brass straps constraining the wood and leading to splitting. If you have advice or would like to see the responses so far, the post is here.
Workbench Holes worn out from Holdfasts Shannon has a “Naked Woodworker”-style Nicholson bench that is less than a year old. She has noticed that a couple of the holes on the bench have become ovals and are no longer holding the holdfasts as tight as they used to. She has a few ideas on how this issue could be resolved but is looking for some insight from those who might have had the same issue. See if you can help here.
ADB Bookcase – An Eagle Scout Project Hats off to Brett and his son for taking on the bookshelf from “The Anarchist’s Design Book” as an Eagle Scout project. Brett’s wife works at a Title 1 school that was in need of six bookshelves and their son rose to the occasion. Pictures are above and the link is here. Awesome work you guys!
You can register to attend the Crucible Tool event at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 using this link. Please note that we can accommodate only 100 attendees because of fire codes. So don’t dally.
