With several hundred pounds of red oak now sitting on my workbench, it’s time to get serious about building the two benches for my next book, “Roman Workbenches.”
The simpler of the two benches has a top that is about 3-1/2” thick, 18” wide and 7’ long. This will be a low bench – somewhere slightly above knee height but below the groin. The height will require some experimentation because the operator needs to sometimes straddle the benchtop for some operations.
As a result, 38” would be too high, even with my ostrich legs.
This bench’s workholding is super-simple: a planing stop (copied from one recovered at the Roman fort at Saalburg) and a Roman holdfast. Both iron bits were made by blacksmith Peter Ross. In the last couple months I have become very fond of the Roman holdfast, which holds like crazy.
This simpler bench will also feature some holdfast holes that occasionally will have some tall wooden stakes in them. More on this later (those of you who have read “Woodworking in Estonia” probably know what I’m tilting at).
The second workbench will be taller and made with a larger slab of oak. It will have a wagon vise (perhaps the first one ever illustrated), a series of forged-iron dogs and a twin-screw vise. Oh, and a ripping notch.
Both benches will be made using staked construction with no stretchers connecting the legs. For a variety of reasons I’ll explain later, the legs’ tenons will be cylindrical instead of tapered. Boring these 3”-diameter compound-angle mortises might seem like it will require a ship’s auger. But I have a plan.
After a long weekend of bagging groceries, Katy is cooking up more wax and she just listed 33 more jars on her etsy site.
This time she conned Funky Winkerbean to pose in a photo. Unlike the last cat, Funky didn’t mind the smell. Of course, this animal licks its own butt and seems to like it.
We’re also experimenting with making a non-stinky black wax. Our next batch is going to have carbon black in it – we are just waiting for our shipment to arrive. So stay tuned.
Anyone who listens to NPR as much as I do has to be tired of hearing about Brexit and the campaign trail. The best way to take your mind off of the craziness? Read the LAP forum! It’s the best way to spend your time while waiting for the market to recover. 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.
Staked dining table Cory finished his staked work table (above) and I am so glad he shared. I love the finish! He also added his own touch by including bevels. Take a look here.
SawStop Cast Iron Wings Mark bought a SawStop and one of the cast iron wings seems to be warped. Anyone have any suggestions for him on how they would fix it? He is out of ideas and his next step is to get a replacement.
Using a No. 45 Plane to Bead Tongue and Groove Anyone know what episode of “Woodwright’s” had Roy demonstrating how to use a No. 45 combination plane to put a bead next to a tongue and groove joint? If not, have suggestions on where Matt can get some insight?
“Progressive” lenses AKA bifocals? Have experience with progressive lenses and woodworking? Matt wants to know what you think before he takes the jump. Here’s where to go to help him make his decision.
“Woodworking in Estonia,” the cult classic woodworking book, is now available for pre-publication ordering in the Lost Art Press store. The book is $29 (that price includes domestic postage) and will ship in August.
You can read more about the book and order it here.
Our version of “Woodworking in Estonia” is the first authorized translation of this classic 1960s text about hand-tool woodworking in this fascinating Northern European country. The original Estonian book was translated by the Israel Program for Scientific Translations in 1969 for the Smithsonian and the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Since then it has earned a small but loyal following of readers including Roy Underhill, who named it one of his three favorite woodworking books.
But what’s the book about? And why should anyone in North America care about this ethnographic study?
I first obtained a copy of the book about six years ago – a version that had been in the Albion College Library and then dropped from its collection. It’s a curious-looking book. The text is typewritten, not typeset like a nice book from the 1960s. And the images are terrible. Dark, murky and occasionally indecipherable.
Despite this, I read it all in one sitting. It’s a fascinating look at hand-tool woodworking during the last 2,000 years. The tools are similar to what we know, but different in places. But what struck me then – and still strikes me today – is how well these woodworkers knew their material.
It’s not a “green woodworking” book. Yes, there are times that they use green wood. But there are times they dry it in a variety of ways, steam it, bury it in dung, whatever it takes to get the job done. They take advantage of the natural shapes of the branches to make tools and furniture components.
It is, I think, a much more balanced view of what woodworking was really like during the last 300 years. The wood isn’t all perfectly seasoned for years. And it’s not all fresh from the tree. It is, instead, all of those things and more.
Also fascinating are the objects made in Estonian workshops: spoons, beer tankards, bent-wood boxes, sifters, rakes, tables, chairs, chests and all manner of household implements.
In the coming weeks we’ll publish a couple excerpts from the book. But for today, we need a short nap.
About the Price In an effort to make “Woodworking in Estonia” accessible to all our readers, we’ve kept the price as low as possible – $29, which includes domestic shipping. We consider publishing this book both an honor and a public service. And we have tried to do the right thing at every turn.
This book is the first authorized translation, done with the full cooperation of Ants Viires (until his death in 2015) and his family, which will receive royalties from sales of the book.
We have obtained the rights to the original photos and drawings, which are crisp and clear compared to the original 1969 translation. And we are, as always, manufacturing the book to a high standard, with sewn signatures and cloth-wrapped hardcovers.
We hope you will take a chance on “Woodworking in Estonia,” like we did when we first made contact with the Viires family through woodworker David Lanneorg. Getting this book to press was a long and sometimes difficult process, but we think it was worth it, and I hope you’ll agree.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. We do not have any information yet on which retailers will carry “Woodworking in Estonia.” We’ll post it here when we know.
Technical drawing is an essential part of the craftsman’s professional equipment. The fact that the subject has some prominence in the syllabus of the City and Guilds should be noted by the student. A really efficient tradesman needs to be capable of “setting out,” i.e., drawing the form, construction and dimensions of any straightforward piece of work that he is called upon to undertake. The knowledge that his technical drawings may also be required to give effective guidance to others than himself should serve to impress upon the young woodworker the need for clearness and accuracy.
Working drawings are normally set out to show clearly the following aspects of the job concerned: (1) Main elevation; (2) Plan; (3) Sectional views (as required); (4) All necessary dimensions; (5) Constructional data.
Rods or skids, to which reference will be made, are usually set out in section only. For convenience of discussion technical drawings may be classified as: (a) Scale drawings; (b) Full-size drawings.
SCALE AND FULL-SIZE DRAWINGS Scale drawings. In scale drawing a selected lineal unit is made to represent a larger one. For example, in a drawing produced to a scale of 1 in. to the foot, each inch measured off on the drawing will stand for twelve inches on the actual job. A convenience of the method lies in the fact that, by first drawing out a design on a much reduced scale, it is possible to judge of its ultimate appearance and proportions before proceeding with a full size setting out. Apart from this advantage, it should be noted also that a scale drawing, accurately figured as to dimensions, is often all that is required for the guidance of a really practical man.
Questions are sometimes encountered in the City and Guilds examinations, the answers to which entail use of scale drawings. A typical test of this kind would require the student to set up a main drawing of, say, a bookcase to a given scale. Certain constructional features would perhaps need to be shown to a different scale, while the mouldings and ornament would probably be asked for in full size.
Showing How The Scale Drawings and Enlarged Details of a Piece of Furniture are Set Out. A. Scale Elevation and Sectional End Views. B. Scale Plans of Upper and Lower Carcases. C. Enlarged Horizontal Section through Doors. D. Scale for Elevation above. E, F, G, H. Enlarged Vertical Sections showing Frieze, Upper Carcase, Lower Carcase and Plinth.
Full-size drawings. Two methods are used for the production of full-size drawings. The first is to set up the drawing upon detail paper — a thin, tough paper that is specially suitable for subsequent blue-print production.
The other method consists in setting out the job in section on a rod or skid, generally in the form of a prepared (surfaced) board 8 ins. or 9 ins. wide and of suitable length.
The paper drawing. When a paper full sizing is set up, the various views of the job are superimposed one upon another: they are made distinguishable from each other by means of different colours. Thus, the main elevation would be drawn in black, the plan in red, and sectional details blue. The advantage claimed for this method—apart from the convenience of having only one sheet of drawings—is that it ensures accuracy in setting out, due to the fact that the various sections check against each other.
Often it is sufficient to set out only half of the main elevation and plan—that is, of course, when the two halves (right hand and left hand) of a job are similar. Dimensions in such a case are taken from a clearly marked centre line. The sectional view is shown in the ordinary way.
Full-size drawing on paper is especially suitable for the representation of “feature” work, i.e., elaborate cabinet pieces and woodwork that has much carved or inlaid detail to be shown. Special veneering treatments are also most readily conveyed in this way.
Figured dimensions are to be recommended, and it should be noted that such measurements should be arranged to check against over all sizes.
“
