Fine Woodworking - 1000 Methods of Work - Tips From Readers.pdf - Stolarstwo(1) - robocz

Finish Samples

Every woodworker and wood finisher has experienced the

frustration of trying to describe the peculiar merits of a par-

ticular finish to his customers or to his fellow craftsmen.

Words fail because the essence of a fine finish is sensory—one

appreciates it through the fingertips and the eyes. My answer

is a collection of finish samples, which I have been developing

and refining for the past three years. Constant questions from

my refinishing students and patrons forced me to develop it

as a tangible answer; my system should work equally well for

the amateur craftsman or the professional.

Start with 40 or more pieces of wood about 1/2 by 4-1/2 by

9 inches, a convenient size for handling and storage, yet large

enough to display the finish. Mahogany is a suitable wood

because it is so often encountered in old furniture that needs

refinishing. My collection includes both plain-sawed and

quarter-sawed wood, and I keep a piece of raw wood as a

control. It's a good idea to bleach a couple of pieces too; they

will come in handy later on.

All the pieces should be carefully sanded at the same time,

following your usual techniques, to ensure uniformity. I use

garnet paper and start with 100 grit until all the milling

marks are gone, then I sand with 150 grit before filling. I

apply paste wood filler to one face, edge and end of the

sample to illustrate the contrasts that will appear in the

finished piece, and then sand to 280 grit. When all the wood

is prepared, it is ready to receive the finishes you most often

work with. The samples can be set aside and worked up one at

a time, or you can do intensive work to build up a nucleus of

the more common finishes and add more, or play with

variables, later on.

The possible variables include finishes on raw woods,

finishes over various sealers, stains, fillers and finishes over

other finishes. Additives in finish materials, such as driers and

stains, produce interesting results. Several blocks of wood, all

finished with the same material and then rubbed out with

abrasive flours to show the development of a polished surface,

say more than words ever could. Finally, finish samples can be

subjected to stresses such as alcohol, chemicals, water and

burns to test your efforts.

It takes many hours to produce a fine set of finished

specimens, but the extended exercise is worth the effort. It

leads to conformity in each finished product and makes the

finisher familiar with a wide range of materials and their

application. The result is a unique educational tool that can

be shared with others and always expanded. It will last

forever, and it saves a lot of talking.

— David Adamusko, Alexandria, Va.

Sliding Dovetail Saw

English Plane

There are thousands of old Stanley wood-bottom planes to

be had at antique shows, flea markets and garage

sales—usually for under $10. With a little work, most of these

can be put back into service. I usually cut 1/4 in. from the

bottom of the plane, then epoxy a new sole of lignum vitae or

rosewood in place, and then recut the mouth.

To make a sliding dovetail saw you will need a piece of

hardwood (maple, beech or fruitwood) 1 x 5-1/2 x 13 in. and

two flat-head 3/16 x 1-in. bolts with tee-nuts. The blade can

be an old band saw or bow saw blade. It should have 10

points to the inch, although 8 will do. I use a ripsaw blade,

which I find cuts better and faster than a crosscut. The slots

allow the blade to be set to the desired depth.

Last year I saw a beautiful English plane that was not

available here, so I made one like it. The heart of the plane is

a modified Bailey frog mechanism, which provides the

standard metal plane adjusting features. The frog could be

removed from an old metal plane or purchased as a

replacement part. It was modified by filing away the two

— Tage Frid

tongues at the base, then mounted in

the wooden body (Fine Woodworking,

Winter 1975) by setting two threaded

inserts for bolts.

accommodate lengths of 3/4-in. pipe,

standing vertically, each fitted with

extension clamps of the Sears variety.

Two or more clamps may thus be

mounted in conjunction with cross

members for clamping frames, boxes,

chests or chairs in gluing position. Four

or more clamps form a light-duty

veneer press against the bench top.

on the tail vise, thereby holding long

pieces of wood on the bench.

— Harold F. Lathrop, Milan, Ill.

Vee-Block for Resawing

I have had only mixed results using a

rip fence on a band saw for resawing

wood. Unless the blade teeth are

perfectly set and sharpened, the blade

tends to drift even though the board is

firmly held against the fence. This

Depending on the thickness of the

sole, it might be necessary to modify

the cap iron by retapping the screw hole

and adding a second square hole for the

depth-adjusting lever. I wanted the

plane to be as colorful as possible so I

used lignum vitae and walnut for the

sole, purple heart for the sides, rose-

wood for the front and beech for the

handle.

The advantage of this gluing method

is that the work is always held true and

square because the bench is a flat

reference surface.

The holes for the pipe clamps are

spaced about 8 in. apart. A crosspiece

between two clamps may be used as a

bench stop in conjunction with the stop

—Allen Weiss, Queens, N. Y.

Bench-Top Clamps

drifting can cause the wood to bind and

will leave a wavy surface.

The blade's tendency to drift can be

sidestepped by using a vee-edged block

My bench has two rows of holes along

the front and back edges. These

attached to the band saw table, as in

the drawing. The block is located so

that its rounded point is even with the

toothed edge of the blade, and at the

desired thickness of board from the

blade. The block must be carefully

made so that the radius at the vee is

square to the face of the blade.

To use this approach the board to be

resawed is scribed along its edge at the

desired thickness. The vee-block pro-

vides a guide to hold the side of the

board parallel to the blade. The board

is fed into the blade with the operator

free to swing the unsawed end to

counter the drift. The surface will still

need to be planed before it is of

furniture quality, but this setup is

much easier, faster and more accurate

than using a rip fence.

— M. G. Rekoff Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.

Clamping Splined Miters

scrap into strips and glue it directly to

the carcase on the outside of each joint.

Spread glue lightly on the scrap strips,

not on the carcase itself. Try to use

scrap with the grain running crosswise

as it will be easier to remove.

This creates two parallel surfaces to

apply clamping pressure directly across

Ball Plane

I was recently asked to make a

double-curved "ball plane" with

which to smooth a laminated cherry

sphere five feet in diameter.

The wooden sole of the plane is

curved throughout its length and

width, combining the traditional sole

design of the wheelwright's compass

plane and the joiner's hollow molding

plane. I followed the plane-making

methods set out in your first issue to

make the basic plane, which is 10 in.

long, by 2-7/8 in. wide and high. The

blade angle is 47 degrees and the iron is

a 51-mm (2-in.) "Record" tungsten-

vanadium iron and cap set.

After making the block, a template

was used to trace a section of a five-foot

diameter circle on the sole. The sole was

then chiseled to within 1/16 in. of true,

and a flat scraper was used to finally

reach the true line. This operation

formed the curve throughout the sole's

length. The plane bottom was scraped

slightly hollow so it would function like

a Japanese smoothing plane, hitting

the work at three points only: front,

the joint. No large bar clamps, which

usually bow the carcase and distort the

joint, will be needed. The joints may

be assembled one at a time or all at

once, depending on the size and

geometry of the work.

After assembly the scrap can be

chiseled and planed away and any glue

residue scraped and sanded off. Most

plies are so weak when cut into narrow

strips that a sharp hammer blow will

break the waste, leaving only a few

shreds of face veneer to clean away from

the work.

The splined miter, an excellent joint

for plywood carcases, can be difficult to

glue up. One way is to save the scrap

when the miters are sawed, and use it

for clamping blocks. Cut the mitered

—John Kelsey

back and cutting iron. This helped level

the ball in every direction. A spoke-

shave and another scraper, ground and

shaped to the same 5-ft. arc, were used

to curve the sole across its width.

The iron was then roughly ground to

the same curved line and finally

brought to the exact curve with a

sequence of increasingly fine sharpen-

ing slips.

I used white beech for the sole and

the main part of the block, oak for the

top plate and wedge, walnut for the

front horn and cherry for the rear palm

handle. The handles were shaped to fit

the hand whether pulling or pushing.

The entire plane weighs only two

pounds, an important consideration

since many days were spent bringing

the sphere to within 1/4 in. of a five-

foot diameter.

Eduardo A. Rumayor, Bronx, N. Y.

ADDENDA, ERRATA, ETC.

O n th e workbench drawings i n th e fal l

issue, in Piece 11 (p. 45) the hole for

the benc h screw shoul d be 1-3/ 4 inche s

up from the bottom , not the 2 inche s

indicated . And the missin g type on

Piece 10 (p. 43) shoul d read 1-3/ 4

inches... . The reversin g third drum for

th e strok e sande r in th e summe r issu e is

no longe r availabl e as a stoc k item .

Georg e Mooradia n say s he'l l mak e

some up if he gets enoug h orders .

Otherwise , he recommend s his off-the -

shelf Mode l 1000 specia l extende d shaft

mandre l a s a substitute... . W e invite

our readers to submit item s fo r ou r ne w

Method s of Wor k section , as well as

article s and book reviews . But on the

articles , try the idea out on us first. Our

paymen t upon publicatio n is $100 per

magazin e page , prorated , wit h a

minimu m o f $2 5 pe r item . . . . Art

Credits: Drawing s by Imag e Area... .

Picture credits: 28 , 29 , Bruc e Mervine ;

60, 61 Charle s Hall, Rodne y Vowell .

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