Rumors of my Demise Have been Greatly Exaggerated!

It has been a while since my last post, so I figured I would share an update and some pictures to show what I have been working on. Since starting my new job, I have been expanding my hand woodworking skills at an alarming rate. Helving axes, making mallets, fixing beetles, splitting pale, hewing logs, and a whole other slew of incredibly useful skills (relative term according to The Boss) for a self proclaimed woodwright!

I wont go over everything that I have been up to in this post...that would ruin all of my great material, plus I think the long-windedness (awesome new word) of a post like that would scare away any potential readers. I will however share the first completed project that I did as a 17th century carpenter.

We were making a new goat pasture so naturally we needed a garden gate to get in and out of the pen. I started with a huge oak log and split, rived, trimmed, and smoothed my way to reasonably flat and straight lumber. Green woodworking really is a beast of a different color, and it is great fun trying out new skills that have been essentially extinct for at least a hundred years or so. The gate was assembled using hand wrought nails and a method called clenching...which is basically a way to bend nails on purpose. Another important note is that everything is done using traditional 17th century vernacular, so before making this gate I went and did some research into paintings, engravings, woodcuts, and written documentation on the appearance and construction of garden gates (it seems a little bit overkill when I write it out).

A garden gate with riven oak and clenched nails. That should keep the goats at bay!

Another adventure I had very quickly at my new position was going to see Mr. Schwarz himself give a talk on the history of tool chests. We hosted the Early American Industries Association for a day, and in return we were able to attend their conference down in Hyannis.  Most of the material was taken from The Anarchist Tool Chest, so I was familiar with it, but there was some additional pictures and information not included in the book, most notably some stunning sneak peak photos of the H.O. Studly tool chest (Google it if you have never seen it...you're welcome).

Chris Schwarz in the flesh ladies and gentlemen. 

I have a ridiculous amount of photos and stories that I have been accumulating in the last three months, so check back often as I am planning on clearing up my backlog and returning to boring you all to death with erroneous details.

Wood Finishes for Tree Huggers

I am a hippy in hiding. I obsessively organize recyclables, buy organic food, use natural body products, avoid chemical cleaners, and the list goes on and on.  As an extension to my obsession with "All-Natural" I have been on a hunt for the best possible wood finishes without compromising Mother Nature and my health. At the same time I don't want to sacrifice the overall beauty and durability of the projects that I work so long and hard over.

My first real dilemma with natural finishes came when I started making wood cutting boards as presents for my family members. I agonized over how to protect the wood without simultaneously poisoning them and their dinner guests. Using my favorite interweb algorithm I found a great recipe for a cutting board finish made with pharmacy grade mineral oil and natural beeswax. Mineral oil and beeswax are used for a whole host of internal and external personal care products so they are perfect candidates for a natural, food safe wood finish.

Cutting Board Blanks Fresh from the Planer

So here is the super-duper secret recipe. Heat the mineral oil and add the beeswax until it melts. Yup, it is that simple. The ratios are really dependent on your preferences, add more wax for a stiffer buffing paste, or more oil for a milky rubbing lotion. I personally like an oil to wax ratio of 3 to 1. This allows a nice creamy paste when the finish is cold, and I feel that it seeps into the wood when I let it sit for a while.

A Whole Lot of Boards after Raising the Grain with Water

Applying this paste is as easy as making it. There are no crazy rules like modern high tech finishes, "Apply to a clean hypoallergenic surface that has been blessed by a Rabbi, let sit for 2 minutes and 37 seconds, then immediately wipe off with a mixture consisting of 21/32nds mineral spirits and 11/32nds turpentine, then re-apply within 79 minutes or after 9-1/2 weeks, but only on Sundays and Thursdays, or the second Friday of every lunar cycle!'...well you get my point. Simply slop it on the wood, let stand for 30 minutes (or 30 hours for all I care), and then buff it off with a clean rag. I promise you will have a great looking, velvety, safe for food finish that cost less than $5 for 16 oz.

A Finished Cutting Board being put to the test making Omelets.

What about the cons you ask? Let me explain some of my perceived disadvantages.

Is this the most durable finish? No, it has to be reapplied every once and a while when the wood seems to be drying out.

Is it the most Eco-friendly solution? Most mineral oils are a byproduct of petroleum refineries, and the fact still remains that petroleum<organics.

Does it contain any VOCs? Only if you consider the smell of warm honey a VOC.

So overall I would say that the mineral oil/beeswax finish is far better than most salad bowl finishes or polyurethanes, but not as environmentally sound as an all natural oil. But for the time being I can fall asleep at night knowing that all of the recipients of my hand made waddayacallits don't have to worry about toxic solvents and chemicals tainting the beauty and enjoyment of the wood.

PS I wrote this post about six months ago...but somehow it got lost in the pipeline...alls well that ends well right?

Poliss-what Redux

As a way to fuel my obsession with woodworking, and in an attempt to offset my tool budget, I make and sell laminated cutting boards. Generally I just wipe on and wipe off my homemade super secret (not really) oil/wax finish. This produces a velvety surface that is very impressive when clients receive their cutting boards, but I find the finish generally lacking in the longevity department. I always provide a can of the wax paste for routine maintenance, but I am continually looking for ways to improve the quality and utility of my products. A while back I purchased several Polissoirs from Don Williams to try my hand at some traditional wax finishing techniques. After months of procrastinating, I finally put 'em to work.

To start out I melted down the oil and wax, lathered on a nice thick coat, and let it absorb into the wood for ten to fifteen minutes. Next, I dipped the Polissoir into the liquid wax, allowing the end of the straw to absorb the finish.

Marinating the Polissoir...I am not sure this was necessary.

I began burnishing the surface of the cutting boards using broad, quick strokes along the long grain of the wood. The wax had partially solidified on the surface of the wood, which provided a great...slurry?...with which to work into the pores of the wood. It was amazing how much wax I could burnish into the cutting boards.

Starting with a forwards-backwards stroke, speed and pressure seem to be important.

After the initial burnishing, the thin layer of wax had been completely absorbed. As a result I added some more wax, and burnished the surface again until it seemed that the surface was slick and the wax was no longer being absorbed. Notice I switched hands on the second round, this technique is tiring!

Half way through I switched to a side to side motion, still going along the long grain.

When my arm finally gave out I wiped the excess wax off and buffed the cutting board with a soft cotton rag. The finish was absolutely amazing. Instead of a velvety, delicate feel the cutting board was hard, shiny, and felt incredibly solid. Even The Boss said that it gave the boards a solid professional feel that they were lacking originally (kind of a back handed compliment if you ask me). I am hopeful that this finish will be much more robust in use, and I have made myself yet another cutting board to compare to my original finishing technique.

All in all I am incredibly impressed with the Polissoir, and I can't wait to try out various other techniques on more intricate works. Plus I always like to add another technique into my bag of tricks!

Curse You Internet!

The casting is clean, and Hock Tools has teamed up to make an Iron for the kit.

I was perusing Joel's blog over at Tools for Working Wood and he had a post about a great little smoothing plane kit that is based off an old Work magazine reprint. The kit comes from Sturnella Toolworks and seems to be a unique project that is hard to come by these days. I have always wanted to do an infill smoother (with compound dovetailed sides and sole), but this kit seems to offer a similar end result while actually having the prospect of getting finished, plus the price is right. Now all I have to do is convince The Boss that I need yet another tool kit...wish me luck.

PS. I am starting to think I should rename my blog to "The Clueless Iron Monger"...but it just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Too Many Tools, Too Little Time

For my birthday I received several awesome gifts from my very supportive friends and family. I asked for a set of joinery backsaws (dovetail and sash) and they delivered.

Looks like I will be practicing my saw wright skills in the future.

The only problem is that none of them have handles!!! Luckily my in-laws also got me a handle maker's rasp (I must talk way too much about my hobby at parties). Unfortunately I am starting my new job as a Plimoth Plantation Artisan, so I am extremely limited in time. This means that I will have to put off handle making for some time, or use the saws handleless getting my greasy mitts all over the nice bright blades.

Hand Stitched rasp made specially for shaping totes. It is toothed on the curved side and smooth on the back.

PS. I am very lucky that my job as a hand tool carpenter is getting in the way of my hobby of hand tool furniture construction, I guess I can't really complain.

PPS. As you can see from the photographs these tools came from Tools for Working Wood and their Gramercy Tool Line. This is my favorite hand tool company and I can't recommend them enough."

Bitter Sweet

Today was the last day at my current job as a carpenter. It was a bitter sweet day, I am not leaving because I hated my job, or it wasn't paying enough, but rather to follow my passion of hand tool woodworking. Starting on Monday I will be an Historic Arts and Trades Artisan at Plimoth Plantation. This is truly an amazing opportunity, but it does mean that I had to leave my current position at a company that I truly enjoyed.

As a going away present, one of my coworkers gave me an old wooden fore plane. He hoped that I might be able to use it at my new position. It is truly a beautiful tool, and it seems to be a fine worker (once the iron gets a good honing).  I am anxious to put it to wood...but unfortunately I am starting the new job, commuting much farther than normal, fixing up the house to put on the market, and doing all the other normal stuff that goes with life, so I am very short on time. In the meantime it will serve as a badass knick knack, and a reminder of the great company and group of guys that I used to work for.

The Gettin' Was Good

I know that all of you have been anxiously waiting by your computers to find out what tools I got from my excursion to the Hollis Flea Market on my birthday (cue the crickets), so without further adieu, here is a list of what I picked up.

A healthy days take!

Starting from left to right. The larger handsaw is a Disston D8 in remarkable condition. It has the two handed grip (with the thumb hole) and both horns are intact. The tote is stamped with patent dates, the latest being  Nov 18 1879. This places the saw approximately from the early 1880's as Disston was "fiercely protective" of their patents during this time period. The blade is 26" at the toothline, and is filed to an aggressive 7ppi rip pattern with a skewed back. The etch is still clearly visible and the blade seems to have only minor surface rust (although a good cleaning will tell for sure). There is one tooth broken off about 2/3 of the way towards the tote, but I will probably leave this be as long as it doesn't cause major problems after sharpening. There is a gentle bow to the blade,  which from my understanding is the result of being sharpened on a machine.
Price $25

A close up of Disston's patent wars.

The next saw is another Disston D8. This saw has a 20" skew back blade with a 10ppi crosscut filing. The tote has broken horns, but they have been sanded smooth and refinished. The tote is missing the lowest saw nut, and as a result has a little bit of slop (hopefully a replacement nut will take care of this). Based on the medallion and the etch on the blade I have dated this saw from approximately 1940-1947. There is very little surface rust on the blade, and the teeth are in good shape.
Price $8

Moving along is the small Disston back saw. I have little info on this saw, and it probably wont be usable. It has a 10" blade filed to 14ppi crosscut and a steel back. The handle is a little loose, and the blade has a noticeable kink at the toe. I purchased it because it was cheap and I figured I could use it to practice my saw doctoring skills. As a bonus The Boss said it was "so cute" that we could hang it up for decoration if it was un-salvageable (see True Love).
Price $10

A "Warranted Superior" Medallion Generally means a Lower Quality Saw

The next tool that I found (after many a flea market and antique store search) was a simple 9-1/2 Stanley block plane. For one of the most common planes EVER made, this little guy was surprisingly difficult to find. I search every time I go anywhere, and what I generally find are cheap Stanley knock offs, over rusted pieces of scrap metal, or planes that have been so well loved they aren't square, flat, smooth, usable, or worth a penny. With that being said, I was thrilled to have found this little guy.

A 9-1/2 disassembled. After some love this will be put to hard work.

The iron is in surprisingly good shape, needing only a good honing. The adjustable mouth was seized with rust, but after opening it up it seems a good cleaning and lapping should make it move smoothly. The selling point of this block plane was the condition of its throat. Everything was crisp and strait, just like it was from the factory. The sole of the plane is also in great shape, only having superficial rust.
Price $10

The movable toe should be an easy fix with some cleaning and oiling.

The barrel in the picture is an old nail keg I found at an antique store down the street from the flea market. Not much to say about this, other than I got it as a great replacement for a plastic barrel in my shop. The price was right and it looks much nicer in the corner. I have seen these go for upwards of $70 on ebay.
Price $27

EXTRA PICTURE BONUS!!!

The coup-de-gras of the whole day was hidden under some old paperback books strewn out on a blanket. The dealer didn't even know what it was, and definitely didn't know what it was worth. But as soon as he told me the price I couldn't throw my money at him fast enough. It is a really nice pair of 6" dividers, cast steel, with a friction joint hinge. These are very similar to my favorite set of dividers (what? you don't have favorite dividers?!?!?!) originally shown to us by Joseph Moxon himself. But as apposed to the $125 reproductions made by blacksmith Peter Ross the price was just right.
Price $1

Not quite as handsome as Moxon's, but you can't beat the price.

Overall I am thrilled with my luck for my birthday. Overall I spent $81, but I think I took home way more than $81 worth of tools.