Making Space for Hand Tools

Like many contemporary woodworkers, I started out with power tools.  I assembled the usual array--workbench, tablesaw and bandsaw, jointer, planer, router table and sanding equipment, among others.  I set up shop in a basement cleared of accumulated clutter and installed my power tools within reach of a good dust collector.  Convinced that power tools would meet all my future needs and desires, I went so far as to declare I'd never need to use handplanes.  I mean, just how wrong can a fellow be?

It wasn't long before I began acquiring handplanes and learning how to set them up and use them.  Then it was chisels.  And handsaws.  And so, I converted from a complete Normite to a hybrid woodworker with a growing desire to build things using hand tools.

But while my woodshop afforded me space for my power tools, there was no good place for hand tool work, no spot where I could use a sawbench to break down lumber, no place for a sharpening station, no open area for assembly, no way to keep my burgeoning lumber stash from frustrating my attempts to move around the shop.  I began to have visions of building a new woodshop outside to meet my growing need for space.  My wife even went so far as to suggest just that.

It took my friend Jeff to see what I could not--the potential for reorganizing the space available right in my basement to yield more usable work area.  And so, with his vision and assistance, we transformed the cellar in a few short hours and opened up at least half again as much space as I was already using.

Now all my power tools are in one area and my hand tool operations in another.  Now I can walk past my lumber rack without fear of tripping.  I can saw a board with plenty of clearance.  I can wheel my assembly table into an open space for four-sided access when needed.  I have room for a sharpening station near my workbench.

My wonderful wife was ready and willing for me to build a new woodshop.  Fortunately, with her support, I've been able to get nearly the same result at little expense.  I think I now need to build something to repay her.  But that's what it's all about, isn't it?  I think it's time to head down the stairs to my cellar woodshop and start something special.

Norm

Update on 2014

Well, so far this year, things haven't turned out as I planned in my last posting.  Early this year I was diagnosed with cancer in a couple of places and in February I had an operation to remove it.  The operations was, by all accounts, successful, but it did take me out of the shop for the better part of four months.  As a result, I haven't gotten very much done on the goals I set out for the year.  Needless to say, when next January rolls around, much of what I planned will remain undone.

Still, I have done a few things.

• Jeff Fleisher and I introduced our new birdcage awls and began selling those via the web.  Sales have been very good.  We continue to sell our Shenandoah Mallets as well.
• Jeff and I are signed up to have a vendor booth at this year's Woodworking in America, which will be held in Winston-Salem, NC, September 12-14.  We will be busy this summer producing enough stock to meet the expected demand for our awls and mallets.
• I built a bird's mouth fixture to use with my turning saw.  I purchased that from Tools for Working Wood at last year's Woodworking in America.  I can't say I've learned to use it effectively yet; that remains an objective for this year.
• I built a pair of shop bents to go with my sawbench.  For these I used salvaged Douglas fir from stairsteps that were replaced in our house.
• I resumed teaching at Woodcraft the other day with my Handplane Basics class.  That is a milestone for me on my road to recovery and I will now be able to teach the other classes I'm planning to conduct.
• I installed my new General router table.  I got the one with the cast iron table.  The router is also new, the 3 1/4 hp Porter Cable router, which should give me all the power I'll need.

I'll still work on the other projects I proposed for this year, though my emphasis will be on preparing to teach several new classes.  For those, I need to first build the projects we will be building in class so I am fully prepared to teach them effectively.  I do want to finish the bedside tables and the natural edge walnut coffee table, at a minumum.  And, I'd like to build a Greene and Greene style clock based on plans from a November 2010 Wood Magazine article.  Other projects may simply have to wait until next year!

Norm

My Goals for 2014

Well, it's that time of year when, Janus-like, we look back at what we've accomplished in the preceding year and ahead to what we hope to achieve in the coming one.  Here are my lists.

2013

This was a very busy year for me, woodworking-wise.  While I accomplished a lot, I also started a number of things that remain unfinished.

My friend Jeff Fleisher and I started a small business, Shenandoah Tool Works, and began production of premium woodworking mallets featuring highly-figured hardwood handles.  The mallets come with steel heads in 1 lb. and 1 1/2 lb. weights.  Business started off well and our mallets have been well-received.  We attended the Woodworking in America show in Cincinnati in October and did a good business there, getting valuable exposure in the process.

I continued working on a pair of white oak bedside tables.  I hesitated over several construction problems that I eventually solved and the cases are now glued-up and awaiting drawers. 

I upgraded my Nova 16-24 lathe to the Nova 3000 DVR model, which seems more powerful and is certainly easier to use with its adjustable speeds.

I sold off my Craftsman radial arm saw, now that I'm using handsaws to dimension my lumber.

I joined Shannon Rogers' Hand Tool School and began learning from Shannon many of the mysteries and skills associated with hand tool woodworking.

I started work on a joinery bench, following plans developed by Shannon Rogers in the Hand Tool School.

With a colleague at the Leesburg, VA, Woodcraft store, I designed a Hand Tool Woodshop class series  that he and I will be teaching on a monthly basis.  The idea is to teach hand tool skills while letting students build new and useful appliances and tools.  Examples are bench hooks, shooting boards, and saw benches, among others.

I was able to locate a natural edge walnut slab that I planed smooth, mostly by hand, for use as a coffee table top.  I also purchased another slab of highly colored maple and was able to get a slab of beautiful red box elder that I also plan to turn into a coffee table.

I undertook a lot of additional, smaller projects that are too numerous to recite or even to recall.

2014

I hope to focus my attention this year on a select number of high priority objectives:

• Complete and finish the bedside tables.
• Build a base for the walnut coffee table.
• Build several Jefferson lap desks  like the one on which the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776.  I have a wonderful mahogany board waiting for that purpose.  I'll follow the plans from Charles Neil's Mastering Woodworking on-line sessions for that.
• Recommence work on a Winchester Chippendale secretary that I started several years ago in a class with Jeff Headley and Steve Hamilton at Woodworking Workshops of the Shenandoah Valley.  The casework is completed but not glued-up, the drawers remain to be built and all the pigeon holes need to be created.  I'm sure I won't be able to complete the project this year, but I want to make significant progress on it.
• I want to learn how to cut dovetails by hand with precision and ease.
• I want to complete the joinery bench I started in 2013.
• I want to build a sharpening station.
• I've ordered a General International router table with a cast iron top and hope to have that installed in late January or February.
• I'd like to turn a number of items using the cherry, hickory, apple, box elder and other blocks I have stored away.

• I want to continue teaching hand tool techniques at the local Woodcraft stores, including the introduction to hand planes, restoring old hand planes, saw bench, shooting board and other classes.

• Jeff Fleisher and I will continue to produce our premium woodworking mallets.  And, we expect to begin offering a hand-forged birdcage awl sometime early this year as well.

I'm sure other things will come up during the year, principally projects from the Hand Tool School that I'll want to tackle, such as the Limbert Table from Semester Two.

Did I say a select number of high priority objectives?  Well, I guess I've put a lot on my plate for this year.  It remains to be seen how much of this I will actually be able to accomplish.  Check back next January!

Norm

Writing for Wood News Online

For over a year and a half now, I've been writing articles and, mostly, book reviews for Highland Woodworking's Wood News Online.  This has been a lot of fun for me, since it combines my twin loves of woodworking and writing.  But it has come at a price--I have not had the time to be a faithful contributor to this blog as a result.   I'll try to make up for that in the future.

In the meantime, it might be of interest to know some of the postings I've made to Wood News Online.  My first article  appeared in May 2012 and was called "Hand Planes: Unlocking the Mystery"; it was a review of techniques for using hand planes in woodworking.  This article draws on my experience in teaching handplane techniques at my local Woodcraft store.

This was followed by a series of book reviews.  You can find an index to the issues of Wood News Online at http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/wood-news-woodworking-magazine.aspx, which has links to all my book and DVD reviews.

In May 2013 I also published "Seven Steps to Peak Handplane Performance," which discusses setting and adjusting a handplane to get the best results from it.  This article also draws on my experience teaching restoring old handplanes at my local Woodcraft store.

Since the first article, I've published a review a month, sometimes about DVDs, but mostly about books.  A couple of reviews have dealt with woodturning but mostly they have been about woodworking techniques, with emphasis on hand tools.  Next month's review, which should be released the first week in January, will be about Marc Spagnuolo's new book Hybrid Woodworking.

I've really enjoyed doing this.  It's a good way to keep my woodworking reading regular.  I learn new techniques and skills through my reading.  And it gives me a chance to express myself in writing.  What could be better?

Visiting Grizzly Tools

Recently, I got wind of a special deal on a 3 hp, 8-inch jointer from Grizzly Industrial.  It was in their  outlet store and was discounted $250 because it had flaking paint on the cast iron portion of the tool.  I decided to make a special deal of it by driving to Muncy, Pennsylvania, to pick it up myself and save the shipping cost.  The result, I got a great jointer for under $600!  Sure, it was about an 8-hour trip but the experience of seeing the Grizzly showroom was also worthwhile.

The Grizzly store is truly amazing.  It is huge!  And they have samples of all of their tools, plus tools

from other manufacturers, on display. My friend Jeff Fleisher and I had a good time browsing all the tools and supplies and came away with a few things in addition to the jointer.  Fortunately, the jointer--which came in two large boxes--fit in my pickup truck.  The helpful Grizzly staff loaded them in my truck with a fork lift, essential since they were so heavy.

When Jeff and I got back to my shop, we opened the boxes on the truck bed and were able to carry the parts into the shop and install them without much difficulty.  It is a two-man job, but no more than two are needed.

I'm happy to say the jointer is fully adjusted and working very well.  It is so much better to have this tool to replace my previous Grizzly 6-inch jointer.  Although that jointer gave me no trouble, ever, it really was too small for many of my needs.  I'm glad I made the change.

And the paint problem?  Yes, there is flaking paint on the cast iron, mostly in areas that are not visible.  I ordered a can of touch-up paint and at some time I'll clean and cover those spots to protect the metal.  But it's purely a cosmetic issue; the jointer functions the same as any of the others.  I'm happy I got it.

Norm

A Saw Till

I've been accumulating hand saws over recent months as part of my transition from a fully power tool woodworker to a hybrid woodworker.  What that means is that I'm starting to use hand tools more and more in my work.  I don't ever plan to change over to an exclusive reliance on hand tools.  Power tools are useful and have a good purpose, especially when processing large amounts of wood for larger projects.  Still, I like working by hand and am building up my skills in this area.  Hence the hand saws.

I now have three crosscut saws--two in serious need of sharpening, a skill I am working on but have not yet mastered--two rip saws of differing tooth configurations and several smaller saws.  Those saws are a Bad Axe Toolworks 18" tenon saw with a hybrid tooth filing, an Adria Toolworks carcase saw, a Lie-Nielsen dovetail saw and a Veritas crosscut saw. Each saw has its own purpose, so I feel justified in having them all.  I'm hoping they will meet all my hand saw needs for a very long time.

The problem with having this many saws is where to store them.  That led me to design and build a saw till so I could hang them in a small space on my shop wall.  As the photo shows, this turned out to be a simple affair, essentially three rectangles of birch plywood, two of which are attached at right angles to the back board and supported by a cleat on their undersides.  I sawed grooves in the horizontal pieces for the saw blades to fit into.  As you can see, the saws are held in place by their handles and a bit of gravity.  I screwed the whole affair into the concrete wall of my basement shop, where it hangs between some shelves and a large sheet of pegboard.

This simple design works well and was easy to execute.  But improvements might be possible for others who wish to build something similar.  I might have designed it so the handles are at the bottom and the blades facing upward, for example, but somehow the simplicity of this arrangement appealed to me more.  Another improvement would be to angle the top horizontal piece so it slopes upward toward the front.  This would have alleviated my fear that the saws will--given vibrations in the shop--gradually work their way forward in their slots and eventually fall to the floor.  My solution to that is periodically to push them backward in their slots to rectify any forward creep.  An angled board would have rid me of this concern.

Perhaps some day I'll make another saw till that incorporates improvements.  Until I'm caught up on all my projects--and that is likely to be a very long time indeed!--I'll use the one I have and be glad it is there to project my saws and keep them handy for use.

If you decide to build one of your own, leave a comment and tell me what you did.  I just might want to borrow from your ideas if and when I rebuild my own.

Norm

Shenandoah Mallets

My friend Jeff Fleisher and I recently started a business we're calling the Shenandoah Tool Works and we've started manufacturing our first wood tools.  Called the Shenandoah Mallet, they are steel-headed mallets for use by woodcarvers .  We are producing them in two weights

Carving a Newport Shell with a Shenandoah Mallet

--1 lb. and 1½ lb.--and fitting them with comfortable handles turned from domestic and exotic hardwoods of especial beauty.

We personally select the lumber for the mallet handles and turn each handle individually, which makes each handle unique.  As a result, specific mallets may be chosen from the Shenandoah Tool Works catalog at www.shenandoahtoolworks.com/nsp.  We have a wide selection of handles available for immediate order.  In addition to these, we have other hardwoods available for production.  We are also able to produce mallets  from a user's own special wood.  The address for information is  info@shenandoahtoolworks.com.  A four-page brochure is available from us at that address or on our web site.

Shenandoah Mallets in crotch walnut and tiger maple

 We've created the Shenandoah Mallets as premium tools for discriminating woodworkers who value both the functionality and beauty of their tools.  The mallets are durably designed for a lifetime of productive use.  They will bring continuing pleasure to the woodworker who chooses them for both their comfortable fit in the hand and their delight to the eye.  We've made the Shenandoah Mallets surprisingly affordable; they are priced in the mid-range between run-of-the-mill mallets and those sold at higher price  points.  To keep our prices low, we are offering Shenandoah Mallets only from www.shenendoahtoolworks.com/nsp.

Why call it Shenandoah Tool Works and name the mallets the Shenandoah Mallet?  It's where we live.  Jeff's woodshop, where we do our production, is located near New Market, Virginia, in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley.  I live in the Blue Ridge mountains only minutes away from the Shenandoah River and the northern entrance to the valley.  So it's a natural.  Besides, we think the name has a ring to it.

Meems Bottom Covered Bridge

Wish us luck as we get our new venture underway.  We think we've got a good product that will be attractive to woodcarvers the world over.  We hope you and our customers agree.  Send us a comment to let us know.

Norm