The latest post from my nipper Porkish Chop!
Last Time we were cutting the wood on this work buddy!
Source: Step 2: Staining the wood
The Funeral Chair Part Two – Finish and Glue Up
With all the parts now essentially completed it was time to sand them down ready for pre-finishing. On a project like this it is far easier to finish the components before final assembly. The finish I used for this project was a homemade oil/varnish concoction. Taking advice from various online sources I mixed boiled linseed oil, polyurethane varnish and white spirit (mineral spirits in the US) in equal parts. Continue reading “The Funeral Chair Part Two – Finish and Glue Up”
The Funeral Chair Part One – Dimensioning and Joinery
A few weeks ago I found myself in need of a project that might take my woodworking to the next level. Up until now I have tackled very simple projects while I find my feet in the world of hand tool woodworking. I didn’t want to run before I could walk, but I wanted something that was a little more complicated than the small dovetailed boxes I have been pottering about with recently. Tom Fidgen’s book An Unplugged Life provided an ideal suggestion in the form of The Funeral Chair. As I mentioned in my last post, I am sure that seasoned woodworkers would find this project to be quite simple, but bear in mind that I am a noob. Continue reading “The Funeral Chair Part One – Dimensioning and Joinery”
Palm tree wood
I haven’t posted for a long old time, but I’m still around, beavering away in the workshop. I’m working on a project at the moment, which is nearing completion. No doubt to seasoned woodworkers out there, this project will appear to be fairly elementary. But for me it is the most complicated ‘hand tool only’ project I’ve attempted so far. I’ll probably post about it soon but, for now, I need some more advice.
A while ago I posted about my brother’s exploits with my chainsaw and the fact that he gave me some willow logs, which are still drying in the rafters of my workshop. Well, this weekend he borrowed the chainsaw again and I ended up with a log from a palm tree. 
It is about 3′ long and 6″ in diameter. I’m not sure what I can do with it, if anything. The end grain seems to be very furry, but I’m not sure if this is because of the chainsaw or not. I haven’t tried cutting it with a hand saw yet, to see if that makes a difference, and maybe things will be different when it has dried out a bit. I’ve asked my brother for another smaller piece to experiment on while still green, if he has any left that is. Failing that I’ll probably leave it for a few months before doing anything.
The reason I’m posting about this is that I’ve had a quick look online for information on this species of wood, but everything I turn up looks different to the log in my shop. I was wondering if any of you know anything about this that might help. Perhaps someone out there has some experience with this type of timber, and could let me know in the comments if it is good for anything.
Cheers.
gb
I need your advice
I have mentioned in previous posts that my preferred method of sharpening for chisels and plane irons is on my Eze-Lap diamond plates using a honing guide. I have also acknowledged that I ought really to try and ditch the guide and learn to do it freehand. Well, recently, I have experimented with some freehand sharpening with plane irons, with surprisingly good results. However, I have found that instead of a nice flat bevel, I end up with a rounded one; a convex camber if you will, that curves back from the cutting edge. I have learned from my maestro, Paul Sellers, that far from being a problem, this camber actually strengthens the cutting edge, supporting it and lengthening the time between sharpenings. I don’t know if this is true or not, but it certainly doesn’t seem to have a negative effect. Continue reading “I need your advice”
Yet another box
Last year, for dad’s day, my kids very kindly got me a set of Narex bench chisels. Now, I know that they are not high-end chisels, and many a woodworker would probably scoff at them because they aren’t Lie-Nielson or Ashley Isles and didn’t cost the equivalent of the GNP of Ecuador, but for my needs they are perfect. They fit my hands well, they are nicely balanced and they hold an edge well. Also, as a bonus, they came in a nice little box which protects them from surface rust. Continue reading “Yet another box”
Another Dovetail Box
When I built my Sawyer’s Bench recently, I got hold of some Miller Dowels. These are special stepped dowels with annular grooves to help displace excess glue. Because they are stepped, there is less friction when pushing them home, but once they are pushed in tight there is plenty of friction for a strong joint. Continue reading “Another Dovetail Box”
The Bowler Hatted Turner
The other day, a woodturner from the UK came over to Guernsey to give a woodturning demonstration at our local woodturning club, and Porkish Chop and I went along to take a look. It was four hours long which, for some people, might sound like a nightmare, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. The Bowler Hatted Turner is quite an engaging chap and, to a total noob like me, a real wizard with a lathe.
I haven’t got a lathe, apart from the unholy abomination I made for the turning saw build, but I have long wanted one. A few months ago I had toyed with the idea of buying one, but I decided that I couldn’t justify the expense – it’s not just the lathe you see, it’s the tools, and the means to sharpen them as well. I gave up on the idea until I struck up a conversation with one of the club members present at the demo. He advised buying secondhand, which left me at a loss as to why that hadn’t occurred to me already.
Our local radio station has a feature twice a week called ‘Ring and Buy’ where people phone in and give details of things that they either want to buy or to sell. This chap had phoned in and said he wanted a lathe and had barely put the phone down before he got three offers. He ended up with a lathe and sundry equipment for £50 – solid bloody bargain. Moreover, it seems that many’s the time when a chap or chapess ‘inherits’ a lathe, or else finds that they no longer want to use one, and the turning club is often contacted in these cases, for advice on how to offload it. The club secretary took my details with the promise of letting me know if she hears anything.
Anyway, I was urged to join the club – I got the ditinct impression that they need new members to join their dwindling ranks – and I’m seriously considering it. The fees are tiny, they only meet once a month, and it would be a good way to learn the ropes. I imagine that I’ll only be turning the odd handle or a small bowl or two, but I have zero experience so I need all the tips and advice I can get.
So, hopefully, in the not to distant future, I’ll be posting about my new lathe. Watch this space…
Maker’s Mark: redux
I haven’t posted for a while because I have been quite busy with non-woodwork related activities. Ever since my workshop build my garden has been something of a mess. The crater that was left behind after I tore down the old shed became a general dumping ground for all the rubbish that didn’t make it into the new one. That has all been cleared now, including a couple of tons of granite boulders that were under a tangle of weeds behind the old shed, which have now been moved to the top of the garden until I can find a use for them. I have also recently cut all my hedges, which produced 8 ton-bags full of cuttings for recycling; fixed my ride on mower so that I can cut my lawns properly; and cleared an overgrown area at the top of the garden, producing two more ton-bags full of green-waste recycling. I have also made a gravelled area to keep our new motor home on, shuttered with old telegraph poles. Continue reading “Maker’s Mark: redux”
Planes, planes, planes
I recently refurbished a #3 Stanley that I have had waiting in the wings for months. It performs very well now and I can see myself using it an awful lot on future projects. Since I was in the plane rejuvenating mood, I decided to have a first crack at the wooden Sorby I mentioned a few posts ago. Continue reading “Planes, planes, planes”
goatboys woodshop 