@cottonwood
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Personally I love painted finishes, they are traditional for almost all vernacular and country furniture in Britain and America. For me the physical form of a furniture piece is far more important than wether it has been built up from nicley figured boards. A single colour emphasises the form, this is especially true with stickback type chairs. Did you ever stop to think that the reason some furniture still survives aafter 200 years or more is because it was painted?!
I dont eat them, I dont have horses/guinea pigs etc….
Oak and ash axe-waste I keep for kinderling the woodburning stove
If I was a potter I would use the shavings to build a slow kiln (sawdust kiln)
Mine eventually get made into chipboard and mdf (as far as I know any way) I have some large sacks which i fill up and take to the tip, usually 4 or 5 each weekThats exactly it Steve, the same thing. Its kinda hard to go wrong when the drawing and the physical project are so closely related! Theres a direct link between the plan and the item being made. What I like also is that theres no real need to fuss about feet/inches or the dreadful (to me) metric alternative…its more like directly transferring dimension from the drawing, to the material, into a finished construction..I was taught, where possible transfer a dimension (eg with pinch rods)-which is a more accurate method than using a tape/ruler.
I use story sticks too sometimes, usually for things like fencing (setting rail positions from a datum level) or fixing horizontal wall cladding (useful to ensure the boards stay horzontal and parrallel) Or if I am making several of the same component such as rails or something. Sometimes simple rods are basically 2 or 3 story sticks (in correct structural relation to each other) on the same drawing.
At school I was taught engineering drawing (pre computer era) I find it very useful to see an object in front elevation/side/plan etc Maybe this is why rods appeal to me so much!
cheers JonathanI guess the ultimate version of the joiners (or carpenters) rod is in the French Scribe timber framing tradition where they literally draw a full 1:1 scale drawing of the structure (eg a roof truss, or gable wall for a building) on the floor, and use it to position the beams for marking out the joints. If they need say 5 trusses, they simply use the same drawing 5 times. Another fascinating feature of that type of joinery is that it works with timber that is wany, bowed, twisted, or rough hewn with an axe etc. Despite those defects, the joints still come out solid, with tight shoulders, and the beams end up with a good flat face to the outside of the building.
http://www.traditionaltimberframe.com/V1_0/index.php?mod=galerie&action=img&id_gal=41&id_img=783This picture inludes the lower right hand corner of a rod I drew recently
[/url]
For this coffer chest
[/url]
Seen here complete and painted up
[/url]
Here is a picture of a complete rod I drew a fortnight or so ago for a 3 legged cricket table
[/url]
And the complete table, painted and waxed (the smaller one on the left-I ommitted the lower rails in the end
[/url]The beauty of this method is that you dont really need to do any “measuring” as such. I tend to have an idea of a form-developed through sketches and study of existing forms-then use wood laths or offcuts to mock up proportions and dimensions on the white board. When I am happy with the arrangement, I then firm it up putting in pencil lines accurately with a straight edge, framing square, sliding bevel, dividers etc. I then get my face side/face edge orientations, dimensions for planing the stock, and positions of joints/rebates etc directly from the rod, and can refer back to the rod whenever I need to. It vastly reduces the chance of error.
Cheers JonathanHere is a better picture
[/url]
Home made carving knife[/url] by goldsmithexile1[/url], on Flickr
I dont know what it is with scandinavian knife blades, but their steel s very resilient and will take and keep a fantastic edge. Same with my axe (again made in Finland by Roselli) The knife in the pic is awesome for whittling pegs. It is flat (“scandi”) ground, it works pretty much like a mini plane because the blade rubs so you avoid that in and out effect…Yep, the Mora knifes are pretty much unbeatable for price and reliable quality. I own 2 of them. Because they have slim blades they are good for detail cuts, concave shapes etc. For heavier work I made my own knife using a Finnish Lauri blade from Attleborough Accessories (80 X 25 drop point) set into an English elm handle, with a hand made elm and leather sheath. Here it is in a photo
[/url]
Pegs for drawbored joints (trenails)[/url] by goldsmithexile1[/url], on Flickr
cheers JonathanWhen I bought a house recently, it really stands out on rightmove, those estate agents who specified the sizes of rooms in metric, some of them ONLY in metric. Even after 40 years of “metric” we still visualise in imperial measures. Not to mention a detour to the pig & whistle “for a swift half”..!
Do you think they will ever succeed in metricating cricket pitches and rugby pitches?
“the England pack roll their maul right through the Welsh 20.1168”I use a chrome vanadium spanner, tough hard steel, polished very smooth, works a treat
Pressure treated timber aint wot it used to be apparently. I was talking to the warden at a fen nature reserve a few weeks ago. They had put in some “tanalised” gate posts, and after only 6 or 7 years they are rotting out and need replacing. The “eu” has changed the rules and the chemicals used are weaker or something. You only need to cut open a post or joist to see that the treated section only penetrates about 1/2 ” or so. I have seen posts that look like they have been slashed by a machine, presumably to aid penetration of preservative-but then surely isnt that also going to encourage water to get in faster? I dont think its even pressure treated any more like in the old creosote days. Look how long railway sleepers lasted. LOL my grandad built a rose arbour in about 1925, he used teak posts and beams. When the house was sold after he died in 1989, those posts were still good…
Sweet chestnut is good for weather and rot resistance, the tannin in it being a natural preservative. Just makes your tools look like someone used a black felt tip marker on them…(no idea if that would affect plants grown in a chestnut container though…). Western red cedar as mentioned already, light easy to work with and rot resistant. Douglas fir might also be a good bet
Personally I would probably use oak for outdoor seating-but wouldnt do it as a first project.
hope it works out whatever you decide onInch/ounce/Uncial all are related from roman times IIRC
Personally I loathe the metric system, it came in half way through school and has been a source of confusion to me ever since. I also have personal “political” reasons to dislike metrication, as a european collective phenomena. Metric is probably easier for programming CNC machinery?
Its interesting they still have “pouces” (thumbs) as a unit of measurement in parts of France….wether its legal or not I dont know.
Regardless, earlier today I drew a simple enough rod for a 3 leg cricket table. I simply didnt bother with “measuring it out” per se metric or imperial, I used various battens to experiment and set out the proportions and angle splay. Then when I was happy, accurately firmed the lines with straight edges, using a framing square, dividers, bevel gauge etc. And will establish my dimensions for sawing and planing up my stock directly from the rod, in fact with little if any need to “measure” anything….Brian Close (Darlington College) taught to let the pin drag, and use light pressure, keep the guage moving-even if the pin is in mid air to begin with, do a very light pass, gradually rotate the gauge a little to increase the depth of scribe if necessary. I always liked this method (overhand grip). But you couldnt clearly see the tiny little brad point on the standard issue marples type of gauge. I really liked Paul’s simple modification of simplly putting the pin at a sloping angle. I have made most of my marking gauges with long fences (5 or 6 inches) and captive wedges for adjusting the beam length. So I modified the beam on one of them, to try it out. I used a 2 inch masonary nail, very carefully reground and honed to a long slender taper for the last3/4 inch or so. It needed to be that long to go across the diagonal of my (rather on the chunky side) gauge beam, with a good 3/4 inch sticking out. The fence stays level and in full contact with the board to be scribed, the pin trails in perfect clear view. Basically my gauge became easier and more confidence-giving than it was before…! I intend to do the same with a twin beam marking gauge next….
Cheers JonathanThe teeth dont actually look too bad, nice shape, seen worse ..!
I’d be interested myself, but have around 10 or 12 saws (all ebay refurbs)
Although maybe someone used it to paint on because the balde has got cracks or bad dents and is beyond repair?I can testify, I too have recently tried Pauls method, and have been totally impressed. I have all the paraphernalia, tormek, various jap water stones etc. After seeing Pauls videos, I dug out an old unused norton combi stone (you would get laughed at on some forums for using one of THOSE…) Anyway I had a set of 5 stanley chisels, which had “average” edges, actually the bevels were to some extent rounded from careless haphazard attempts at honing on waterstones. I used plain white spirit as a lube, and in just a few minutes all 5 chisels came up paring slicing sharp (easing cleanly thru end grain pine) I watched the wire edges just curl off as I stropped them (on solvol autosol polish on leather) I realised all of a sudden that the beauty of this time honoured and traditional method is that it works WITH (not against) the natural motions of a tool relative to a sharpening stone-raised up a little towards the back of the pass across the stone and dropped down a little as it reaches the front. Instantly I was freed from the tiresome need to perfect a stance and motion that mimics a honing guage, to maintain a steady angle at all times…..Not only that, but I suddenly thought wow all I really need is one stone, I no longer need the tormek and a stack of fiddly, fragile and temperamental waterstones and the quasi religious routines required to use them..Anyway the set of 5 chisels are suddenly revitalised and useful (even if they dont stay sharp for long) but I was simply astonished at how fast and efficient this method is, so a quick retouch every now and again is just the thing! LOL the sharpening industry wont like it..!!
Cheers Jonathan
