Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
Excellent post Chris.
I was shaving this morning with an old disposable razor, and was thinking of how my grandfather used to shave with a cut-throat razor. He must have been able to get that razor very sharp, otherwise he’d have soon grown a beard to avoid the pain of a blunt razor!
Recently my Dad gave me some old sickles which I’ve cleaned and sharpened. They are much more useful than a strimmer. Most men living in the country would have mastered the art of sharpening a sickle with a stone.
Using a sharp hand tool is such a pleasure, – it would be a shame if we lose the skill of sharpening by hand, and don’t pass it on to our children.When I was fitting the vice I took it apart so that I only had the rear jaw and mechanism to handle (about half the weight). I also removed the well board so I had much easier access to the bolts fixing the vice to the worktop, and also easy access to refit the circlip to the end of the screw when the vice was secured in place.
Dewi
Hi Andy.
Interesting topic. I also like to ‘think’ about things.
If ‘practice makes perfect’ there’s a chance that you’ll rewire your brain to continue the bad habit – turn the handle halfway, spin it back to unlock , and then push it the second half. i.e. your brain will remember to push the vise only after you’ve turned the handle halfway!
That’s what would probably happen to me. I’ve also just fitted a York quick release vise, and doing the same as you in forgetting to push the vise back in. So I do practice just opening and closing the vise the right way. I put a piece of wood in the vise, tighten it, release it, then push it back in. I do that five to ten times in succession, and it is starting to become more instinctive. I don’t know if that would work for you, – perhaps our brains are not wired in the same way. 🙂
Hi Stephen.
My experience of Narex chisels is the same as Ken’s, – they take and hold a nice sharp edge. Also good to hold in the hand.
One thing I’m noticing as I get more confident in using the stones is the difference in the metal used in different tools. Some tools are easy to sharpen and form a burr easily, others need much more work. Some tooks seem to hold their edge for longer. And I don’t think that the two are necessarily linked?
Narex chisels are easy to sharpen ( the metal seems softer?) but they also hold their edge well. I have a couple of Stanley 5001 (black handle) chisels. The metal feels much harder and they are much more difficult to get sharp.
Thanks Juryaan.
My bench is 92ins (2.33metres) long – (2.4 metre lengths glued together then ends trimmed off).
I bought PAR timber. £3 per metre (inc. VAT ) for 50mm x 100mm (2 x 4) from my local timber yard was not much more expensive than the rough sawn timber from B&Q. Turning 2.4m boards round in a 2m high, 2m wide garage is not easy, so buying PAR timber made a lot of sense for working in Autumn and Winter.
The worktops are 12″ (30cm) wide including the edge of the apron, the aprons and well are 11″ (28cm) wide, and the top of the bench is 37 1/2″ high (95cm) high. I like that height, – it is much better for my back, and I am much closer to my work for marking etc..
I’ve fitted the legs 9″ (23cm) from the ends. I did consider putting the legs closer together, but I did some sketches to see how the bench would look. It didn’t look right!
The cramped space in the garage makes it even more important to fully rehearse the gluing and clamping. I was caught out a few times by not rehearsing properly!
The Axminster aluminium clamps are fine. I think the aluminium is thicker on these compared to some of the cheaper ones I have seen. I haven’t yet fitted the wood strips inside them, but will do one day. They do torque as they are tightened, so you need to use one hand to keep them straight.
I have found the Axminster bar clamps to be very useful. They can be tightened with one hand whilst the other hand holds the work. They are much more versatile than the aluminium sash clamps, and have a bigger throat depth, but they are also more expensive.
Yes Kelly, the highest bid in a sniper is the ebay highest bid. The point of the sniper is that your highest bid does not become visible to other bidders until seconds before the closing time, and thus denying them the chance to increase their highest bid. ( If they do increase their highest bid, their original ‘highest’ bid was not their highest!!)
If you are confident that you know what is your highest bid there is nothing to lose by using a sniper, and a chance that you will win the auction at a lower price than by entering your bid directly on ebay.
I hope that makes sense?
Dewi
I also use Gixen. I see the advantages of using a sniper as being:
1. You have to be objective about how much an item is worth. If all bidders use a sniper there is no risk of you entering a bidding war, where you increase your maximum bid just because someone else has bid a little more.
2. You are hiding from other bidders how much you think an item is worth. This stops them from revising their valuation of the object just because they see that you think that the item is more valuable than they originally thought.
It doesn’t guarantee that you will will win any more auctions, but it does help you from getting carried away in the bidding, and sometimes will keep others from increasing their bids.
Good luck! 🙂
Before flattening the tops I’m going to use the new legs to hold my work. I was worried if the thin legs on the trestles would hold all the weight, but I’ve been surprised at how stable they are. But just in case. 🙂
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.I’m not sure how I got two copies of the same photo attached ? 🙂
As you can see my garage is rather cramped. So Gary’s suggestion of a single top would have made life easier, and also a six foot bench instead of seven and a half feet.
But as I’ve glued two tops,well and aprons I’ll carry on. It’s so enjoyable. 🙂
-
AuthorPosts