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I made a bench with a well in the top, but I made it too wide, on the theory that if some was good, more would be better. I have enough room so that I can work from behind, but I never do. The back six inches is a place for trash and little-used tools to accumulate. Even when I’m gluing up panels or working on larger pieces, they hang over the edge and I don’t see any advantage–in fact I have to stop and clear off the junk on the back 6″ before doing glue ups. The length is worth while; it helps with planing, sighting, and cutting down stock. I took the bottom of the well out of the last two feet on the right, so I could place larger boxes over the front panel for planing–with holdfasts, it’s easy to get a secure purchase with your project around the front section of the bench. Were I to do this again, I would stick with Paul’s dimensions, and put a removable bottom on that last two feet of the well. Hope this helps
Jim Mount- This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by Jim Mount.
Nathaniel, check any of the table series: occasional table, sofa table….very unlikely you would experience problems with that size living room set, unless you varied the humidity levels widely, say from Louisiana bayou to Arizona desert, and even then not really a problem when using Paul’s system
Jim
I use my shavings for mulch & compost. They’re very good as charcoal starters when grilling. They also make excellent bedding for small animals– hamster. Schools and parks would be good places to check out as donation possibilities. You can also use them for packaging in place of plastic peanuts.
jim mount
what a great example of creative thinking/problem solving. I’m only guessing, but I venture to say that puzzling this out was at least as hard as the actual fashioning of the components. AND, of course, the end result is absolutely smashing. If that is a “feature” it is a fairly sub-tile one. Congratulations, and thanks for posting. I learned something new–it’s not over til the fat lady sings, or until Chris has had a go.
jim
Generally the smaller the work, the finer the teeth count and shorter the saw. Thus a 14″ back saw with 12 tpi would be appropriate for your 6/4 poplar, while dovetails in 1/4″ stock would line up more with a 10″ dovetail saw with 16 tpi. I’ve never seen a chart, although I’m sure some obessive-compulsive person has ginned one up. I have a 14″ Keystone back saw (disston underbrand), 12 tpi filed straight rip which I use for almost all my bench work. If you use Paul’s knife edge and plane up the edges, there is little use for a crosscut, since the knife edge stops the fracturing of the wood you would normally get with a rip saw used for a crosscut. Note: this is only true for 8/9 tpi and above. Veritas makes a cute little dovetail saw for not a lot of money, or you could pick up a second hand “gents” saw for the dovetails. Actually, I sometimes use my pull saws for dovetails, and they seem to give me a bit more control, but maybe that’s in my head. This stuff is all so subjective. hope this helps
jim
the blue color is a later variant dating your plane to [relatively] recent production. With the work you’ve put in, though, it’s quite capable of giving you good service. If your frog is even with the back of the mouth, that’s fine for 90% of the work you’ll do. Frog adjustment is something very infrequently done. It’s a distraction. Focus on sharpening. Focus on how the plane works for you. Simply set your iron further forward under the cap (up to 1/8″) and you’ll be able to close the gap easily. You’ll find:
1. that you can get those wispy shavings you seem to be seeking, and
2. for practical everyday work, these are not so important. You want the plane to make a thin shaving, but not so thin you can read through it [yes, I know, blasphemy] This is the thinnest you’ll need.
3. when the time comes to move the frog forward, remove the yoke and move the frog manuallyalso don’t forget to ease the corners of your blade to avoid plane tracks
don’t get stressed out….just play with it….experiment…..have fun
jim
Well my first thought was actually Matt’s…great minds and all that. Veritas blades are made in Japan of high carbon steel. It MAY be that this steel is a little bit harder than the softer steel of the old-time back saws which Paul was working with. I would inquire directly from Veritas. Without knowing more, I would guess that the problem is with the saw blade or with the way you hammered out the waves in the blade. That said, don’t give up. There are many ways to cut teeth in a saw; the easiest (other than Paul’s method) is to down load or make a paper pattern, and glue it to the saw plate. Then you can go to work directly with the file saw. I know from experience with Veritas saws, that they can be sharpened with a saw file. That saw is an outstanding tool, and as you said, it would be a shame to leave it laying about unused.
Too late for you now, but for others reading this post, it’s not necessary to remove teeth in order to change from CC to rip. Just sharpen the saw, but use a rip orientation – straight across. Just be sure you alternate the teeth, as the change over will not happen with one sharpening, but will happen over say three to four sharpenings.
Let us know how you get on
jim
Hi Bert…
from your pictures, you have an outstanding box, especially since it’s your second box. Glue and sawdust are great, but if you’re a hacker like me, you can try little wedges stuck into the gaps with glue and planed flush. Another trick is to put your project on a rapidly moving lazy susan, so that the movement obscures anything less than perfect.
but seriously, each time you switch to a different wood, you have to alter your thinking about how to do common place tasks. I’m a little envious that your first box in beech turned out so well. I’d tell you about my box in honey locust, but I’d need an entire blog entry for that–suffice it to say that after 3 remedial glue ups on the sides and ends, I have put it to one side. It’s clearly not ripe yet.Keep on truck’n
jimI think Greg’s observation is right on the $. I had the same problem until I started cutting the waste out with a coping saw and then paring the bottom out without using a mallet; then fewer problems with the bottom of he joint, but still not perfect.
The OTHER thing I keep doing is not having my wood squared up properly. The other day, I found myself saying, “that’s good enough.” Well guess what? If the piece ain’t completely square, then all the care in the world will not produce square true lines, and crooked dovetails have gaps, as I know very well from my own work. If you are chasing a line around a piece and the lines don’t join w/in 1/64th “, stop, go back and re-true your piece [unless you’re making shop furniture]. Try cutting some practice dovetails with the ends out of square with the flat side of your board, and you’ll see what I mean…..using Paul’s methods are very rewarding, but they demand accuracy.
based on the lambs tongue handle, the carving on the top of the handle, and the presence of a nib, this would be an older saw. I clean my saw plates after removing the handle, using wd-40 and wet/dry sand paper. If there is loose rust/flakes scrape with a razor blade first. I start at 220 grit and go to 600, Use a sanding block, which will help preserve the etch. How much to sand is a judgement. For myself, I want a user tool, so I don’t need it shiny, but I do want it smooth. Typically the etch will contain the model #. For more information on your saw, go to the Disstonian Institute [Google it]. Enjoy your saw…if you have been using a modern saw, this will be a whole new experience for you
Paul’s method is likely a good way to go. this is not rocket science. essentially you are scraping rust off and painting to keep more rust from forming. I use a metal enamel (Rustoleun) because it’s cheep and my father used it. For a primer I use something called “Rust Converter”, which I think is a phosphoric acid mixture which turns any rust at the bottom of the pits into an insert substance. This ensures that you don’t have rust bubbling up thru your new paint. 2 coats of primer and either 1 or 2 coats of enamel, sanding between coats. I use whatever color i have. the prep is what matters most
before we can help we need to know some things, like:
1) how can you tell your chisels are dull–looking at them with a loupe? shaving end grain from a piece of pine?
2) what kind of wood are you practicing on? Hard wood behaves differently than soft. remember what Paul says repeatedly about the sound when you strike the chisel?
4) how do you know your chisels are sharp to begin with?notice #3 was missing? good. Stop. think. stop again. You can figure this out. Go back, and review your data, especially your sharpening videos. Think some more.
This stuff is not easy, (even though Paul makes it look easy) but you can do it.let us know how you do,
jim
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