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I just bought some horse butt leather. Tools for Working Wood sells it for about $22USD I think. It’s really thick and stiff which is supposed to prevent dubbing. For 10 years I used an ordinary cowhide leather with green Lee Valley compound following an 8,000 grit diamond plate with excellent results. That was used smooth side up I believe. I’ve also tried compound on plywood and MDF with good results. I’ve even tried bare basswood following the strop just as an experiment. All of this taught me what I learned previously in Ron Hocks outstanding book, which is that honing is merely the process of using an increasingly fine abrasive to obliterate the scratches of the previous abrasive. Reading this book is a big part of what made honing click in my mind so I highly recommend it. Understanding the theory was critical for me to really becoming an outstanding sharpener. Once I learned sharpening theory, I could (and have) successfully sharpened everything from axes to apokeshaves and from chainsaws to card scrapers. Wrap your head around the theory and you will understand when you can use the leather rough side up with compound or smooth side up without. I would use the former coming from a 1200-4000 grit stone, but the latter when my final stone was 8000 or above. Best of all, test for yourself and have fun. Then you will become a subject matter expert and a honing guru.
Much of what has been said is accurate so I will be brief.
1) Pine is harder to chop because it crushes unless chisels are razor sharp. If you can’t shave hair on your arm, you are not getting sharp.
2) Get a couple of board feet of HARDwood and make some practice joints until you get reasonably consistent results. It’s not a chore, it’s fun because there’s no pressure like a project. Cherry, walnut, oak, maple, etc., or whatever hard hardwoods are local to you are good choices. Local = less expensive. Poplar is a hardwood, but too soft for what I’m suggesting.
3) Don’t think of wood as precious. You can always get more.
4) Find an experienced/good woodworker online, join a woodworking club/guild, go to a show, a living history museum, or take a class. Any of these will allow you to experience a chisel and plane that is truly sharp. You will realize your not even close and I think it will redefine sharp for you. You can hit the bullseye unless you know what it looks like.
5) Keep working on sharpening. Your oil stones could be glazed over and are not cutting. You may need to flatten them to refresh them. Invest in diamond stones if you can afford them. Worst case, get a piece of granite and flatten/refresh your stones with 60/80 grit sandpaper on the granite. I got a slab of granite from a local cabinetry store’s dumpster/bin for free. Be nice and they may be happy to let you take one home for free. If they seem hesitant offer them $10-$20USD.
6) Above all keep trying, practice, be patient, have fun, and remember we all started where you are. One day soon it will just click if you stick with it and then you will have a moment of elation and a lifetime of fulfillment.
Paul had a recent video about using a router plane to form the tenons on a M&T joint. In the video he uses a tenon as a guide block, first on one side, then the other. It’s applicable to your situation because he pares the mortise with the tenon piece so the mortise doesn’t have to be precise. In this way, you could use a 1/4″ chisel to make the 3/8″ mortise. I tried the technique yesterday and got the best M&T joint of my life.
Joe,
Firstly, let me echo the universally positive comments by saying you did an excellent job and should be VERY proud! I am certain that the one you made for your sister will be even more impressive in mahogany. As for the lid dimensions, I agree with the other poster who suggested you extend it. I bet you could make a dovetailed frame that you could simply edge glue to the underside of the lid to raise the lid by the required amount. 3 small Dutchmen could plug the hinge mortises and since its painted on the outside no one would ever notice. To ensure perfect alignment between the old and new parts, I would do two things. First, use stock that is 1/4″ thicker than your original project, presumably 5/4 stock dressed at a true 1″ dimension. Second, reference the inside dimensions of the current lid and mark the dovetail’s baseline to this measurement. This way, the inside perimeter is equal to the current lid and the outside dimension can simply be planes down to match the outside perimeter just like a drawer box. The last step would be to glue the long edges of the new extension and the original lid. Just make sure you use the same species let the new and old wood climate in the shop for a few weeks and shellac and paint the extension immediately to guard against disparate wood movement. I hope u try it. Worst case, you can always u do it.
Just thought of another: Planing wedge. I can think of 2 versions, 1) the type that is clamped to the bench top and allows you to plane/joint the edges of a workpiece 2) the kind mounted to the front edge of the workbench with the workpiece supported from below by an adjustable ledge.
Leanne,
Very nicely done. I like the ingenuity with the matting and the spline technique. Its that kind of out-of-the-box thinking that will carry you far with your craft. The picture is captured nature in all its simplicity and paradoxically, its diversity. Just beautiful! I love the shot that shows your tool totes as well. I love that in the one shot we can see a simple set of tools that, despite its relative austerity, allows you to make beautiful works of true handmade art. It made my day. Thanks for sharing.
Jay,
Here is a great technique I use in my shop. Its called “The Holdfast and the Batten” method. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNrof3cd1cA
Cheers
DamienSerhiy,
An interesting method indeed. It’s very innovative and it strikes me that it would automatically build in a camber on the edge since it’s being pivoted from the fixed point. Thanks for sharing the video. I love seeing the results of the creative minds of woodworkers. The problem I have with this, as with most other jig sharpening methods is the investment in time it takes to set up. The longer it takes a woodworker to set up his blades and irons for sharpening, the less time he spends actually working wood. Also, the more time it takes to set up and the more time it takes to actually sharpen our tools, the less likely we are to do it. This becomes a problem when we try to stretch the edge just a little bit past the point where it’s cutting effectively. This affects the quality of our work and decreases our safety. I am a woodworker who errs on the side of sharpening more frequently rather than less. If I notice any degradation in the ability of my edges tools to cut, I immediately go back to my sharpening routine. Once I start introducing jigs and fixtures it increases the amount of time it takes to sharpen blades and reduces my enthusiasm for sharpening my tools. Just yesterday I found myself sharpening 3 gouges, 5 plane irons, 7 chisels in the middle of a project. This took me away from my work for longer than I wanted, but I was thankful that it took me no more time than necessary to get them all sharpened. If If I had to set up each and every blade with some kind of jig it would’ve greatly increased the amount of time I spent sharpening all of these tools. As for your point that the bevel is changed slightly with each freehand sharpening session, I don’t disagree. However, I am of the same mind as Paul that the exact angle at which your blade sharpened is not as critical as being able to sharpen it effectively and quickly. It makes no REAL difference whether I sharpen my plane iron to 30°, 28°, or 32°. The slight variation is inconsequential as long as the iron is very sharp. The fact that we choose say 30° as the “correct” angle for plane iron is more a matter of tradition then of some precise scientific calculation. That’s not to say that it’s arbitrary, but our ancestors didn’t have precise scientific studies to find the optimal blade angle. My advice to a friend would be that he master a freehand sharpening method and not worry so much about the exact bevel angle on any particular tool. I think the savings s/he would find in time are well worth taking the time and effort to learn what I feel is the vastly superior method of sharpening freehand. Whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck. Happy woodworking!!
Jay, I don’t have the card scraper holder, but I do have card/cabinet scrapers and the number 80. I was taught that a card or cabinet scraper is good for small areas but to put a final finish on a large panel I should be using the number 80 because the sole helps register the scraper blade and prevents putting divots in the wood. Although I’ve never personally experienced a problem using handheld card/cabinet scrapers, I’ve been made to understand that if you’re not careful, it’s possible, if not likely, to work in a low spot because there’s no sole to the tool. Just thought I would share what I have heard.
Here’s a brand of sanding sealer available in the USA known as Zinsser Bulls Eye Seal Coat. I’ve included pictures so that you can find the correct version of this product that is dewaxed. Only the Seal Coat is dewaxed which is what most woodworkers really want because is dries completely. Many people buy the wrong type and get bad results. I hope this helps.
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