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News: New Blog Feature
Posted by Roger Nixon on Friday, December 18, 2009 (20:03:11) (277 reads)
I've added a blogging component to the site. Any registered user can have a blog on here. It isn't a very feature packed blog but we'll try it and see if it is useful.
Let me know if you have any comments.
comments? |   | News | Score: 0
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How-To: Shooting Board Article
Posted by Roger Nixon on Friday, October 27, 2006 (16:19:00) (2224 reads)
The latest Popular Woodworking magazine has a good shooting board article with plans. An expanded version of the article is available as a PDF file. It is pretty big at almost 2mb so it might take awhile to load over a slower intenet connection.
comments? | | How-To | Score: 0
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How-To: Making a strong Hook, Bent or Crooked knife.
Posted by scott on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 (20:12:07) (1282 reads)
Hook, crooked, bent knives, whatever you like to call them (they are the same depending on what part of the world your in), are an exceptionally versatile tool if made well. Carvers, craftspeople, and woodworkers of every stripe would benefit from having a good sturdy hook in their tool box. I know a plumber who would not be without one. A strong hook gets into places nothing else will.
First, the steel. Tool steel bought from a supplier is perfectly annealed and easy to work with, but I recover mill bandsaw blade 12"wide x 30" or gang saw which is 18"diameter x 1" because of its qualities and strength. It is a Swedish steel with a combination of molybdenum, chromium, nickel as well as a high carbon content. When filers (a mill working trade) toss band saw out they cut them up into 4" or 5" lengths. If you can get some it is well worth using, especially for hooks and swan necks, because of its exceptional tensile strength which lends itself to an excellent edge.
I was taught old school. Files, no glue, and hardening and tempering.
The most important factor in making any knife with reclaimed steel is the annealing process.
For a hook of medium size using sawblade (with any hard high carbon steel the process is the same) have a piece of steel ¾" x 1/8" x 6". Bring the length of steel to a cherry red slowly over 5 or 6 minutes and let it sit at that colour for at least 5 minutes (20 is ideal). Place the cherry red steel--don't let it get any hotter or you'll burn out carbon--into a large coffee can filled with wood ash or lime or wrap the steel with ceramic wool, anything that completely envelopes the cherry red steel and insulates it well. In the case of a coffee can you will need a cover and make sure the steel doesn't touch the can.
Let it cool slowly overnight. In the morning you should be able to bend the steel with your fingers.
Annealing relaxes the carbon molecules It can now be filed, drilled, sanded and bent. With this practice you can start from scratch putting your own shape, hardness, temper, strength and marks into the steel.
Now you have a piece 1/8" x ¾" x 6" long and annealed. Whatever size of blade, it should have the same proportions. If, for instance, it is 1/16" steel, it will be half the length and width of blade. The handle end (the tang) should not be less than 2" long. With this idea you can build very small, 1/16 inch hooks, 1" long, beautiful for detail. Smaller hooks require a slightly different process.
Dedicate the nicest side, the side with no nicks or scratches, as the back. Then designate one end as the tip end. Draw a line across the middle of the blade. Now there is a back and top and 3 inches of tang and 3 inches of blade. Now draw a line lengthwise right down the centre of the blade, from end to end. The two lines will cross in the centre of the blade.
On the tang, one inch down from the centre cross line, mark your first bolt hole on the length line, then mark a hole point ½" from the end of the tang, on the centre length line. From the tip end, draw 2 lines, one on either side of the lengthwise centre line, creating an isosceles triangle to the cross centre line. On the equal sides of the triangle, draw slow curved lines for the cutting edges
Now grind to the curved lines. Keep the steel cool dipping it into a can of water as the steel heats up.
There are two more parts, edge and shaping and hardening and tempering, to this article.
Cariboo Blades Handforged Tools and Knives
Read More... | 1 comment | | How-To | Score: 5
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News: New Things at Clark & Williams
Posted by Roger Nixon on Monday, October 24, 2005 (13:06:37) (1409 reads)
Don McConnell has joined Bill Clarke and Larry Williams, the fine planemakers at Clark & Williams. Don had a column at Popular Popular Woodworking which I hear will be resuming. You may also have read some of his posts on the Old Tools mailing list.
I don't know if it is related to Don's new job but Chris Schwarz reported in his weblog that C&W debuted their new plow plane at the M-WTCA meet in St. Charles, Ill.
Does anyone have any pics of this plane?
UPDATE:
Larry Williams pointed me to the C&W website for this pic
and this article.
Thanks, Larry! It is awesome!
comments? | | News | Score: 0
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News: Anderson Planes Website
Posted by Roger Nixon on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 (15:37:13) (1266 reads)
Wayne Anderson is artisan plane maker. His beautiful infill planes have been pictured in Fine Woodworking magazine as well as all over the web. Now you can have him make one for you! Go to Anderson Planes.
Read More... | 1 comment | | News | Score: 0
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Lee Valley Twin Screw Vise--User Notes
Posted by Wiley_Horne on Thursday, March 17, 2005 (15:48:30) (3762 reads)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
An issue was recently raised on the WoodCentral forum as to whether the LV Twin Screw Vise would make a good end vise. The issue raised went to the rigidity of the vise, particularly when open and under load. The question was well placed: When I was making my bench, it seemed to me that the vise would surely sag under load. So I departed from Lee Valley's instructions, and used a non-standard installation to avoid sag. Another issue raised was whether the vise could maintain a square grip on boards clamped at benchtop level, well above the screws. LV's method for offsetting vertical racking made for a dead square grip on boards clamped high above the screws, and this will be illustrated below.
So the first purpose of this Article is to answer the 'Twin-Screw-as-end-vise" issue, using photos and measurements.
While making these photos and measurements, it dawned on me that I had seen more custom installations of the Twin Screw Vise than standard ones. In other words, most of us seem to vary from Lee Valley's well-written instructions. So the second purpose is to include in this article some specific detail on my custom installation, in hopes that it will be of assistance to others who are considering similar--or quite opposite--approaches.
The third purpose is just to lighten things up with some photos of typical applications--ripping, cross-cutting, edge jointing. A section is to be included on setup for dovetailing, where the Twin Screw excels. I would like to apologize in advance for showing such a clean bench--normally you can lose a small dog in the shavings.
INTRODUCTION AND SETTING
My bench sits at the end of a long, narrow porch. I need to be able to hear my wife call, and this is the best place in the house for that, even though it's a very constrained space. The bench is 75" long, not including the end vise, 30" deep, and 35-1/2" off the floor. It has nine drawers. The apron is 8 inches deep and 2-3/4" thick, as are the vise jaws.
Here is a wider view of the space. The cabinet at the right provides a whole bunch of flat drawers, plus a flat surface nearby (but not on) the bench for reference plates and straight edges.
Read More... (14.27 KB) | 4 comments | | Score: 5
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Record Setting Plane
Posted by Roger on Thursday, December 23, 2004 (17:26:17) (1368 reads)
Isn't it a beauty? It could have been yours for $102,000 (plus 10% buyer's premium)!
Here is the story of the plane. If Clarence was excited before the auction, I wonder how he felt during the auction as the price soared over $100,000!
Read More... (218 Bytes) | 1 comment | | Score: 5
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