Close Grain

Steve, Great post. You certainly captured the esse...

2012-02-19T19:04:26.083-08:00

Steve,
Great post. You certainly captured the essence and details of the trip. It was great to hang out with you, the other MWA guys & the Fine Woodworking folk. I'm hoping our meet up at Woodaexpo next weekend is just as great.

One must always treat one's snow thrower with ...

2012-02-17T19:45:34.055-08:00

One must always treat one's snow thrower with love and affection!

I bought the whole set through Amazon after seeing...

2012-02-17T03:09:08.383-08:00

I bought the whole set through Amazon after seeing Paul at the woodworking show in Springfield. I attended the show not knowing anything about Paul or hand tool woodworking. I have been without a work space for nearly 16 years and now have a shop that was built in November 2011. There is no power and no heat yet. The first thing I bought was an old Shopsmith like the one I used to have and a Reliant 2HP dust collector. After watching the videos and reading the book I won't be filling the workspace with power tools. I'm thinking of selling the Reliant and maybe the Shopsmith as well. The workbench will be my first project. The fact that I can build it with grade A construction lumber makes it a lot easier for a beginner like me to get started. The videos can be followed in what ever order you want.

PowerCurve1800Love? Blogger won't let me sign in with another account. The Toro Power Curve 1800 is the best little snow thrower going.

Rob, very cool, I'm even more jealous! The adv...

2012-02-15T04:28:26.045-08:00

Rob, very cool, I'm even more jealous! The advice on winter clothes: lots of it!

Seriously, though, the key for any active winter activity, from mountaineering to sailing, is the three-layer method: a skin layer of thin wicking material like polyester, polypropylene, or merino wool; multiple insulation layers of wicking materials like fleece or wool in varying thicknesses; and a wind layer of sturdy waterproof breathable material like Gore-Tex or the various similar proprietary materials.

You can add or remove insulation layers depending on the conditions and your activity level. The main thing is to keep any sweat away from the skin, hence the wicking materials. Nothing causes hypothermia faster than working up a good sweat in cotton (which is not a wicking material, it holds the moisture right against your skin), then stopping for a while.

Hat, gloves, and boots should also have insulation and wind/water layers. Winter sailing gloves are a real challenge. It's hard to find something that provides the warmth and water resistance, yet still allows enough dexterity. Sometimes you just have to take them off to get something done (and hold on to them so they don't go overboard).

And Mitchell, I understand that, I have a friend who got frozen toe tips ice climbing.

The shop Look amazing. Love how well organized it...

2012-02-14T09:26:55.126-08:00

The shop Look amazing. Love how well organized it is. I'm planning out my new shop space for when I move in a couple of months and you have inspired a great many ideas in my little mind. I think some of these ideas can even be well applied to my little shop I work in now.

Cheers
Hans Christopher

Been there, done that, got the dead toes to prove ...

2012-02-14T07:20:31.354-08:00

Been there, done that, got the dead toes to prove it.

I appreciate an adventure...but for me, freezing my buns off isn't one of them.

Hi Steve, I enjoy your WW articles, and your saili...

2012-02-14T07:15:09.081-08:00

Hi Steve,
I enjoy your WW articles, and your sailing posts are even better. I love the time lapse video.

If you ever need crew, please email me. I live in Hingham and just started racing last summer. I'd need some advice on winter sailing clothes.

I was in San Francisco last week and I got to sail on the 2002 Oracle America's Cup yacht. If you are ever out there, its a must do. I have some short videos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/102639994653334077975/GFSailingOnACYacht

Thanks for the great blogging,
rob

Hi Chuck, thanks for reading! It's a blast, th...

2012-02-14T03:32:33.582-08:00

Hi Chuck, thanks for reading! It's a blast, though it does take a certain enthusiasm for cold weather activities. My wife always asks about that fine line between fun and stupidity, she seems to think it's a little further to the left than I do!

And I'm incredibly jealous of the magnificent furniture in the portfolio on your website, so we're even!

Looks like great fun. I'm incredibly jealous.

2012-02-13T11:04:45.492-08:00

Looks like great fun. I'm incredibly jealous.

Watched the Dovetails video last night on your rec...

2012-02-08T07:25:10.926-08:00

Watched the Dovetails video last night on your recommendation. 100% pure enjoyment on so many levels including his "whoopsie." No two teachers teach the same method. Kingshott's method may have something to add for others. Love the Michael Caine accent.

Nice, thanks Steve.

2012-02-07T07:19:35.379-08:00

Nice, thanks Steve.

Paul, at this point I use something of a hybrid ap...

2012-02-06T17:56:07.076-08:00

Paul, at this point I use something of a hybrid approach. Partly it depends on the blade and what existing bevel it has, as well as the shape. I find that given the range of blade thickness, width, and length, it helps to vary the method. Sometimes I follow the double-bevel method, sometimes this one.

Partly I'm just continuing to experiment with different motion patterns on the stones. I find that an hour or so fiddling with any method makes a big difference in control. That improved control even transfers to other methods.

Mostly it's a matter of whatever seems most expedient at the moment for a particular blade. By now I've used this method on most of my chisels and most of my older planes. For my newer Lie-Nielsen planes and spokeshaves, with thicker blades and well-established bevels, I use the double-bevel, especially on the spokeshave iron. It's so small, I find it easier to sharpen side-to-side more than up and down the stone. I've been meaning to make a simpler holder for it for up and down sharpening.

So the short answer is yes, I've stayed with this method, but I don't use it exclusively.

Steve, It's almost 2 years since you posted th...

2012-02-06T14:23:47.637-08:00

Steve, It's almost 2 years since you posted this (the Grimsdale method). What is your preferred method for sharpening? Have you stayed with this method? I'm going to give it a try.
Paul

Hi Steve, Another great review but I just ponied u...

2012-02-06T03:10:10.616-08:00

Hi Steve,
Another great review but I just ponied up and got Paul Seller's book/DVD series. Now you gave me an itch to get these. Like you, I like a lot of differnet perspectives so I can pick and chose what I like. Sounds like a must have to me.
ralph

There are of course individual differences in tech...

2012-02-06T02:33:04.849-08:00

There are of course individual differences in technique doing some of the same things, and these are simply different ways to do things, neither one being inherently better than the other. You might even pick and choose bits of technique from each depending on your own preferences.

The two sets are actually quite complementary. Each shows a few things that aren't in the other. For dovetails, Sellers shows through dovetails, while Kingshott shows half-blind. Kingshott shows several more variations of mortise and tenon, while Sellers, because he's building complete projects, also shows forming some curved parts, setting hinges, and attaching tabletops. Kingshott does go a little more into different types of specialty planes.

The one major thing that Kingshott covers that Sellers does not is stock preparation, going through the Face, Edge, Width, Thickness steps of the FEWTEL sequence in the bench planes DVD.

It would not be a waste of money to own both sets. If you are forced to choose, that's a tough choice! The Sellers series might be slightly more appropriate for an absolute beginner, since he's focused a bit more on someone who's never touched a hand tool before, though he's working with pre-dimensioned stock. Maybe add the Kingshott bench planes DVD to them at a minimum, since Sellers relies entirely on a Stanley #4.

Steve, is there anything in particular in the King...

2012-02-05T20:58:37.682-08:00

Steve, is there anything in particular in the Kingshotts DVDs that are not covered in the ones by Paul Sellers?

I have had Kingshotts DVDs for years and also own ...

2012-02-05T16:32:00.644-08:00

I have had Kingshotts DVDs for years and also own a few of his books. I also have a (large) number of titles from other authors and presenters. I love Kingshotts presentation and manner of writing and teaching.

I would highly recommend them to anyone.

Scott

2nding the book suggestion

2012-02-05T11:23:16.940-08:00

2nding the book suggestion

Thanks, Rob!

2012-01-27T18:44:19.576-08:00

Thanks, Rob!

Congratulations, Steve. Its a beautiful piece no ...

2012-01-25T18:48:41.893-08:00

Congratulations, Steve. Its a beautiful piece no matter who selects it for whatever showing.

I picked up the book and DVDs at the Baltimore sho...

2012-01-24T12:39:01.988-08:00

I picked up the book and DVDs at the Baltimore show. Really enjoy them and have begun using them to teach some things to my kids as well. One of the aspects of handtool work that really appeals to me that Paul talks about a lot is re-engaging children in the shop.

That said, I'm also eagerly awaiting the posting of more of your course, Steve.

When I first put the other video together and trie...

2012-01-23T16:10:58.872-08:00

When I first put the other video together and tried out the fast-forward on a couple parts, it really cracked me up, so I decided to do the whole thing that way! I think the end result makes for an effective and entertaining way to cover a longer process.

Shaun, I didn't have the vise cranked tight enough. Since the poplar is a harder wood than the pine I used before, I had to hit the chisel harder with the mallet, making the piece move. Many people line their vise chop with leather or sandpaper for exactly that reason, to improve the grip. Some people use non-skid shelf liner, which is what Paul Sellers does (he just wraps it loosely around the piece in the vise). I also could have put the pieces on the benchtop, between the planing stop and my Veritas Wonder Dog.

It was a bit of a nuisance, but I tend to work with a minimum of clamping for speed, so I'm used to things moving a bit. Just knock them back in place or tighten things down and keep working.

Thanks, guys! Hopefully the part 2 post cleared up...

2012-01-23T15:56:01.237-08:00

Thanks, guys! Hopefully the part 2 post cleared up some questions. Specifically, the use of wedged stops means you can clean them up or replace them after they get chewed up over time.

The other nice thing about the dadoes is that they are absolutely fixed in position. They won't shift around the way stops that are screwed down can. Just make sure the wedges are tapped firmly into position.

Superb video, Steve. Love the speeded-up sounds of...

2012-01-23T06:38:15.186-08:00

Superb video, Steve. Love the speeded-up sounds of the tools, too - my wife thought I was watching a natural history film with woodpeckers and gnawing rodents!

Steve, doesn't it drive you crazy to have thos...

2012-01-22T20:28:36.886-08:00

Steve, doesn't it drive you crazy to have those angled wedges moving in your vise when chiseling them out? Any reason that happens?