Acknowledgements And References

The new woodworking books are here, the new woodworking books are here! 20 copies fresh from the publisher.

I like to give credit where credit is due. These are the acknowledgements and references for the information in my book, Hand Tool Basics.

I'm a self-taught woodworker. That really means I had many teachers, the many live demonstrators and authors of books, videos, and magazine, online forum, mailing list, and website articles who have provided useful information.

Use the information I provide as a starting point. There's plenty more than what I cover; woodworking is a global activity with centuries of history, creating an infinite variety of techniques. I hope that I'll give you the skills and knowledge to be able to assess and incorporate any new information you find.

In general, the tools and methods I show in the book follow American and English woodworking styles. Continental European and Asian styles share many of the same techniques, but there are some differences in the tools. Where information is available, I strive to show historically accurate methods. In general it's safe to assume everything I show has at least 100 years of history. Some things have 2 or 3 hundred. Dovetails date back to the ancient Egyptians.

We are but the custodians of knowledge, passing it on to the next generation.

Acknowledgements

Below is the list of my teachers, in roughly chronological order. These are my primary references. They offer a range of perspectives that don't always agree with each other but still manage to get the job done, showing that it's worthwhile to look at the variety of techniques available.

If you'd like further information on any of the topics I cover in the book, I highly recommend seeking out their work, or even better, a chance to spend time with them in classes or demos. It's always good to have an opportunity to watch someone closeup and drink in the details. Just one new detail about an otherwise familiar technique can make it worthwhile.

My memberships in the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM) and the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers (GNHW), as well as the Lie-Nielsen Open Houses and Hand Tool Events, have given me a number of opportunities to meet and watch some of them.

Don Weber: Don's cover story in the April, 2004 issue of Popular Woodworking is what set me off down this path. He built a table from a log using nothing but hand tools. I was absolutely enthralled. It took me a few years of fumbling around to gain traction, until I started following…

Christopher Schwarz: As the editor of Popular Woodworking, it was Chris' articles on hand tools that put me on the road to success, in particular his articles on sharpening and planing. His books and videos form the core of my woodworking library. He went on to found Lost Art Press, where he continues to publish excellent books and videos on hand tool woodworking. He changed my woodworking forever, and gave me the knowledge to start appreciating other teachers, like…

Roy Underhill: When I first saw Roy's PBS show The Woodwright's Shop, long before I knew anything about hand tools, I thought this guy was bouncing off the walls like a superball shot from a cannon. But once I started learning, I realized every episode was crammed with a breathtaking amount of pure gold. His books and DVDs are another core component of my library. While I'll never be the showman he is and be able to do a half-hour video in one take, I've taken a number of cues from his show in my instructional format.

Philip C. Lowe: I've been following Phil's articles for as long as I have Chris Schwarz's. He's what I call a museum-class woodworker, because when museums need to restore or reproduce a finely detailed period furniture piece, he's at the top of the list. He ran the furniture-making program at Boston's North Bennet St. School for 5 years before starting his own Furniture Institute of Massachusetts, and is the winner of the SAPFM 2005 Cartouche Award. I got to know him when he gave a series of live demonstrations to SAPFM members on building several magnificent furniture pieces.

Michael Dunbar: Mike ran the Windsor Institute in New Hampshire, where he taught chairmaking. He's published a number of articles in Popular Woodworking. He takes a very no-nonsense attitude, as exemplified by his "Sensible Sharpening" method of sandpaper on flat substrate. His repeated frustration at having students show up to classes with basic tools they didn't know how to sharpen or use was what led me to start teaching. My goal was to provide that basic knowledge so people could get on with the more advanced topics of the specialized classes offered by others.

Charles H. Hayward: One of Chris Schwarz's heroes, Hayward was editor and "one-man publishing phenomenon" of The Woodworker from 1936 to 1966. He wrote a number of practical books that are simply spectacular. Anything you can find by him, don't hesitate, just get it! In fact, Chris has since anthologized several volumes of his writings from The Woodworker.

Robert Wearing: Wearing, another of Schwarz's heroes and an acquaintance of Hayward in Hayward's later years, wrote an excellent book that has been re-released by Lost Art Press. This was the source of the three classes of saw cuts terminology.

Bernard E. Jones: Jones wrote two encyclopedic books in the 1910's-20's which have been reprinted several times, one of which is now available from Popular Woodworking.

Garrett Hack: Garrett is a professional woodworker and author in Vermont. I've always loved his designs. He's a master of unique stylistic details done with hand tools.

Jim Kingshott: Kingshott was a British woodworker who put out several outstanding books and videos in the 1990's. He's like your favorite uncle. But of course, Bob's your uncle!

Adam Cherubini: Adam's "Arts And Mysteries" column in Popular Woodworking was a huge influence on my work. With his emphasis on 18th-century work, he showed me I could do everything by hand starting from the raw lumber, and taught me how to use wooden handplanes.

Patrick Leach: Patrick is one of the Internet's premier antique tool sellers, with everything from $20 user planes to $10,000 collector's items. He's partly responsible for the unusually large number of chisels you see on my tool wall; his house is dangerously close to mine. But he's also the definitive reference for information on antique Stanley tools. His website www.Supertool.com is encyclopedic, covering the entire line from the late 1800's through the first half of the 20th century.

Pete Taran: Like Patrick, Pete is another encyclopedic source of antique tool information, this time on saws at www.VintageSaw.com.

Erik Von Sneidern: And like Pete, Erik is another antique saw specialist, focusing exclusively on Disston saws at his Disstonian Institute, www.DisstonionInstitute.com.

Aldren A. Watson: Watson was a professional woodworker, author, and illustrator in Vermont.

Lie-Nielsen Staff: YouTube videos from founder Thomas Lie-Nielsen and demonstrators like Deneb Pulchalski, along with live demonstrations at their Hand Tool Events, cover a great deal about how to use and maintain their tools. I think this educational component is an important part of the company's success, completing the connection with their customers.

Alan Breed: Al is another museum-class woodworker. He's the guy high-end auction houses call when they want a reproduction of an antique that's on the block for millions of dollars, so the sellers will have something to fill the empty spot. He runs the The Breed School in New Hampshire, and is the winner of the SAPFM 2012 Cartouche Award. For a number of years, he's been incredibly generous sharing his time and knowledge in a series of live demonstrations to the GNHW Period Furniture Group on building period pieces.

Paul Sellers: Paul is a British woodworker who put out an excellent book and DVD series. He used to run New Legacy School of Woodworking in Penrhyn Castle, North Wales, possibly one of the coolest school venues around. He's another very no-nonsense guy, attempting to demystify the craft and bring it to the masses without complicated methods.

Christian Becksvoort: Christian is a professional woodworker and magazine author in Maine who specializes in hand tool work.

Peter Galbert: Peter is a professional chair maker in Massachusetts. He's also an inventor, creating several very useful tools and versions of existing tools. He was the one who showed me how to get the most out of a wooden spokeshave, and watching his YouTube videos resulted in a huge improvement in my turning skills on the lathe.

References

Some of these may be difficult to find because they're out of print. But they may be available used or as reprints.

Books (including a few useful references from authors not listed above)

Bickford, Matthew Sheldon

Mouldings In Practice, 2012

Blackburn, Graham

Jigs & Fixtures For The Hand Tool Woodworker, 2014

Fine Woodworking

Working With Handplanes, 2005

Hampton, C.W., and Clifford, E.

Planecraft: Hand Planing By Modern Methods, 1934

Hayward, Charles H.

Cabinet Making For Beginners, 1948 (several editions)

The Junior Woodworker, 1952 (don't let the title fool you, it's for any beginner!)

Woodwork Joints, Revised Edition, 1979

Hoadley, R. Bruce

Understanding Wood, 2000

Hock, Ron

The Perfect Edge: The Ultimate Guide To Sharpening For Woodworkers, 2009

Jones, Bernard E.

The Complete Woodworker, 1920?

The Practical Woodworker, 1920? (reissued as a 4-volume set)

Kingshott, Jim

The Workshop, 1993

Sharpening: The Complete Guide, 1994

A Woodworker's Guide To Joints, 1998

Krenov, James

The Fine Art Of Cabinetmaking, 1977

Laughton, Ralph

Success With Joints, 2005

Popular Woodworking

Hand Tool essentials, 2007

Rae, Andy

Choosing & Using Hand Tools, 2002

Schwarz, Christopher

Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use, 2007

The Joiner And Cabinet Maker, 2009 (with Joel Moskowitz, update of 1839 anonymous original)

Handplane Essentials, 2009

Sellers, Paul

Working Wood, 2011 (also available as a set with 7 DVD's listed below)

Underhill, Roy

The Woodwright's Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft, 1981

The Woodwright's Companion: Exploring Traditional Woodcraft, 1983

The Woodwright's Work Book: Further Explorations in Traditional Woodcraft, 1986

The Woodwright's Eclectic Workshop, 1991

The Woodwright's Apprentice: 20 Favorite Projects From The Woodwright's Shop, 1996

The Woodwright's Guide: Working Wood with Wedge & Edge, 2008

Watson, Aldren A.

Hand Tools: Their Ways And Workings, 1982

Wearing, Robert

The Essential Woodworker, 2010

Whelan, John M.

The Wooden Plane: Its History, Form, And Function, 1993

Videos

Kingshott, Jim

Bench Planes, 1996

Special Planes, 1996

Mortise & Tenon, 1996

Dovetails, 1996

Schwarz, Christopher

Coarse Medium & Fine, 2005

Building Furniture With Hand Planes, 2007

Handplane Basics: A Better Way To Use Bench Planes, 2009

Sellers, Paul (available as a set with his book above)

Working Wood: Woodworking Essentials 1 and 2, 2011

Working Wood: Master Sharpening, 2011

Working Wood: Master European Workbenches, 2011

Working Wood: Master Housing Dadoes, 2011

Working Wood: Master Mortise & Tenons, 2011

Working Wood: Master Dovetails, 2011

Underhill, Roy

The Woodwright's Shop, Seasons 1-31 (and counting, starting in 1980)

Online Forums

These are an excellent way to join with like-minded people to learn and discuss hand tools, their use, and how to deal with problems. In fact, as my skills developed, it was seeing the questions posted on these from beginners struggling through the same learning curve I had climbed that motivated me to put together a video course and book.

Some forums are extremely active. Participation is global, with people coming from all different cultural backgrounds.

I found these to be a great asset in my learning. Just be prepared for a wide range of information, often conflicting! You'll have to learn to sort through it. That's where I came up with the concept for my "Fistfights And Fundamentals" segments.

These are moderated forums to ensure that everyone stays on their good behavior, but discussions can get heated and feelings can get hurt. Read their policies and spend some time lurking (Internet-speak for reading without responding) before you join in. Don't take things personally, and don't make things personal. Be polite. Remember that different people have different experience, training, and opinions.

There are others besides these, in English and many other languages, as well as Facebook groups such as Unplugged Woodworkers.

www.SawmillCreek.com (US) - Neanderthal Haven forum.

www.WoodNet.com (US) - Woodworking Hand Tools forum.

www.LumberJocks.com (US) - Hand Tools forum.

www.UKWorkshop.co.uk (UK) - Hand Tools forum.

www.WoodworkUK.co.uk (UK) - Hand Tools forum.

www.WoodworkForums.com (Australia) - Hand Tools - Unpowered forum.

Thank You To The MBTA!

Finally, I'd like to thank the MBTA. Other than the shop work and photography, I did nearly all the work for this book and the original video series while riding the Commuter Rail. Yes, I wrote a book on the train! I did all the video editing, photo selection, and writing on my Mac laptop an hour each way to and from work in Boston.

Thank you to all the folks who took care of my commute and gave me a safe, warm place where I could focus on woodworking!

Interview At The Joiner's Apprentice Blog

Rob Campbell writes the Joiner's Apprentice blog, where he's been running a series of email interviews with some of his woodworking mentors. He asked me a few weeks ago if I'd like to participate, and of course I'm never one to pass up the opportunity for shameless self-promotion. He sent me a set of questions, and has just posted the interview, along with a very nice introduction. Thanks, Rob!

Like me, Rob is largely self-taught and loves working with hand tools. The series started with Joel Moskowitz of Tools For Working Wood, followed by Matt Cianci of The Saw Blog, and Bob Rozaieski of The Logan Cabinet Shoppe. You'll enjoy reading Rob's blog and the websites of the people he's selected.

Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event At FIM

Deneb Puchalski of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks demonstrating hand plane techniques. The gentleman in red and black checks is one of my blog readers. Hi, Albert!

I got to participate in the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event this past Friday and Saturday at Phil Lowe's Furniture Institute of Massachusetts, in Beverly, MA.

This event had a number of connections for me. I had used Phil's articles and videos as my primary references to build my Queen Anne foot stool. The plan I had used was from the Society of Period Furniture Makers, who was to have someone there. I had met most of the other presenters at other LN events and SAPFM meetings, and met the remaining presenters online.

I had emailed LN a month ago to inquire about participating to promote my blog and share the craft as a SAPFM member. Deneb Puchalski, LN show coordinator, responded to say that I was welcome to join them, and I should coordinate with Mickey Callahan, who would be demonstrating for SAPFM (and in fact it was Mickey's foot stool plan I had used). I contacted Mickey and we put together a tentative plan to share a bench. A big thank you to Deneb for allowing me to join in!

I brought my foot stool and enough tools and prepared stock to demonstrate making another set of cabriole legs. They make a good demonstration because the finished shape looks so complex, yet broken down into discrete steps, they can be done easily just with hand tools.

When I arrived, Deneb told me Mickey was sick and unable to attend, so I took on the role of SAPFM representative. I was there all day Friday, and the afternoon Saturday (Saturday morning I attended Al Breed's second presentation to the Guild of NH Woodworkers on building a Townsend document chest; that'll be a separate blog post).

A number of people were interested in SAPFM. The society is open to anyone interested in American period furniture, regardless of skill level. It's composed of a broad range of members nationwide, from hobbyists to professionals. Whether you work more with hand tools or power tools, if you read my blog, you would probably enjoy SAPFM membership, $45 annually.

To me, the primary benefit is the opportunity to spend time with some of the top period makers in the country, online or in chapter and national meetings. They have an incredible wealth of knowledge and love to share it. Many of today's well-known woodworking authors and instructors are members.

My personal message to people (standing there flanked by two 14" bandsaws and a jointer that could serve as the flight deck of an aircraft carrier) was that I do everything with hand tools to show that even if you don't have access to power tools, you can still do fine work (and often, better work). Whether you're limited by space, funds, or concerns about noise, dust, or safety, hand tools allow you to do everything. After all, they got it done 200 years ago.

Some steps may take a little longer and be a little more laborious, but they can all be done. You can build magnificent period-authentic furniture or other pieces in a tiny space carved out of even the most restricted living area.

It was fun meeting several blog readers and members of my Google+ woodworkers circle, like Nick Roulleau of Mansfield Fine Furniture, and Lance Gomes, one of my students last year. It was great talking to you guys! I also handed out a stack of cards to interested people. So if you're a new reader, welcome!


Our host, Phil Lowe.

Phil is a great guy. I've been reading his articles in Fine Woodworking books and magazines for years. He's one of the true masters of the craft. He taught at the North Bennet St. School for 10 years, serving as department head for the latter 5. He was the recipient of the 2005 Cartouche Award, SAPFM's highest honor.

I was thrilled to be demonstrating under the eyes of the master. A bit intimidated as well, but he's nothing but encouraging!

He offers a number of instructional programs at his Furniture Institute of Massachusetts, ranging from one-day seminars and part-time programs, to a full-time 2-year program. He also offers plans and videos.


The LN team: Deneb, Marta, and Ted.

If you haven't been to one of these events before, they're great fun. The entire LN tool line is available to try out, with knowledgeable show staff providing instruction and advice. You can put your hands on some of the finest tools on the planet, take a few shavings, chisel out some chips, make some sawdust. Get to feel them and how they handle on the wood.

Like most hobbyists, I started out rehabbing flea market tools, but I've come to appreciate having at last a few premium tools to know what standard I'm striving for. These are investments that will still be working beautifully for your great-grandchildren.


LN planes on display for people to try out. The three people in front are Mike Morton, a reader and Google+ acquaintance, Michael McCoy (just visible behind Mike Morton), and Mike Morton's son Liam.

Mike Morton, of M. Scott Morton Furniture Design and Construction, lives just a couple miles from me, but we had to travel to Beverly to finally meet in person. You may have seen him (and Liam) in product videos from Highland Woodworking, a Lie-Nielsen tool dealer. Michael McCoy, of Castlewerks Fine Contemporary Furniture, also lives nearby; I used to work with him in his high-tech days.


Peter Follansbee demonstrating 17th century carving on riven oak. He's working on a "joyned" chest.

Peter is a joiner at Plimoth Plantation living history museum, and has been practicing green woodworking for many years. You can see him in action in the presentation he gave at the May SAPFM chapter meeting at Phil's. He sells carved pieces at his website, and has an excellent blog. He has a video available from LN, and an upcoming book from Lost Art Press, Make A Joined Stool From A Tree.


Tico Vogt, of Vogt Toolworks, demonstrating his Super Chute 2.0 shooting board, using an LN miter plane. The piece of wood he was shooting was about 4" long. He told me when he first started demonstrating his shooting boards a couple years ago, that same piece was 18" long. He's been shaving it down a thousandth at a time.

Tico, a recent blog reader, sells his Super Chute 2.0 and Micro Sharp Honing Kit at Vogt Toolworks. Read his account of the event on his blog. If you haven't used a shooting board before, they are the secret precision weapon of hand tool woodworking. They allow for stock trimming to length and angle tolerances that would make NASA jealous.


Matt Cianci (Matt the Sawright) sharpening a saw. Watching him is Bill Barrett, who I know from Al Breed's Townsend chest project with the Guild of NH Woodworkers.

Matt C. offers saw sharpening and restored saws at The Saw Blog.


Matt Bickford demonstrating his wooden molding planes. I first met Matt at an earlier LN Hand Tool Event.

Matt B. has been making and selling wooden molding planes for several years at MS Bickford. They look gorgeous and work magnificently. The floor under his demo bench is always covered in beautiful long shavings. He also provides information on using molding planes on his blog, Musings From Big Pink.


Matt Kenney, senior editor at Fine Woodworking magazine, putting a Vogt Toolworks shooting board set through its paces while constructing a small wall shelf with drawers. I had met Matt at last year's Hand Tool Event at FIM.


The resources I used building my Queen Anne foot stool. Lower left, the plans from the SAPFM member website. Lower right, Phil Lowe's DVDs on ball-and-claw foot and furniture reproduction. Upper left, Phil's article in the October, 2011 Fine Woodworking on chisel usage. Upper right, who is that fellow on the cover? Phil Lowe nearly 30 years ago, October 1983.

Phil offers the two DVDs, originally released on VHS, for sale. The titles don't do them justice. He packs many additional details into each one.


Phil Lowe, then and now. Photo by Tico Vogt. Tico was very excited when he saw my copy of the magazine. Be sure to read his blog post if you haven't already to understand how this connected the dots for him across nearly 30 years!

Measuring Furniture For Reproduction should really be titled A Complete Mini-Course In Queen Anne Side Chair Reproduction, because he goes through the whole process of documenting a chair at the Peabody Essex Museum and then reproducing it in his shop.  You can also get it as a package with the plans for the chair. I loved this DVD; I'll be getting the plans and building this chair as my next major furniture project.


My workbench, with plans, magazines, and SAPFM newsletter for people to peruse. That's my finished foot stool on the left, and I'm demonstrating shaping a leg with a rasp on my Al Breed carving vise. You can see a couple of additional walnut leg blanks sitting under the cabriole pattern. Photo by Jeff Burks.

I demonstrated cutting and shaping a couple of cabriole legs with hand tools. I should have done the mortising first, but I wanted to have some curved parts for people to see, since the skills for working on them are less well known. I also brought some of the walnut stock cutoffs for people to try out the tools and techniques.

I did all the curved work with my Gramercy Tools bow saw (available complete or as a hardware kit) and cabinetmaker's rasp, and my LN spokeshave. Gramercy Tools is the house brand for Joel Moskowitz's Tools For Working Wood, which will be at the January 6-7 LN Hand Tool Event in Brooklyn, NY.

In the midst of talking to people as I worked, I even stumbled on another method for sawing out cabriole legs. I had cut out the original foot stool legs entirely with the bow saw. It works great, but even the coarsest blade is a pretty fine tooth, and my control is still pretty poor. So it takes a while, and I have to stay well away from the line, leaving a lot of cleanup work.

Cleanup on the flat or convex portion of the curves is fast with a spokeshave, so that's not a problem...wait a second...flat portion of the curve?

Aha! I realized that a large portion of the S-shape cyma curve is actually almost flat. That means I can use a full-size ripsaw on the tangent to the convex curve, down the length of the flat until it starts into the concave recurve. That's something like 75% of the length, even more for longer legs. I can rip to a close tolerance at good speed. So I tried it on the first leg, and it worked great!


Sawing out a second leg, using a full-size ripsaw on the roughly straight portion of the cyma S-curve. Photo by Peter Follansbee.

I'll be sure to use this method in the future, saving the bow saw for the truly tight areas. This falls under the category of "use the tool with the biggest bite you can". Added to the use of a carving or paring gouge to remove sizable chips from concave areas, rough shaping a leg from the blank by hand starts to approach the time it would take with a bandsaw. Well, maybe only twice as long instead of four times as long.


I did manage to get a fair amount of work done on a leg in between talking to people! This was all by hand, starting from a squared-up blank. The LN spokeshave and scraper leave a gorgeous sheen. Note the gouge marks I haven't yet cleaned up on the top of the foot.

I had a great time at this event. Thank you again to Deneb Puchalski for the opportunity. He could have said no, but he didn't. I know for most of the participants this is working, but for me as a hobbyist it's like a great party (I told Phil I would probably starve if I was doing this for a living, and he said that's why we have a trim figure!). It's great fun to share the knowledge.

Review: Gramercy Tools Cabinetmaker's Rasps

10" Gramercy Tools hand-cut cabinetmaker's rasps, 16TPI and 25TPI, flat side up. Click on any of the photos for higher resolution view.

You might wonder why you should spend over $100 each for rasps. Or more likely, your spouse might. What could be simpler than a lowly rasp? Well, it turns out there are higher order rasps.

Last week I shaped the first cabriole leg for my Queen Anne foot stool project. My sculpting tools were a rough Nicholson rasp, a cheap 4-in-hand rasp, a round Surform rasp, and a half-round metal file. It took me quite a while to do the final shaping, primarily because the first two rasps left such a rough surface that I was afraid to go too heavily with them. The Surform was much lighter cutting in the hard walnut. The file left a nice surface, but cut very slowly.

Having seen Phil Lowe using good cabinetmaker's rasps in his videos, I decided it was time to upgrade. I went to the Tools for Working Wood website to see what they had. The only name I really knew for high-quality rasps was Auriou. I knew they were expensive, but I was prepared to pay for quality. However, Tools for Working Wood also carries their own Gramercy Tools rasps, which looked very nice.

I agonized over the choice. I've been impressed by other Gramercy Tools products, so I knew their rasps were worth considering. The price difference between the two was negligible. The deciding factor was in Joel's blog post More Stuff About Rasps, where he compared them. Because the Gramercy rasps are made from stainless steel, the teeth are stronger, so there's less chance of breaking them.

I ordered the Gramercy Tools 10" 16TPI and 25TPI rasps on Friday, and with their usual alacrity, they arrived today, Monday. I put them straight to a quick test, comparing them with my cheap rasps.


The contenders in order of coarseness, round side up: unnumbered Nicholson, no-name 4-in-hand, and the Gramercy Tools rasps.

For the first test, I took 10 full-length straight strokes with each tool, trying to use consistent force, along the radial axis on a piece of the walnut I used for my stool legs. For the second test, I repeated that sequence on the heart-side tangential face.


On the radial axis (i.e. across the rings).


On the tangential axis, heart side (i.e. the concave side of the rings). This was the face I had found most time-consuming shaping the stool leg.

The photos show that the first three rasps remove rougly the same amount of material. However, the Gramercy leaves a much finer surface. The Nicholson was by far the worst, leaving a ragged surface that looked like it had been clawed by rabid dogs. Even the no-name 4-in-hand was a better choice than that one.

The fourth rasp, the fine-tooth Gramercy, left a very nice surface that would clean up easily.

For the third test, I spent five minutes sculpting the two faces with the 16TPI Gramercy, then 1 minute cleaning it up with the 25TPI Gramercy.


After sculpting the same two faces.

The coarser Gramercy cut quickly, and the finer one left a very clean surface. If this had been a rough-sawn cabriole leg blank with just a little stock left to remove, that probably would have been enough time to do most of the final shaping, leaving an easy scraping job.

I'm certainly not an experienced judge of rasps, but I'm very pleased with my purchase. These should do a much more efficient job on the remaining legs for my foot stool. I'm sure my spouse would approve!

Building A Bench On Bench

In Roubo's Slippers, I fine-tuned the height of my workbench for planing. However, many other operations benefit from a higher work surface. Moxon's double-screw vise is one way to elevate and hold pieces for dovetailing.

I first stumbled onto the idea of a benchtop mini-bench last year on Alf's blog. She had built one based on Jeff Miller's 2005 Fine Woodworking article. Miller used veneer press screws to form a double-screw vise on the front. Alf used wooden screws she turned on the lathe and threaded with a threadbox. Either way, this adds the elevated work surface to go along with the vise.

Then I saw this one on Joel Moskowitz' blog at Tools for Working Wood. It's built by the Philadelphia Furniture Workshop, their version of Miller's design. You can buy either a finished one or the hardware kit (screws and clamp handles) to build one from Joel here; instructions for building a simple plywood base are here.

After debating back and forth which one to build, I decided on the last one. Miller's was a simple slab design, but I liked the PFW butcher block construction, as well as their base. I used standard veneer press screws, as Joel showed in the initial PFW version. Links for suppliers are listed at the bottom of this post.

The one technical challenge was figuring out how to get the long veneer press screws into the laminated top using hand tools. I didn't think I'd be able to hand-drill parallel 9"-deep holes straight enough. I thought about chiseling channels into the underside. I initially expected to fit the flanges for the screws to the front. Then it hit me: drill the holes one lamination at a time, and bury  the flanges in the first lamination.


Marking out the first rip for the butcher block laminations in a slab of 2x10 poplar.


Ripping the first piece. Since this board is flat-sawn, when I roll the pieces 90 degrees they'll be in quartersawn orientation for gluing up the top. The kneepad makes this much more comfortable.

Make sure your saw is sharp for this kind of work. Do yourself a favor and spend 10 minutes sharpening it; you'll save 30 minutes of heavy work.

In thicker stock like this, flip the piece frequently to keep the saw on track (mark both sides with the gauge). You can hold to within 1/32" of your line for the whole rip that way. Otherwise you're likely to find the back side of the cut has wandered by 1/8" or more, requiring a lot of work with the plane when you joint the edge for the next piece, and flatten the final glue-up.


Jointing the edge for the next rip. Notice the long-sleeve shirt is off, and the bandana is on. This is heavy ripping.


Cutting the pieces in half.


All the rough-cut pieces laid out to plan screw placement. Just barely visible, in addition to a cabitnetmaker's triangle, I've marked arrows on each piece showing which way the grain goes. They all need to be oriented the same way for planing once they've been glued up.


Carefully drilling the holes in the first piece. Each piece will serve as the guide for the next. For this piece, which will be the loose vise face, I used an 11/16" bit; the screws are 5/8" in diameter, so this allows a tiny bit of play. For the remaining pieces, I used a 12/16" bit. The extra tolerance will be hidden in the lamination, and allows for any error in drilling. The holes for the flange are 1", which required a large-sweep brace for extra power.


Chiseling out a mortise for the flange, like a hinge mortise. Notice the side ridges down its length; I ran a gouge down each side of the hole for them, then flipped the flange over and dropped it into the hole. Fitted into the mortise, the flange face was flush with the surface of the wood, so it wouldn't interfere with the glue-up.


Loose test fit. The rightmost piece is the vise face. You can see the flange buried in the second piece. The left piece will slide up the screw to be glued to the second, and so on for the remaining pieces.


With the screws threaded into the flanges and cranked in, checking the alignment of all the drilled pieces (the screws don't reach the back four pieces). Nice smooth action, no binding anywhere.

At this point, I removed the screws and glued up the assembly. I replaced the screws and adjusted the pieces in the clamps to make sure they continued to turn freely.

While this dried, I started on the base, using some scraps of Baltic birch plywood. It consists of two I-beams joined by a crosspiece. Each I-beam is made of three pieces, top and bottom plates with center upright. The center fits in dadoes down the length of the plates. The height of the center determines the height of the base.


Cutting the I-beam plates.


Scoring down the length of a plate for the dado.


Sawing out the dado sides. Because this is plywood, I switched between rip and crosscut saws for each ply. That kept the saws from catching in the alternating grains.


Bevel down, chiseling up chips for the length of the dado.


Still bevel down, running the chisel down the dado to clear the chips.


Now with bevel up and chisel flat, paring the dado floor smooth.


When I test fit a piece in the dado, it was too tight, so I widened it ever so slightly with a #79 side rabbet plane.


Test fitting a piece into the widened dado. A good snug fit.

Once the top glue-up had dried, it was time to flatten it. First I flattened the bottom side with a #5 jack with cambered blade, followed by a #6 fore plane. Then I did the top side.


Diagonally with the #5 across the rough surface of the laminations to take it down quickly and evenly. This produces rough chips.


After some diagonal passes with the #6, straight down the length. Once I was getting consistent full-length, full-width shavings, I was done.


Using a scraper to deal with some nasty reversing grain that tore out in one corner.


Trimming the end even.


Shooting the end grain.


Chamering all the edges.


Drilling dog holes in the top.


Testing for height. This will determine how I size the I-beam center pieces for the base. With a Gramercy holdfast dropped all the way down and clearing the bench top, this height just has my elbows at 90 degrees. That's a recommended height for carving, and should be fine for dovetailing.


Final assembly of an I-beam. Modern quick-change combination bits work fine in an old brace.


Installing screws with a Yankee driver. The white block is wax for the screw threads.


Setting the screw with the quick-change bit reversed to its driver head. Just be careful, because this produces enough torque to drive the screw right through, damaging the work.

Rather than attaching the base permanently, I installed threaded inserts into the bottom side of the top, and screwed knurled knobs in through holes in the base. Getting all the inserts to be in alignment is another challenge. I ended up having to enlarge a couple holes in the base with a chainsaw file so that everything went together well. But this allows me to build a shorter base to swap out with this one should I find it necessary.

The last step was to make leather washers to go up between the screw handles and the front vise face. Otherwise, with the screws tightened, the handles rub against the face. I initially made wooden bushings, but one cracked when I tightened the screw down on it.


Punching out a leather ring with a gouge.


The completed mini-bench held in place with more holdfasts, with a piece in the vise ready for dovetailing. I even went to the trouble of putting a couple coats of lovely Aged Olive color paint on the base (no, that's not the much-reviled 70's era Avocado color!). The top really looks nice. The photo just doesn't do justice to the quartersawn grain surface.

I tugged on the workpiece to make sure it wouldn't move while working. Everything held firmly in place. And when I say firmly, I mean rock-solid, like it was physically a part of the main bench. This should be a great back-saver, so I won't have to lean over my work so much.

Veneer press screws are available from
Rockler and Woodcraft. Threaded inserts and knurled knobs are also available from Rockler. Holdfasts are available from Tools for Working Wood; get 2 pairs, one to hold the mini-bench down, and one to hold the work down. (When you get them, wipe off any machine oil residue, then wrap sandpaper around the shaft and give them a spin to roughen them a bit, giving them a super grip in your dog holes.)