Overcoming Use It or Lose It

I went online the other day with the intent of purchasing Christopher Schwarz’s, “Building Furniture with Hand Planes”, when I spotted the offer for his latest work, a book entitled, “Handplane Essentials”. Never being one to fight an opportunity to add items to a shopping cart, I clicked on the link to investigate it further. In the post was a link that opened a pdf file which displayed the Table of Contents and Christopher’s introduction for this publication.



Viewing that short document, a few thoughts came to mind.

First was the black and white photography included. Wow. Nice stuff. Al Parrish, the guy behind those photographs, has had me as a fan for quite some time now. He has such an amazing eye for detail and incredible abilities for controlling light. You have probably viewed many pieces created by this talented man before and not known it. Over the years he has done work for just about everyone who is anyone, especially all things F&W. I searched for a site that, hopefully, would display some of Als personal work as I think it would be amazing stuff to view, but sadly, one couldnt be found.

The next thought was about the layout. If the rest of the book looks as clean and inviting as these few pages, it is definitely something I want to own. Yes, I know, you are thinking who would buy a book because they like the layout? Well, in truth, I would, because I’m really into that kind of thing. The success of presenting anything, including knowledge, is based on its packaging, and if you don’t believe that, consider how you view squirrels and rats. They are very close cousins, you know. It is too bad this excerpt didn’t include a credit for the person who did the layout.

Then there were the quotes used, quotations being something that always fascinate me. I’m fascinated by them because they always make me wonder what the scenario was when they were spoken. Think about someone finding the quote, “Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” written on a bathroom wall a hundred years from now and, hopefully, you get the idea about what I am talking about here. Schwarz’s first quote by John Gay is something I live by, but never had it put into words before, so it was very cool to come across. His second choice, however, is one I’m not too sure about. He used a quote by Stonehouse (Shan shi), a poet I hadn’t heard of before, which states, “In 20 years on this mountain, I’ve never been cheated by a hoe”. My only thought after reading this one was, “…and what red light district have you been frequenting and how do I get there?”

Finally, there was his Introduction. In this short discourse, Christopher makes his case for hand tools over their power offspring and doesn’t do a bad job of it. Many of his arguments and statements are quite valid and indisputable until I came across the entry, “Power tools have brilliantly eliminated the need for the first-time user to be highly skilled to do basic operations. Even beginning woodworkers can turn out stunning feats of woodworking thanks to the cleverness of the tools themselves.” Oh, boy. Having spent a lifetime working exclusively with power tools, this entry immediately raised the hair on the back of my neck. How dare the man make such a statement.

I didn’t close the file right there and then but, instead, sat there for a while and thought about what the man was saying and considered why I was reading his offering in the first place. I considered why I made the switch to hand tools, which was done solely because I have lost so much of my peripheral vision due to glaucoma and other assorted eye ailments, that I started to share the worry held by those around me that I was going to lose a finger or two one day because I couldn’t see both hands at the same time. I thought about my past, which I have commented about often in this blog, stating I was taught the finer points of power tools at a very early age by my father and related how I constantly upgraded and added to those skills over the next forty years. I thought about how it was a long haul to learn how to properly cut something as basic as a miter joint on a table saw, let alone many of the other more complex tasks some of the other power tools are capable of. I then thought about what would happen if I made the switch back to power tools and came to the realization that while Christopher struck out with this statement, he was in the right ballpark.

From my perspective, having lived in both worlds, there are some very serious differences between using power tools and hand tools. The slope of the learning curve for each, however, isnt one of them. Just learning how to feed a piece of wood through a tablesaw takes considerable practice and knowledge to avoid even the slightest of binding, which, in the worse case scenario, can deliver the piece back to you in a very uninvited manner, or in the least, mar the cut. A tablesaw’s spinning ⅛” wide blade has haunted many of the most experienced craftsmen whom have added many a piece to the woodpile as a result of not allowing for it properly in the setting of the fence. Power tools, like hand tools, have their hidden Achilles Heels, and while they always have a way of finding you in both applications, in the power tool world, they find you faster and are much more apparent then when they appear in a hand tool application.

What power tools have over hand tools, Christopher, is “repeatability”. As I sat there and thought about what you wrote, considering what would happen if I made the switch back to power tools, I realized that I would have no difficulties whatsoever. The beauty of power tools is that once you learn the process, you can repeat it until the cows come home and always achieve the same results. Where I would have a problem is if I made the switch back again because the one thing that hand tools require over power, is hand/eye coordination, the biggest Achilles Heel in the hand tool world. I have written about this unique requirement a number of posts ago, but since mulling over Christophers statement, it has been in the forefront of my mind every time I pick up a chisel or saw.

Currently, I’m in the process of building a new chisel rack for my tool cabinet. Built in the same manner as the rest of the racks in this ongoing, never-ending project, the frame is dovetailed together and the rack is through mortised to the frame. The last rack I built was finished last November, seven months ago. As I had built one immediately before that, the 8 dovetails and 14 through mortises this particular rack required all came off without a hitch and I was quite pleased with the results. The same can’t be said for this current one. Not having cut a dovetail in 7 months meant that I had serious difficulties in repeating the feat. I knew the processes and followed them, just like I would do if I was using a power tool, but the one thing I no longer had, the one item not required with that power tool, was the hand/eye coordination to pull it off, something that I had developed over the last few racks that I built. As a result, my cuts were not as true as they should have been and my chiseling was inconsistent. In the hand tool world, unlike the power one, "If you don’t use it, you lose it".

Where this latest project has it over the previous one is in the finishing of the surfaces. On the current one, I have used scrapers exclusively, where on the others, while I attempted to use a scraper; I didn’t have the greatest of luck with it and ended up sanding them. Having used scrapers in the past, I am well aware of their abilities, but it is that “use it or lose it” thing.

In my hand tool world, you can “cheat” on just about anything but cutting a dovetail. From what I have seen and read on the web, most agree with me as, according to just about everyone in the hand tool world that I have been exposed to, using a jig to thickness plane a piece of wood with a jointer plane is acceptable, but using one to cut a dovetail is the world’s biggest no-no and something to be scoffed at. While at the heart of it, it really is an irrational attitude, but it is one that I believe in and honour. As a result, while you would have to hold a gun to my head to get me to buy a jig that would hold my saw at the perfect angle to cut a dovetail, I didn’t hesitate to buy Lee Valley’s offering of their "Veritas Scraping Set".



What an amazing set, each piece a perfect example of proper engineering and design.

First, it comes with a multitude of scrapers in different thicknesses, 4 to be precise (A), all “super-hard”, in Rc48-52 steel no less, whatever the hell that means.

Next, it has a Jointer (C) which holds the 8” file (B) that is also included with the set. While any piece of square stock can take the place of this jointer to keep the file square with the scraper, this piece of extruded aluminum is like adding a long handle to a broom head – it is not necessary to get the job done, but it sure makes life a lot more comfortable while you are doing it.

Then, included in the $92.00 (CAN) set is the burnisher (D), the reason I bought this kit, even though all of these pieces are available separately. Burnishing the hook has always been my downfall in the past when it comes to using a scraper. Sometimes I get it and sometimes I dont. I can learn how to hold the burnisher to do its job properly, but when I go back to it in a month, or even six months later, that ability has disappeared and I have to start all over again. Because of time constraints, I don’t pick up a tool as often as I would like or as often as it takes to maintain my abilities with it. When I do find those few precious hours in a week, the last thing I want is spend it practicing to regain my abilities with it. I may not take shortcuts when it comes to cutting a dovetail, as that would be sacrilegious, but when it comes to something as mundane as sharpening a scraper, I’m all for anything that helps, and this thing truly helps.

This plastic handle is very comfortable to hold and very easy to maintain a constant pressure with. To overcome the “use it or lose it” thing, you dial in the angle you want and that angle stays consistent across the edge of the scraper. The process is simple. After clamping a scraper in a vice and filing it flat and square with the jointer, you coat it with a minute amount of oil. The instructions that come with the set suggest that you wipe your finger behind your ear and then across the scraper edge as this is about all the oil you need. So far, I have passed on that one and so far have stuck to swiping my finger across a paper towel that has a drop of Norton Sharpening Oil on it. Once oiled, you then set the burnisher’s dial to 0° and slide it over the scraper via the slot in its bottom. With a bit of downward pressure, you pass the burnisher back and forth a couple of times and the result is that you have spread the edge a bit and it is now set up to be rolled. Adjust the dial on the side of the burnisher again, this time to anywhere from 1° to 15°, and again slide it over the scraper, put some downward pressure on it, and pass it back and forth again a few times and you are done.

Combine the ease of use with its accuracy, and this item stands out as one of the best investments in my cabinet.

Popping it out of the package, having a quick read of the instructions, and I was on my way to setting different degrees of hooks on all four of those scrappers in minutes. I didn’t hook the first, the thinnest scraper, but left it after passing the burnisher over it a few times with the dial set to 0°. The next thickness up, I put a hook on it which was 5°, then the next up got a 10° hook, and finally, the thickest in the set got a 15° hook. With this set-up, I start out with the 15° one, which removes material quickly, then I just work my way down the degrees, doing the final passes with the 0° hooked one, which puts a sheen on the beautifully smoothed wood.

To do this, it is a simple matter of changing the blade in the holder (E) that comes with the set. Talk about taking the pressure off, this little gizmo holds the scraper and distorts it at the same time through the use of a centre turn screw that pushes out on the centre of the blade. The only thing I have to do is find the sweet angle to hold the thing at and push or pull, whichever is appropriate. Sweet! I did find two small issues with this tool, however. At only 1 ⅞” high, I find it a little narrower than I would like and because of the way it holds the blades, you can only sharpen one edge, making it necessary to return to the vice more often. Its ability to hold a setting for the bend forever and the stress it takes off your hands overcome these perceived shortcomings in a serious hurry, though, so I doubt I would ever scrap again without using it.

So there you go, Mr. Schwarz, even in the hand tool world there are tools that make woodworking geniuses out of the uninitiated.

Peace,

Mitchell

P.S.: I continued on to the sites Checkout with my purchases of Christophers book and DVD but for some reason, maybe it was the web masters way of helping me get even, when I filled out the form and hit "Submit", it came back that it didnt like my address, it was correct but I reentered it again, then it came back that it didnt like my credit card number (now that I write this, maybe it was my wife and not the web masters fault), and after going through that circle three times, I gave up and closed the site, so I still do not have his "Building Furniture with Hand Planes" DVD, which I want. Ill try again another time. (Just to be honest about all of this, I use a Mac with Safari as the browser and despite what Mr. Jobs says, this combo is not always compatible within the internet world.

Categories: it, lose, or, overcoming, use

It is not the size that counts it is how you use it

One of the biggest problems I have with my little shop of horrors is room to work. In truth, there isnt any, room that is. The shop is actually my office; the third and the smallest of the three bedrooms in our condo. Many visitors have mentioned that they never thought one small room could hold so much stuff. I give each of them credit as not one of them has used the word "junk" when making that statement.

The room has a double-width closet with space going from floor to ceiling. I was able to store most of my old power tools in this space through the use of a rather strange maze of shelving. Some others are stored under our bed and still others are stored at a friends shop. While I do not want to even look at them, let alone use them, I do not have the heart to give them away. They are old friends, old friends waiting to turn on me, but still old friends.

Front and centre in the shop now are my hand tools, many of those that I have purchased lately lined up along one work counter, the tool cabinet I am building wide open so I can see every tool stored in it, and other assorted pieces spread hither and yon. The reason for the visitors comments is due to all the other stuff my pride and joys share space with. Along with the tool cabinet, which has a built in bench, is a portable vice bench, one that needs replacing in the very near future, a full multi-stationed computer studio, books, miscellaneous mementos and other assorted sundries. One glance through the door and you quickly realize that building Norms bonnet topped highboy is out of the question.

I will admit that I havent picked up a tool and used it in a couple of months. My connection to all things wood lately is buying the odd one that strikes my fancy as they come across my bow, so-to-speak. With time being the illusive commodity it is these days, I havent even been able to actively pursue any of those tools I definitely want to add to my collection, but instead, have taken to placing orders for them with the one tool dealer I trust, jimbodetools.com. It is a strange way to participate in a hobby, but I guess it is better than nothing.

There is the future to look forward to, though. There will be a day, I hope, that we will be moving out of the city, the computers will be off more than they are on, and my time will be spent using all these beautiful tools I have collected. The reality is, though, I have no intention of building Norms highboy, but instead, build only what can comfortably fit on a small to medium sized bench. The relevance of size has completely disappeared from my head and I am looking forward to spend many an hour doing nothing more than creating complexities in joinery.

With this type of future work in mind, I have started to look for smaller than normal tools. With this in mind, I sent off an email to Jim Bode a few weeks ago asking him to locate a Stanley No. 2 and a No. 3 for me, an order he tells me is half complete at this point. I have also made a few other purchases from him lately, most along these same lines, some of which are displayed in the image below.

While not all the tools I have purchased over the past couple of months a represented here, these are my favourites from this latest group. The Stanley No. 4 in the background was one of the planes I purchased from my father, an inclusion in the shot to give you all a reference for size.

The first of these tools to come to me is the Stanley No. 62 Rule in the front, a present to me from my wife, which I thought was rather touching. Sadly, it is missing its alignment pins, but I will cut a few and pop those in one day.

Next came the coping saw, this set actually working in the reverse of my topic here. I purchased the smaller one two years ago at a Vintage Tool Market they hold once or twice a year close to Hamilton, Ontario. It is, without a doubt, the worst advertised sale in the history of capitalism as I have been watching for an announcement for the next one since leaving the one I attended and havent seen or heard a thing about it yet. Sad, really, as this neck of the woods holds very few events like this. Back to the saw, the seller had no clue who made it, but because I liked it so much, I purchased it anyway for $35.00. A few months ago discovered a full sized example on the Sindelar Museums web site. It was in excellent company in their Saw Section, so I called Mr. Sindelar to ask him about it. He asked for an image of the saw, which I sent, but I have yet to hear back from him and doubt I will. I would bet he could spend all his time answering questions from nuts like me, so I can understand his reluctance to set the precedence. Just after that this same saw was on the cover of a Lee Valley catalogue, so again I called asking for information. They replied, at least, although they did not know any of the history regarding their example. Shortly after that, the larger example shown here came up for sale on eBay, but sadly I missed bidding on it. As it didnt sell, I wrote the seller and asked if he could relist it, which he agreed to, and a month later he posted it and I purchased it as it is a perfect match to the smaller one. I think I paid him $10.00 for it, but he didnt know the history of it either, so I am now the proud owner of a pair of matching saws and havent a clue who should get credit for their beautiful design. What I do know is that they are European, probably from Germany, and if you have any more information about them, I would truly appreciate hearing from you.

Next to arrive was the pair of Plane Floats that I purchased from St. James Bay Tool Co. Bob Howard is the operator of this company and makes these floats himself. He also produces a beautiful line of planes for those who are interested, and has a brick and mortar in Mesa, Arizona.

The blame for my purchase of these floats lies with Rob, over on Blokeblog. He has been very free with his information regarding building a Shooting Board and while reading his offerings on the subject, I became enamored with concept of tackling one for myself. While all of the responsibility for the shooting board build lies with Rob, I have to take the credit or otherwise for deciding at the same time to build a matching plane for it as well. I have the wood and I have the floats. Now all I need is a blade, an adjuster (looking for a long Norris style), some brass and some time. And oh, yes, a plan. While I am on this subject, if anyone has any suggestions regarding handles for these floats, again, I would much appreciate hearing from you.

Next to come up is the Mitre Jack, although not old by any stretch, one that is beautifully made completely from mahogany, but most important to me was that it was small. Overall, it is only 9 1/2 inches long and stands about 4 1/2 inches high. I purchased it through jimbodetools.com, and I wasnt in love with it before purchasing it, and even less after it arrived. The afternoon after its arrival, I did what I always do to a tool purchase, and stripped it down, cleaned it and laid on a coat of wax. After buffing it up a bit, the thing came alive in my hand, so over the next few days I ended up applying 9 coats of wax. With each coat it blew me away that much more and now, fully waxed, it sits in the spot of glory in the shop so I can see it every time I turn around. On one hand Im thrilled it turned out to be the bride, instead of the bridesmaid, but on the other, it looks so wonderful now, I may not use it, but Ill put together a pair of waste jaws and give it a go before making up my mind.

The final purchase was last weekend and is a result of an email to me from Lee Valley. This email was their announcement for two of their latest products; a miniature shoulder plane (#05P8001) and a smaller than normal marking gauge that they are calling a Pocket Marking Gauge (#15N0201). If you look on one of the top surfaces of the mitre jack, you will find this little plane while the marking gauge stands before it.

Upon receiving the plane, I disassembled it and swiped the blade across my strop a few times to see what it was going to need. Like all things Veritas, though, it was flat, relatively sharp, and ready to use. I reassembled it and took a few strokes with it along a short bit of walnut and found it more than usable, it offering up some very nice, fine shavings. There is an issue at the start and end of the board, especially because of its length, but that, I think, can be overcome with some experience with it. It is a bit of a buzz that, at 2 1/2 inches long with a 1/4 inch cut, it looks and works exactly like its larger brother, right down to a scaled down version, threads and all, of their Norris style blade adjuster. This adjuster is so fine in its adjustment, I thought it was broken when I adjusted the blade for the first time. It is, despite its size, a very well made tool.

That said, there are a couple of issues with it, the main one being that it appears to be, so far, a stand-alone product. By "stand-alone" I mean that Lee Valley has not even so much as hinted that this offering will be part of a planned "family" of miniature planes, and I dont like that idea one bit. Maybe it is from being raised poor and having my choice of many styles and sizes of water glasses from my mothers cupboard, only because no two glasses matched, but I really have a thing for matched items, especially tools, and I do not think I stand alone with that attitude. I believe it should be part of a set and will be extremely disappointed if it doesnt end up that way. This should be just the first in a series that includes 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16 and 1/2 inch sizes. While I do not think any should be any shorter than this one as this 1/4 has reached its limit in size when it comes to using it, but I do think that as they grow in width, they could grow in length by 1/2 inch increments.

The other issue I have with it is a flaw I also consider to be very large, and very serious. I comes in a storage case that is not too shabby, although I am not big on these things and usually throw them away (some collector, eh?). The case does have one thing that the tool doesnt, it has "Veritas" stamped in the bottom corner of its lid lining. When I noticed the lack of this mark on the tool, I took it apart again and discovered that there are absolutely no makers marks on the tool anywhere. For a tool manufactured as well as this little guy is, that is, or at least should be, downright illegal.

Peace,

Mitchell

Categories: counts, how, is, it, not, size, that, the, use, you