Logan Cabinet Shoppe

Hand planes might just be the most used tool in the hand tool shop. We use them to face rough sawn lumber, we use them for joinery and we use them for moldings. While there are plenty of new planes out there that are just about ready to go out of the box, you still need to understand how they work and why they work well or don't work at all. The best way to understand how a plane functions is to get an old one, take it apart and tune it up. Even if you buy a new, premium tool as a bench mark for performance, it's still helpful to clean up and tune up an oldy but goody to better understand what kind of things can impact their performance. That's exactly what we do in today's episode.

So I got a new camera and microphone setup and thought I would test it out by adding a new feature to the site. I'm calling it Quick Tips and I'm hoping to use these video shorts when I don't have time to film a full length podcast. I also think they will be a great way to answer viewer questions and feature viewer tips and suggestions as well. So if you have tips or questions of your own, send them along! Hope you like the new segment!

In the power tool world they're called jigs. In the hand tool world, we call them appliances. Whatevery you call them, they are indispensible accessories that you will use in your shop on an almost daily basis. From bench hooks to shooting boards and winding sticks to pinch rods, you can build them all with nothing more than a few offcuts and a little creativity.

I was really excited to learn a couple of months ago that George Walker would be writing a new column for Popular Woodworking starting next year. While I have been fooling around with classical design for the last few years, it was George's articles in Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, and most recently, his DVD on design, that really have helped me to refine the way I design pieces. It's obvious from watching his DVD or reading any of the past articles he has written that he has spent a lot of time studying this topic, which in my opinion, is an under appreciated aspect of our craft.

Today, I was pleased to read the Woodworking Magazine blog and find out that George now has his own blog to complement the column he will be writing for Popular Woodworking. The blog is called Design Matters, and if his first post is any indication of what's to come from the blog or the Popular Woodworking column, I for one am looking forward to his future content.

His first article is going to be on proportioning a raised panel door. If you've been following my blog for awhile, you might remember my two posts on a similar topic. I'm very curious to see how similar our two methods are and how they differ. I eagerly await the new column.

Kudos to Popular Woodworking for seeing the opportunity with this fascinating topic and leading the way, yet again!

Well, I was planning on doing another podcast this week but Mother Nature has different ideas. My wife and I went away for our anniversary over the weekend and ever since returning I've been sick. Needless to say, my shop time has been nil and I certainly don't feel up to filming a podcast. So instead, I thought I'd share a few interesting photos from the trip.

We visited Winterthur over the weekend and toured the house and galleries. For anyone with an interest in period furniture, Winterthur is a must see. H.F. Dupont was a collector of all things early Americana and Winterthur was his 1000 acre estate where he displayed them for all of his guests. Everything from silver to fine china, fabric, paintings, and of course, furniture. One could easily spend days just looking at all the pieces in the house (we only got to see the 5th floor). Then of course there is the gallery and a free library open to the public.

In this post I want to focus on one piece in particular. Pictured first is a description of a highboy built by the Dominy shop between 1791 and 1806. Note that this particular piece was one of the most expensive pieces produced by the shop. Based on that fact, I think it is safe to assume that this piece was considered a first class piece at the time.

Today, a new reproduction of a piece like this from a custom cabinetmaker would probably cost you about $7,000. However, as we look at the piece, it becomes very obvious that what was acceptable and expected in a piece of furniture in 1790 may not quite be what our standards are in the present day.

I found it interesting first that a piece with such early features was built so late in the period. The piece is unmistakably Queen Anne Baroque in style, yet most tastes during this part of the period, which was after the revolution, were for furniture in more of what we would today consider the Chippendale or Federal styles. This piece, being very symmetrical and devoid of any excess ornamentation, clearly doesn't fit the Chippendale ideals and certainly is not suggestive of the Roccoco in any way. But it is still a beautiful piece, and in my opinion, it's restraint from being overly ornate is its strong point. For what it's worth, this happens to be my favorite style of early American furniture.
 

Looking a bit closer, we can begin to see some of the construction methods used by the original builder and mentally disassemble the piece. Pegs in the leg block to hold the tenon into it's mortise suggest that clamps weren't likely needed, at least not for assembly of the cases. This is a very different way of thinking than we are accustomed to today. However, looking over the piece, it becomes clear that the maker probably didn't use clamps for any part of the assembly. The joinery used made clamping unnecessary.

I find these two pictures particularly interesting. Note the sliding dovetail used to fix the drawer blade to the case. This is the same drawer blade, just opposite sides of the front of the case. Note how the dovetail on the left has a single angled cheek while the dovetail on the right has two angled cheeks as we would expect. What happend to that left dovetail? Would you have done the same or would you have made a new drawer blade so both dovetails matched? This drawer blade was not unique to this piece. None of the blades had matching dovetails. In my eyes, this is glaring evidence that the masters who made these pieces were much less concerned with perfect joinery than we are today. Go back and look at the picture of the entire piece again. Do you seen the different dovetails now that I have pointed them out? Did you notice them the first time you looked at the piece?

This is another picture that I think is thought provoking. First, note the nails holding the knee block to the leg. This was common practice with cabriole legs. However, also note the fix that was made to the bottom of the side panel. Is this an original repair done by a cabinetmaker who accidentally made a bad cut or a restorer not very good at their job? Also notice the back of the leg block. It's full rough width if you can't tell. The rear of the leg blocks of the back legs weren't cut flush to the case but left straight. Would you have done something like this (I certainly wouldn't).

I always find looking at these old pieces to be very thought provoking. How would the original maker have done this or that? Why did they do this or why didn't they do that? If there was money on the line and I needed to meet a delivery date, would I have done anything differently?

It's interesting to me to try to put myself in their shoes for a short while and try to understand what circumstances made them make the decisions they did. But even more gratifying to me is seeing the work and reassuring myself that my dovetails don't have to be perfect and my surfaces don't have to be 100% tearout free. After all, dovetails are just a way to hold two boards together. There are much more important features that make a piece a masterpiece.

Oh, and in case the furniture isn't real interesting to you, here's a gratuitous tool picture.

With tools in hand and the skills to sharpen them, we're just about ready to start building some furniture. There's just a few things left. First, we need a place to work, which means a workbench. Then, we need a way to keep our tools organized. So in this episode, I give a formal tour of my shop and talk about how I addressed these issues in my little space.

Thanks again to Duane for donating the #4 for the upcoming podcast on tuning and using hand planes. Just thought I'd do a quick post of the square and marking gauge I made for Duane as a thank you gift for his donation. I decided on a matching two tone theme utilizing walnut and maple for the tools. The square also has red oak pegs.

Thanks again Duane! Your tools are on the way.

Now that the podcast has been successfully ongoing for several weeks, I would like to get your opinion on the way that the podcast is set up for viewing. I'm not looking so much for feedback on what is in them or how the information is presented in each episode. I think the comments I have received on the individual podcasts have done a good job of providing feedback on the episodes themselves. Instead, I'm looking for feedback on the website arrangement. Do you like having the blog and podcast on separate pages or would you rather see each podcast episode embeded into the blog post like I have done here using the trailer?

I can see benefits of presenting the videos both ways. When embeded into the blog, the blog text that is posted and the comments on the podcast are all in the same place. However, with the podcast on its own page, it is easier to go back to previous episodes since the episode list is right there on the right of the video window. Of course you could always use the little icons at the bottom of the video window to view previous episodes as well when they are embeded into the blog post, this just isn't as obvious as having an episode list right there.

So please let me know what you the viewers think by leaving a comment. How do you prefer to see future podcasts presented?

Any other feedback is always welcome as well. Just leave a comment.

As always, thanks for your continued support!

OK, I promise, this is the last episode on sharpening. There are just a few different tools left that really weren't covered by the other episodes so I wanted to touch on them before I move on. I'm going to be using several of these tools in an upcoming project series starting this fall, so I wanted to make sure I cover sharpening them for anyone who wants to follow along with the project. But this is the last one, honest, I'm moving on. :)

No, I didn't get laid off (yet) or lose my life savings playing the stock market. The donation I'm seeking isn't even for me. In fact, it will be for one of the viewers of my podcast (but you'll have to watch the episode to find out how to get in on it).

Here's the situation. After just a few more episodes, I'm going to be starting a project series for the podcast. I don't want to give away too much (not that it's earth shattering or anything, but I think it will be cool), but I want anyone who has regularly followed the podcast to be able to follow along and build their own project if they would like. Up to this point in the podcast, I've covered almost everything that I think is needed for someone to start at the beginning with Episode #1, acquire tools, sharpen all their tools and get ready to build a piece of furniture. All that's really left is a brief overview of effecient shop setup, and a short discussion on a few shop accessories that I find useful on a daily basis. These topics are planned to be covered in episodes # 9 and # 10.

I have covered sharpening pretty extensively I think (to be concluded in Episode # 8), and that is pretty much all that is needed to tune up most hand tools. There is one thing that I really haven't covered up until now, however, that might be a small sticking point for someone new to the craft; hand planes. While I don't typically over analyze the tuning of hand planes, they do often require a little more setup and tuning than just sharpening (though that is usually more than half the battle). As a result, I've received numerous requests to do a podcast on tuning up a hand plane.

I think that this should probably be done before I start the project series so that no one, regardless of experience level, feels excluded from doing the project because they don't have the knowledge to set up all of their tools, including a plane or two. So here is what I'm asking from my loyal blog readers and podcast viewers.

I need a plane to tune up. I only have old woodies in my shop, and the majority of us today don't use these. So in order for the podcast to be as useful to as many viewers as possible, I'd like to tune up a vintage metal plane for the podcast. Problem is, I don't own any.

I thought about going out to try to find one, but I really don't want to spend a lot of time scouring flea markets or Ebay to find one just to turn around and sell it after tuning it for the podcast. I really have no need or use for it after that.

So here is my proposal and my request to those of you out there who hoard these things (you know who you are). Send me a common bench plane, perhaps a #3 or #4 size (please no block planes and nothing longer than a #5). The plane should be in somewhat decent condition. Please don't make me have to repair broken totes or replace missing parts. I'm not looking to restore it, I just want it as a demo for tuning and putting to use for the podcast. If I have to clean a little surface rust from it that's fine, I just don't want to have to do major repairs or replace missing parts. It needs to have some good length left to the iron as well as I won't be upgrading the iron (unless someone wants to donate one of those as well :)). The goal is to get my hands on a plane that for the most part just needs some tuning.

In return for your plane donation, and as a way to say thanks for supporting the podcast, I will send you a pair of layout tools made in my shop, to include a wooden try square and wooden marking gauge, similar to the ones I use in my shop and seen in several of the previous podcasts. I will then use your donated plane in the podcast, tuning and sharpening it so that it is ready for use. After the podcast, I will donate the plane that I tune and sharpen in the episode to one of the viewers through some method that I will disclose at the end of the podcast (so you'll at least have to watch it to get in on the action).

So that's my call for viewer support. If you have a plane that you are interested in donating please send me an email and we can work out the details. I guarantee you that at least one lucky viewer will thank you after the podcast.

Thanks again to all of you out there who read the blog and watch the podcast. These things would just be a random web site out there in space without all of you, so thanks!