Sandal Woods - Fine Woodworking & Cabinetry

The harvest table in our kitchen had become too small when our daughter and her family come to visit. As a result, a few months ago Sandy asked me to make an add-on top, to make the table top longer and wider. With five girls around, every inch of table top is needed at meal time - or when the crafts come out.

To make the modifications I used four 8-foot pine pieces from the home improvement center for the actual top, and 4-inch stock for the aprons. I installed cleats under the top, to ensure perfect alignment with the harvest table that would now support the new top.

This arrangement worked for several months. But recently, with the arrival of granddaughter #6, getting around the table to the back of the kitchen became hazardous - i.e., it became almost impassable, with two or three girls moving toys in and out of the kitchen while adults moved hot dishes to the table.

It was time to make the wide table top a little narrower. Sandy requested I remove one of the boards and make it a folding one. I moved the top to the shop, and started work. First I moved the cleats that allowed tight fit in the narrow direction; and I had to move only one of the end cleats. Then I used a hand saw for the first time in possibly two or three decades, and made short work of cutting the aprons to the new dimension, allowing a two-inch overhang.

I wanted to salvage the removed apron and the fourth board (the one I removed), as they were already painted to make them look 100+ years old. It turns out that pine, and most lumber, does not take well to hard pounding with a mallet, as it splits along the long grain.

Scrap the idea of a folding piece.

I did manage to salvage the apron that was attached to this board with cut nails, by carefully pounding on the wide board with the mallet while holding the apron in my hand.

Ultimately I re-assembled the now narrower top to fit over the very old harvest table. And we can now navigate around the table much more safely.

Just getting started:

Removing one board - sawing the apron:

The top is now only 3 boards wide:

Lessons learned:

1. My practice sessions with the dovetail saw helped me tremendously using the saw for this job - I was able to saw to the line!
2. Don’t pound on pine, or it will split along the grain, on either the first or second strike.

This might not seem like a big deal to many of you. But to me, it is huge! The following photos show the first hand-cut dovetails I have ever produced:

Recently I started working, and practicing, to be able to cut to a line. Although I have improved in this area, I still:

1. Must refine how close to the line I saw, and
2. Be careful not to overshoot the dovetail depth, or it shows immediately.

In this instance I cut the tails first, and used the Kerf Kadet marking knife to layout the pins from the tails. Although this worked nicely, I left too much material on the pins, which resulted in an exceedingly tight fit. At this point I had only one choice: Use sharp chisels, and do some paring to get a good fit of the pins to the tails.

I overdid the paring in the three pins, and it shows in the top photo: I did not hold the chisel perfectly flat, and the pin looks funny on the tip; for the middle pin I also overdid it, and created a gap that shows on the bottom edge of the pin. And the same goes for the top pin. Grrr!

In the profile shot I show that both pins and tails are a little proud of the surface, as it should be. I will be able to take this down with a block plane. But this photo also shows that the tails are resting perfectly square on the pins board, which was a concern I had while chopping the sockets on this board. However, using a nice, square block perfectly aligned with the layout mark helps keep the chisel square to the work piece.

End result: I need practice, then some more practice, followed by additional practice. As a result, I will be making little boxes, in preparation for small drawers for the Krenov-inspired cabinet. And *now* you know the rest of the story.

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It is hard to imagine an entire year has come and gone since I published my first entry in this blog. And what fun it has been!

On September 18, 2007, I wrote:

… I want to share my woodworking and cabinetmaking experience. I make stuff, from small boxes to chests, to cabinets, to entertainment centers. I will be sharing with my readers the steps in each of these, providing photos and video to convey the message and to make it a good experience for the blog readers…
Sandal Woods, September 18, 2007

Writing has been fun, and sharing some of what I know has been good. But what has been great is the response from you, the readers, to some of the things I love doing. Many of you have written to me about the things you have learned from my posts, and that alone is very gratifying.

Making boxes using dovetail joinery turned out to be very popular; and the use of the Leigh D4 dovetail jig was possibly the most popular individual “thing”. But I also received many questions about plans for, and the actual building, of the changing table.

During Woodworkers Safety Week I received many comments, both on the blog and via e-mail, on several of the topics I wrote. Overall, the response to Safety Week was overwhelming, both from reader interest, and the sheer number of pages read during the week.

Possibly one of the most enjoyable series to date has been my build of the Krenov-inspired cabinet. Questions ranged from veneering to matching, from substrates to glues, etc. As I set aside this project to get other things done, I started receiving questions about the state of the Krenov-style cabinet. I assure you, I will continue to publish about this wonderful project in due time. My priorities have been dictated by other happenings, and I responded accordingly. I promise I will get back to that project.

I was quite surprised by the interest in the design work using the eCabinet Systems software, and the apparent ease with which a specific design can be changed. I hope to follow up on your desires, and publish much more on design. More on this as I develop a plan.

As I close, I would like to thank my sponsors, Leigh Industries, Sommerfeld Tools, and Czeck Edge for their support of my work, and for believing in what I am trying to do with this blog - sharing with my readers some of the woodworking things I know.

And the biggest thank-you of all goes to my readers. After all, without you, these would be only electrons floating out there, somewhere. I suspect that would not be fun at all.

In my previous post I showed the beginning of my journey into hand-cut dovetails. Many of the comments I received addressed the heavy set on the teeth of the new dovetail saw:

Recommendations from experienced hand-tool users addressed one specific solution to reduce the saw set: Stone the saw. Doing this makes it easier to follow a line; and it will also clean up the kerf, and thus leave a much smoother cut.

I took everyone’s recommendations at heart, for I respect the advice of the people who commented and made the suggestion above. Once I got a little time in the shop I prepped some red oak cutoffs and made some test cuts. In between each numbered set of cuts I stoned the saw once on each side with a fine diamond stone, until the cuts were straighter and the kerf looked much cleaner - about dinner time:

Note: The earliest cuts, #1, is on the bottom left, and the most recent ones are at the top-right in the photo above.

For these practice cuts I switched from using dovetail-shaped lines, to straight lines following the grain direction. Based on my experience thus far, my admiration for the craftsmen who can do beautiful hand-cut dovetails has grown exponentially!

I think the dovetail saw needs a little more fine-tuning. As a result, I will have one more session of cut… stone the saw… cut…

In this context, I quote Kari, a.k.a The Village Carpenter, who in January 2008 wrote the following in her blog, addressing stoning the saw:

By stoning, I don’t mean that if your handsaw is misbehaving, you should go all biblical on it. Instead, I mean there is a way to gently persuade it back to the straight and narrow by using your sharpening stones.
– The Village Carpenter, Stoning your Saw, January, 2008

I chuckled about her opening statement… But at the time I did not realize the importance of this technique.

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The cat’s out of the bag: I have started practicing hand-cut dovetails.

I started my practice sessions with this gent’s saw; in retrospect, I should have practiced starting the cuts with a much lighter touch than I used, as I could see a curve in some of the kerfs as the cut went deeper:

I am certain ignorance on my part played a big role, but I just could not get comfortable with the grip on the gent’s saw. As a result, I ordered an E.T. Roberts & Lee Dorchester 8-inch, 21 ppi rip dovetail saw. As soon as the saw arrived I started practice sessions, cutting parallel lines marked on the end grain of the board:

Problem: At first I was unable to remove the protective coating from the steel - Grr! It turned out that this company uses lacquer on their steel, to minimize the risk of corrosion between manufacture and delivery; a few drops of lacquer thinner removed the coating completely, and made a huge difference in performance! My bad, of course. Isn’t ignorance bliss? I understand that most (?) American manufacturers use a wax coating, which is easily removed with mineral spirits.

As I started using the new saw, it seemed somewhat difficult to get the cut started. My intent was to make practice cuts, targetting 1) a pre-set depth, and 2) perfectly parallel cuts. I noticed, as my practice session got longer and longer, it became much easier to start the cuts. And toward the end of the session I was able to start a cut and finish it in seconds. I have read somewhere that this is normal behavior for this type of saw.

However, I will have to practice a lot more, for I noticed two serious problems:

1. I have a tendency to overshoot the depth, and
2. I can cut better parallel lines when the saw is tilting to the left, as in the last photo.

Next step: Cutting to a line.

I hope I can get better when cutting with the saw tilting to the right. Practice should make perfect - I hope!

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You can learn a lot about woodworking by exploring books that were published before you were born… A fantastic place to begin is George Ellis’s “Modern Practical Joinery”.
- Christopher Schwarz, “Finding Roubo via Canada“, Woodworking Magazine Weblog, December 2005

Make sure to read Chris’ short review of Ellis’ book by clicking on the link above. If you have never heard of this book, the review is must-read material, just like the book itself.

I recently ordered the book - before I knew about The Schwarz’ book review (next time I will do my homework a little better). As soon as the book arrived, I started reading. Boy, I am learning a lot by reading George Ellis’ Modern Practical Joinery. This is a 1987 reprint of the original, published in 1902. I was not familiar at all with much of the joinery shown in the book; and it reinforces much of what I have learned in woodworking through the years. It is a treasure trove of joinery.

I highly recommend this great reference book on joinery. Price range: $15 to $22 - a real bargain!

If you have been looking at the content of the blog, you will notice a new banner, located on the right-hand Sidebar. It is from Czeck Edge, owned by Bob Zajicek. Just last week I received his latest creation, the Kerf Kadet; the handle is kingwood.

The Kerf Kadet received a glowing review by none other than Christopher Schwarz, Editor of Woodworking Magazine. Chris wrote:

“…The knife is flawless. Crisp and smooth with a perfect transition from wood to metal…”

I could try to add to the review by Chris Schwarz, but that would not make sense. The best I can do is share with you that the Kerf Kadet, with its very thin blade, is close to perfect to mark in very tight spaces. To complement my router/jig dovetail skills, I have started practicing hand-cut dovetails; from these dovetails I will mark the tiny pins. The Kerf Kadet will be perfect to mark the skinny pins.

In addition to the Kerf Kadet, I also received the Bird Cage Awl. The handle on this tool is also kingwood, custom size; it is larger than the handle on the stock awl. I wanted to be able to exert a lot of pressure when boring into the harder woods. This bird cage awl is an awesome tool to start larger screw holes!

Czeck Edge does something nobody else does: The Kerf Kadet and the bird cage awl come with blade guards, plus two sets of spares. It is the only company that offers guards for the layout tools. In addition, the ferrules on the Kerf Kadet are machined bronze, not the typical brass ferrule.

Is this the beginning of the slippery slope?

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In September we continue with the router bit joinery theme.

A lucky winner drawn at random will receive Sommerfeld’s 22-1/2º Lock Miter Set. To register, send me an e-mail to sandal_woods@bbwi.net with your name and full address. And please remember that if you have registered for the monthly drawings before, you do not have to register again. Good luck to everyone!

From the Sommerfeld catalog, page 51:

Now, Sommerfeld’s Own new 22.5˚ Lock Miter Set provides a fast, accurate way to build a strong, tight 45˚ joint. Better still, the lock miter design makes it easy to clamp!

This router bit set makes it very easy to create 45° joints:

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When I found the crown/high spot on the top of my workbench, I did everything in my power to understand what was going on. As it turned out, the bench top was simply drying due to heating of the shop using an electric furnace. This is very normal. Early on I drew sketches and performed some calculations that did not help me understand, and even less solve, the bench top crown issue. In the end, I made a short video of how I flattened the bench top with hand planes.

To help me understand, I relied on some resources from my science and engineering background:

And just this past weekend Sandy received an e-mail message from a friend that pretty much explains what I had missed. A school kid had already found the missing hypotenuse in a trigonometry exam:

I got a good chuckle out of this creative solution. But I am certain this kid failed his trig exam.

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The winner of the August 2008 Giveaway is Richard Huhra, of Bel Air, MD. Congratulations, Richard! I know you will enjoy using the large lock miter router bit.

To all who have not won, remember you are still registered for all monthly drawings.

Thank you all for your continued support, and a special thanks to our sponsor, Sommerfeld Tools for Wood, for providing the monthly giveaway prizes.

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