February 8, 2012

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Announcing the February 2009 drawing from Sommerfeld Tools

February 15, 2009 By

I am pleased to announce the February drawing / giveaway from Sommerfeld Tools. This month we will give away the Special Profile 4-inch mitered molding router bit:

mitered-moldig-bit-full-1

One lucky winner in North America (sorry – cannot ship outside N. America at this time). From Page 18 of the Sommerfeld Catalog:

Before now you had to pay high, custom-tooling dollars to get this elegant look on a mitered raised panel. After you’ve made your first set of doors with your new mitered molding bit, your work will be the admiration of all your woodworking friends.

  • We advise using Sommerfeld’s Tongue and Groove Cabinetmaking Set with this bit to make your mitered doors. For those of you that don’t have our tongue and groove set, we have the new pro set shown on page 17, which includes all 4 bits needed to create your mitered raised panel door.
  • The center-point turning of all our bits ensures that this extra long bit (4“) is perfectly balanced with no run out to produce professional quality cuts.
  • We advise cutting 3” wide stiles and rails for building your mitered raised panel doors.
  • Detailed instructions for making mitered raised panel doors (are) included in the Cabinetmaking Made Easy DVD.

To register for the drawings, send me an e-mail to sandal_woods@bbwi.net with your name and full address; I cannot accept your entry if it does not have all the information. And please remember that if you have registered for the monthly drawings before, you do not have to register again.

Good luck to everyone!

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sommerfeld

Filed Under: Blog, Shop tools

The full-size table: Apply varnish to the top, and more on the legs and aprons

February 5, 2009 By

Where I was a while ago: Application of the Zinsser SealCoat™ (an alcohol-based, wax-free sanding sealer) went well. The secret: Apply very thin coats with a lint-free rag, wiping as you go. Wait a minimum of 2 hours, then sand with 400 grit sandpaper, until smooth to the touch – but don’t sand all the way to the wood. Repeat once.

Today: 1) Time to apply the first coat of Target Coatings’ EM2000wvx alkyd varnish:

first-topcoat-spray

Also today: 2) I fine-tuned the mortise and tenon fit on a test leg made of scrap, glued-up quarter-sawn white oak (QSWO):

table-leg-tenon-measure

Now, some details.

Setting up the FMT to make the tenons – I don’t want to do this while perched 6 feet above the ground, so I do it with the FMT on the workbench:

table-leg-tenon-fmt

As a first step, I record all dimensions for the test tenons; this simply makes it easier to tweak the fit:

table-leg-tenon-measure

Just for kicks, I make sure I won’t cut through into another mortise. For this I make a new test mortise, at 90° from the first one, on the face where the other tenon will be – I cut this one, to share with YOU:

table-leg-tenon-setup

Now, to cut a test mortise:

table-leg-cut-mortise

This is my view when I remove the router from the FMT:

table-leg-mortise

I wanted a 1/4-inch reveal from the front edge of the leg – and got it:

table-leg-reveal

Now that the mortise and tenon joinery fit has been tweaked, I turn my attention to spraying the table top.

Getting ready to spray took about 10 minutes. The steps:

1. Filter water into one Teflon®-coated aluminum spray cup, using a Fine paint filter – I will use this water to clean the internals of the HVLP system; I will do it after spraying each of the 2 or 3 coats:

topcoat-filter-water

2. Stir the top coat. Satin sheen coatings have a “flattening agent” that settles to the bottom of the can; it must be stirred prior to application:

topcoat-stir-satin1

3. After stirring, filter the topcoat using a Medium filter, directly into a Teflon®-coated aluminum spray cup:

topcoat-filter1

4. Proper application of a finish using HVLP equipment requires careful adjustment of the air flow, and of the material being sprayed. I shoot into Kraft paper I tape to the back panel of the booth:

first-topcoat-adjust-spray

5. Once I am happy with my adjustments, I start spraying. I am especially careful to fully coat spray all edges, and about 3 inches into the top surface. This ensures proper coverage:

first-topcoat-spray-start

6. As soon as I finish spraying I inspect the surface, to ensure sufficient coverage. The applied spray must be “wet”, and applied at a wet film thickness of 2-3 mils (thousands of an inch); if not, the finish will have a somewhat rough feel. On inspection, this first application of the varnish went well (the final appearance will not be shiny, but rather a nice, sating finish):

first-topcoat-spray

Actual spraying took about 5 minutes, followed by about 5 minutes to clean up the spray gun.

Enough for today. After cleaning the spray equipment, I headed to the house, and a wonderful dinner – spinach salad and a few crackers!

Next: Continue spraying the table top, mill the QSWO boards for the aprons, finish milling the walnut blanks for the legs, glue up the legs. Use the Leigh FMT to cut mortises on the legs, and the tenons on the aprons.

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Take a look at the Leigh FMT:
Leigh Industries

Filed Under: Blog, Shop tools, Target Coatings

Hand-cut dovetails: “Cutting to the line”

December 11, 2008 By

This one is for Betsy, at Lumberjocks.com.

Betsy has had trouble cutting to the line when hand-cutting dovetails. Therefore, she would like to improve the fit, by making sure to better cut to the line. I promised I would try to document how I do it.

I found that using either the index-finger fingernail, or the thumb fingernail, to create a “fence” for the saw, works best for me. Therefore, I first place the fingernail exactly on the line, and then I place the saw on the board (click on the images to enlarge):

Once the saw is on the board, I sight down the cheek of the saw to the extent I can – the back gets in the way, as it is considerably thicker than the saw blade. By sighting down the cheek I get the best feel for the angle at which to hold the saw, thus giving me a good chance at being able to get the angle correctly. Note that the saw appears to be quite a distance to the right of the mark in this photo – THIS is exactly what it should look like:

Keeping my finger nail “fence” in place, and using a very light touch, I start the cut on the push motion (if using a Japanese saw, you must start the cut using a pull motion). Some people refer to this light touch as de-weighting the saw (I think this is the most-used term). This “light touch” also means that you are exerting on the saw *only* the force required to push and pull the saw on the board – no more, and no less.

Once the kerf is established, I remove my finger “fence” and complete the cut while sighting down the cheek of the saw. If the saw is not following the line, I do not try to correct it by steering the saw. It is impossible to do so with a dovetail saw, and it is also not recommended. The best thing to do: Start over.

I am certain that when I first started my hand-cut dovetails practice sessions I was tense, and therefore it was difficult to start the cut on the push motion. And I was amazed at how easy it was once I used as light a touch as possible.

It took me a while to realize this *is* the proper way to be to best cut to the line. With very minor adjustments it is possible to even “split the line” – provided, of course, that the line is wide enough to be “split”.

Edit to add: Dan, at WoodNet, said: The thumb is most definitely the rough cut fence and the index finger for accuracy.

During the Dovetails session at Woodworking in America (Parts 1, 2, and 3), Frank Klausz recommended to “…split the line when cutting the pins; and cut on the waste side of the line – the pins side – when cutting the tails…” Of course, Klausz cuts pins first.

So, Betsy, keep up your practice. And please let us know when you can cut to the line precisely. That will be your AHA! moment.

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Filed Under: Blog, Dovetails, Hand tools, Shop tools Tagged With: ,

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