Wheels for the Workbench

The workbench is now wheel mounted. This is will only be a temporary solution while moving workshops. I used scraps of blackbutt from the original workbench build and formed mounts that lock into the lateral supports. Not and ideal solution but does the job.

Finished Clocks

A couple of coats of FeastWatson clear varnish and the clocks are done.

The pendulum mechanism didn't work and has gone back to manufacturer. Stay tuned on the mini blackbutt burl clock.

Sneak Peak: Huon Platter

Detailed photos to come. But here's a sneak peak at project made by Ray Sanderson. A three tiered huon pine platter. See details on Ray's blog.

Layout & Marking Drawer

Layout & Marking is fundamental to any woodworking project... but my layout drawer hasn't been very laid out. There are random high precision tools floating around in only poorly organised fashion.

The dividers for this drawer are more complex than the chisels. It needs to be specific yet flexible.

The joinery was a little bit of fun... and only took about 5 hours. The tenons of the finger joints were hand cut with dovetail saw and coping saw. The mortises formed with a few taps of my new H&S 1/4 mortise chisel.

A definite improvement.

Christian Becksvoort Lie-Nielsen Cabinet

The Lie-Nielsen christmas catalogue arrived in my inbox this morning. This caught my eye... All this for only the price of a small car. Lovely though.

Link to the Lie-Nielsen cabinet page.

Laying out the Layout Drawer

Chisel Drawer

Today I built the long planned timber frame for my chisel drawer. The timber is a light softwood which I've machined to 40mm x 8mm lengths. The corner joints quick dovetails and all other joints twin tenons. Titebond hide glue. Overall I'm pretty happy with the results - space efficient, easy to use, and no rattle when the drawer is opened.

You can see the 13 10mm rare-earth magnets counterbored beneath the timber frame. Their effect is noticeable but not as strong as I expected through the timber.

The next priority is organising the measuring and marking out drawer.... It would be nice to replace all the cases and boxes, have specific areas for specific tools while still allowing for new tools.

Sharpening the Sharpening Stones

When I started woodworking the concept of 'Sharpening the Sharpening Stones' was completely foreign. However, the more you think about it, the more important it is.

The general principle to sharpen, joint or plane any object is make your working edge as flat as your reference. In practice your reference must be flatter and harder that the object your working.

To sharpen a chisel (as I've written before) you flatten the back and the bevel to be uniform and flat meeting at an angle. This is done by repetitive movements of the metal on a stone which wears aware the high points of the metal making it flat. Overtime however the stone is also worn aware. Eventually a slight hollow is formed. This is most noticeable over the the most frequently used areas. At this point your stone is no longer flat and cannot act as a reference. Blades sharpened on this stone will no longer be flat but contour to that hollow.

The hollow needs to be removed by flattening the stone against a hard reference surface. Nearly any of the described sharpening options will do... including wet & dry sand paper, a larger wetstone, dimond paste on a metal reference. However, after searching the net the easiest and best is the DMT Dia-Flat. 

The DMT Dia-Flat is a serious piece of stainless steel (about 8mm thick) impregnated with 95 micron diamond particles. (The packet said something like 1.5 carats worth). 

With a bit of water as lubricant you simply rub your water stone on the Dia-Flat until it's flat. Some people recommend marking the surface of the stone with pencil to know which section is being worked, in my case the stones were dirty enough. My stones needed a bit of work but the progress was quick and easy. Not a cheap product. But a recommended one.

Harold & Saxon

On February 20th 2011 at the Sturt Handtool Open Day I ordered 3 chisels from Australian company Harold & Saxon Chisels run by Trent Powrie.  Today, 629 days later, my chisels arrived. To compensate for the delay (which was for a variety of reasons) Trent included a fourth chisel.  Ultimax 1/4" & 1/2" Mortise Chisels, 1/8" & 1 1/4" Bevel Chisels. 

 

The chisels haven't made it to the shed yet, but as you can see they are very impressive. The handles Australian Gidgee. The blades  Cryogenically treated M2 High Speed Steel. Their performance should be among the best in the world. 

Over the next few years I hope to complete the set. 

Woodscrap Bin Complete

The Woodscrap Bin is complete in the shed. I finished it with two coats of feast watson clear statin varnish and wheeled it into the shed. So far so good and shed is a lot tidier for it.  (There is extra-wood behind the bin in the photo.)

Bin 1 has offcuts of coastal black (including burls) and radiata pine.

Bin 2 has Tasmanian Mrytle (clear, figured & burls), silver ash, and silky oak. It also has some small pieces of huon pine, red gum, olive wood, ebony, purtle heart and blackwood.

Bin 3 is mostly Australian Red Cedar and some more blackbutt.

The back tray has some masonite, plywood, MDF and old templates from various projects.

Now to upgrade the workbench.

Fallshaw Castors

The woodscrap bin has been made mobile by four swivel Fallshaw Castors sourced from Specialised Wholesale & Plastics. Not a cheap option but they are Australian made, smooth and have a dust protective casing over the bearings.

Wood-scrap Bin

In a further attempt at a little organisation I've made head way on a woodscrap bin. Currently there is scattered timber leaning on the shed walls or hidden away on shelves. This timber will be sorted into the woodscrap bin or into the garbage bin. The front lip will be for the small amount of sheet goods I use.

The construction is rather simple. Initially I wanted some quality ply but instead sourced this solid pine patchwork panels which (1800x600x18). Construction is pretty simple - screws and glue. I picked up some quality castors with dust covers over the bearing... but forgot to get the right size bolts.

Will trim and roundover the edges. Still considering what if any finish to place on it.