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Powermatic 719A Mortiser
The air, heavy with moisture was like a blanket draped across my shoulders, the breeze bore the distinct scent of rain, a mix of soil, water and electricity, pausing with knees burning on the hot rubber I accepted fate and slowed down. Rushing would only result in an injury or damage to the tool. Stowing the straps and placing smaller parts in a box I sought the bolts that would allow a single person to do what required four and hour ago. There on the base were four 1/2” bolts and at the base of the column four Allen head bolts. Careful that the tool would not roll on my hand I removed the bolts and the 300lb tool became three manageable parts.
Positioning my table saw next to the truck, the two upper pieces slide easily out of the bed and I was able to wheel them into the shop, the base was light enough to be lifted to the floor. Closing the shop door I could feel the breeze increasing but now I was in the clear.
Moving heavy tools is no joke and there is a lot at stake. Frequently as woodworkers we rely on friends and neighbors to help. Today I was lucky, to have help loading and everything at exactly the right height to unload. Make a plan, adjust as needed and stop when its not making sense.
Box Making halted by a 4mm Screw!
Warm water splashed my face as the river’s rumble passed into the darkness, it is warm, very warm. With a jerk I find myself awake, a thunderstorm rumbling overhead and Scout licking my face looking for comfort.
Admittedly it has been a long time since I jumped headlong into a project. The shop is all but complete and my excuses no longer hold sway. Grabbing a piece of cherry left over from another project I began sizing it up for a couple of boxes I noticed in Mike Pekovich’s book ‘The Why and How of Woodworking’ not sure I’ll make the exact box, but its a simple way to get back into the swing of woodworking.
The cherry board that I have on hand is 5/4 and I need to get it down to approximately 1/2”. It’ll work great because approximately half the board is the pith. I used my Bad Axe Tool Works D8 saw to break the board down and there was a big smile on my face the entire time. The saw was singing and dust dropped quickly onto I the floor. There is something very satisfying about cutting cherry with a hand saw. If you’ve never used a Bad Axe Saw try one, the filing is magnificent. Even if you don’t get the chance visit the web site its full of great information about saws, saw sharpening etc.
Grabbing the Sargent 409 I flattened one side of each board in preparation for running it through the planer. My jointer sits in its box by the door and I can’t recall the last time I sued it. Just seems quicker to use a hand plane and a lot more pleasant! Turning to my planer I check the bed to make sure I eliminate as much snipe as possible and notice that one corner is sagging. A quick peak and the problem becomes clear a small screw 6mm to be exact is missing and there is no doubt that if it’s in my shop I long since swept it up! Stumped for the lack of a tiny screw!
Humidity in the shop
A couple of weeks ago I noticed on my weatherstation that the humidty outside was 97%, definately on the high side of comfortable and certainly high enough to begin having an effect on everyday life. I am very fortunate to have a shop that is climate controlled and living in TX it gives me the ability to woodwork comfortably year round. Most of my shop furniture however was built much further North often in cold dry winters. I’m see the impact of the lower humidity and have made several adjustments.
My tool cabinet which has hung on the wall for many years needed extensive changes to the doors to enable them to close. Seems like I just did work on it but a couple weeks of high humidity and the plane had to come out and make some changes. Next it was of to the drawers on my small tool chest. I had not been able to close the lower drawer for a couple of weeks so I planed the top of the drawer and got it closed.
The last piece was the movable portion of the tail vise. Although I could use it it was very tight and I actually had to drive it out with a rubber hammer. a few swipes of the plane and all is good.
New Sharpening Jig
It didn’t take long to realize that I needed to replace the old jig, a couple of crooked chisels and I opened the IPad and began to peruse the usual spots for tools. Deciding against a like for like replacement, I looked at the Veritas Jigs, after all my friend John at WoodworksbyJohn uses a Veritas MK II sharpening jig.
Several years ago I had the Veritas Honing guide, it worked ok and came with he angle setting jig shown below. I did however have one frustration and it may be just me but The chisel or plane blade frequently shifted. Unlike the Eclipse style jig this one does not have anything to rest the side of the tool against to ensure it sits perpendicular to the stone. I still use it for angled blades etc, but this minor frustration was what led me to the eclipse jig in the first place. THe newer Veritas MK II jig may have resolved this problem and John noted it was the one he used however I couldn’t quite tell if it had fully eliminated this problem.
There are a couple more jigs out there and I looked at the one made by Woodpeckers, It was a one time tool and no longer in production but looked like a possibility. I have never owned a Woodpeckers Tool but perhaps one day. Finally I looked at the product produced by Lie Nielsen and after a little research decided that this is the investment I would make. I liked the Eclipse Style guide and it functioned well and the Lie-Nielsen Honing Guide is similar although pricier and appears to be better made.
After a week and sharpening chisels and planes it works really well and apart from being expensive I like it a lot. I certainly could have gone the cheaper route and purchased another Eclipse style knock off, but so far I’m very satisfied. I for those of you saying just sharpen Jigless, I hear you but sometime I’m not going to listen!
Sharpening Angle Settting Jig
It always amazes me how long I can put off making a simple jig that can make things so much easier. The Angle setting jig that I made this week is the perfect example. If you use any of the Eclipse, Veritas, or Lie Nielsen jigs for sharpening you know that the repeatability of the sharpening angle is critical to the speed of sharpening let alone the performance of the plane or chisel. Many companies provide an angle setting jig with the sharpening jig. There are other systems that people use and it appears the simplest is to set the distance from the end of the blade to the edge of the jig
These distances don’t change as long as you are sharpening similar blades in the same jig and in this case the perfect angle is not as important as the consistency of the angle. Again THE SAME SHARPENING JIG. Notice the difference In length between the Veritas and the Lie Nielsen.
The jig I made this week is a basic copy of one built by Denab Puchalski of Lie Nielsen. I found scraps in the bins cut them to size and after a few measurements glued and screwed each to the board. Most went well, one I had to plane to make it exactly parallel to the board edge. Once finished I drilled a hole so I could hang the jig on a wall. This has made sharpening easier and more consistent and that’s always a good thing.
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