Archive
Blue Spruce Toolworks – Awesome
Power tools have been the focus of my woodworking until approximately a year ago when I began enjoying the use of hand tools. Watching The Hand Tool School I realized that there was great value in the use of a marking knife over a pencil especially as you move into the use of hand tools. Browsing internet sites I came across Blue Spruce Toolworks frequently and realized that Shannon Rogers and others were using knives from Dave Jeske. After much contemplation I place an order which arrived a few days later. The knife is a work of art. The tiger maple and design of the knife are an inspiration and the knife is used on every project. If you have not made the transition to a marking knife go now. This was before Christopher Schwarz wrote his recent article about the knives.
A week ago I watched this knife roll across my bench and in agonizing slow motion teeter on the edge and dive blade first onto the hard concrete! I could do nothing since I had my saw till in one hand and saw in the other. The knife appeared OK but in use the blade had a slight wiggle. After a fall like that I probably would have broken an ankle. Not to overstate my emotions, but I felt a curtain of darkness drop. That knife was the first step into what has become an awesome journey into hand tool woodworking. I emailed Dave Jeske asking if the knife could be repaired and if he could smooth one side to prevent my stupidity. The next day I mailed it to Oregon and four days later a package arrived containing a box.
Beautifully wrapped was a marking knife and even better it had a flat spot carefully placed on the side. If you own one of these little beauties you will know how I felt. I searched the package and the box for a bill, there was none! Dave thank you for the excellent service, beautiful tool and small custom change. You are awesome! and If you think you will get away without getting paid… There’s a tool order on the way.
Second Drop is Your Fault
Somewhere along my life I heard the saying that the first drop of rain that hits you is god’s fault..the second is yours. I can imagine that this was spoken to me in either frustration or amazement while I splashed along in the rain happily getting soaking wet. The saying applies to many of the things we do in life and is similar to the definition of insanity… doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. After pinching my fingers between my end vise and the vice handle for the hundredth time I decide to make a change.
I removed the handle and began searching through my drawers for something to eliminate the pinch point. Finding a couple of rubber o rings I placed one on each side of the handle. Hopefully this will keep my fingers out of the pinch point and allow the pipe end cap to seat against the vice without the use of my fingers as cushioning.
I’m not sure if it will eliminate the problem totally, we’ll have to see. Certainly I have no intention of performing a test. Like the saying goes the first drop is god’s fault the 101st is………
Chisel Attacks!
I have investigated many accidents over my career and inevitably if you do a true root cause analysis sometimes you are surprised by the result.
Last week I continued working on my tool chest cutting dovetails and adjusting to fit. On the previous evening I had carefully marked out my tails, placing xxx’s on the waste and proceeded to cut off all of the parts that remained un-marked. We have all done that at some point, made every step to cut off the correct piece and then left our brain in the tool chest and cut to the wrong line. Realizing it was late and that I would not only have to recut the tails but also shorten the length of the opposite side and recut those as well, I called it a night. The next evening I trimmed the sides to match and set up to cut a new joint. This one would be pins first since I had already cut this joint and would be recutting to a shorter length. I have no fight as to whether you cut pins or tails first, that’s your choice; this was the first time I had cut pins first. It all went well until…..I had to trim one pin. I had the tail board laying on the bench and after trying to drive the pin board into its mate realized that at the bottom of the pin I had not cut to the line. Instead of removing the pin board and placing it into my moxon vice I attempted to pare away the material in place. Needless to say the chisel slipped off the wood and cut a nice gash in my left wrist. 3 hours later I returned with nine stitches and fortunately, full movement in my hand.
In 30 years of woodworking I have had no injury with the exception of a few splinters, why did this happen now? I spent a lot of time reflecting while waiting in the emergency room. The most obvious answer is that my left hand was in front of my chisel when it slipped, but I don’t think this fully answers the question.
Tools, Tools, and More Tools
Just when I had all of the woodworking tools required, I realized that the only way to increase my skills was to take a step back. As I was building a desk for my daughter, I had to cut a 14″ piece of oak into 6″ pieces to fit it through my planer. It dawned on me later that if I had the tools and skills it, could have been done in one piece and that beautiful piece of wood would be complete. It didn’t take me long to find web pages that led to a blog called “The Renaissance Woodworker”. In the corner was an icon called the Hand Tool School, alas a web based school specializing in the use of Hand Tools. Please go and visit the site you may become as enthralled as I have.
After studying the list of tools needed for the class I recognized how far I had strayed into the world of power tools. Clearly this was a crisis and required immediate intervention….. Ebay! Well not quite yet, fisrt I had to visit the web and learn about the tools that would be essential.
Semester 1: Tools
orepass 