March 2014 Wooden Word-a - Washington Woodworkers Guild

WASHINGTON
WOODWORKERS
GUILD
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
THE
MARCH 2014
PRESIDENT’S NOTE
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
PRESIDENT’S
NOTE
Stu Sherman
1
NEW MEMBERS
1
PROGRAM CHAIR
NOTE
2
UPCOMING
2
SPEAKERS
THANK YOU AGAIN
2
JANUARY 2014 WWG
MEETING
3
THE SAFETY
5
CORNER
FEBRUARY 2014
WWG MEETING
6
TOOL REVIEW
9
PATINA ANNUAL
TOOL SALE
GORDON’S SLAB
TABLE
WOODEN WORD
10
13
MARCH 2014 WWG
MEETING
14
TWO WOODWORKING
SHOPS FROM 1941
17
INTERESTING WEB
SITES
17
CLASSIFIED ADS
18
OLD TOOL AD
19
WWG 2014 PROGRAM
CALENDAR
19
ABOUT THE WWG
20
NEXT MEETING
April 15
7:30 pm
Goodwin House,
Bailey’s Crossroads
Hussam Albeik – Creating the
geometric inlay in Middle
Eastern furniture
Hi All,
S
pring time is just
around the corner. Hopefully, that will lead more
of us to spend more time in our
shops.
So far, we have seen some great
woodworking projects folks have
brought in during our meetings.
Please keep up the great work.
Even if you are not finished, we
would love to see it. Let us
know what challenges you have
encountered and how you
solved them. Also, let us know
how you were able to perform a
challenging operation in a safe
manner. Safety is always a
great tip to share with everyone. For example, the cove
molding I made for my project
was challenging for me, since
the total dimension was only
3/4" wide. You can imagine it
would not have been a good
idea to rip a small strip and
then try to use the router table
to make the cove profile.
Therefore, I used a wide board
to make the profile first and
then I ripped the molding to
width. I always enjoy learning
new things from our members. One thing I have learned,
is there are many ways of doing
the same thing.
Keep making sawdust.
Stuart
NEW MEMBERS
Ken Harrington
W
elcome to our new members who
have recently joined the Washington Woodworkers Guild. We are always
looking to expand our membership with both
experienced woodworkers and those who are
just beginning the journey. We all learn from
each other on how to improve our skills and
learn new techniques. We get to work together
on various projects, visit members’ shops, and
participate in multiple outside activities. We
look forward to working with you.
Member Name
Location
Joined
Harold Bishop
Arlington, VA
2014-01-31
Kurt Miller
Alexandria, VA
2014-02-03
Michael Kelley
Washington, DC
2014-03-05
Mark Godfrey
Arlington, VA
2014-03-19
Kelly Bell
Burke, VA
2014-03-21
Gary Starkweather
South Riding, VA
2014-03-24
COMING IN SEPTEMBER!
I
n our March meeting, Bill
Walmsley reminded us that that
this year’s National Building Museum (NBM) Big Build will be held
on Saturday, September 20. Bill
will start soliciting for participants,
but let’s make it easy and contact him now and let him know
you’re on board. Bill can be
reached at (301) 459-5416 or
[email protected].
The Big Build
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 2
PROGRAM CHAIR NOTE
instead of sawn, woods that are rotresistant for use outdoors or near water, the
best woods for painted furniture, and many
other possibilities. You don’t need to be an
expert on the woods you’re discussing, you
just need an interest in sharing your
knowledge or experience on a project. The
PechaKucha format can be a competition,
but we’ll just be using it as a structure and
a guideline, so you don’t need to become an
expert in PechaKucha either (but you can
find out more about the format here: http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PechaKucha . The
focus is simple, short, and concise. Please
call or e-mail me at [email protected] for
more information or if you’d like to give it a
try.
Jay Christian
“All things good to know are
hard to learn.” Greek proverb
P
echaKucha at the WWG!
I’m looking for two guild
members to participate in a panel-style
presentation format we’re trying for the July
meeting. John Hampton had a great suggestion for a PechaKucha-style presentation -where three speakers will each give a concise six-minute, 20-slide presentation on a
topic followed by a Q&A session. John will be
speaking about the restoration of Pierce Mill
in DC and discussing the different wood species that were selected for the various parts
of the mill based on how the specific wood’s
characteristics were suited for a given task.
I’d like to have two other guild members present similar information about selecting
wood species for other types of projects.
This could be anything, but some possibilities
include the woods chosen in chair building
for flexibility and strength, woods that are
worked best green vs. dried or can be rived
Also, if you have a skill or specialty you
could demonstrate, or have learned something new or found a great technique or
method of work you’d like to share with the
Guild, please contact me or one of the Program Committee members (Ken Gordon, Liz
Knowlton, and Jim McMichael). I am also
looking for ideas for topics and programs,
so if you have an idea for a speaker or
topic you'd like to see at a Guild meeting,
or have visited a place or attended an
event that would make a good field trip
for Guild members, please let me know.
More information will follow about member-taught skill building classes for the
upcoming year. These classes will be
targeted to either beginning woodworkers
or focused advanced techniques or skills.
The instructors for these courses will be
paid, so if you would like to teach a
course on a given subject (dovetailing,
carving, inlays, veneering, tablesaw techniques, etc.) please contact me. We’ll be
working to match up instructors, venues,
topics, and participants.
Jay Christian, WWG Program Chair
[email protected]
UPCOMING SPEAKERS
O
ur March speaker, Dave Petit, had to
postpone his presentation on the design, history, and construction techniques of
the everyday furniture of rural Federal-period
Pennsylvania cabinetmakers. He will be rescheduled for another meeting soon.
Hussam Albeik is the owner of Capital Antiques in Washington, DC. He has extensive
experience restoring early American, European and Middle Eastern furniture and decorative pieces.
MAY 20 (TBD)
APR 15
JUNE 17
Hussam Albeik – Creating the geometric
inlay in Middle Eastern furniture
Vicco Von Voss – topic TBD
Vicco Von Voss (www.viccovonvoss.com) was
born in Germany, and after graduating from
Washington College in Chestertown, MD in
1991 with a degree in art and design, he
returned to Germany to apprentice with cabi-
Mr. Albeik will discuss and demonstrate the
techniques used to create the intricate inlay
work of wood, mother-of-pearl, ivory, and
stone found in Middle Eastern (and Western)
furniture and decorative panels.
netmaker Heinrich Meyerfeldt. He was
drawn back to the Chesapeake region in
1995, where he has been designing and
building furniture and timber frame
structures ever since in the studio and
house he designed and built in Chestertown.
Von Voss’s furniture is European influenced, but contemporary, and characterized by both whimsy and grace. His reputation has spread by word of mouth, and
now his designs can be found in homes
across the country.
THANK YOU AGAIN !
Barry Ingram
I
just wanted to take the opportunity to thank all the contributors to this issue of The
Wooden Word.
In addition to articles and notes, Joel Jacobson, Stu Sherman, and Jay Christian also
submitted several photos from our Guild
meetings and the PATINA Annual Tool Sale
and Auction. Having multiple members
providing content and photos gives us a
broader perspective and views.
Thank you all.
Barry
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 3
JANUARY 2014 WWG MEETING
Bill Walmsley
D
espite Mother Nature disrupting our original date,
we managed to reschedule just
before the month’s end.
Announcements:
· There was one new member in attendance, Tim Williams. Tim is a beginning
woodworker looking to advance his skill
set.
· Jay, our Program Chair, is looking for suggestions for future programs, so if you
have any ideas, please pass them along.
This wouldn’t be committing you to making the presentation, although that would
be most welcome. It’s just coming up with
an idea for some topic that you think
would be of interest to the members. The
deadline is approaching for our submitting
a date for the 2014 Master Craftsman
Workshop to the Reston Community Center. If you have any thoughts as to who
we should try and get, pass that along to
Jay as well.
no longer receive the newsletter and the
other priceless benefits that come from
Guild membership.
Safety Presentation
We have been without a Safety Coordinator
for a while, but Bob Rodgers has agreed to
take on the job. Earlier in the month, Bob
had blasted out a request to members for
any jigs that they use to improve safe operations in their shops. Bob was not able to
make the reschedule of this month’s meeting, so he asked Ron Novack to fill in for
him.
Ron brought in a number of commercial
featherboards that he uses on his table saw
and/or router tables to help guide and con-
· The latest edition of the Wooden Word
was issued today. One thing Barry noted
in putting it together was the lack of new
tool reviews. He thought that with the
holidays and the Baltimore tool show at
the beginning of the month, there would
be plenty of new acquisitions that members would have written up, giving him
many to choose from, but no membership
follow through. If you have gotten a new
tool, it would be most helpful for the rest
of us to know about it. Getting an honest
appraisal from one of our own would be
beneficial to the rest of us in deciding how
to spend our meager tool allowances. So
while the weather is forcing us indoors,
spend some time with your new tool and
let the rest of us know what you think by
sending your write up (it would also be a
help to include some photos) in time for
the next issue in March (if there is a
enough content to justify it).
· Myra reminded all that, if you have not
done so already, your dues for 2014 are
due. Without your $30 you will be
dropped from the membership roster and
Ron Novak with Safety Items
trol the pieces to be machined past the cutting edges, while allowing all ten digits to
stay a safe distance away and remain firmly
attached. Featherboards can be useful in
two dimensions - helping keep pieces tight
to the fence as well as flat to the table.
There are any number of featherboards
being marketed and most of the newer models are some type of plastic and rely on the
table’s miter/T-slots, attachment to the
fence, or magnetic force to keep them positioned where they do the most good. On the
table saw, Ron still prefers his old wooden
featherboard that works in the miter slot
where it’s appropriate. It’s simple and easy
to adjust once you get it to ride tight in your
saw’s miter slot. Featherboards intended
for router tables also use T-slot attachments. He also showed a featherboard of
his own creation. It combines parts from a
plastic featherboard and a magnetic
GripTite into a more useful device for keeping work on his table saw. He made a
wooden saddle, to which the featherboard
is attached. It straddles the fence and can
be positioned along the fence to provide
downward pressure where it is needed.
Other holddown devices include the hold
downs more typically associated with jointer use. The molded plastic handles with a
grippy surface on the base keeps hands a
safe distance from the whirring jointer
blades. Ron found the ones most often
encountered are not very substantial and
the grippy base material quickly loses its
grippyness, sliding along the board rather
than allowing you to push the board
through the jointer. He finds that the hold
downs made by ShopSmith, while costing a
few bucks more, are much beefier and
worth tracking down.
The SawStop and most of the new table
saws are now following a European lead by
equipping all new models with a riving
knife. The purpose of the knife, which is
positioned behind the blade, is to prevent
the cut pieces from coming in contact with
the back saw teeth as they clear the table
top. Contact with the rear teeth can cause
the wood to be picked up by the blade and
become airborne with considerable speed
and forces the dreaded kick back. Newer
saws now have optional riving knives in
thickness designed to work with thin kerf
blades (the thickness of the knife has to
match the blade thickness).
In addition to riving knives, another assist
in preventing kick back and quick reaches
for cut boards over the spinning blade, is to
make sure that the cut pieces are under
control once they have been cut. Ideally, a
table extension behind the blade can hold
the pieces, but not many of us have shops
with enough real estate to devote more
floor space to add to the table size. Portable roller stands work and take up far less
space. There are many variations on the
(Continued on page 4)
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 4
JANUARY 2014 WWG MEETING (CONT.)
(Continued from page 3)
roller stand - some work better than others.
Not all use the single roller, ones are now
available that use a series of ball casters
and/or a narrow platform. One model, by
Rockler, has the option of using any of these
methods. It is important that, whatever stand
is being used, it is set at the same height as
the saw table, be positioned close enough to
the saw table so that the end of the cut piece
makes it to the stand’s top and supports it
and that it is stable/secure enough not to fall
over.
Ron brought in a SawStop cartridge that had
been fired on a Forrest blade while he let his
neighbor use the saw. Exercising extremely
poor judgment, the neighbor had reached
across the blade during a cut and accidently
hit his finger on the spinning blade triggering
the saw. Fortunately, the saw performed as
designed and the neighbor only ended up
with a slight nick on his finger and a destroyed blade. A lively discussion ensued as
Mel mentioned that he was asked to demo a
SawStop during his tenure at Woodcraft.
Much to the surprise/shock of many attending the demo, Mel was successfully able to
crosscut a hot dog multiple times without the
saw reacting. Cutting a hot dog has long
been used in SawStop’s advertising to show
what happens when contact would be made
with a finger, it’s supposed to fire the cartridge. Even after protracted discussion with
SawStop engineers, no one has yet been able
to figure out why the saw was not tripped and
has left Mel less trusting of the foolproofness
of their technology. The Reston Shop folks
were quick to mention that they have had ten
firings of the Saw Stop in their shop, four as a
result of human contact with the blade. Fortunately, in those instances, the saw performed properly and no one received more
than a scratch with a band aid as the only
medial intervention needed. The Reston
shop crew strongly endorsed the SawStop,
crediting it with making their shop’s operation
a whole lot safer and less nerve racking for
them.
Thanks to Ron for filling in for Bob. Bob
should be back next month resuming this
very important Safety portion of the meeting.
The bottom line on safety is that no device or
technology is going to eliminate the need for
common sense and paying 100% attention
to what you are doing when in the shop
particularly, when using power equipment.
On Going & Recent Projects
(formally Show & Tell):
Stu showed us pictures of his latest DIY
project — the result of repairing his new
puppy’s attempt at cutting corners in baseboard molding. Personally, I found it very
easy to relate to Stu’s cascading calamities
- since no matter how seemingly small a
quick fix is supposed to be, it always ends
up involving multiple trips to a big box
store, only to find they don’t have what you
need and a whole lot of side efforts that
you never thought you would have to get
involved with to come up with a work
around. Adding dry wall to the mix only
makes it worse.
In response to plea for safety jigs, Barry
Hatfield brought in several roller stands.
One 3-way from Woodcraft ($30) that allows you to use either a roller top, ball casters top, or a flat surface top for the boards
to ride on. Barry ended up having to replace the ball casters, they were too stiff
and even applying graphite to the replacements still did not have boards gliding over
the stand. But that wasn’t the only problem, since no matter how tightly he
cranked down on the knob for locking the
column height, it would end up slipping.
He fixed that by applying a strip of abrasive
along the column to give it a bit of grip.
Finding the Woodcraft model less than
ideal, but not giving up on the stands as a
whole, he found that Rockler is making a
much more substantial stand that, at $80,
was worth the extra cost. It stays in one
place and at the set height. It has an optional attachment that is a platform to
which a 2x4 or the like can be attached,
providing a larger surface area on which
cut pieces can ride.
Mel brought in his latest acanthus style
carving. This one took the form of a mirror
frame to which separate acanthus carved
pieces were attached at the top and bottom. The carving was done in basswood
and it is obvious that Mel is getting a handle on the acanthus style. Mel used dowels to attach the carvings to the frame. He
said that lining up mating dowels holes on
the shaped carvings was a real trick.
Mel’s Acanthus Mirror Frame
Feature Presentation
Dr. Rynone, Calculating Proportions
and Proper Spacing Of Parts For
Strength In Stick & Frame Furniture
The feature presentation was given by Dr.
William Rynone, principal of Rynone Engineering. Dr. Rynone had a couple of DOS
based programs that he had written. The
first was to convert metric to English
Barry Hatfield’s Roller Stands
(Continued on page 5)
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 5
JANUARY 2014 WWG MEETING (CONT.)
(Continued from page 4)
measures. The second program figures out
even spacing when you are trying to position
pieces, e.g. railing balusters between two
posts, chair splats, etc. The program requires
that you only need to enter the distance between the two posts and the number and
width of the pieces you are trying to position.
The output of the program is the location of
the center points for each of the inserts. It
can also be used when the end posts are
slanted, creating a fan shape. This is done by
executing the program twice - once for the
center positions along the top and a second
time for the narrower bottom. Dr. Rynone is
willing to provide a copy of his programs to
anyone who sends him a blank CD and
postage. He can be contacted at
ports using diagonal bracing. He has made
W. Rynone
Rynone Engineering, Inc., P.O. Box 4445
Annapolis, MD 21403
Phone: 410-263-0794
a number of stick & frame bases/supports
for his shop using only light 1x material.
His constructions are able to hold considerable weight and be rigid despite the lightweight materials used by employing diagonal braces thin the side frame. The diagonals are oriented/positioned so that they
help in carrying/transferring the load.
The other topic Dr. Rynone presented was
improving the structural strength of sup-
THE SAFETY CORNER
Bob Rogers
W
hen we address the
topic of woodworking
safety, woodworkers, even
those new to the craft, know
that they should keep their
hands and other body parts away from moving blades and cutters. Does it do any good
to tell a woodworker to keep their hands
away from the blade when operating a table
saw or not to work when tired? Well , a few
years back, a well-known and longtime professional woodworker answered
that question with a story that made us all
cringe. Many decades into his career, he
stayed up all night and was in his second
day of straight work, without sleep, trying to
finish a commissioned order. He ran his
hand into the table saw blade after not going
to bed the night before. Did this pro woodworker need to be told to keep his hand
away from the blade? Telling this man not
to put his hands near the moving blade
would have had little value. No one needs
to be told that. He already knew it. Did he
need to be told not to operate a table saw
when he was tired? No, he already knew
it.
What was the safety problem? What
caused him to run his hand into a table saw
blade when he was over tired?
The answer: Safety is FAR more complex
than knowing simplistic rules. Safety is
actually following those rules at times when
pressures and distractions tend to make
you think of other things! He let himself get
so tired that the simple safety rules that he
knew simply didn't come to mind. He was
under pressure to complete an order. The
pressure resulted in his taking chances that
he knew he shouldn't take.
cause. They are due to "multiple, interactive
causes", not single simple causes.
Finally, we should not mix up safety with
stupidity. This professional’s mishap was an
accident. If a person decides to light up a
match to see if there is gas in the gas tank, it
is not a safety issue. There is no use in putting a sign on each gas tank which says "DO
NOT USE MATCHES TO SEE IF THERE IS GAS
IN THE TANK. One cannot teach common
sense. But, what we can do is make use of
and provide others with the benefit of our
woodworking safety knowledge and experience. So, with that in mind, please send me
a brief description of any jigs or techniques
that you have used to enhance your woodworking safety experience. You can send
your ideas and comments to: [email protected].
We should keep in mind that accidents are
rarely, if ever, due to a single, obvious
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 6
FEBRUARY 2014 WWG MEETING
Bill Walmsley
D
espite another disruption
to our original date and
venue, we managed to reschedule just before the
month’s end. This month,
thanks to a last minute scramble by Ken Harrington to arrange for meeting space at the
Reston Community Center, Jay provided for
another excellent presentation.
Announcements:
· There was one new first time attendee,
Kurt Miller. Kurt considers himself to be a
hobbyist furniture maker who lives in Alexandria.
with a track for all his cutting of the poplar
and MDF used in its construction. The moldings were all cut by hand. The piece is
screwed and glued together with buttons
hiding the screw heads. Following the intended recipient’s wishes, but much to Stu’s
chagrin, the piece will be finished in white
paint.
After a trip to Hawaii, Mel became entranced with the ukulele. Resisting the
temptation to buy one in the islands, he
waited until his return. After some research,
he bought a Hanakai, which is made in Indonesia and considered to be one of the better
production ukes. What Mel thought was
unique was that, while the high end profes-
· The submission deadline for the next edi-
being machined and as the bottom, which
is designed as sacrificial, is cut back to
provide a fresh surface. The whole point of
push blocks is to allow you to still control
and direct the movement of the wood
through the cutters/blade while keeping
your fingers and hands a safe distance
from harm. They need to be easy to use
and you shouldn’t have to be overly concerned what happens to the them. This is
one of the downsides of commercial pushblocks like the Gripper. They are readily
adaptable to a number of configurations,
yet it takes time to set them up for each
operation and they are pricey, so there can
be hesitation in letting them get involved in
the cutting action at the expense of your
body parts.
15th.
tion of the Wooden Word is March
At this point Barry really needs some content. Since the holidays and Baltimore
Tool Show are well behind us, everyone
should have had plenty of time to try out
any new tools. Now, before the weather
gets nice, is the time to write up your first
impressions and give the rest of us some
ideas as to what your experiences have
been. Get your write-ups to Barry by
March 15.
· Speaking of new tool acquisitions, mark
your calendars now for PATINA’s Annual
Auction and Tool Show. The event is
March 15th at the Damascus Volunteer
Fire House, in Damascus, MD. For anyone with even a passing interest in tools,
this is an event not to be missed. Also, for
all who plan on going, start putting
thoughts out there for decent weather.
· Ken Harrington announced that he will be
conducting a SketchUp Class for Woodworkers at the Reston Community Center.
The class will start on Thursday, March
13th from 6-9 PM for five consecutive
weeks. You must bring a laptop loaded
with SketchUp and a three button mouse.
On Going & Recent Projects
(formally Show & Tell):
Stu brought in a ribbon rack that he is in the
process of making for an arts & crafts oriented friend. Since Stu is still in the process of
setting up his shop and his table saw is still in
storage, he was forced to use a circular saw
about this design is that he uses a loose,
but tightly fitting dowel, as the push cleat.
The dowel can be set to the thickness of
the piece being pushed up and down to
accommodate the thickness of the lumber
sional ukuleles are hand made from Hawaiian koa, following many of the same practices as used for any quality stringed instrument, this one eliminated all the trials and
tribulations of working with solid wood in
favor of using plywood for the body. This
uke is a surprisingly light weight, more stable, instrument which still produces a decent sound, even though it is using plywood
for its body.
Bob also showed a jig that he built to cut
thin strips on the table saw. This jig has a
large stable base that rides in the miter slot
and uses a rear cleat to define the thickness of the strip to be cut.
Safety Presentation
Bob Rodgers, our new Safety Coordinator,
followed up with his input on the topic for
last month, ‘Jigs Contributing to Safe Shop
Operations’, when he was not able to make
the rescheduled meeting. Bob showed us a
push stick/block of his design. It’s made
from scrap lumber and is shaped like a
backwards flat bottomed C. What is neat
Bob also mentioned that he has found that
the magnetic featherboards and other hold
downs that use removable magnetic inserts are very versatile and can exert a
(Continued on page 7)
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 7
FEBRUARY 2014 WWG MEETING (CONT.)
(Continued from page 6)
great deal of force yet can be easily repositioned.
A final thought is that, before you make a cut,
whether it is a table saw, jointer, band saw,
etc., you want to think through the cut before
you power up the machine. Visualize where
you will place your hands to start, how and
where you will reposition them through the
cut and where they and the various pieces of
wood will end up after the cut is completed.
Anything in this revisualization that throws up
a red flag should have you to rethink the process to a safer one. Also, if you have any
jigs/fixtures that you find helpful to you in
maintaining a safe shop, please let Bob know
for sharing with the rest of the members.
Feature Presentation – Gel Stain
and Finishing
February’s feature presentation was given by
fellow member Larry Ledbetter. Larry started
a second career working for The Bartley Collection for thirteen years as their National
Sales Manager for Finishes. Bartley was
probably most noted for their high quality
period furniture kits (they were chosen by the
Smithsonian to produce a reproduction of the
Jefferson Lap Top Desk) but the company
first started by producing an excellent line of
gel finishes and stains.
Larry Ledbetter
The Products
The Bartley Gel Stains and Varnishes,
http://www.bartleycollection.com/gel-stainsvarnish.html are a formulation of 1/3 urethane and 2/3 alkyd varnish plus a few other minor ingredients which were ‘cooked’
into a gel consistency. The cooking process
was actually achieved by mechanized mixing
of the ingredients which produced heat and
gelled the product. The stains and varnishes are the same product, the only difference
being that the stains contain pigments
which provide the color. Bartley produces
14 different colors of stain. General Finishes also markets a line of gel finishes
(derived from the Bartley formula) although
the consistency of theirs is more liquid than
Bartley’s, i.e. the mineral spirits separate
out as its not ‘cooked’ enough. The Bartley
products if properly stored have a long shelf
life, two of the cans that Larry brought were
35 and 40 years old and still work as good
as when new even though they have been
opened many times and the cans are stored
partially empty.
Having the urethane in the formula gives the
product some unique features. Both the
stain and varnish can be considered a final
coat offering enough protection for most
surfaces except those subject to hard use,
e.g. table/desk tops etc. The varnish can
also be used as a conditioner on those
woods subject to blotching, (e.g. cherry,
pine, etc). The gel consistency allows for
more control in applying the stain and you
can work the surface more to even out the
stain absorption, resulting in more uniform
coverage and coloration. This conditioning
also works on other areas that absorb more
finish, causing them to darken more than
the rest of the surface, like end grain. Other
advantages of the gel product they offer is
that they quickly dry to the touch, which
minimizes issues with dust becoming embedded in the finish and eliminates much of
the extra effort required to remove the dust
nibs before applying successive coats. However, don’t let the dry to touch fool you - it is
still necessary to wait six hours before applying another coat of stain and overnight for
the clear varnishes. That’s for temperatures
above 60 °F and relatively dry air. Lower
temperatures and higher humidity require
longer drying times. Also, keep in mind
that you want to be careful in applying too
many coats of the stain on woods that naturally darken over time, like cherry. It’s
easy to end up in a couple of months with
your piece being much darker than you
intended. In addition to everything else,
you get more mileage out of a can of gel
stain than liquid stain.
Applying Gel Products
The best applicator for the gel products is
100% cotton cheese cloth, next a high
quality lint free paper towel. Natural bristle
brushes help in trying to get stain into corners and deep recesses, but you want to
follow up with a clean dry brush to remove
the excess followed by a cheese cloth/
Quick & Easy Application
towel afterwards to get the surface dry to
the touch. You should only put enough
product on the applicator so that after applied you can still use the same cloth/towel
to wipe the piece dry.
Bartley products have a mineral spirit base
which makes the product compatible with
most other finishing products. It works
with lacquer, shellac and oil finish, but
when using it with oil, it’s important that
the Bartley be applied over the oil. It
doesn’t work to put the oil over the Bartley,
(Continued on page 8)
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 8
FEBRUARY 2014 WWG MEETING (CONT.)
(Continued from page 7)
because the Bartley seals the surface and
doesn’t allow the oil to penetrate. When using Bartley with any other products, it is always a good idea to try your finish process on
a sample of the same wood as the project to
piece. While it’s unlikely to get a match right
out of the can, with a little trial and error
mixing (on sample pieces), it should be possible to get a match that you won’t be able
to tell the difference, particularly over time.
Gel stains can also be used to make glazes.
Mix the gel stain with mineral spirits to lique-
You don’t get the same final coloration by
mixing two stains together and applying it
as you do if you apply a separate coat of
each.
It always matters which colors you put on
and in what sequence.
Once applied, you can reduce the darkness
of a color from a still wet pigmented stain
by wiping it down with mineral spirits.
Mineral spirits and paint thinner are the
same product - mineral spirits just has
some of the odor removed and costs more.
You can save some money by using paint
thinner.
After Applying Bartley’s
insure that there will not be compatibility
issues and that it is going to give you the look
you want. Actually, this is sound advice anytime you are going to finish. Three to four
coats of Bartley’s varnish provides basic coverage, but more coats improve the overall
look of the surface. Because the Bartley varnish is only 1/3 urethane, surfaces subject to
hard wear, like table tops, are best finished
with additional coats of another more durable
finish.
Gel stain is also very effective in helping to
get the most out of boards with included sapwood. You can color the sapwood to match,
allowing the whole board to be used. To get
sapwood to match heartwood, apply an appropriate shade of gel stain to the sapwood,
let it dry and then stain and finish the entire
fy the mix. Glazes add age to look and soften/cut edges. A favorite period finish on
mahogany of Larry’s is to first finish with
Light Golden Brown Walnut aniline dye.
Apply three coats of shellac and then apply
a glaze made with Dark Brown Mahogany
gel stain. Let it dry for 48 hours and then
apply a final clear coat finish.
General Finishing Thoughts
It’s easy to ruin a good piece of furniture by
screwing up the finish.
Finishes are made great by subtle differences, not big ones.
If you are going to use water based aniline
dye, add an additional step in the surface
preparation – wipe the sanded surface with
water to raise the grain, sand again and
then apply the dye.
When finishing you must sand end grain on
the order of ten more times to get the
same degree of coloration as on the flat
surface of the same piece of wood, (wet
sanding and progressing to finer grits will
help to reduce the number of additional
sandings).
Larry also mentioned that the State Department has an excellent collection of period
furniture that can be viewed by the public
in their Diplomatic Reception Room, see
https://diplomaticrooms.state.gov/
home.aspx for more information.
Combining colors works to achieve the final
coloration.
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 9
TOOL REVIEW
BUDGET RANDOM ORBIT SANDER COMPARISON:
DEWALT D26451 VS CRAFTSMAN 315.112170
Stu?) to summarize for the newsletter.
Ka-Loon Tung
Y
ears ago (before
woodworking was
even on the radar for
me), my wife and I were
perusing through a Sears,
and we impulsively bought the cheapest
Craftsman random orbit sander on the
shelf (Craftsman 315.112170) (retailed
for ~$35). Using that sander could get
the job done, but the excessive vibration
could easily be confused for electroshock
“therapy”. It brought a whole new meaning to dreading the sanding phase of a
project. When I told Adam Past and his
team from DeWalt/Porter Cable my sarcastic description, they offered me a
chance to test a sander. What I received
was a DeWalt D26451 5” Random Orbit
Sander (currently retails for $~$60), a no
frills single speed hook and loop sander.
To test the sander, I pulled out some 60
grit sand paper and a variety of wood I
had on hand (pine, poplar, oak, maple,
cherry, and walnut). I came up with a
range of tests to see what an extra $25
would have bought me. As an engineer,
my testing resulted in a lot of quantitative
measures and was asked (voluntold by
Ergonomics – Anyone who has come to the
past few Guild meetings can attest to how
much thought DeWalt/Porter Cable puts into
ergonomics. I tried several different ways of
holding each sander in use and was surprised
by mixed results. The DeWalt had much better
balance and less vibration, but at times was a
bit harder to control with one hand as I sanded
near the edges of a board. This could be more
due to my hand size and how I hold and moved
the sander, so take my opinion with a grain of
salt because YMMV (your mileage may vary).
Also, I found that I preferred the slide switch of
the Craftsman over the rocker switch on the
DeWalt.
Sanding Speed and Quality – After drawing
pencil lines across my test boards, I got to work
sanding each board to see how quickly I could
sand through all the pencil lines using a stop
watch (app on my phone). All the vibration on
that Craftsman sander must have paid off,
because the Craftsman passed the speed test
in anywhere from a quarter to a third less time
less time than the DeWalt. Fortunate for
DeWalt, speed isn’t everything, because the
Craftsman’s vibration rocked the sander sideways quite a bit, and probably contributed to
the aggressive sanding action which pushed it
Craftsman 315.112170
in the lead. Had I been sanding a larger
project, I suspect it would translate to poor
sand quality and uneven wear of the paper.
I don’t know about you, but a bit more time
and patience sure beats redoing your work.
Since my initial review, I’ve used the
DeWalt sander on a large number of projects, and found the speed and quality to
be perfectly acceptable.
Dust Collection – Does anyone else consider the dust collection bags for most sanders to be a last resort option? The bags
may catch some dust in the off chance it
flies in the direction of the bag, but odds
are, the majority of the dust swirls on the
work piece and throughout the air. For
both sanders, the fine dust went everywhere during operation. With a shop vac
attached, dust collection is drastically better on both sanders, and I didn’t notice any
major operating differences. Kudos has to
go to DeWalt for creating an adaptor that
allows for someone to connect any of the
common shop vac sizes, as opposed to the
Craftsman only taking a 1¼” hose. That
versatility may mean that you could use a
bigger hose, and hope to get better suction.
DeWalt D26541
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 10
THE PATINA ANNUAL TOOL SALE AND AUCTION
Barry Ingram
O
nce again, several
Guild members made
the trek up to Damascus,
MD for the Annual PATINA
Tool Sale and Auction.
What a great day this was! No snow, no
rain, no sleet, just sunshine and an almost
Spring day. Rich Tilghman and I arrived at
about 8:00 AM, our planned time and immediately started walking through the outside
tailgating stands. Obviously, this means we
arrived about 2 –3 hours after the really
eager beavers got there
This year, it seemed like there were more
tailgaters than we had ever seen before.
They had everything from tiny tweezers and
picks to large stationary woodworking machines. Old tools and some things that I had
never seen before, but they might have been
tools also. Of course, there were some other
interesting sights at the show also - such as
below.
The inside displays and sales were excellent
also. In fact, I believe the overall quality of
the tools were even better than last year,
especially the handplanes. In spite of all
the offerings and great tools, I only ended
up buying some rules (not rulers). I found
two really nice folding boxwood and brass
carpenters rules (not the zigzag type) and
two 6” steel rules. I had lost one of my
steel rules a few months back, so I needed
another, so I got two.
We did not stay for the auction, but I did see
a lot of good possibilities on the auction
tables, so some people probably got some
good buys later.
Here are some comments from other Guild
attendees also:
Gordon Swenson: I had a great long talk
with George Carevich, a machinist and retired shop teacher from Michigan, at his
table inside the event. I needed a Jacobs
chuck to fit my lathe tailstock so I could
stop pulling the one off my drill press to use
for drilling the centers out of bowls prior to
hollowing. He had a box full of them and
knew the right Morse Taper I needed based
on the model numbers of my machines
(since I have CRS disease). Here is a photo
of it in action. The big chuck is a Oneway
Stronghold. Great show as usual.
The Dreaded Lobster Truck
Of course, we had to buy some items, especially when the tools seemed to reach out,
grab us by the arms and say “BUY ME!”. We
did, however, learn one more time that if you
had any interest in a specific tool, buy it at
the time you saw it. If you wanted to think
about it for a few minutes and come back, it
would be gone. Case in point– I saw a couple of spokeshaves that I liked, although I
definitely don’t need any more since I already have around 15 of them, but these
were a little different (they were blue). I
made the mistake of passing them by and
planed on coming back if I didn't see others I
liked more. When I did return a few minutes
later, they were gone. Opportunity lost!
The Oneway Chuck and Jacobs Chuck
Colleen Browning: The PATINA tool event
was so fun in part because of bumping into
the Washington Woodworkers Guild members. Also, as a newbie, it was a learning
experience. There were tools that I had
never seen before, and had no idea what
they did. And while there, I heard about the
Cabin Fever Expo next month in York, PA.
Bill Walmsley: The weather forecasters did
not help teases of good weather with threats
of showers in the days leading up to the
PATINA Annual Tool Sale and Auction. It
really made it hard to get to excited. Rain
puts a real damper on the tailgate crowd and
with 364 other days to choose from, you
have to wonder why it far too often picks the
day of the tool show to show up. The unusual decent weather for the tool show was all it
took to bring out what I would say was one of
the larger tailgating crowds that I have seen
in quite a few years. Armed with anticipation, a modest budget and a want list of
tools, I pulled up to the tailgate lot just as
the first rays of the day were making their
appearance. Don’t quite know how those
rays got to sleep in later than I did - guess
it’s another instance of no justice.
There was certainly no shortage of tables to
pour over and boxes to paw through, looking
for the that elusive not-to-be-found-anywhere
-else must-have tool. While I had a list, I
certainly wasn’t limiting myself to it - it was
just a starting point. After two trips around
the tailgate lot and three trips to my truck to
unburden myself of purchases I made and
exercising the height of restraint to still have
some of my budget left, it was time to hit the
inside tables. Glad I did hold off on blowing
the whole budget outside, since there was
plenty to empty the pockets on the inside.
After two trips around the inside, both my
budget and my energy level (got up way too
early) were ready to call it a day - a very enjoyable one and it was still before noon.
Well, let me qualify that I didn’t find/get a
single item from my list, but I still didn't
leave empty handed. While I really can’t say
how many spokeshaves are too many, I’m
sure two more won’t tip me over the limit,
particularly when one was one I had never
seen before and the other was just too pretty
to pass up. Of course, like clamps, you can
never have too many carving tools and while
didn’t get any clamps, I did find two more
carving tools, along with several books, quite
a bit of veneer and a few other items that,
based on price, were worth picking up and
made it a success. Not to mention, again
seeing a few faces that have been missed
since last year. I also had a couple of les(Continued on page 11)
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 11
THE PATINA ANNUAL TOOL SALE
(Continued from page 10)
sons reinforced that I should have learned a
long time ago: If you snooze, you lose, which
applied to Damascus is – if you see and want
it, buy it, because it won’t be there when you
can come back and that’s if you can remember where you saw it. The second lesson was
that needing it is not the only reason to buy
another tool. There are plenty of other very
valid reasons that don’t have to be justified.
I can’t wait until next year have to start saving up again, since I already have a list half
way there. To all of you who missed it this
(CONT.)
year, you want to put it on your calendar for
next and start saving and putting your list
together.
Jay Christian: With the weather, I expected
a big crowd and I thought the turnout was
great, but there seemed to be more younger
people and women browsing for tools than
I’ve noticed in past years. Not sure if
there’s any significance to this observation,
but I just thought it was interesting.
There seemed to be a lot more buying going
on with the tailgaters in the parking lot than
inside with the dealers. I overheard several
dealers grumbling about this with each
other, also, with comments like “well, I
made back my table fee” and “they spent
all their money outside.” I’ve heard this
from dealers in past years, and it would
seem to me to have more of an impact on
the user tools being sold by the dealers
(as opposed to the more rare and collectable stuff), but the competition with the
tailgaters seemed to be a growing concern.
More PATINA Tool Show Photos
Tailgating Outside - a Lot to See and Buy
Planes Galore Outside!
Our Tool Hungry Guild Members
Inside - Another Treasure Trove
John - Selling & Buying Inside &
And a Tip of the Hat from Joel
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
THE PATINA ANNUAL TOOL SALE
Page 12
(CONT.)
And Even MORE PATINA Tool Show Photos
Beautiful Exotic Specialty Hand Planes
Tools and “Stuff”
Beautiful Crossbow and Case
More and More Good User Hand Planes
Did Someone Lose All Their Marbles?
Something for Everyone Outside
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 13
GORDON’S BURL SLAB TABLE
Gordon Swenson:
D
uring the March
Guild meeting, there
were several questions
about the burl slab coffee table I brought for
Show & Tell. Here are
some pictures to illustrate the method used
to attach the top to the legs, as well as
some shots of the construction. The lag
screws pass through enlarged holes in the
corner braces so that the slab has a chance
to expand and contract with changes in
temperature and humidity. The heads of
the screws go through large washers to
keep them from going through the holes,
and they sit in even larger counter bored
holes so they don’t extend below the
frame. I have no idea how much or in what
direction a burl slab expands because the
grain is so crazy. I made the screw holes in
the corner braces extra large out of caution.
New Burl Slab—Some Bark Attached
Working on Bark Removal
Corner Brace Glue-up
High Shot—Table After 1st Coat T&T
Underside Stain and Oil Tests
Routed Feet for Banding
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 14
MARCH 2014 WWG MEETING
Bill Walmsley
W
ell, hopefully this is the
last month with disruption to our meeting plans. The
two previous meetings, we
had the weather and germs working against
us - this month mechanical failure. Jay had
lined up Dave Petit, who was going to speak
about rural Pennsylvania period furniture,
but unfortunately, Dave had a major malfunction with his car on the way down and
could not complete the trip. While many
were looking forward to Dave’s presentation,
he will hopefully be able to reschedule. The
evening worked out just fine.
Announcements:
There were four new first time attendees:
· Bill Rubel hails from North Carolina where
he had been a member of the Triangle
Woodworkers. He makes furniture and is
looking for shop space.
· Bruce Metcaf moved to the area last year
and is looking to start his next project, the
bench featured in the May 2014 (issue
#225) of Wood.
· Mike Kelley is from PA and works small
furniture and panel & trim. He is also
looking for shop space/time.
· Mark Godfrey had a cabinet business,
although he now works for the Nature
Conservancy, but still wants to work with
wood.
· Our treasurer, Myra, announced that the
cutoff for paying your 2014 dues is April
1. Any members not having renewed their
membership by then will be dropped from
the membership roster and lose all the
rights and privileges of Guild membership.
Get your $30. in before it’s too late.
· Since you’re reading this and not what you
wrote, you obviously missed the deadline
for submitting an article for the most recent issue of the Wooden Word. However,
you certainly haven’t completely blown
your chance, as the next deadline will be
here before you know it and Barry will still
need content. So stop what you are doing
and start tickling those keys before the
none-too-soon warmer weather will be
forcing you outdoors. I saw quite a few
members at the Damascus show carrying
assorted items, plus, I’m sure there is all
that new stuff from the holidays, Baltimore tool show, tax refund or whatever
reason there is to acquire another tool.
Please write something up. Even if we
can’t buy for ourselves, we still enjoy the
vicarious experience of your purchase if
you would only share it with us. Don’t
feel left out if you haven’t made any tool
purchases, since we all are just as interested in reading about your latest project,
technique, or anything else that you think
would further our woodworking experience.
fully removing the remaining bark with
screwdriver, dental picks, and a wire brush.
Gordon made the table’s apron out of cherry.
Not being sure how much to allow for movement on the slab top, Gordon drilled elongated holes and ran lag bolts up through the
aprons corner braces. The legs had a slight
reverse taper and Gordon wrapped the feet
with an inlay of blackwood. He pinned only
one of the leg mortises.
· Bill Walmsley announced that he had
gotten word from the National Building
Museum (NBM) that this year’s Big Build
will be held on Saturday, September 20.
The Museum indicated that they are planning some new things but won’t be getting details on what they are until June.
Bill indicated that he was willing to continue to coordinate the Guild’s participation if we wanted to do it. There was
agreement from those in attendance that
the Guild did want to participate. Bill
emphasized that we are going to need
more members helping out this year.
Last year we had a skeleton crew with not
even enough members showing up to
allow for breaks. We need at least a dozen and if the crowd is as big as last year a
few more won’t hurt. Bill will start soliciting for participants but lets make it easy
and contact him now and let him know
you’re on board. Bill can be reached at
(301) 459-5416 or
[email protected].
On Going & Recent Projects
(formally Show & Tell):
Gordon Swenson brought in a Big Leaf Maple burl slab table. He happened to be at
Wayne Dunlap’s as Wayne was unloading
from the Baltimore Wood Show. The slab
which appeared in Wayne Dunlop’s last
newsletter, caught the eye of Gordon’s wife,
who negotiated a deal with Wayne for it and
then passed the project along to Gordon.
He kept the natural edge on the slab, care-
He used Apoxie, Sculpt, to fill in the voids. It
is a two part product that comes in a variety
of colors and is relatively easy to work with.
http://www.avesstudio.com/index.php?
page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage
.tpl&product_id=28&category_id=7&option=
com_virtuemart&Itemid=7&vmcchk=1&Item
id=7.
The finish was four coats of Tried & True
Varnish. He also brought in a couple of
small turned bowels made out of spalted
maple and cherry, which he finished with
Briwax Golden Oak Wax.
Gordon mentioned that he had completed a
dining table for his son living in Maine from
reclaimed oak. He used mortised breadboard ends on the table top. He has been
surprised at how much movement there is in
the top - at times the breadboard end is
flush with top’s sides and other times there
is as much as a ¼” difference.
Harry Bishop brought in a box he had made
for his carving tools. Harry became interested in carving after attending a conference in
Williamsburg. He wants to do architectural
carving. The box is white oak, which he ebonized parts of using a dye he concocted
from steel wool & vinegar. He added a large
(Continued on page 15)
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 15
MARCH 2014 WWG MEETING (CONT.)
(Continued from page 14)
handful of steel wool to a large peanut butter jar which he filled with vinegar and let it
sit. He filtered the mix through cheesecloth
and masked off what he didn’t want to dye.
The dye reacts with the tannin in the oak to
turn it a deep black. This mixture does raise
the grain but does not penetrate very deeply
into the wood, so you need to exercise some
care when re-sanding so as to not sand
through the color. A couple of pre-wets &
sands prior to dying will help to minimize
how much the dye raises the grain. Not
wanting to have a latch in the way, he used
3# rare earth magnets to secure the lid. He
carved the handle from beech.
Mel brought in further evidence that he can
lay claim to being our resident acanthus leaf
carver. He made pattern #37 from Johan
Amarud’s Norwegian ornamental carving
book. The pattern in the book is interesting,
because the carving at the top of the mirror
is Rococo and the bottom Baroque. He ordered the full-size plans, which turned out to
be different from that shown in the book, but
at least the top and bottom are the same
style, both Baroque. The plans have no details - the most serious deficiency being the
depth of the various carved elements, nor
was there a rear view. Mel started with the
frame and figured out how to attach the top
and bottom carved elements. He used dowels for attaching the carving, realizing that
alignment of the dowel holes would only be
practical before starting the carving when
the pieces were still square. The carving is
deep relief and is relieved in the back by
1/4” - 3/8” to make the carvings look lighter/less heavy. Mel following the traditional
approach with this piece, since he is thinking he might enter his frame into a competition held in the Midwest each year and the
judges are quick to subtract points for nontraditional approaches.
Mel also brought in a couple of other pieces
from his early days in carving - one, an Easter Island type figure with an attitude, which
was his first carving. He also had several
pieces from a sculpture class that he had
taken. These were a cat and a female torso
that were first done in Styrofoam and then
an aluminum casting was made from them.
The other was a fiberglass reclining female
form that started as a clay model before
ending up in fiberglass.
the starter pin, which everyone should use if
freehand routing on a table, with one that
also provides a guard shield over the bit and
a vacuum port. It goes for around $30.
Gordon Swenson showed us a modification
that he made to help him in his woodworking
by bringing in experience from one of his
other past times, ice climbing. He had been
using a full size adz to contour seats for
Windsor chairs, but did not feel too comfortable in doing so, as he couldn’t help envisioning the adz slipping and leaving him with
a limp. He got a hand adz from Joel, which
was not as scary to use, and he felt he had a
lot more control, except his hand got tired.
He recalled from his climbing days that a
leash kept his ice pick always at the ready
through the entire climb. Fabricating a leash
for his hand adz increased its comfort and
safety in use.
Safety Presentation
Bob Rodgers, our new Safety Coordinator,
followed up with his input on the topic from
last month, ‘Jigs Contributing to Safe Shop
Operations’ with one that he has found
useful, given that no members came forward with any of theirs. He brought in a
router table attachment made by Pinnacle,
a Woodpeckers Router Table Free Hand Bit
Guard, http://www.woodcraft.com/
resources/video.aspx?id=474 . It replaces
Bob asks that members bring their safety
oriented helps to his attention. Remember
the fingers that could be saved might be
your own.
Feature Presentation – Black &
Decker Crew
While our main speaker couldn’t make it,
Adam Past and Jessie Hill from Black &
Decker/DeWalt/Porter Cable more than
adequately filled the time. They gave a
presentation and fielded questions from the
membership.
(Continued on page 16)
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 16
MARCH 2014 WWG MEETING (CONT.)
(Continued from page 15)
facturers it. The only downside of that
these days with battery operated tools is
that batteries are proprietary and you do
end up with multiple chargers.
· What do they consider their best tools?
Porter Cable built their reputation on
routers and belt sanders. DeWalt is really
strong in their grinders and their 735
benchtop planer, which is heads and
hands above anyone else’s. DeWalt has
also made a point of insuring backwards
compatibility with their tool batteries. A
change in battery technology won’t force
you to buy new tools.
· What about adding a Byrd cutterhead to
Adam Past
Questions asked included:
· Using rebuilt/after market batteries?
Probably the biggest difference is that
often the rebuild/after market batteries
use consumer vs. professional cells in the
battery. The consumer grade do not have
as long a recharge life, i.e. they can’t be
recharged as many times. Another difference is in the power holding ability of the
battery - you won’t get as much work out
of the battery for a charge. It’s best to
stick with the manufacturers’ batteries.
Manufacturers put considerable effort in
designing/engineering their tools as a
complete package and the battery is a
very crucial component of that package.
You will get the maximum from your tool if
you use the battery it was designed for.
DeWalt uses Sanyo cells in their batteries.
· Is there an advantage of sticking with one
brand of tool for their whole product line?
Certainly, from a sales perspective, companies would like that, but in reality, every
manufacturer has a tool or tools that
theirs is the best and others that the competition does better. As consumers/
users, you should pick the tool that best
fills your needs, regardless of who manu-
improve the performance of the 735
planer? While there are a lot of positive
things that can be said for the Byrd cutterheads, there is a downside in replacing
the OEM head with one. The Byrd head is
considerably heavier that the original and
this extra weight does put extra strain on
the motor and its bearings that it was
never designed to handle. Whatever
gains you would get in cutting performance would be offset in shortened motor life. Of course, replacing the head
would immediately void the warranty on
the machine.
· Why isn’t a wider range of grits in abrasives marketed? Abrasives are not their
business - they make the tools and other
companies do abrasives. They get many
of those that they do distribute from
Klingspor. Much of what is available for
abrasives is more dictated by the retailers. Retailers are most interested in
sales, so they carry a grit selection that
sells best - they don’t want 1200 grit
paper sitting on their shelves for months,
so they only offer what sells and DeWalt
responds accordingly.
· What difference has 3D printing made in
the design process? The impact can’t be
overestimated. 3D printing has increased the ease and decreased the time
required to make prototypes which
means lower costs to produce. This increases the design options they can explore. It used to be that they might make
five prototypes for a given step in the
design and now they can do thirty. The
net result is that they are able to produce
tools that perform and feel better, which
results in greater market acceptance and
everybody wins.
· How long does it take to produce a prototype with 3D printing? It depends on the
complexity of the model and the height of
the model, which reflects in print time. It
can be as short as 14 hours to as much a
45. Printing is done in layers, so the more
layers, the longer it takes to print. There
are ways to reduce the time, e.g. cut the
model in half and print the halves separately (in half the time) and glue the
halves together.
· How much use is made of user comments? They take them very seriously, as
evidenced by the amount of time they
have spent with our group and we are only
one of many. In addition, they read blogs,
websites, magazines, take notes at
tradeshows, etc. to gather as much feedback as is available. In the design of every tool, they spend time working with potential users to get their feedback in an
attempt to make the best tool possible
that satisfies as much of the market
needs as possible.
The membership expressed appreciation for
the hospitality that B&D/DeWalt/PC had
shown in the past when they hosted events
at B&D University for us and wondered if
another such activity could be possible.
Adam indicated that he would look into it. It
was also suggested that those in attendance
would be very interested in a presentation
on tool design and production. Adam also
indicated that this was something they
would give some thought to and see if a
future presentation can’t be developed.
Adam emphasized that underlying all of
B&D/DeWalt’s design efforts is their corporate philosophy that it is the customer that
dictates what the products should be. He
and his team put in considerable hours and
miles gathering customer feedback to design
prototypes so that their products do reflect
what the customer wants.
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 17
TWO WOODWORKING SHOPS FROM 1941
Jay Christian:
H
aving a mainly hand tool shop, the
premise just struck me as funny,
since — while I certainly like my machines, including the 1940s drill press
that prompted me to find the DURO
Metal Products Company brochure — I’d be much more
drawn to the supposedly old-fashioned and outdated
workshop than the new shiny 1941 modern one pictured. I don’t know when the idea that all serious tools
needed a cord first started to gain traction, but Stanley
started declining in the late '30’s and early '40’s, so I
guess I wouldn’t be surprised if it was this early.
Here is an extract from a 1941 Duro brochure showing
their “modern” workshop caparison to the old style
workshop:
“DURO MACHINES TYPIFY MODERN WORKSHOP
The Museum of Science and Industry has recently added two interesting and instructive exhibits illustrated at
the right which compare the woodworking shop of over
a century ago with a modern power driven woodworking shop. The comparatively crude tools of the old time
woodshop are in sharp contrast to the individually motored modern shop machines. As Duro has consistently
contributed to the development and improvement of
power woodworking tools, we are particularly gratified
to have the modern woodworking shop in the exhibit
completely equipped with Duro machines.”
A link to view the entire 1941 catalog is: http://
vintagemachinery.org/pubs/270/5728.pdf
VALUABLE AND INTERESTING WEB SITES
From Joel Jacobson:
From Don Williams:
Making a Case for Books
A Good Review of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPL3kJPsVdA
http://
newenglishworkshop.wordpress.com/2014/02/16/tomake-as-perfectly-as-possible-roubo-on-marquetry/
From Steve Tunley:
Japanese Veneer Video (silent but interesting)
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/111262/
shopmade-veneer-by-hand
Turning a Wooden Bowl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUzcPgkJqFc
From Barry Ingram:
How to make $$$ woodcarving
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?161218
-quot-old-money-quot
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 18
CLASSIFIEDS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Tools
Tools
For Sale:
For Sale in Warrenton area:
Jet 15” Planer. Only light hobbyist use.
Open base sitting swivel wheel platform
set up with Wixey Digital Depth Gauge.
Asking $800.
Assorted hardwoods, see photos. This
lumber was left when her husband passed
away. Contact Jan at
[email protected] for additional details.
Contact: Bill Walmsley at:
Tools
Delta 16 ½” Floor Model Drill Press
16 speed w/Manual and separate Mortising
Attachment. Asking $350
(301) 459-5416 (h) (703) 772-5238 (w)
or at [email protected]
For Sale:
Free to a Good Home:
Delta Tenoning Jig. (Model 34-183)
Contact: Stu Crick at
[email protected]
Router Table and Drill Press.
Router Table with Jointech Joinery System
with Clincher Fence machine and smart
fence.
Contact Bob Pezold directly at:
[[email protected] ] if interested in either
of these items
Includes setup book and smart strips and 2
Craftsman 1HP Routers. Asking $300
Send in your ads here for tools, announcements, or other woodworking items.
MARCH 2014
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 19
OLD TOOL AD FROM BACK WHEN
Barry Ingram
F
rom time to time, we’ll try to show
you some of the innovative old tools
or articles from yesteryear, such as this
one. Not quite the SawStop, but a start.
Does anyone else care to contribute some examples?
Send any interesting old tool pictures or ads for the
members to Barry Ingram at:
[email protected]
MARCH 2014
About the WWG
www.washingtonwoodworkersguild.org
WASHINGTON
WOODWORKERS GUILD
13050 Tadmore Ct.
Woodbridge, VA 22193
www.washingtonwoodworkersguild.org
Since its founding in 1980 the Washington Woodworkers' Guild's primary
goals have been the education of its members in all aspects of woodworking and the promotion of interest in woodworking in the Washington metropolitan area. Efforts toward these goals have taken various forms: demonstrations at monthly meetings; technical seminars by nationally known experts; exhibitions of members' work; maintenance of a woodworking videotape library; book and tool purchasing programs; and the publication of a
semi-monthly newsletter - 'The Wooden Word'.
Our Members
The Guild has over 160 members, eighty percent of whom are hobbyists,
with the remainder making a living from the craft. Member skill levels vary
from novice to professional. Member interests cover all types of woodworking: furniture (modern, antique reproduction or restoration); turning; carving; box making; toy and model making; marquetry; gilding; musical instrument making; antique tool collecting; and environmental health and safety.
Meetings
Meetings are normally held on the third Tuesday of the month (except August) at 7:30pm at the Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads in Falls
Church. A typical meeting consists of a business portion to discuss the
status of the club, upcoming events, group book & tool purchases, and
other Guild activities. The business portion of the meeting is then followed
by a 'Special Program' highlighting some new aspect of woodworking for
skill enhancement and education.
WASHINGTON WOODWORKERS GUILD OFFICERS
President
Stuart Sherman
[email protected]
Secretary
Steven Meade
[email protected]
Vice President
Bob Kinsel
[email protected]
Web Masters
Colleen Browning
[email protected]
Ray Bowers
[email protected]
Program Chair and
Communications
Jay Christian
[email protected]
Master Craftsman
Coordinator
Jay Christian
[email protected]
Treasurer
Myra Haley
[email protected]
On-going & Recent
Mel Montemerlo
Projects Coordinator [email protected]
Database
Administrator/
Membership
Ken Harrington
[email protected]
Safety Coordinator
Bob Rogers
Wooden Word
Editor
Barry Ingram
[email protected]
At-Large Director
Stu Crick
[email protected]
DVD/Tape
Librarian
Tim O’Hearn
[email protected]
At-Large Director
Bob Kinsel
[email protected]
Nametag
Coordinator
Richard Tilghman
[email protected]
At-Large Director
Dave Heller
[email protected]
www.washingtonwoodworkersguild.org