skiback46

I think this post is interesting/enlightening. I don't have a drum sander so I may be wrong, but I think throwing the glued up assemblies through a drum sander would create more sanding for you to do after, since all the rails would be sanded across the grain, and you would have to work to get all those scratches out. I spend a lot of time thinking about efficiency since like most hobbyists I have other commitments (job, family, other hobbies). For me the biggest improvements in efficiency have come from rethinking the workflow, and not necessarily a specific tool. In the case of the kitchen helper, it has lots of rails, and cross-grain joinery. Anytime there are spindles, or lots of internal parts like that I try to do the surface prep before the glue up. I also try to address any fit problems during this stage as well. Often a dry fit (with clamps) has saved me from trying to smooth out a corner later risking tear out or driving me mad with sanding. When I built the kitchen helper I dry fit each joint for alignment, tuning the offsets with a plane. Then once I was happy I did an entire mock glue up with clamps. Then I took it apart smoothed each piece (especially the rails and hard to reach parts). I also have started to use less glue. In most cases gluing only one side still gives me a reassuring small bead of squeeze out, but greatly reduced the chore of cleaning the joints. For M&T joints I tend to have better luck with only applying glue in the mortise. Of course I still forget to do all this before every glue up, and instantly regret it when I have to clean up the joints...I keep hoping the torture of joint cleanup and sanding will force me to remember to do it beforehand, maybe some day.

My shop is in a basement that was finished prior to our purchase. The basement has laminate flooring. In terms of durability it is fine, no signs of wear after 2 years in the shop (rolling bases, dropping wood, clamps, glue etc.) The biggest downside to the laminate is that it is very very slick, especially with a little sawdust. I haven't found a solution yet, so I use some rubber/foam mats, but even those slide more than I would like. I found some anti-slip coatings, but haven't tried them yet. Whatever product you choose, think about the finish. This is the coating I found. If anyone has any experience or thoughts on it that would be great. http://www.slipdoctors.com/slippery-resilient-floors-laminate.asp

If it scratched the sole of your plane, my guess is there is still some grit from sanding (which will have a negative effect on whatever sharpening you did). I had that happen on one of my first cutting boards, now my rule is sandpaper only after all the planing is done. As far as tear out; always go from the long grain to the end grain with your strokes(or skew) and not the other way

If you finish like Todd does on edge with a single cut file you do end up with a tiny tiny burr (Don't go back to the faces). It won't be as robust as one that is turned, and can sometimes leave tiny tracks due to the cut of the file, but the tradeoff is in time spent sharpening. I've done it both ways, and I prefer turning a burr, but if I'm in a rush, or working something gnarly that quickly dulls the scraper I'll just use the file.

There have been a couple times when I wanted 1/2" stock, and will buy 5/4 or 6/4 and resaw rather than 4/4 and do a lot of planing. So perhaps your face frames don't have to be 3/4"...maybe you could eek out 2 5/8" thick boards from your 6/4 and double your yield.

Its hard to tell from the pictures. But one quick way to check is to look at the grain direction of the Y. One of the branches its clear that the grain runs diagonally. If the tenon were a true through tenon, the grain would run in a very similar direction on the outside of the leg as it did on the inside. From the pictures its hard to know if the outside pictures are the same as the inside pictures. As far as whether Stickley did or did not use faux tenons; I don't know. The best place to look would likely be in Bob Langs Books. In "Arts and Crafts Furniture Projects" he notes that some imitators would use dowels and then nail on a faux tenon. it does look like there are nails in the tusk. but it also could have been some less than savvy person trying to "tighten" up a loose joint in the winter, or prevent losing a tusk.

From the spec sheets there is no real difference (206 vs 207) in pot life (20-25 vs 22-26 min) or thin film working time (90-110 vs 110-120) With the benefit to 207 being clear and reduced blush and anecdotaly less bubbles

I have recently been looking into epoxy (have some knots to fill and a complicated glue up). I was looking for the strength comparison between 206 and 207. The difference isn't applicable to furniture stresses :http://www.westsystem.com/ss/typical-physical-properties/ Is there any reason (other than cost) to not use 207 for everything? In doing so I found the datasheets. The datasheets specify that 1:3 and 1:5 ratios are by volume, and not by weight (which makes sense since the pumps are a specific volume). The datasheets do contain the ideal weight ratio (for 207 its 3.64) and and acceptable range (3.41-4.16). http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/Product-Data-PDFs/TDS 105_207.pdf I think for my purposes I will probably need more than 1 pump, but I do see uses for smaller amounts. hhh have you tried both weight and volume? Which had better success? Or maybe that was a typo (unfortunately ounces are both weight 16 oz=1 lb and volume 32 oz=1 quart in the US)

I agree. Get the space ready. Figure out a couple projects you want to build, and start with tools that get you there....Acquire tools as your projects/budget allows. While its nice to have an "instant" shop, it's better to use what you've got. This is particularly important if your shop space keeps changing...that small saw you bought cause it fit in the 1 car space will not seem like the best purchase once in the the larger space...and the opposite is also true. Plus not having all the tools upfront means you come up with more creative solutions to problems, that will accelerate your learning and improve the quality of projects (in my opinion).

I have put ARS on top of shellac before, and not had any problems. I found that initially I got the plasticy look when I put it on too thick, or as Terry suggested not wiping off the excess soon enough. While you can't wipe the excess shellac off (dries too fast) it too should be a very thin coat. As far as what/if you put anything under ARS, it depends...do you need to; no. But if you want to age cherry a bit, I have found BLO then in the sun then ARS darkens it more than ARS in the sun. When I have used dyes and gel stain as a glaze I will use shellac in between as a sealer before ARS (for an Arts and Crafts look). On walnut, I tend to agree that it isn't necessary, though depending on the piece garnet shellac can warm walnut more/differently than just strait ARS. I think the best solutions have already been mentioned...try sanding, and thin coats first.

I have neither. But I have thought about upgrading my planer(the even lazier 734), originally was thinking the 20" helical. Seemed like something I would never out grow. I was fully convince that was the right path, till my shop moved. Then I started to think about what I really would need. I don't regularly buy lumber that is wider than 15" (or 8" for that matter). So really the value of the 20" would be in panel glue ups....but then the question is when do I have panel glue ups that are >15" and <20". Add to that most 20" planers are 5 HP drawing 19 A requiring a minimum circuit of 30 A, which means running 10 AWG instead of 12 (which I already have...just swap out the breaker and outlet...yes its a dedicated circuit). And for the price of a 20" I could get a 15" and a supermax 19-38 (which is sounds like you already have...or at least the equivalent). For me, I couldn't figure out what the additional cost would get me in terms of benefits. Obviously this is all hypothetical but those are my thoughts. I guess if you did large glue ups mostly in the rough it could be handy? The main reasons I want to upgrade are noise, and cut depth/speed; increased width would be nice, but after glue ups I think I would be better off with a sander.

I have the Lee Valley dovetail and carcass saws. I think they are great, and at a very good price point. I have used their larger saws a couple times and they were fine as well. They are sharp on arrival, but after sharpening my dovetail saw the performance was outstanding, so a quick pass with a file wouldn't hurt. The other nice thing about the Lee Valley saws, is they have made available patterns for the handles. You could adjust the dimensions to fit your hand, just keep the shaft hole and mating surface consistent: http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=63262 As far as hand size, I think the trick is to try and get some saw in your hands; LV are at Woodcraft, and many times antique stores have saws that may or may not be great purchases but give you an opportunity to feel the handles. I have large but low volume hands, and it seems whatever the pre-1920 Disston size is fits me the best. But the Bad Axe standard size and Lee Valley handles are comfortable enough for a few hours. As far as which saw first, think about what you will be doing with it. rough stock break down, final dimensioning, joinery, dovetails, etc. That should drive your first purchase, from there, any handle that is wood you can adapt or swap to fit your hand.

I would not buy it. It is pretty recent, based on the aluminum medallion and the shape of the handle. I like the Disstons from before 1930ish. The reason I would not buy this saw is the plate is pretty rusty for newer saw and is probably not great quality steel, the handle would not be comfortable (and is not sized for a typical 3 fingered grip), also the hang looks really high to me. It is properly priced though. Almost any saw that buy buy used (CL eBay or other) is going to require a little work...at the very least sharpening, and more than likely a bit of jointing, and cleaning. If you buy one from Patrick Leach or Joshua Clark you'll know the condition, and may require substantially less setup. The only way to get one that is ready to go is to buy from a new manufacturer (Bad Axe, L-N, LV etc.) or from a old saw restorer...whose names currently escape me, I know Mark Harrell of Bad Axe sometimes has some, and Matt Cianci might, and I forgot the rest.

Shannon Rogers did something similar as an add on to his joinery bench. In the video it seems like it worked pretty well, but he ended up giving it away for a reason I don't recall. Since he had a full size bench I don't think he used it a ton. http://www.renaissancewoodworker.com/rww190-the-joinery-bench/ I have often thought about making a small portable bench that I could take with me;something like this or the Milkman's bench that was in Popular Woodworking a while ago...though you need a table for that bench.

I have a couple bookcases and a few other pieces that I only finished with shellac. They are holding up fine (through plenty of use and 2 moves). Is there a reason you are looking for a different topcoat? Shellac has been used for a long time with nothing (save some wax) on top. If you want a different sheen you can sand it a bit with 600 or something, or just apply some wax, and buff to the sheen you want. Additionally while many people report not having issues applying another finish on top of waxed shellac (which is what Zinnser Amber is), there is at least a theory that another finish will not stick well. I usually buy the seal coat or mix my own, so I can't provide any experience to that notion.