Wenzloff & Sons » Tool Use

A Simple Excercise

Mike — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 17:10:47 +0000

Accuracy—or the quest for accuracy—applies to all we do as workers of wood. The first step in accuracy begins with layout of the work at hand.

Bob Lang’s recent blog post asking the question What Makes the Good Woodworkers Good on the PopWood Editors’ blog brought this topic to the forefront of my mind. I forwarded a scan from a book that I make from time to time. Bob in turn posted about it on the blog. Some wood workers may want to get right to the work and not be as careful in laying out this “simple” block of wood. Even should this wood worker execute the work with exacting accuracy but not layout the block correctly, they will have perfectly executed the wrong thing. You can see Bob’s first post on this simple block of wood here. Be sure to watch the PopWood blog for later progress.

I have made a bit of furniture. There have been parts I have made with exacting accuracy. But the part was wrong. It needed shortened or a new part made because I made the right part accurately and wholly incorrect.

For me, the key to making the simple block of wood is mostly an exercise in accurate layout. As far as the simple block of wood goes.

Want to take it further? Make mating parts. For the through tenon, create a 1″ x 1 3/4 ” x 8″, layout a tenon from the through mortise, shoot the end of the tenon piece, mark out the tenon on this stick without any extra length and saw it to size. Does the tenon fit square to the edge of the block? Does it come to the far side and fit truly flush?

Another way to check your accuracy is to make another block. After all, repeatability is one mark of consistent accuracy. Is the second block the same thickness? Saw another rebate on one edge of the new simple block of wood. But measure its dimensions from the first block. Can you invert it against the rebate on the first block to create a ship-lap where both lay flat on the workbench and the shoulders fit on both sides? Is there a gap down the length?

There are several things like this one can do with other pieces of wood to check repeatable accuracy. Try it. It is a simple exercise. Or is it?

Take care, Mike

Installing a folded back

Mike — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:22:36 +0000

I received an email from one of our ShopNotes kit customers concerning how to install our backs. The method another vendor uses generally will not work well as our backs typically hold a bit tighter–and correspondingly are more difficult to install.

When we got in this morning, I photographed one of the boys illustrating how we install a folded brass back.

http://www.wenzloffandsons.com/saws/kits/backsaw/backs/index.html

The link above is to the resultant slide show.

Take care, Mike

Saw Making: Kit Classes

Mike — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:42:10 +0000

Dates have been set for two classes at Port Townsend School of Woodworking (http://www.ptwoodschool.com) for the making of saws from kits.

The kits will have all the metal work done. The attendees will be shaping the handles, assembling their saws, applying finish and learning to sharpen them.

The dates for these two-day classes are:

April 24 / 25
July 10 /11

Certain details are still being worked out–like what kits will be available to select from, what materials for shaping will be provided/available for purchase, a slide show of a build, sharpening, etc.

I look forward to meeting everyone who signs up for the classes.

Take care, Mike

Sawing by Hand

Mike — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:50:13 +0000

Sawing mechanics can be a hurdle to overcome whether one is new to hand sawing or have been sawing for some time. Why? Because proper body mechanics are important to the quality of the resulting cut.

Bob Rozaieski has added an episode to his podcast which addresses body mechanics and overcoming miscuts while using a hand saw.

I highly recommend watching this video. The video, episode #4, can be found here:

http://logancabinetshoppe.weebly.com/podcast.html

Way to go, Bob!

Take care, Mike

A Theory of Fleam Teeth

Mike — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:09:34 +0000

Chris Schwarz of Woodworking Magazine (both on his blog and in the upcoming autumn issue) suggests it was in the late 19th century that fleam (the bevel on the face of a saw’s tooth that changes the profile from efficiently ripping to cleanly cross cutting) was added. Schwarz also makes the point that hand-filed saws inherently have some fleam, and that machine filing brought on the factory-sharpened cross cut saws. Both these last points I agree on.

My theory is from a little different perspective. I believe fleam was present on saws much earlier. In fact, I believe the practice was at least done in the later 17th century, some 200 years earlier. Why? Because the efficacy of cross cutting-shaped teeth was known and prevalent on larger saws intended for cross cutting of timber and beams by the latter 1600s. Saws intended for such usage were manufactured with fleam added to these larger saws by their makers. The inventory records for Port Royale, Jamaica, prove this point. Most likely earlier records exist as well. Even Moxon describes what can only be considered either slopping gullets or fleam angles on the face of a tooth. Which (or both) is unclear to me at this point.

So why are the texts in general silent about saws with brass or steel backs? Here’s where more of my guessing comes in. I believe that saws made for joiners and cabinet makers (a later designation) were simply made in a variety of lengths and a variety of teeth per inch in a rip-toothed pattern. I believe it was up to the individual to shape the teeth for its intended usage.

Why the difference between smaller saws and the larger ones? I do not know for certain, but from a saw maker’s perspective, I believe the difference lies in the effort to alter the teeth on a large saw versus the smaller joiner’s saws. The tooth styles on larger saws were, and still are, vastly different shapes. Not so on joiner’s saws. The basic shape of the teeth on joiner’s saws are identical, save for the amount of rake or the addition of fleam.

The era post-Civil War in America was a period of great expansion. The shear number of carpenters climbed as did furniture makers. By the last quarter of the 1800s, I believe saw makers enjoyed great prosperity, by and large, because of the increase in this activity driven mainly by the building trades. I think saw makers therefore sought a value-added approach: Now you can purchase saws with the teeth already shaped for the task at hand. I also believe this practice began prior to the advent of saw sharpening machinery.

I do not think Schwarz and I really differ much at all on this issue. I believe any apparent difference can be chalked up to the difference between manufacturing practice and shop filing practice in the centuries prior to the last quarter of the 19th century.

Take care, Mike