Vol.11 / Issue 7             Tennessee Valley Woodworkers             Editor, Richard Gulley                 July 1996

What about that June Tennessee Valley Wood-worker Potluck Supper Meeting! That was a quality social gathering. But what else would you expect from quality folks! A great program, good food, and a great evening with good friends new and old.

However, we cannot coast on the memories of meetings past when there are unturned stones of woodworking talent all around us. The July meeting is no exception. Doyle and Tom Cowan have found a guest for the July 16 meeting we will all enjoy.

I submit to you all proof positive that woodworkers never change (but hopefully we all improve).

The meeting for July 1986 should be no great surprise - a cookout featuring Chef Phil, king of the charcoal grill. Susan Church was the featured woodworker with her now world famous cross bar frames.

Ross Roepke.

A serious concern for any woodworker should be fire, especially now, when our workshops are near or in our homes. Keep in mind that fire requires three things: fuel, oxygen, and heat. The best method of fire prevention is removal of fire sources, difficult in a shop filled with wood, shavings, sawdust, fine dust and flammable liquids. In general the finer the particles and the more volatile the flammable liquids the greater the hazard. For example, dust may accumulate in switches and light fixtures where sparks can occur. Keep volatile liquids in tight cabinets or outside the shop. Dispose of oily rags because they have been known to spontaneously ignite.

A recent letter in Fine Woodworking infers that the metallic dryers in oil finishes act as catalysts that can bring rags to ignition temperature in a short time; in a test, only 45 minutes.

Oxygen is all around us so is hard to keep away. So we are left with only "heat" as a means of fire prevention. Obvious heat sources are heaters, frayed cords, grinder sparks and torches. Heat sources are usually controllable but easily overlooked. Keep the fuel and heat sources separated and your shop will be safe. But just in case, keep a ABC fire extinguisher handy in your shop.

Thanks Ross for this timely reminder.

Tom Gillard Jr.

If you have never visited the Great Northwest, time is running out. Many parts of OUR National Forests are being logged. There are areas, however, that are a sanctuary for some of these magnificent giants. Olympic National Park is one of these places. We visited there this past June. This park is located on north western Washington State. The western side of the mountains extract enough water from the air to be considered a rain forest. The foliage is lush and the growing conditions just right for the Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, and Western Cedar to grow to amazing sizes. Most of these trees are between 10 and 12 feet in diameter and some 400 years old. This park boosts the oldest spruce and cedar trees in the world, at over 1000 years old. The area is very accessible and tourist friendly.

For sheer contrast, go to Mount St. Helen’s. There Mother Nature had a major environ-mental event. What was once dense forest was turned into a moon scene in a matter of seconds. The surface of the moon is well maintained compared to this scene. There are some hardy species that are trying to gain a foothold again, but mostly small bushes and some flowers.

Another interesting place is in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Here we visited a subalpine forest, which is in the 7000 foot above sea level. The forest in this elevation range is stunted by the severe weather conditions. The trees here are around 8 to 14 inches in diameter, 12 to 15 feet tall, and 200 to 300 years old. They also have a condition known as, flagging, where all the branches grow on one side of the tree. The side away from the prevailing wind. The stunted growth is due to the poor rocky, glacial material, soil and the harsh climate they are exposed to. They only have a growing season of between 60 and 90 days. There is an example of a subalpine spruce tree in the Banff museum. The piece is overall 13 inches, the center of the rings being 4 inches from one side and 9 inches from the other. The age of the tree was 560 years old. This tree started its life before Columbus was even born. Remarkable. In this area, also, the small trees that are 12 to 16 inches tall and about 1 inch in diameter are around 50 to 75 years old. They look like bonsai trees.

Alaska... what can I say about this wonderful land. Denali National Park is about the size of Massachusetts. This is a very large state. But there are only about 600,000 people in the state. The areas we saw were being protected with limited access and low impact travel. It is a very rural land though. Outside the major cities, Anchorage being the largest one, most of the roads are gravel.

There are many more wonderful sights in these places other than just the trees. The mountains and animals are wonderful too. Word and pictures don’t do any of them justice. If you get the chance to visit this part of the country, do it! You won’t regret it!

Thanks Tom for the great article.

I haven’t been doing a lot of prospecting on the ol’ WEB during the last month. We have a wedding in the works for my oldest daughter Penny and I’ve been putting in a lot of time on the preparations. However, I do have a few things so here goes!

Many finishing products are chemically incompatible with each other, and will not bond. Most products will say on the container what they will stick over, and what they will stick under.

Grain fillers go on first.

Natural shellac (any grade) will form a sealing barrier that bonds to most finishes. If you want to use one thing, then something else, it is generally a good idea to use a coat of shellac between. Other things will work sometimes, but shellac almost always. Natural shellac means buy the flakes and mix with denatured alcohol, don't buy the stuff in the hardware store. The premixed stuff sometimes has additives that negate the bonding capabilities.

Wax goes over anything, under nothing.

When using different types of finishes on the same piece, each layer must be fully cured before applying the shellac and the next layer. Fully cured may mean days, or even weeks depending on what you're using.

Products that are chemically incompatible can be made to adhere physically by allowing the undercoat to cure thoroughly, then roughing it up with abrasive.

Dave Geyer

http://www.mv.com/ipusers/geyer

Over the years, I've done some small refinishing projects and for the last couple of years, I've been facing the same uncertainty with my built projects.

I don't have a spray system and I have to do my finishing in the same room I do my building in so I end up with brush marks and dust problems with every technique I've tried (except oil, which isn't as durable as I'd like).

I've tried all kinds of finishes and managed to screw all of them up except for one. For the last year I've been using polymerized tung oil varnish finishes and I've found them to be absolutely impossible to screw up, very durable, and not bad looking at all. I put it on a kitchen cabinet where it gets hit with water, booze, cooking oil, and heavy pots and pans. No problem. It comes in two sheens, medium and high. I've put it on with cloth and foam brushes; both work fine. I've tried it on ash, red oak and walnut. Looks good.

The only drawbacks to it are: the only place I know to get it is Woodworkers Supply and it tends to polymerize in the can assuring a short shelf life once it's opened.

So, if you're looking for a reliable finish for general purpose projects, give it a try.

jarnold@swcp.com (Jim Arnold)

In this group (rec.woodworking) there seems to be a minor division between hand tool users (neanderthals), and machine tool users (normites). I find this a little weird, as I am sure that most use both. But, it is very possible to fabricate a wooden product using only hand tools, while practically impossible using only machines. I mean, after all, a pencil, ruler, tape measure, square, etc. are indeed hand tools.

The first and foremost hand tools are the ones which are attached, that is our hands, eyes, and nose. Nose, what does that have to do with woodworking? It is pretty fundamental in identifying many types of wood, and finishes. My philosophy on teaching woodworking is to teach the use of hand tools first. Not because our forefathers did it that way, but because it requires the learning of the (IMO), most fundamental parts of good woodworking. These are: eye hand coordination, tactile senses, and patience. Also equally as important for those that want to

use primarily machines, is the knowledge of what the machine is replacing and the achievable results expected. That is, knowing what the hand tool can produce should lead to, at minimum, equal results.

Hand tools are divided into two basic categories, measuring and marking, and cutting. Finishing could be considered another category, with tools consisting of brushes and rags.

To do woodworking one needs to be able to measure and to put a mark at the measurement, and to put a mark to guide the eyes as to where the hands should cut. Tape measures, rulers, folding and straight are the mainstays of measuring but they are not always

as accurate as should be. When I buy a new tape I take an accurate steel ruler with me. I test the tape in both the pulling and pushing modes. It is very important that a tape measure reads

the same in both modes. By far the steel rules are the most accurate and everybody should have one of at least 6". I use a steel ruler for most critical measurements, such as setting a marking gauge. A good steel square also has square ends which can be used as a mini_square, especially when you need a perpendicular mark from a straight line other than an edge.

While rulers are the tool to use for marking out a piece, a story stick is of benefit when having to mark several identical pieces. It is simply a piece of wood of appropriate length and shape onto which you put all the necessary marks. By placing this onto each piece you can accurately transfer the marks. Human error comes more into play during the measuring process than any other. The story stick greatly reduces the possibility for error.

A square square is absolutely important but not always that easy to find. To check for square, place the square against a straight piece of material which is at least twice as long as the heel and at least as wide as the blade, plywood, particle board etc. Draw a line with a sharp pencil or knife, reverse the square on the same edge and bring it to the line, if is the same it is square, if not it isn't. It is good to have more than one size square. Of course everything isn't made square. A handy tool called a t_bevel is of great value for laying out lines at different angles. It is like a square except the blade is loose and can be set to an angle and then locked in place. Of course for angles that are not square one needs a way of finding this. Those into geometry can find most any angle by using drawing tools but I prefer to use a protractor.

The two most common tools for marking are a pencil or knife. They both have their place. A pencil will leave a very visible mark or line that can be easily removed. I prefer to use a mechanical pencil .05 mm. This type pencil never needs sharpening to produce a fine line. A fine line is needed to get accurate results. A knife will produce the finest line but is more difficult to

remove. A cut line is invaluable as an aid to guide cutting tools such as chisels, and fine saws. There are special tools called marking knifes which excel at cutting a line against a straight

edge. They are flat on one side and beveled on the other, the flat side is held against the straight edge and the bevel acting as a wedge helps keep the tool tight to the straightedge. Care must be taken when marking, that the marker doesn't follow the grain as it tends to do.

A marking gauge is a device which holds the marking tool on an adjustable rod or stick, which goes through a block which is used as a fence. It is a great tool for marking lines parallel to an edge. There are many varieties of this tool, some with more than one marker, called a mortise gauge, for quickly laying out mortise and tenons. These tools are easy to make and are a good beginning project.

Cutting tools are of three general types, chisels, knives, and abrasives. Abrasives? Ha, I can hear the `neandertypes' shouting. But, yes abrasives are both hand tools and cutting tools. However the cutting tool used most is the chisel. Besides the chisel which we call a chisel, a saw and a plane are both chisels. Knives are used most for carving and marking, yet a chisel is actually a type of knife. Confusing? yes. So woodworkers decided to name each type of knife separately. While a plane is just a device for hold a chisel to facilitate removing a pre_determined amount of wood consistently, it's cutting tool is called a blade.

Saws are the backbone of the woodworker. With a saw one can transform a tree into lumber and lumber into specifically sized pieces for a project. The saw is just a whole lot of chisels on a blade. There are many types of saws and each perform two basic functions, ripping or crosscutting. Some are very coarse and some very fine. Some have backs to help keep the blade straight. One should have a crosscut, a rip and a backsaw, at the minimum. The saw is perhaps the hardest tool to master, it sometimes seems to have a mind of it's own and meanders all over the board. And worse, a fine toothed saw which goes astray doesn't want to come back. First it is very important that the saw be sharp and the set is equal on each side. You should be able to look down the edge and see a perfect little valley between the teeth. If the set is off the control is more difficult.

Stance is very important in sawing, try to keep your body perpendicular to the floor and the cutting line either 90 or 180 degrees, depending on the operation. If you want a square cut you should be square with the board. Feel is very valuable here, when you feel the slightest bind you can assume that you are going off. The object is to make smooth even strokes without any bind. Take slow steady full strokes, fast short strokes only wear you out and produce less than satisfactory results.

If you have never tried a Japanese style saw, you should at least give one a try. IMO for fine work they are unbeatable. I prefer western style saws for cross cutting and ripping boards but for making joints and sawing small piece of wood such as inlay, I find the Japanese style superior.

With a chisel and saw you can make practically anything. Chisels are essential in joint making and fitting. There are two common types, cabinet and mortising. Cabinet chisels are fairly thin and have beveled edges. They are the most useful all around type. Mortising chisels are thick with square sides and are best for chopping mortises. With both it is essential to flatten the backs. I prefer to hollow grind cabinet chisels and flat grind mortisers. I feel that a hollow grind gives a finer cut and curls the wood better. While a flat grind is tougher and with a micro_bevel added it turns the wood well enough.

I would say that more injuries have been caused by a chisel than any other tool. And most of these injuries are stabbing a hand that is in front of the chisel. Somebody named `they' says that a dull tool is more dangerous than a sharp one. I assume the theory is that you push harder to use a dull tool thus losing some control. However, I doubt if `they' ever had a real sharp chisel

in their use. A properly sharpened chisel will cut anything it touches even slightly. And the most important aspect of a chisel is that it be properly sharpened. Learning control is very essential in the proper use of a chisel. Never put your hand, leg or any other body part in front of the blade until you have developed proper control. And then only when necessary.

Laying a chisel on it's back will allow you to make thin paring cuts, but it will dig in easier. With the bevel side down you can take more aggressive cuts and control of digging is easier, while general control is lessened. Using blocks of wood cut to the proper angle as a guide will be of great assistance in getting near perfect cuts. For example; When I cut the space between the tails and pins of dovetails, I often use a square edge board as a guide. After sawing the angle cuts, I clamp one across the line which marks the bottom of the cuts, and then rest my chisel against it while using a mallet to cut the waste. This assures both a square and straight bottom.

The most talked about and enjoyable hand tool is probably the plane. Patrick Leach has written all anyone would ever want to know about them. I only have a couple of comments. I like my planes to have a flat sole and I prefer a hollow grind to a flat grind.

There are many many other hand tools but these are the essential. And I feel that once these have been mastered, one will have developed the control and patience to make good sound judgements as to what types of tools they prefer. Remember that no cutting tool can be too sharp or too smooth.

Gary Straub

gstraub@mail.coin.missouri.edu

Columbia, MO

Bob Reese wants to buy the following tools:

1. A saw filing vise (handsaws)

2. A backsaw (preferably Disston w/ brass back). Give Bob a call and let him know if you’ve got anything like this.

 We’re almost at the place I watch for while putting together this newsletter - the end of page five. I hope you’re enjoying the letter and I want to say thanks for the articles several of you have sent me. It definitely makes Splinters more interesting and the editor’s job easier. I also appreciate the kind words many of you have expressed regarding Splinters. May our club last at least this long.  Till Pigs Fly!

See you all Tuesday, July 16th and as always --

Watch out for SPLINTERS!