The dresser rebuild is finally done. The finish work always feels like it takes forever but the outcome is normally worth the trouble. In this case almost anything would have looked better than what I started with.

I opted for Red Mahogany Danish oil for the stain and achieved the color I was looking for with one good coat and a light touch-up coat. A few days after the first coat went on it was time to start with the poly. I applied three coats of clear gloss poly to soften the color up a little and pop the grain. It produced a nice, soft shine and a good protective coat the piece never had in its painted days.

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This old dresser has been handed down through two generations of my family before I had it. It’s close to 50 years old and has been reworked more than once. It has no particular value save its clothes-holding properties. It has been in my bedroom for close to 30 years and it’s time for a change – preferably to something a little less Sgt. Pepper. It was time to overhaul this piece again.

As you can see this dresser has seen its share of beatings — admittedly some of them were at my hands — and the hardware has been replaced at least three times. The last time was my fault; when my mom asked what I wanted for new knobs, I answered brass because it was shiny (I was ten) and she dutifully stuck sixteen brass knobs on it to create what you see here. (more…)

The folks at Lindow-White make a Rose Engine based on the Victorian-era model that allows you to apply the Rose Engine techniques of ornamental turning to wood and metal work. The Rose Engine is a type of lathe with a headstock that can rock side to side; that action is controlled by circular cams (called rosettes) that bear against a rubber piece. As the spindle revolves (the spindle is powered by a handwheel, so the rotation speed is slow; the tool is usually either a powered spindle or a drag cutter so the power of an electric motor isn’t needed as one a woodturning lathe) the headstock moves side to side against the pattern of the cams. A tool is held in a cross slide and brought against the workpiece.

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Workholding in the Lathe by Tubal Cain (The nom de plume of the late Tom D. Walshaw) published now by Special Interest Model Books is a good small book dealing with an important subject for those of use with a lathe in the shop. The book is aimed at the model engineer and home shop machinist with a smaller lathe.

The book covers work between centers, faceplate work, general chuck work, the self centering and independent jaw chucks, “unusual chucks,” and collets, and has two other chapters on steady rests and lathe alignment.

What makes this book so useful is that it shows examples of all sorts of workpieces being chucked. Often you are faced with a puzzle when working on (and especially reworking) a part in the lathe. This book shows dozens of setups on odd workpieces as well as going into the construction and forces in various chucks and chucking methods. The books is somewhat dated but for most work, that isn’t going to matter in the least. The section on “lantern” type chucks is great for those that need to rework screws. I’m going to build one for myself soon!

The book is available on Amazon and from tons of other resellers. I paid $3.95 for my used copy a few years ago and it seems you can get copies used online for around $7-$15.

Via Amazon

Sean previously covered the Veritas twin screw vise with a chain drive here at TM. Evidently Lie-Nielsen thought it was such a good idea they produced their own chain drive vise. The concept behind both vises is simple: make sure the large jaw closes parallel by turning both screws the same amount.

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A day spent sanding is a day spent in hell. Unfortunately I like my projects to come out looking good. Over the last few years we’ve spent hours upon hours “in the grit.” Gator products are normally what get stuck to the bottom of the sander or wrapped around a block. One of Gator’s newest creations is the Ultra Power paper with Black Zirconium.

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Reader Jeff Immer always makes me feel lazy. I have two dozen half-finished projects laying about and he’s busting out ceiling art. This Air-Cav insignia is the bomb and a half for the unit’s new hang out — also built buy Mr. Immer.

You can keep pace with some guys. But some guys make your other half smack your arm and ask why the new dresser drawer set you started back in the summer isn’t done yet. Jeff is the latter. And you’ve just got to love the fact that he enjoys his work so much that keeping the unit outta the rain isn’t enough. It’s gotta be better.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

The Noden Adjust-A-Bench uses a pair of 26.25″ tall nesting frames that can ratchet up, using foot pedals, another 16.5″ via 12 locking stops (1.5″ increments) to provide the legs for a bench that can easily change height.

A basic kit (17″ W leg sets, 2 foot pedals, hardware package, and assembly instructions) costs $430 plus $60 shipping and handling. You provide the bench top (18″ min. recommended width) and the rails. Available accessories include different width castor packages (17″, 22″, 28″, and 40″; $160 plus $30 S & H), rail brackets, standard rails, and threaded rod. Complete benches (leg sets, bench rails, threaded rod, and solid hard maple butcher block top) are also available starting at $800 (60″ × 30″ × 1 3/4″ top, or 72″ × 24″ × 1 3/4″ top). The kit is designed and manufactured in the US.

I like the idea of an adjustable-height bench for many reasons, including that I would be less likely to tweak my back when the work surface is at a reasonable level. Have any Toolmongers used this bench? What’s your opinion?

Adjust-A-Bench [Manufacturer's Site]
Adjust-A-Bench Leg Set Via Amazon [What’s This?]

The Art of Japanese Joinery by Kiyosi Seike is one of those books that shows how far one can take wood joinery as an art, not merely as a functional process. The book starts with the history and philosophy of Japanese architecture as it relates to joinery, then (at least in my edition) there are 57 pages of pictures of wood joints, 9 of which are examples as found in Japanese buildings. The remainder are simple pictures of joints between two pieces of wood. The joints range from the simple scarf joint to the insanely complex joint such as the “Mechigai-koshikake-kama-tsugi” - lapped goose-neck mortise and tenon joint with stub tenons and “Kanawa-tsugi,” mortised rabbited oblique scarf joint. Some of the joints are truly puzzle-like in construction.

The text continues with a  chapter on the functions of Japanese joinery, then a chapter on “Tsugite,” splicing joints and finally “Shiguchi,” connecting joints, both of which have drawings showing the construction of the joints with hidden lines for further clarification and obfuscation.

All in all it’s a great read for those seeking to complicate their woodworking and push the boundaries of the craft! It’s available on Amazon for a reasonable $18.21 and around $5.00 on the Internet generally.

Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

We’ve covered miter sliders before, but here’s a different take on the problem from Micro Jig. Rather than use set screws or “adjusting disks” to fit into a miter slot without slop, their ZeroPlay guide bar uses two stacked half-bars that expand and contract along the entire length of the bar so it’ll work in any 3/4″ wide by 3/8″ deep miter slot — even Shopsmith and General miter slots.

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Noted on Fine Woodworking’s web site, this set of three DVDs by Canadian woodworker Hendrik Varju has a total of almost six hours of videos. The videos cover a host of things about wood and its use, including wood’s basic structure, different cuts of lumber, wood movement and a formula for it, orienting growth rings, cross-grain construction, breadboard ends, and examples of wood and furniture pieces. The videos’ table of contents can be seen by using the pdf link below. Price for the set is $80 CDN plus shipping, handling, and applicable taxes (that would be $76+ using 10/21/09 conversion rates).

Wood Science & Design [Manufacturer's Site]
Wood Science & Design Table of Contents [PDF]

From Fine Woodworking, “the New Yankee Workshop is ending after 21 years on PBS.” But don’t throw out all your plaid shirts yet because Master Carpenter Norm Abram will continue working on This Old House.

“We’ve had a great run, built challenging projects, met wonderful woodworkers and received loyal support from millions of viewers,” Abram said in a statement.

The New Yankee Workshop is a co-production of Morash Associates, Inc. and WGBH Boston. Russell Morash — whose backyard is the secret location of the workshop — is the creator, executive producer, and director of the series. He is also credited with introducing the “how-to” programming concept to television through other celebrated WGBH produced series as This Old House, The Victory Garden, and Julia Child’s The French Chef.

New Yankee Workshop Series Ends [Fine Woodworking]
Norm Abram Closes “Yankee Workshop” [Hartford Courant]

You can use bar clamps, parallel clamps, or a vertical clamping system like Hawk’s to glue up a flat panel from several small pieces, but you have to watch out for the panel warping or cupping. The Plano glue press ensures flat panels by exerting force on both the edges and the top and bottom of the panel.

Advanced Machinery claims that by using their system you don’t need other alignment methods like dowels or biscuits, and the panels come out flat so there’s no additional planing or sanding required to get a flat surface. The clamps mount vertically on a 39″ rail to save space, which also supposedly reduces drying time. You can make panels up to 5″ thick and can expand the system to make almost any length of panel, but they recommend one clamp at least every 12″.

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You can chisel out mortise and tenon joints in timbers by hand, program a CNC milling machine for the task, or you can use LignaTool’s router system. Their system lets you create dovetail mortise and tenons for connecting timber without fasteners.

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If you ask me, the worst part of a project isn’t the sanding or the finishing — it’s getting the dust off the project so it doesn’t ruin the finish. Forget about tack cloths, brushes, or compressed air; the Baker Model M4i Board DeDuster can remove the dust from 700 feet of boards per minute. At that rate, I probably only need to run it for a few minutes every year!

Typically used after resawing applications, the machine measures 108″ long by 36″ wide and adjusts from 38″ to 48″ in height. Independently powered by 2HP motors, the three nylon brushes remove dust from all four sides of each board the conveyor belt brings. A 6″ dust port optimally moving 1300CFM of air removes the dust, and you’ll also need 220V or 440V three-phase power in your shop to run the machine.

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This books tracks the 11-month construction of one Steinway Concert Grand, K0862, from the cutting of lumber in British Columbia to the final tuning and finishing. I found it fascinating to follow all the handwork and craftsmanship Steinway still uses in the various rooms of its old factory in New York. It takes approximately 12,000 parts and up to 450 people to assemble a concert grand.

The paperback version of the book is $11; a Steinway Concert Grand will set you back a bit more (~ $100,000 new, and $50,000 to $200,000 or more for a used model).

Via Amazon [What’s This?]

From Flickr via Charles & Hudson comes this beautiful staircase part of the restoration of a San Francisco Victorian home. The homeowners began by removing a wall that had been put up to separate the upstairs and the downstairs when the house was split into two units several years ago. They then duplicated an upstairs banister that was original to the house, and, after several long days of work, completed the staircase shown above.

The Flickr link has additional pictures and details.