Two Toolboxes for Two

This past couple of weeks I have been working on a pair of toolboxes for two very important people. The first was for Clay Raterman. Clay was born in March 11th, 2008 to Ben and Alaya Raterman. He was born on the same day as Aimee. As a Hanna family tradition for the birth of a son the toolbox came equipped with a ball-pein hammer. The second toolbox was for Aimee, my wife, as a bike mechanic toolbox. Both toolboxes were based off of the first toolbox that I built over 10 years ago. Clay's box was constructed with Cherry and Mahogany and an accent of Ebony in the handle. Aimee's box was constructed with Mahogany and Poplar and an accent of Holly in the handle.

Just Scrapin' Buy

During a visit to the huge metropolis of Reno, Nevada I made a familiar stop at the local Woodcraft. Once in the store I was met with a sign informing patrons that the store was closing! This was not good news as I have shopped at this Woodcraft for 3 years now. That thought quickly left as I read on, 30% off everything in the store. Needless to say I picked up a tool that I made a spot for in my tool tote 2 years ago but thought I would never bring myself to actually buy one, a Lie Nielsen #212 Scraping Plane. I just tuned it up last night and am really happy with its performance. Finally a way to deal with unruly grain!

Wax It With The Nugget

I did not know what to say when my younger brother asked me to create a shoe shining box for him. I was even more in shock when he told me how big he wanted it, 14"X16"! When I hit the drawing board designing the box I decided that a frame and panel was the only option for the top. The entire piece was constructed of solid wood and designed to endure lifetimes of use. The box was constructed with Black Cherry and Yellow Poplar. I chose to challenge myself and try hounds-tooth through dovetails for the carcass construction and they turned out spot on. The fish shaped structure on top is a foot prop. I know that my brother will be able to fit everything that he will ever need for shoe shining (and maybe even the shoes themselves) for the rest of his life. By the way a nugget is a ball of wax for shoe polishing.

Herwiggy Up In Smoke

The Herwiggy Nation can now smoke in style. Mark Lobsinger commissioned this custom humidor with the Herwiggy logo front and center. The humidor is 9" X 12" X 5" and will hold 25-30 cigars for premium ageing. The entire piece was constructed of solid wood and was designed to endure lifetimes of use. The main box or carcass is Black Cherry. The Bird’s Eye Maple handle is mortised into the lid. The carcass was constructed with miters reinforced with keys and pinned at the corners. The keys are Bird’s Eye Maple and the pins are cherry. Holly inlay was set into the background of the lid. The Spanish Cedar interiors are intentionally left unfinished. The aroma of the cedar adds to the taste of the cigars as they age. The interior sidepieces were not glued in place and lock in when the humidor is seasoned. The exterior was finished with a Watco Danish Oil (Natural Color). The entire piece has been top coated with paste wax. This was a deviation away from my typical dovetailed carcasses using a birdhouse jig to shoot the long miters for the corners. The humidor also has a significant amount of hardware that is associated; humidifier, hygrometer, lid support, and the normal hinges. I guess I cannot speak to how well the humidor works till I sample from its storage.

The New Traveling Bench

These are some pics from the new bench that I just completed. A description of the bench with some detail shots to follow.

The vise is perfect for dovetailing!

Vise was fabricated from a vener vise screw and a blackpipe tee.

I bolted the bench to my table.

The benchdogs are going to make woodworking a lot easier.

The new shop all set up after 7 months off.

But Do You Have a 275lb Anvil?

If you have done any woodworking with hand tools you know that sharp edge tools are central. Plane Irons, Chisels, Marking knives, Panel Saws and the list goes on. Just last week I wanted to add to my tool collection with a tool that is no longer made, a Striking Knife. Since these ancient tools are no longer made and used ones are hard to find I turned to my local blacksmith. Lucky enough for me my local smithy is my brother, Nick. I commissioned him to forge a striking knife out of an old flathead screwdriver. The shape and feel turned out great and we hardened the steal in oil. This striking knife will be used for marking out lines for crosscutting with a panel saw. I also have just put into use on my new workbench a holdfast that was also forged out by Nick. The holdfast is a great way to hold your work down to the bench. One whack with the hammer and it is fixed. One more whack to the back and it releases. Next time you want a tool that is not manufactured any more look up your local smithy.

The knife blank in the coals. (In the middle of the coals)

The finished product.




Holdfast in use.

Thanks to the best blacksmith that I know!!!

Old Friends

Today I retired two good woodworking friends, my apron and my Lie Nielsen cap. The Apron will live its new life in WV as a backup apron as I could not throw away this woodworking icon. Aimee hand made this apron for me back when I was in high school. It has been with me for every woodworking project since and has served me well. Its replacement is a very nice and light Lee Valley MK-II apron. I will give a review of this apron once I put it through some projects. Some aspects of the original apron I would change would be a flap over the pockets at the bottom. Because the pockets are open they catch heaps of dust and wood chips. The apron is also doubled up material in its thickness that makes it durable but heavy, light is better. I also had to modify the original apron with cross back suspenders to take the weight off of my neck strap. As a side note these “ruler” suspenders were my grandfather L.C.’s favorite pair.

I have also replaced my original Lie Nielsen cap with a new one. (Same color for all that were worried!) This was kindly given to me as a gift. Maybe someone was trying to tell me something about the old hat, sweat rings and all. Well I hope to be wearing both of these items in the next months as I set up shop again, only this time with a new view.

–Cheers