The Traveling Sawbench

While spending time with my family in the wild and wonderful West Virginia I tackled a couple of projects I have been putting off for a while now. The first was much needed upgrade to my “sawbench”. The original sawbench that I created was made from plywood and 2x4’s butt jointed and crudely screwed together. This original sawbench was created to be tossed at the end of a season before we had to move. Needless to say the creaking and wobbling bench was in need of a replacement.
This project was a reunion with a Delta Contractors Table Saw I bought 6 years ago and has sat in WV. The new sawbench was created out of scrap white oak and cherry that was also being stored with the table saw. I would not choose to make a sawbench out of such nice timber but it was at hand and free. Seeing as this sawbench will spend most of its life in the living areas of my house, good looks are not all that bad. Because of the endless moving in my future I made this bench small. Only 18” long! I also work on very small components because of the size of my portable workbench. (Are you starting to see pattern?) Due to the size of components I work with I decided to create one side of this bench with vertical legs so that I could rip without hitting the legs. The legs are much too close to rip in between. This design does make the bench tippy if you are right on the edge of the vertical legs side. By changing the way I “hold” the timber seems to cancel out any tipping and creates a solid support. As I use the bench more I will let you know what I think of the design. I created some holes in the stretcher to house carpenters pencils, a striking knife, and my holdfast.
The second addition to the lineup is a new striking knife. The faithful followers will note that my younger brother Nick “The Blacksmith” created a striking knife at my request about a year ago, but the knife’s metal was funky and would not hold an edge. This time around we started with a nice piece of O-1 tool steal. The result was perfect; a knife that holds an edge to all kinds of abuse and is easy to sharpen. I will update on the striking knife as it gets used on upcoming work. I also took the chance to set up and use my red oak workbench that is about mid way through completion. I screwed on a cleat and used the slab to work on. No dogs or vices just gravity.
Now it is time to get to Grand Teton, hangout with my wife, wax some skis, and set up the shop for another awesome winter season.

A Table for Two

This summer I had the opportunity to marry to good friends. To celebrate their commitment to each other I created this shaker nightstand. The following is the description given to the newlyweds.
"This nightstand was based on an old Shaker classic. Clean lines, pleasing proportions, tapered legs, a chamfered top and a single drawer are all characteristic of the timeless Shaker nightstand. The entire piece was constructed of solid wood and was designed to endure lifetimes of use. The black cherry table frame was constructed with mortise and tenon joinery and affixed with pins created from the same cherry stock.
Inlay was set into the background of the top as an outline to highlight the size of the top. The two circles that overlap in the center of the top represent the two of you becoming one. The colored strips of inlay on the sides of the top spell Mo on the left and Jon on the right in Morris code. The black inlay is ebony and the white is American holly.
The drawer was constructed with English details such as thin drawer sides, half blind dovetails at the front and full dovetails at the rear, and drawer slips to increase the wear life of the drawer. The front of the drawer is curly maple with a hand-forged knob. The drawer sides are cherry with a poplar bottom. I personally put a lot of details into this drawer in hopes that it will always house something that will benefit your marriage, like a book you read together or a marriage journal.
Hidden inside this piece are three pennies one from each of your birth years, 1972 and 1980, and one from your year of marriage, 2010."

Out of the Woods

Well I am a week away from finishing a season up at North Cascades National Park. If you know anything about North Cascades you might know it is a Wilderness Park. Set aside to protect what was not there, a lot of us! Being a Wilderness Park internet access is slim. None the less I don't need internet to woodwork and the shavings have been flying all summer. What else can I do on a rainy weekend day? (Trust me there were plenty!) I just completed a jewelry box for commission and it will be mailed to a friend in my winter migration spot in Moose, WY. Take a look. -Clay

In the Beginning

Dad, Me, and Nick

84 Lumber all the way.

My first "workbench"

More Irons in the Fire

Doing the majority of my work with a #7 bench plane, I find it very helpful to have multiple irons handy to just swap out if one starts to feel dull or slow. The late Allen Peters inspired this practice of having multiple irons at your disposal. Allen, know for only using a #7 for all his work, had four irons always sharpened and ready to use. I also use four irons but they each have a special purpose. I have two irons that are cambered and set up for my everyday joiner needs. A perfectly straight iron is set up with its own chip breaker for quick exchange when I need to shoot or match plane long edges. I can shoot just fine with one of cambered blades but it saves edge life to have a dedicated straight iron for shooting. I can also save the edge life of the straight iron by simply using the plane on its opposite edge on the left side of the shooting board exposing a new section of the iron to the work. The last iron I have in the arsenal is a cambered iron with a 15 degree back-bevel for dense and difficult exotic timbers. I began my hand tool career with a Stanley #8 bench plane that was owned by my great father in law. I loved the heft and size of that tool, but when I decided to upgrade my joiner I went with a #7 because of its versatility. I think the #7 is more versatile because the iron width is 2-3/8” matching its smaller brothers the #4-1/2, #5-1/2, & #6. I owned the #4-1/2 prior to purchasing the #7. With the identical iron width I can exchange my straight and back-bevel irons into my #4-1/2 making my limited shop (space and tools) more versatile. I find having multiple irons allows me to continue working with sharp irons without having to stop to sharpen. Concentrating sharpening sessions and sharpening multiple irons at once seems more efficient and allows me to benefit from the repetition. If you own a hand plane you might consider adding some extra irons to your repertoire.

One Last Project

With only about a week left in Grand Teton National Park I finished up my last project for the winter season of 2010. This was a commission from Jon Phoenix and was to celebrate the marriage of a good friend. Jon asked me to construct a toolbox for Scott, the recipient. This will be my fourth toolbox of this style. The first was the Herwiggy toolbox. Each time I construct one of these boxes I learn a little about the design and sometimes tweak a component. For this box I was able to use a small piece of Zebrawood for the handle and it turned out really nice. I cut the tenons this time by hand instead of with the router. Hand sawing the tenons actually seemed much faster and more enjoyable. The bevels on the through tenons are nice and crisp thanks to the dense tropical hardwood. Everything else went together smoothly and as usual it was a blast to construct. I used Black Walnut and Poplar for the rest of the box. I hope Scott is both surprised and excited when it arrives in Pennsylvania next week. Now it is time to pack up the shop for a new vista in North Cascades National Park.

You Figure it Out