I LET IT RIP AND IT SMELLED FUNNY! I finally finished cutting the layout in two. I cut the top skin of the door back in February. I waited until the large workbench in the cellar was moved out from under the stairs before attempting to cut the ends and bottom of the door. I cut the door and inlaid the splice plates with hand tools. The funny thing being when I sawed through the top and bottom cross pieces of the door it gave off a funny odor. I can only describe it as being almost fruity. I don't know if it was the type of wood or the glue used in manufacturing the door. Yesterday I installed the first splice plate but didn't take pictures. I used a square to transfer the cut line to the edge of the door and just eyeballed the splice plate centered on the cut and the thickness of the door. It turned out well. I decided to photograph the second plate installation. This time I laid out the plate location by taking measurements and scribing with a marking gauge. I thought it would be good practice to learn some basic woodworking and put some of my old tools to use. Well I fudged the layout pretty good.
The door is second hand. I've had it so long I don't remember where it came from plus I have a few more stored in the attic.
A recent message from Pastor John started me thinking about some of my old tools. Some were my grandfathers, some were my fathers and others I've picked up at yard sales and thriftshops. LAYING OUT INLETTING SPLICE PLATE CLEANING UP THE INLET AREA FINISHED INLET AREA MODIFIED SPLICE PLATE INSTALLED CUTTING THROUGH BOTTOM LAYER AND CROSS MEMBERS VIA EXISTING TOPSIDE SAW KERF
Those tool look like the kinds my grandpa had. He left us when I was 10. I come from large families so they went some where. He taught me how to use and sharpen most of them. So it does bring back memories. I have about 6 hollow core doors full size and 4 halves. So except for space and funds I'm getting started. Rich
Only a few of my old woodworking tools are from family members. I do have a great assortment of files that belonged to my grandfather. Some of them are large. Most are still sharp and in great shape, kept oiled and rolled in a rag to protect the teeth. Most all of my old tools need some type of work beyond sharpening. Restoring old tools to good working condition is another one of my interests. I'm learning how to use them by doing simple projects before I attempt to use them on This Old Dump. I'm not experienced enough yet, but one of my first house "restoration" attempts will be cutting down some salvaged 200 year old doors to make a set of summer doors for my kitchen fire place. I want to match an existing pair in the dinning room.
That's a really neat small table saw. That's a tool there's just no substitute for and your idea in reversing the blade direction on brittle materials is worth remembering. By the way, that's some mighty nice mortising work you did for your connecting plate.
My brothers and I all enjoy woodworking and when our father passed away, I made a giant Excel list of all of his tools and sent it to my brothers. In kindness without any dispute, we divided his collection and have enjoyed them ever since. I have good brothers. The oldest said with a smile, "The good thing about Dad's tools is that they have been trained. They know what to do."
Yes indeed, that was me. It has been so nice to have. I'd be having a much more difficult time building my railroad's benchwork without it.
In my next post you'll see I'm learning that what you say is so true. I've mentioned before, my "woodworking" bench is an old 3'x8' T&G farm table with mismatched 4x6" and 4x8" legs. For now nothing is plumb, level or flat, but it is now solid. It needs to move two more times when I seal the floor then I'll work on truing it up as best I can. For now I'll just have to enjoy pictures of your workbench.
MAKING RIBBONS Experienced woodworkers please don't laugh, (cringe maybe). Today is the first time I ripped and planed a piece of stock both by hand. PLANNING BOTH FILLER STRIPS SIDE BY SIDE As mentioned in my previous post this workbench is an on-going project. It isn't yet properly set up for woodworking. With my limited selection of clamps, figuring out how to hold these pieces solid was a challenge. I was a little too self conscious to show my hodgepodge of clamps and blocks. At the back of the bench you can see a section of layout and the voids left mid door. This is the first time I've used this plane. It is also the first one I've ever sharpened and adjusted. It was much easier to do than most videos I watched led me to believe. That's why I prefer old text books. Back to the layout. I'll admit I was a little intimidated by ripping down this layout after the track was laid. Putting this task on the back burner for a while has held up my layout progress, but better than blindly rushing into it and buggering it up. Although I'm not yet finished this modification I'm pretty confident in my plan. I don't want to rush, but I'm really looking forward to roughing in some scenery. Speaking of scenery, I guess I should check on my bag of Structo-lite and my jar of mold making latex and see if they have hardened over the years. Like I stated last week, "I'm not a machinist", well, I can honestly say, I'm also not a woodworker. Have a good one! Disclaimer I'm not suggesting you follow my building techniques. They are mostly old school and out of date. Most of my kits and materials are decades old, but what I have on hand. This is what I enjoy working with. Oh, and I tend to ramble!
Have done that kind of planning with that kind of plane and newer. I'm also a machinist and have seen that done to steel plates. Made nice shim stock.
Have done that kind of planning with that kind of plane and newer. I'm also a machinist and have seen that done to steel plates. Made nice shim stock.
I'm going to send your first photo to one of my brothers who's a huge fan of vintage tools and old woodworking books. Those are beefy planes and it looks like you have the one in the foreground working really well. I messed up drilling a few holes in my benchwork legs yesterday not holding my drill square to the surface being drilled. The bit went through the wood at an angle and emerged off center. There's no way to correct it. It's not catastrophic and I'm not going to rebuild the thing.
I thought about doing that very thing and I may try it. My fear is creating an even worse flaw than what I have.
I trimmed back the stiffeners in the door. Apply anything more than gentle pressure would cause the glue joint to fail and the stiffener to get very soft and frayed making it difficult to trim. I reasoned despite being noisy, and creating a lot of fine dust, the oscillating tool might be best for this for this, so I decided to forego the old hand tools for this step. I clamped the layout section in the Workmate on the kitchen porch To verify the clearance I made a little depth gauge from a block of wood. Stiffeners all trimmed back.
This is interesting. I've wondered how this could be done. Do you think a Router could do this easier?
